“You know, the office slut,” she said. “Sleeping with the boss for all the perks? Just a typical whore.”
“Watch how you talk to me!” I snapped, feeling furious. All the pent-up frustration, all the anger I had over the judgmental looks I had received, all my bundled-up emotions threatened to burst. “You do not get to judge me like that!”
“Sleeping with the boss and then saying don’t judge me?” Stella said, laughing. “You are a piece of work, aren’t you?”
I opened my mouth to reply, but she cut me off and said, “You are nothing more than a parasite. Do you think you are special because Gale gave you some attention? Do you think you meant something to him? That being his toy gives you some authority around here? Did you even think you were a player in the game? You were just someone for him to use. To have a good time with and then let you go. Did you really think you would manage to seduce him and eventually marry him? That you would become his wife?”
I bit my lip, trying to control my emotions, but she seemed to read my face as if it was an open book.
“Oh, God,” she shrieked with laughter. “You did! You thought you were actually important to him! You thought you meant something! I don’t believe this.”
She started to laugh, and I could see others joining in. Giggles spread around as the entire office looked on, and I clenched my hands in anger. I was so furious that I couldn’t even speak.
“You are nothing,” she said. “Just someone for him to enjoy, that’s all. You think he loves you? You think there is a future for the two of you? You think he has feelings for you? Oh, you are not even worth the mud on his shoe.”
“Enough!” I said. “I will not tolerate you talking to me like this!”
“Hillary!” Gale suddenly shouted, and I looked up to see him marching out of his office.
“Did you hear that, Gale?” she asked, walking over to him and putting her arms around him. “Did you hear what she was saying? Did you hear the way she was talking to me?”
“Gale—” I said. “Mr. Fears, this woman was insulting me—”
“Teach her a lesson, Gale,” Stella said. “Are you going to let her get away with it? Are you going to just let her insult your girlfriend like that?”
Girlfriend? Stella was his girlfriend? I looked at Gale, my eyes meeting his, and I silently begged him to tell me that this wasn’t true. That this was all a lie. I thought back to the kiss we shared, the last time we slept together; could it all possibly be a lie? I thought he cared for me, but was it even true?
“Hillary,” Gale thundered. “I will not let you speak like that in this office. You have no right to be so disrespectful. If you ever repeat this kind of behavior, I will fire you.”
“But,” I stammered. “Gale—”
“That’s Mr. Fears,” Stella snapped at me, a smug look on her face.
“Gale?” I whispered again, shocked.
“Get back to work,” he said coldly. “And consider yourself warned. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated again.”
My heart sank to the pit of my stomach as I watched him marched off, Stella on his arm. She turned around and smirked at me before walking back to his office. I was well aware of the whispers that spread through the office and the looks I was receiving, and yet, I didn’t care. I collapsed onto the chair, unable to believe what had happened. I was a fool. A complete idiot. I let myself think that Gale was different. That he was sincere and true. But I had been wrong.
All this time, I had been afraid of heartbreak, and I had tried to protect myself. And yet, here I stood, my heart broken again.
And it was all my own fault.
Chapter 7
Spider Web
Gale Fears
Icringed and held on to my breath, I need to show Stella that she’s not a threat, my heart broke to treat her like that. I could still see the look of confusion and betrayal and hurt in her eyes when I took Stella’s side. But I hadn’t had much of a choice. Stella’s hand had clenched around my neck, a cruel reminder of what she held over me. The pictures she had shown flashed before my eyes, and I slammed my hand down in anger.
It couldn’t be, could it? It couldn’t possibly be true. And yet, at the back of my mind, I knew it was. I had always suspected it, but I had always pushed that thought away. I thought that I was just overthinking, seeing things that weren’t there. After all, how could I believe something like this? But now, I couldn’t deny it any longer. The proof was in front of me, and if it ever got out, it would ruin everything. My firm, my life, my family, it would all be completely destroyed. Not only that, all our clients would suffer, and they would suffer horribly. I had to keep it a secret, at any cost.
The future seemed so bleak. Was I supposed to spend the rest of my life being blackmailed by Stella? She was going to make me her slave, and I would have to live with it, just to keep this secret safe. Painful memories of being with her surfaced. That toxic, abusive relationship we had shared. The constant stress, anxiety, depression. Living on the edge, never knowing which Stella would greet me. The loving one or the manic one. The kind one or the one full of hatred. Never knowing what might trigger her to becoming another person.
I would spend my life being manipulated, being played. Being her puppet. I knew I couldn’t live like that. I had to find a way out of this.
A knock echoed on my door, and I shouted, “Enter.”
