Once and Never Again

However, my relief did not last long. A juicy story was all over the internet. Julia, the fancy lady, was actually the other woman, and Charles was married to someone else.

They even showed a photo of Charles and me during our wedding and sneaky photos of him being cozy with Julia.

In no time, Charles came home fuming. "Look what you did! You told the press about me and Julia. Have you seen what's happening to our shares?"

"I didn't do it, I swear."

"Who else would? You want to make me dump Julia with all this bad press. You're always plotting. You're just a nasty piece of work!"

I fought back the tears and tried to think clearly. "It wasn't me, I swear. It has to be Julia. She's doing this to make you divorce me."

Charles turned away with a look of disgust as if I was something gross. "You think every woman is as cunning as you? Julia's a sweet and innocent heiress. She's not like you, always struggling to get by."

There it was, that comparison again. However, I was done taking it. "A sweet and innocent heiress wouldn't be someone's secret girlfriend. A sweet and innocent boss wouldn't cheat on the day his mother-in-law was buried. That's your sad idea of right and wrong!

"You think I want to hang out with society's elite like you? I wish I could divorce you right now."

Charles sneered, his face twisting with spite. He looked down at me, and his words were like ice. "I told you, I won't let you off easy. I'm going to call a press conference. You'll have to say sorry in front of everyone, admit you're the one who tricked me into marrying you, and that Julia and I are the victims.

"If you don't, I'll ruin the lives of your family and friends. I can make them go broke, or maybe they'll have an 'accident'—like a car crash or a nasty fall."

I had no choice but to say I was sorry, and everyone there called me names.

"Sophia has no shame, doing anything to marry rich."

"Poor Julia and Charles. They love each other but can't be together."

"Money-chaser!"

Charles and Julia finally cracked smiles of satisfaction.

Charles leaned in close and hissed, "Words aren't enough. Bow and say you're sorry. Show you mean it."

"What?" I was dazed for a second, hardly believing what I was hearing.

Charles did not say anything more. Instead, he snuck up behind me and gave me a little shove. I tripped forward, and the camera flashes were so bright that I could not open my eyes.

A sharp pain zipped through my belly, and I felt something warm spreading underneath me.

When I looked down, I saw my pants were all wet with blood.

Everything around me started to fade to black. Right before I passed out, I heard Charles say with a sneer, "Not this again. Always playing the same old fainting game."