After the Divorce CEO Realizes Hes the Stand In Lover

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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CHAPTER ONE

"You need to sign these,"

Jane Roberts almost dropped the frying pan she had been carrying across the room in fright. She glared at her husband who was still standing in the doorway, a brown envelope in his outstretched arms. "What is that? You scared me."

He didn't apologize or respond to her question. He simply walked out of the room.

Frowning, Jane walked out of the kitchen, frying pan in hand and followed him into the dining room. "What is that, Marcus?'

Marcus dropped the envelope on the table and sat down on one of the chairs. "Divorcee papers. I had my lawyers draw them up last week so they are ready and all you have to do is sign them."

Jane was stunned. "Did you just say divorce papers?"

Marcus raised an eyebrow, an irritated look on his face. "Did I stutter?" He got up from the chair, picked up his briefcase from the ground and walked away without sparing her another glance. The sound of the door slamming jolted Jane out of her reverie and she immediately took off after him, her ears ringing loudly.

"Honey, you didn't eat breakfast." She called out to him but he ignored her as he got into the car and drove off, the exhaust and fumes from the car blocking her view of his car as it disappeared out of sight.

Jane stood there for a few more minutes with a dazed expression on her face. Somehow the events of the last few minutes felt like a dream to her. There was no way Marcus would speak to her like that and serve her divorce papers.

She ran back into the house and made her way to the dining room. She picked up the envelope he had tossed on the table and held it in her shaky hands, fear of its contents gripping her.

"You can do this," she told herself as she opened the envelope slowly and withdrew the bound papers inside it.

Just as he had told her, the words, 'DIVORCE SETTLEMENT' were written in bold letters at the top of the paper.

The envelope slipped from her hand to the floor as she slumped to the ground, unshed tears clouded her vision. This had to be a silly prank because why would Marcus, the absolute love of her life do this to her?

"I'm not signing this," She whispered, wiping her tears with the back of her hand as she slowly rose to her feet. "I won't sign this. He can't treat me like this, I won't let him!"

She sniffed and picked up the frying pan she had left on the table and then walked back into the kitchen, her heart shattered.

After two years of loving Marcus and giving all of herself to him, this was how he wanted to repay her. Was this some sort of sick joke?

"He's probably going through something at work and is taking it out on me." She muttered to herself as she placed the frying pan back on the cooker and covered it, her appetite gone.

She walked out and took the stairs to her room where she slumped on the bed and gave in to the tears

***

"I'm coming," Jane yelled as she ran down the stairs, adjusting her bathrobe. She had just stepped out of the shower when she heard the doorbell. After crying herself to sleep, she woke up with a headache and felt the need to revive her body the best she could with everything that was going on.

"I said I'm coming, hold on," she sighed and looked through the peephole frowning when she saw an unfamiliar face staring back at her. She didn't know this man. Who was he and what did he want?

Panic set in and she took a deep breath instantly to calm her nerves. She left the person standing there and ran back upstairs to her room to get her phone. She wasn't expecting anyone so the man hadn't come for her. Perhaps Marcus knew him and had sent him to pick up something.

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