Chapter 2 - The Mask FallsThe music seemed to die instantly. Conversations froze across the room as Manhattan’s elite turned their attention to the commotion.
Caldwell pushed through the crowd, his face flushed red with immediate, unbridled fury. He didn't look at my dress, soaked in dark crimson wine. He didn't check to see if I was hurt. He stepped directly in front of Sloan, putting himself between us like a chivalrous knight protecting a maiden.
"Saraphina, what the hell is wrong with you?" Caldwell snapped, his voice booming through the silent ballroom.
I stared at him, feeling a strange, icy calm wash over my heart. "He hasn't even asked what happened," I thought. Ten years of marriage, and he didn't even give me the benefit of a single question.
"She... she just snapped, Caldwell," Sloan whimpered from behind him, clutching his arm, putting on a masterclass performance of fragile distress. "I mentioned a corporate strategy update, and she attacked me."
"Sloan is my guest and one of our most important strategic partners," Caldwell barked at me, his eyes bloodshot with rage. "You embarrass me by showing up like this, dressed like a widow, and now you attack her in front of our investors?"
I tilted my head slightly, looking at the man I had given a decade of my life to.
"A strategic partner?" I asked quietly, my voice carrying clearly through the surrounding silence. "Is that what you're calling your mistress now, Caldwell?"
Gasps rippled through the gathered crowd.
Before Caldwell could speak, his mother, Evelyn, stepped forward. Evelyn was a woman who lived for status, wrapped in diamonds and vintage fur. Her face twisted into a mask of pure, ugly rage.
"You useless leech!" Evelyn spat, pointing a manicured finger directly at my nose. "How dare you slander my son in public! My son earns millions while you contribute absolutely nothing to this family! You live in his home, drive his cars, and eat his food! Get on your knees right now and apologize to Sloan, or so help me God, I will see you on the street!"
People around us held their breath. No one spoke up. No one defended me. In their eyes, I was just the fortunate nobody who had overstayed her welcome in Caldwell Vance’s world.
Caldwell looked at me with cold, utter contempt. He reached down, gripped his platinum wedding ring, and yanked it off his finger.
"I am done with your insane jealousy, Saraphina," he said coldly.
He raised his hand and threw the ring directly at my feet.
May you like
It bounced once with a sharp, metallic clink across the white marble floor, rolling to a stop near my heel.
"Security!" Caldwell roared toward the entrance. "Get this woman out of my banquet."
Related Stories
