Chapter 7

Corinne POV

I stared at the divorce papers, the words blurring on the page. I had gone over them countless times, each revision a slow, painful amputation of a dream I once held so dear. But now, after witnessing his tender concern for Kylee, after the cold refusal to help Aubrie, after the crushing realization that he had never truly loved me, there was nothing left to salvage. My signature, once hesitant, now felt like a liberation. I officially submitted the papers.

A few weeks later, the final, brutal blow landed. A prestigious legal magazine, known for its glossy spreads on power couples, featured Grant on its cover. And there, perched elegantly beside him, her hand linked through his arm, was Kylee. Her smile was radiant, her eyes sparkling with a carefully cultivated innocence. The accompanying article gushed about their "dynamic partnership," their "shared vision," their "bright future." It was the company gala all over again, but this time, it was official. Public. Unambiguous.

My stomach dropped, a cold, empty void opening up inside me. I was never meant to be on that cover. Never meant to be his public partner. I was the convenient wife, the silent support system, to be kept quietly in the background, then discarded when a shinier model arrived. He had hidden me, hidden his true affections from me, made me feel crazy for even questioning his emotional distance. But with her, it was all out in the open. A proud declaration.

The pain was excruciating, a thousand tiny cuts bleeding me dry. He hadn't just betrayed me; he had erased me. Made me irrelevant. I spent that night, and the next, staring at the ceiling, the image of their smiling faces burned into my eyelids. Sleep was an impossible luxury.

A new resolve hardened in my heart. This wasn't just about my pain anymore. This was about survival. I had been offered an overseas work assignment, a chance to rebuild my life far away from the wreckage he had left behind. I would take it. And I would take Aubrie with me. We would start fresh. Somewhere new, where his shadow couldn't reach us.

But before I could even finalize the plans, the world turned against us. Every lawyer I approached for Aubrie' s case, even the sympathetic ones, politely declined. "Too powerful," they' d say. "Too risky." Keven Bauer' s influence was far-reaching.

Then, the internet exploded. Aubrie' s private video, the one Keven Bauer had threatened her with, was leaked online. It circulated like wildfire, twisted and distorted, making her out to be a seductress, a gold-digger. The comments were vicious, hateful. My sister, already so fragile, was publicly shamed, her trauma replayed for the world' s entertainment.

And then came the next wave. Details of my divorce, the terms, the allegations – all of it leaked. Public opinion, fueled by Kylee' s carefully curated online presence, painted me as the bitter, jealous ex-wife, trying to sabotage Grant' s new, vibrant relationship. Kylee, meanwhile, was riding the wave of public sympathy, her social media soaring, gaining thousands of followers, monetizing the very pain she had inflicted. She was doing live streams, talking about overcoming "unjust attacks" from "older, jealous women."

Aubrie, already teetering on the brink, crumbled under the weight of the public hate. She stopped eating, stopped talking. My mother had to watch her constantly, fearing she would do something drastic. The light in my sister' s eyes was gone, replaced by a hollow despair. We were drowning.

Then, Kylee walked into our home. Uninvited. Unannounced. She stood in the doorway, a triumphant smirk on her face, her eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction.

"Corinne," she purred, her voice dripping with fake concern. "I heard about Aubrie. So tragic. But you know, some people just bring trouble upon themselves, don' t they?" Her gaze flickered to Aubrie, who was curled up on the sofa, unresponsive. "Honestly, Corinne, you should have just let Grant handle things. He' s always been so good at cleaning up messes. Now look what happened."

My blood ran cold. "Get out," I hissed, my voice shaking with suppressed rage.

Kylee laughed, a mocking, triumphant sound. "Oh, don' t be silly. I just came to check on you. And to tell you, it' s all over the news. Your sister is quite the celebrity now. Such a shame." She took a step closer, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "And Grant? He' s so much happier now. You were holding him back, Corinne. You were just... a burden."

Aubrie, who had been completely still, suddenly let out a piercing scream. Her body convulsed, her eyes wide with terror, reliving the nightmare. My mother rushed to her, trying to soothe her, but Aubrie just screamed louder, a raw, primal sound of pure agony.

My hands clenched, my entire body trembling. My vision tunneling, I saw red. I grabbed the carving knife from the kitchen counter, its blade glinting under the harsh light. I lunged at Kylee, the fury a tidal wave consuming me.

"You bitch!" I screamed, my voice unrecognizable. "You did this! You hurt her!"

Just as the knife was inches from Kylee' s face, a strong arm clamped around my wrist, yanking me back. The knife clattered to the floor. Grant. He was there. Kylee, her eyes wide with terror, let out a piercing shriek and stumbled back, collapsing into his waiting arms.