Chapter 3

Alycia Kennedy POV:

The email landed in my inbox barely an hour later: "Your resignation has been accepted." No pleasantries, no regret. Just a cold, efficient dismissal. A finality that resonated deep within me, a strange mix of relief and a lingering ache. It was truly over.

When I arrived at Johnson Tech for my final day, HR called me into a small, sterile office. The usually warm HR manager, a woman who' d once praised my dedication, looked at me with an almost hostile blankness. "Ms. Kennedy," she began, her tone clipped, "we understand you're leaving under... unusual circumstances. A word of advice: be discreet. We value our company's reputation, and we expect our former employees to do the same." The thinly veiled threat hung in the air, a clear message from Jackson.

As I walked through the familiar corridors, gathering my personal effects and handing over project files, I could feel the eyes on me. Whispers followed me like an unwelcome shadow. "That's her, isn't it?" "The one Jackson married for the company's sake." "Such a shame. She seemed so sweet." The pity, the judgment, the thinly disguised glee in their voices felt like physical blows. Each word was a fresh humiliation, dissecting my life for their entertainment.

I kept my head down, my gaze fixed straight ahead. My face, I hoped, was a mask of indifference. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing me break. I moved with a practiced calm, methodically completing each task, refusing to acknowledge the venomous air around me. This was my last act of defiance, my final professional duty, and I would execute it flawlessly.

I was just signing off on the last document when the office door burst open. Jackson stood there, a dark figure silhouetted against the bright hallway. His eyes, burning with an intense, possessive rage, were fixed solely on me. My heart lurched, a primal fear seizing me. He was here.

Campbell emerged from behind him, her arm laced through his, her smile a cruel slash across her face. "Darling," she purred, her voice carrying across the hushed office. "Are you sure she hasn't taken anything? You know, company secrets, client lists... I wouldn't put it past her. Some people just can't be trusted when they've been... let go." Her words were a deliberate poison, designed to implicate me, to paint me as a thief.

My gaze snapped to Jackson. "Are you serious?" I demanded, my voice raw with disbelief. "Do you actually suspect me of something like that?" The accusation, coming from him, was a fresh wound. After all those years, all my loyalty, he truly believed I would betray him professionally.

Jackson didn't answer me directly. Instead, he barked, "Mark! Get over here! I want you to check Alycia's company laptop. Every file, every email. Now." Mark, the head of IT, a meek man who always avoided eye contact, scurried forward, his face pale.

The humiliation was instant, searing. My private workspace, my digital life, was about to be laid bare for everyone to see. My stomach clenched, bile rising in my throat. This wasn't just a check; it was a public shaming, an invasion of my last vestiges of privacy.

"No!" I cried, stepping in front of my laptop, my arms spread protectively. "You can't do that! That's my personal information in there! My private emails, my photos..." My voice cracked, laced with desperation. The thought of them rifling through my life, exposing everything, made me physically ill.

I turned to Jackson, my eyes pleading. "Please, Jackson. You know I would never steal anything. Please, stop this. Don't let them do this." His face was a mask of cold indifference. He grabbed my arm, his grip bruising. "Tell me, Alycia," he snarled, his voice low and menacing, "did you leak anything? Was there anything you shouldn't have been looking at?"

The air was thick with tension, the whispers of my colleagues growing louder, eager to witness the spectacle. "She's always been a little too close to the boss," someone muttered. "Probably trying to get revenge," another added. Their words, like tiny knives, twisted in my heart.

Jackson, sensing the audience' s rapt attention, cut off the murmuring with a sharp command. "Just get the laptop open, Mark! I want to see everything." He tightened his grip on my arm, his eyes daring me to resist.

"No!" I screamed, a desperate, raw sound that echoed through the silent office. I lurched forward, trying to yank the laptop away from Mark, but Jackson' s grip was like iron. "Don't you dare open it!"

"Open it!" Jackson roared, his voice shaking the quiet office. Mark, trembling, clicked the mouse, and the screen flickered to life. My entire world crashed down around me in that moment.

The desktop wallpaper. It was a photo. A candid shot of Jackson and me, taken on that secret beach vacation in the Maldives, laughing, eyes sparkling, his arms wrapped around me. The intimate, undeniable proof of our five-year secret, splashed across the large monitor for all to see. The blood drained from my face. I felt a cold dread spread through my limbs, pulling me down into a terrifying abyss.

My breath hitched, a choked sob escaping my lips. The shame, the utter humiliation, was a tidal wave washing over me, threatening to drown me completely. My private life, our private life, was now a public spectacle, mocked and dissected by a room full of strangers. I felt exposed, violated, my very soul laid bare.

Jackson's face, though, was a picture of practiced calm. He leaned in, his voice dripping with condescension. "Oh, Alycia," he sighed, shaking his head. "Still playing games? You know these are just doctored photos. Some clever photo editing, perhaps? You always were good with graphics, weren't you?" His words, a masterful lie, twisted the knife deeper. He was not just denying our past; he was discrediting me, turning my pain into a delusion.

A wave of snickers rippled through the office. "P-photoshopped?" someone whispered, then laughed. "Wow, she really thought he'd fall for that?" The ridicule, sharp and cruel, pierced through me. I was a joke, a pathetic, delusional woman.

Campbell, her arm still hooked through Jackson's, stepped forward, her face a mask of false sympathy. "Oh, Alycia, darling," she cooed, her voice saccharine sweet. "It's truly sad, isn't it? To cling to such fantasies. Perhaps you should seek some help. And if you're truly lonely, I suppose Jackson and I could find you a nice, stable young man. One who actually wants to be with you, publicly." She glanced at Jackson, a possessive gleam in her eye. "But you can't have my husband. He's mine now."

Jackson, playing his role to perfection, pulled Campbell closer. "Alycia has been like a little sister to me," he announced to the room, his voice loud and clear, echoing his earlier denial. "A sweet girl, but perhaps a bit... over-imaginative. We'll find a good match for her. Campbell, perhaps you could help her find a nice young man to Photoshop herself with?" He chuckled, a cruel, dismissive sound that was joined by a chorus of laughter from the room.

Campbell, basking in the attention, threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, Jackson, you're too kind! Remember how I left you for that rich old man, only to realize my mistake and come back? True love always wins, darling. Some people just don't understand that." Her words, meant to reinforce her victory, twisted in my gut. They were a reminder of how easily Jackson had been swayed, how little my consistent presence meant compared to her dramatic return.

Jackson's eyes met mine, a chilling smirk on his lips. He leaned in, his voice barely a whisper. "You'll be back, Alycia. They always come back. You can't live without me." He thought he knew me, thought he held power over me. He believed I was so utterly dependent on him, so consumed by my love for him, that I would crawl back, begging for crumbs.

He was wrong. So terribly, horribly wrong. The love I once had for him had been brutally murdered, replaced by a cold, searing hatred. I wouldn't just walk away; I would rise from the ashes of his betrayal, stronger, fiercer, and completely free.