Chapter 4

Alena POV:

The invitation arrived, sleek and embossed, demanding my presence at the firm's annual charity gala. Blake had sent it, of course, with a personal note: "Alena, you will be there. We need to show a united front, for the firm's sake. And for ours. We need to talk, properly." His words were a thinly veiled command, cloaked in concern. He thought he still had that power over me. He thought I would bend.

I RSVP'd yes. Not for him, not for the firm. But for myself. I would make one final appearance, on my own terms.

The Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria glittered with false cheer. Chandeliers dripped crystals, reflecting the flashing cameras. The air was thick with the scent of expensive perfume and even more expensive lies. Power players mingled, their laughter echoing through the cavernous space.

And there she was, at the center of it all, a beacon of superficial success: Brittany Ferguson. She stood beside Blake, her arm linked possessively through his, her head thrown back in a peal of laughter. She wore a dress the color of raw emeralds, shimmering and form-fitting, designed to turn heads. Every piece of jewelry on her glittered, a flashing testament to her father's wealth and Blake's newfound allegiances.

People flocked around them, fawning, congratulating, whispering about the firm's newest power couple. I watched from the sidelines, a ghost in my own past. No one noticed me. That was fine. I didn't want to be noticed. Not yet.

Brittany, however, had a radar for me. Her eyes found mine across the crowded room, and her triumphant smile widened. She disentangled herself from Blake, sauntering towards me, her emerald dress rustling like a snake through dry leaves.

"Alena," she purred, stopping directly in front of me, forcing me to meet her gaze. "How brave of you to show your face. I honestly thought you'd be hiding in a dark corner, licking your wounds." She took a sip of her champagne, her eyes never leaving mine. "Or maybe you've finally come to your senses. Decided to beg for your old job back?"

All eyes, or so it felt, turned to us. Blake, across the room, was watching, a faint smile on his lips, an expectation in his gaze. He expected me to crumble. To retreat.

"Actually, Brittany," I replied, my voice calm, steady, "I came to make a statement."

A hush fell over our immediate vicinity. The music played on, the laughter continued in the distance, but around us, the air thickened.

Blake's smile faltered, replaced by a flicker of confusion. He started to move, drawn by the sudden shift in atmosphere.

"Oh?" Brittany scoffed, regaining her composure. "And what statement is that, Alena? That you're a bitter, washed-up ex-associate with no prospects?" She took another theatrical sip of champagne. "Or perhaps you're finally going to admit that you were never good enough. That some of us are just born for more?"

She leaned in, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Like how some of us are strong enough to handle life's little inconveniences, while others... well, others choose to run away. From their problems. From their mistakes. From their own bodies." Her eyes glinted with malice. "Tell me, Alena, how does it feel, knowing you threw away everything, even a chance at motherhood, for a man who saw you as nothing more than a convenient screw?"

The words were a physical blow, worse than any punch. They ripped through the fragile shield I' d built around myself, exposing the raw, festering wound of that memory. The sterile room. The cold instruments. The empty ache that had followed, physical and emotional. All for Blake. All because he hadn' t wanted a child to "derail his ambitions." He'd convinced me it was our shared ambition. But it had only ever been his.

Blake was closer now, his eyes wide, a dawning horror on his face. He' d heard. He must have.

But he said nothing. He just stood there, watching, as Brittany twisted the knife.

I looked directly at Blake, ignoring Brittany's venomous stare. My voice was a low hum, but it carried across the hushed circle. "It feels like I finally woke up, Blake." My gaze locked with his. "Eight years. Eight years I spent believing your lies. Believing we were a team. That every sacrifice I made was for us." I took a step forward, closing the distance between us, forcing him to meet my eyes. "I gave you my loyalty, my dedication, my youth. I even sacrificed the one thing I thought I could never give up – a family – because you said it would complicate your life. You called me 'damaged goods' for it, remember?"

A collective gasp rippled through the onlookers. Whispers erupted, hushed and shocked.

Blake's face was a mask of furious denial. "Alena, stop it. You're making a scene!" He tried to grab my arm, his fingers tightening.

I yanked my arm away. "A scene? This is just the truth, Blake. And the truth is, you're a manipulative, self-serving narcissist who uses people until they're no longer convenient." My voice grew louder, stronger, fueled by eight years of suppressed rage and pain. "Well, I'm no longer convenient. I'm no longer yours. I resigned, Blake. And I'm never coming back."

My eyes swept across the stunned faces of the firm's partners, the clients, the associates. "I'm done being your 'free paralegal.' I'm done being your 'damaged goods.' I'm done with you."

Blake's face contorted, his carefully constructed facade cracking under the weight of my words. He slammed his champagne glass onto a nearby table, the crystal shattering with a deafening crash that silenced the entire ballroom. Every head snapped towards him.

"You ungrateful bitch!" he roared, his voice raw, stripped of all pretense. He lunged at me, his hand raised, but a few of the senior partners stepped in, instinctively pulling him back.

"Don't you dare touch me," I said, my voice shaking with a fury that felt ancient and new all at once. "You lost the right to touch me the day you called me 'damaged goods.' And you lost the right to my life the day you gave my promotion to her." I gestured to Brittany, who stood frozen, her emerald dress suddenly looking cheap and gaudy.

"And you know what the best part is, Blake?" I continued, a slow, triumphant smile spreading across my face, a genuine smile for the first time in years. "I've already found someone who sees my worth. Someone who respects me. Someone who actually loves me for me."

Then, without another word, without a backward glance at the shattered glass or the stunned faces, I turned and walked away. My heels clicked against the marble floor, each step a resounding declaration of freedom. Behind me, I heard the confused murmurs, Brittany's shrill cry, and Blake's enraged shouts.

But I didn't stop. I didn't look back. I just kept walking, into the night, into a future that, for the first time, felt entirely my own.