Chapter 2

JAKOB JOHNSON POV:

"She' ll be a mess, trust me," Alden chortled, swirling the expensive scotch in his glass. "Clara Stone, the tragic artist. Reduced to sketching portraits on the street for spare change. It' ll be magnificent."

The thought of Clara, my beautiful, naive Clara, brought a smirk to my face. "She deserved it, really. Always so self-sacrificing. So pure. It' s exhausting. And frankly, a little annoying." I took a long sip of my drink. "She knew what she was getting into, marrying a man like me. A man who builds empires. You don' t do that by being soft."

Alden' s deputy, a slick-haired marketing whiz named Marcus, snorted. "She always seemed... a bit simple, didn' t she? Too caught up in her paint and clay. Never really understood the game."

"She understood enough to attach herself to me, didn' t she?" I retorted, a flash of irritation. "She wanted the lifestyle. The penthouse, the galas, the endless praise for her 'talent' funded by my money. She got it. Now she' ll face the consequences of her choices. It's on her."

Clara Stone POV:

His words, replayed in my mind, were a fresh wound. She knew what she was getting into. She wanted the lifestyle. How easily he twisted the narrative, sculpting a villain out of the woman who had only ever loved him. I remembered the late nights I' d spent with him, not at parties, but in this very office, bringing him coffee, listening to his grand plans, offering little insights from my artistic perspective that he' d sometimes incorporate into his presentations. I remembered selling my own small gallery, investing the meager proceeds into his fledgling company, believing in his dream. Not for the lifestyle, but for him.

His voice continued, sharp and dismissive. "Besides, this whole 'pregnancy' thing? A distraction. Completely unplanned, and frankly, inconvenient." He paused, then his tone hardened. "I told her, repeatedly, we weren' t ready for kids. She must have done something, deliberately. Trying to trap me, perhaps."

Marcus, ever the sycophant, frowned. "You think so, Jakob? Clara always seemed so... devoted."

Alden chuckled, a dry, rustling sound. "Devotion is a fragile thing, Marcus, especially when you' re facing a mountain of debt and a destroyed reputation. She' ll crumble. They always do."

"And the child," Marcus pressed, a slight unease in his voice. "What about the child?"

I clutched my stomach, a phantom pain ripping through me. No, I thought, not a child. Not anymore. The decision I had made, stark and brutal, had severed that last, fragile thread of hope.

"The child isn' t an issue," Jakob snapped. "I have no interest in playing daddy. There are games to develop, empires to expand. If she thinks a baby will tie me down, she' s sorely mistaken. I' d rather spend my nights debugging code than changing diapers."

Marcus looked genuinely surprised. "You really dislike the idea of being a father that much?"

Jakob leaned back, a sneer twisting his lips. "Dislike it? I despise it. This whole domestic charade? It' s a job. A public relations exercise. Nothing more. Clara served her purpose. Now, she' s just... clutter."

"Well, if she' s just clutter," Alden said, his eyes glittering, "then let' s make a game of it. The 'Clara Stone Implosion' bet. Anyone in?"

A chorus of eager voices erupted. "I' m in!" "Count me in!"

"I say," Marcus piped up, his voice regaining its slick confidence, "she' ll be begging on my doorstep within a month, offering... anything." His gaze lingered, making my skin crawl.

"Two months," another voice chimed in. "She' ll try to fight, make some noise. But when the liability file drops, she' ll disappear."

"Alright, gentlemen," Alden announced, rubbing his hands together. "The pot is... substantial. And Jakob, you' re doubling down, aren' t you? On her spectacular failure?"

"Of course." Jakob' s voice was clear, triumphant. "I' m betting on her total, absolute ruin. Every last penny she thinks she has, every shred of dignity she believes she possesses. Gone. Zero. Nothing. That' s my bet."

"I once saw her in a really tight dress at a charity event," Marcus interjected, his voice low and suggestive. "Bet she' d look even better... desperate."

I stood frozen in the hallway, the sound of their laughter and lewd suggestions washing over me. Each word was a physical blow, stripping away layers of my skin, exposing raw nerve. My breath hitched, a desperate gasp for air that wouldn't come. My chest felt like an iron band was tightening around it, squeezing the life out of me.

Monsters. They weren't men. They were monsters, feasting on my discarded dreams, my broken heart, and even the life I had once cherished within me. My hand instinctively flew to my still-flat belly, a protective gesture that was now tragically misguided. The child, my beautiful, innocent child, had been reduced to a bargaining chip in their cruel game before he even had a chance to breathe.

My legs gave out. I sank to the floor, my back pressed against the cold wall, tears streaming silently down my face. But these weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of pure, unadulterated fury. A cold, hard knot formed in the pit of my stomach, solidifying into unwavering resolve.

No. I wouldn't let them win. I wouldn't be their tragic artist, their broken trophy. They wanted a show? I would give them a performance they would never forget. A performance where the monsters became the prey.

I would take everything. Everything they valued, everything they built on lies. Their money, their reputation, their inflated egos. I would turn their game against them.

My first act of revenge was already set in motion. The life I had conceived out of love, the life they had so casually dismissed, would be unmade. Not because I didn't want it, but because I refused to bring an innocent soul into a world tainted by such venomous cruelty. This was the first step. The ultimate sacrifice, a declaration of war.

The anniversary gala. That was it. The glittering stage where they planned to humiliate me, where they planned to smash my sculpture, my last vestiges of identity. It would become their ruin. I would collect my evidence, meticulously, patiently. And then, I would strike.

I would make them regret every single word. Every single laugh. Every single penny of their disgusting bet. This was not the end of Clara Stone. This was the beginning of her silent, methodical war.