He Humiliated Me Until He Learned Who My Father Was Chapter 04
The Second Time He Didn’t Save Me
I don’t expose Vanessa yet.
Not because I can’t.
Because she’s still talking.
And every word is evidence.
Vanessa looks at my swollen cheek and smiles.
“You know, Avery, plastic surgery isn’t even the worst thing you’ve hidden.”
She pulls another image up on her phone.
This time, it’s a medical report.
A positive STI result.
My name is printed across the top.
The room erupts.
“Jesus.”
“Ethan, did you know about this?”
Vanessa looks almost sympathetic.
“I didn’t want to say anything, but if she’s been sleeping around, Ethan deserves to know.”
“It’s fake,” I say.
Ethan grabs the phone.
When he looks at me, there is disgust in his eyes.
“How many men?”
I almost laugh.
“You believe this too?”
“Answer me.”
“It’s fake.”
Vanessa sighs. “Everything is fake when Avery gets caught.”
Ethan grabs my throat.
My back hits the edge of the table.
For one stunned second, I can’t breathe.
“Ethan.”
“You could’ve infected me.”
Someone pulls him away. Someone calls security. Another person says the police are already on their way.
I cough, one hand pressed to my neck.
The room has changed.
I’m no longer Ethan’s girlfriend.
People crowd around me, throwing insults. Someone shoves my shoulder.
I look at Ethan.
Years ago, when I was in danger overseas, he stepped between me and a stranger without hesitation.
That was the night he saved my life.
Tonight, I need him to step forward again. Just once.
Our eyes meet. He looks away.
Something inside me finally breaks cleanly.
The man who saved me once is gone.
Maybe he has been for a long time.
“What’s going on here?”
A woman’s voice cuts through the ballroom.
Everyone turns.
Richard Whitmore, Ethan’s CEO, has arrived with his wife, Victoria.
Richard takes one look at the scene and frowns.
Victoria’s gaze lands on me.
Then on Vanessa.
Richard goes pale.
Interesting.
I know that expression.
I’ve seen it across conference tables when married men realize their secrets have entered the room before they were ready.
Vanessa immediately straightens.
“Mr. Whitmore.”
Too familiar.
Victoria notices too.
I wipe the blood from my lip and pick up my phone.
The recording is still running.
Perfect.
Richard clears his throat. “Perhaps everyone should calm down.”
I look directly at Victoria.
“Mrs. Whitmore?”
She turns to me.
“Yes?”
I smile.
“Did you know your husband has been sleeping with Vanessa?”