Thankfully, Mom recovered.
I gave the fire department my statement.
Coupled with Kevin’s confession, Jake was
fired.
My livestream went viral. With my public accusations, Jake and Olivia became pariahs.
“Arsonist Gold Digger” and “Pregnant Tea” became their new nicknames.
A few days later, returning home for clothes, I pretended to enter, then watched as Jake stumbled inside.
“Melissa, you bitch! You set me up!”
He lunged, fist raised, unaware of the security cameras I’d installed, documenting his and
Olivia’s every move.
L
Reporters and online trolls had hounded them
until they had nowhere else to go but our
burned–out apartment. The most dangerous place is often the safest.
“Jake, I suggest you behave yourself.”
Ignoring his curses, I sat on the sofa, sliding the divorce papers across the coffee table.
He stared at them, incredulous.
“You…you want a divorce?”
“Sign it.”
“Jake, don’t! She’s playing games!” Olivia
purred, clinging to him.
“Besides, we need her to clear our names!
“Besides, we need her to clear our names!
Look at us!”
Her face, once vibrant, was now sallow.
Jake jumped on it.
“Right! Divorce is fine, but clear our names
first!”
“Tell everyone you set the fire, that you
framed us. I knew you were up to something,
that’s why I stopped Kevin.”
Olivia nodded eagerly.
“Melissa, you’re so heartless. If you can’t have
Jake, you’ll destroy him. Everyone’s blaming
him online, he lost his job…is this how you
treat your husband?”
<
I smiled at them. “Fine.”
“Really?” Jake eyed me suspiciously.
“Do you have a choice?”
He picked up the papers. Olivia hesitated.
“Jake, maybe we should think about this…”
“Think about what? Don’t you want to be with
me, officially?” I goaded him.
Jake looked at her, confused. Olivia’s eyes
darted around.
“Of course I do!”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Then what’s the problem?”
He signed. I grabbed the papers and hit the
panic button.
“Melissa, what are you doing?!”
I just watched them.
“You tricked me! Bitch! Livestream the
apology now! Turn that damn alarm off!”
“Jake, the fun’s just beginning.”
Security arrived, dragging the screaming
couple out. I instructed the guards never to
let them back in.
Back at the hospital, the fire chief apologized
to my parents.
<
“I’m so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Miller. We’re
conducting a full internal review. Those
responsible have been terminated. Please
allow us to make amends.”
“Thank you, Chief. It was just a few bad
apples. Glad they’re gone.”
My parents were recovering. That’s all that
mattered.
“Let me in! Melissa! Melissa!”
Jake, disheveled and desperate, burst through
the door.
“I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”
He knelt at my feet, then, seeing the fire
chief, groveled.
<
“Chief! You’re here! It was a mistake! I’ll do
anything, I’ll accept any punishment, just let me come back! It was them, they wouldn’t help me! I got demoted, I panicked!” He pointed at my parents. Still making excuses.
“Shut up! Mr. and Mrs. Miller went above and
beyond for you! Your transfer papers were on my desk the day of the fire! You…” The chief
shook his head.
Jake, stunned, turned back to me.
“Melissa, we were married! You can’t do this
to me!”
I leaned down, whispering, “Oh, I can. You
should have expected this, after you whipped
me with your belt.”
<
“Chief! You’re here! It was a mistake! I’ll do
anything, I’ll accept any punishment, just let me come back! It was them, they wouldn’t help me! I got demoted, I panicked!” He pointed at my parents. Still making excuses.
“Shut up! Mr. and Mrs. Miller went above and beyond for you! Your transfer papers were on my desk the day of the fire! You…” The chief shook his head.
Jake, stunned, turned back to me.
“Melissa, we were married! You can’t do this
to me!”
I leaned down, whispering, “Oh, I can. You should have expected this, after you whipped me with your belt.”
L
Jake’s jaw dropped. His eyes widened.
“You too?!”
“Jake! Jake!” Olivia, clutching her belly,
waddled in.
“Jake, you’re too fast! I don’t feel good!”
“Why are you here, with her?”
“Shut your mouth!”
Olivia flinched, then resumed her whining.
“Jake, why are you yelling at me? I’m
pregnant!”
“It’s her fault, this crazy bitch online!”
Snappiny paun, jane s eyes curieu feu, aliu
he roared at me.
“You think I married you for love? I wanted
your parents‘ connections! If the fire didn’t kill
you, I’d have poisoned you all slowly!”
“You always wanted kids? Well, you’ll never
have any! This one is mine!”
The mask was off. He didn’t care who heard.
He’d finally confessed. And his mention of
poison explained my parents‘ decline under
his “care.”
“Oh? You mean the baby Olivia’s carrying?”
Jake smirked. “See, you’re not that stupid.”
“Are you sure? This is a hospital. A simple
“What are you talking about? Of course it’s
mine! Olivia, tell her, whose baby is it?”
He pulled Olivia close. She stiffened, avoiding
his gaze.
“Jake, let’s just go, please.”
“Tell her!” Jake yelled, his rage boiling over.
“It’s yours, Jake!” she squeaked.
“Oh, he’s the father? Then who is this?”
I showed them a video I’d obtained.
Olivia’s “cousin” held her close, their intimacy
far from familial.
“Olivia, once you squeeze more money out of
<
far from familial.
“Olivia, once you squeeze more money out of Miller, we’ll take the kid and disappear.
You’ve been amazing these past few months.”
“You wouldn’t believe how disgusting he is, sweaty and desperate. If his wife’s family wasn’t loaded, I wouldn’t touch him with a ten–foot pole. He actually thinks the baby is his! What an idiot!”
Jake’s face twisted with rage. He slowly
turned to Olivia.
“Jake, it’s not real! It’s fake! She’s trying to
trick you! It’s Melissa, that bitch!”
Jake’s fist slammed into her face. She
crumpled to the floor.
Г
He stomped on her belly, repeatedly.
People tried to pull him back, security rushed
in, but he was like a madman, each kick
deadly, each word venomous.
“I loved you! What did you do to me?”
“You ruined everything! You’re a whore!”
Olivia screamed, cursing him back.
“You think you’re so great?! You’re a broke
loser! I don’t love you! You loved playing
daddy to someone else’s kid, how did that
feel?! Thank you for getting my baby daddy a
job, by the way! Ha ha ha!”
“You were so eager to be Mr. Rich Husband!
Ha ha ha! And what did you get? She never
even looked at you! You groveled at her feet
like a dog!”
a chair
Olivia’s words broke him. He grabbed
and swung, blood blooming beneath Olivia.
Jake stopped, eyes blank. Security dragged
him away.
Olivia lost the baby. Her “husband” was a
