Chapter 4: The Fall Begins
By Monday morning, Adrian’s world was already cracking.
The ethics lawyer had received my email over the weekend. He had immediately flagged the merger for review. Adrian’s company was in damage control mode. His boss had called him in for an emergency meeting.
Meanwhile, Rosa’s restraining order had been approved. Adrian was legally prohibited from contacting her or coming near her.
I spent the day at my nonprofit, helping other women who had been exploited in their workplaces. It felt strange to be helping others while my own life was falling apart in the most public way possible.
That evening, Adrian showed up at my apartment building.
He wasn’t allowed inside, but he stood outside and called up to my window like some kind of tragic romantic lead in a bad movie.
“Evelyn!” he shouted. “Please! Just talk to me!”
I didn’t go to the window.
Instead, I called building security and had him removed.
The next day, news of the canceled wedding began to spread through our social circle. People were confused. Some assumed I had cold feet. Others whispered that Adrian must have done something terrible.
They had no idea how right they were.
By Wednesday, Adrian’s company had officially paused the merger pending an internal investigation. His promotion was frozen. His reputation inside the company was already damaged.
He sent me dozens of messages from different numbers since I had blocked him.
Most of them were desperate.
Some were angry.
One of them read:
“You’re throwing away our entire future over a mistake. You’re being emotional. This isn’t like you.”
I didn’t respond.
May you like
Because for the first time, I was finally being myself.
And Adrian was about to learn that the version of me he had known was only a fraction of who I really was.
