Chapter 8

Once inside her office, Spencer didn’t waste a second before turning on her. His voice was sharp with anger.
“Why did you have to insult Halley like that? You could have simply waived her getting a pass and later instructed her to get her credentials. What was the point of humiliating her like that?”
Melanie scoffed at his words, her arms crossing over her chest as she met his furious gaze without flinching.
“Really? You think that was insulting?” she countered, her tone laced with disbelief. “What about the insult you dealt me? Did it even cross your mind how I would feel—how humiliated I would be—when my husband walked into our workplace with another woman by his side? How he stood in the lobby and had the audacity to claim another woman as his person while trying to get her inside? If you were so concerned about her reputation, you could have simply let her wear the visitor pass and enter quietly. But you didn’t. Instead, you made a scene. And why? Because you wanted to make a grand entrance. Because you wanted to flaunt your power.”
Spencer froze at her words, his expression shifting as he processed her accusations. He studied her intently, as if searching for something he had missed before.
“So, you think I did all this just to push you down?” His voice was quieter now, but no less intense. “And in return, you decided to humiliate me? When did you become so vindictive, Melanie? So calculating?”
A bitter smile curled at Melanie’s lips. She turned her gaze fully on him, her eyes dark with emotions she refused to voice.
“Really?” she said softly. “You don’t know the answer to that?”
But she didn’t wait for a reply. Even as Spencer stood there, confusion flickering across his face, she was already moving. Without another glance in his direction, she strode toward her desk, pulling out her chair and lowering herself into it with an air of finality.
“Your office is on the opposite end of the floor,” she informed him. “I suggest you get acquainted with the rest of your personal staff. If you need to make any changes, tell your assistant to coordinate with HR.”
Her words were firm, dismissive. She didn’t want him lingering, didn’t want to hear whatever excuse or explanation he might come up with next. Or his pretence that everything was well. And for once, Spencer didn’t argue. With a hard glare, he spun on his heel and stormed out, the door slamming shut behind him.
The moment he was gone, Melanie let out a shaky breath. Her fingers curled into fists, nails biting into her palms as she stared at the closed door. A deep bitterness settled in her heart.
She must have been blind to have fallen for him.
For three years, she had loved Spencer with everything she had. She had endured his absence, his coldness over the phone, his abrupt and often dismissive attitude. She had made excuses for him, telling herself he was busy, that he was under pressure, that things would be different once he returned.
She had endured everything his family had thrown at her, too. His dear mother and sisters had treated her like a convenient maid, a money-making machine disguised as a wife. And she had put up with it all—waiting, hoping, believing that when Spencer finally came back, everything would go back to the way it was.
Because she remembered how he used to be.
She remembered how he had once doted on her, how he had pursued her so insistently, how he had made her feel like the center of his world.
But now, as she sat alone in her office, she couldn’t help but wonder if any of it had ever been real.
Had it all been an act? And if so… why?
She wasn’t an outstanding beauty. She didn’t come from a powerful or wealthy family. Yes, her grandmother had run a modest business, but that was hardly enough to make her a prize worth chasing. So what had Spencer seen in her back then? What had made him so determined to win her over?
The questions swirled in her mind, but she refused to dwell on them.
Melanie had spent enough time waiting and enduring, allowing others to mistake her patience for weakness. But she wasn’t weak. She had always been decisive when it truly mattered. And if Spencer was no longer the man she had believed him to be, then she would not waste another moment clinging to him.
With that thought steeling her resolve, she reached into her purse and pulled out a small USB stick. Without hesitation, she inserted it into her laptop, her expression set with quiet determination. If someone had something to show her, she would look.
However, before the files could even load, there was a knock on her door, startling her into hurriedly closing the laptop as the door opened. However, her relief was short lived when she looked at the man who stood there in her doorway. Why was Adam here?
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