Chapter 12: The Fire
1128words
I headed straight to my boss's office as soon as I arrived at the company.
"What was so urgent, ma'am?" I asked.
"Have a seat, Ever," she offered, gesturing to the chair opposite her.
She took a deep breath and brgan, "This is going to sound terrible. I still can't fully comprehend it, but my hands are tied."
"What's the problem, ma'am? You know I don't like suspense. Did the photoshoot go wrong? No, that can't be. I would never mess up a shoot. So, tell me what's wrong," I said, trying to guess the issue.
"You know you are my favorite, right? You are my top model, my icon, and what I'm about to do now hurts me more than it will ever hurt you," she said, handing me an envelope.
"The compliment is melting my heart, ma'am," I smiled, taking out the piece of paper from the envelope. "But what is this?" I asked, skimming through the contents.
"I'm fired?" My voice thundered through the building, making even my boss cover her ears.
"What the hell do you mean by this?"
"I'm sorry, Ever. Our til investor wants you out, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"This makes no sense!" I yelled, flinging the paper. "There is no way you are firing me, ma'am. I have been with you for ten solid years. How can you do this to me? Where am I supposed to start from? Do you want my career to end? "
"You need to calm down, Ever. I'm deeply sorry. I'm still your mentor. I can help you start your own company and be the boss yourself. There's always a way out, dear," she said, coming around her desk to pay my shoulder.
"I hate being the boss. If I wanted to start my own modeling company, I would have done it by now. I hate being the boss! You can't fire me!" I shrieked, running out of her office. I stormed into the fitting room, my face flushed with anger, fists clenched at my sides.
"Argh!" I cried in frustration.
"You need to calm down, my queen. Look at how you are sweating. You are going to ruin your look again," Lindsay said, dabbing my face with his handkerchief. I swatter his hand away.
"I'm the best in this industry. No one can fire me!" I groaned.
Just then, Lindsay gasped. "Oh my God!" He exclaimed, covering his mouth. "What is this?" He whispered, showing me a video on his phone. My eyes widened in shock.
"Where did you get this?" I tried to whisper. Then, they all started murmuring. My eyes darted between everyone as they avoided making eye contact with me.
"No, you all haven't seen that," I shook my head, my heartbeat escalating.
"You are cheating!" One of them cried, fleeing the room.
"Argh!" I groaned, dashing out of the room.
***
"Nathan!" I screamed like a madwoman, storming into the house and slamming the door.
"Where the hell are you, Nathan?"
"Ever?" My mother-in-law called out.
I was too consumed with anger to acknowledge her presence in the living room.
"Why are you yelling? What happened?" She asked, wheeling her chair closer to my trembling, seething self.
"Aunt, I'm not going to say much to you now. Just start preparing for your son's funeral. I'm going to kill him right now," I declared, running upstairs.
"Ever, what has come over you?"
I ignored her, bursting into our room and slamming the door so hard it shook the walls.
"Nathan!" I groaned.
"Why are you yelling like a psychopath?" Nathan asked, swiveling the chair to face me.
"How dare you?" I closed the distance between us, pounding on his chest. "How could you do such a thing to me?"
He grabbed my hands and pushed me back. "I'm not your punching bag, Everleigh," he said nonchalantly, sitting on the couch.
"Choose how you want to die, Nathan, because I'm going to kill you right now. How could you do this to me?" I screamed, snatching his phone and smashing it to the floor.
He sprang up and slammed my face. My head whipped to the side, and I collapsed to the floor.
"Don't ever try that with me again," he warned, storming out of the room.
I lay there, unable to move, the high-pitched ringing in my ears deafening. I had never been slapped like that before. Waves of dizziness washed over me, and I shut my eyes.
Over two hours later, Nathan returned to the room. I was lying facedown on the bed, whimpering. The excruciating pain in my cheek had turned it beet red. I couldn't get over it. I felt him sit beside me.
"Ever?" He called softly, touching my arm. I flinched away. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice soothing like a drop of dew on a parched plant. I sat up, my eyes aching.
"How could you do this to me, Nathan? You left your handprint on my cheek," I whimpered, my voice catching in hiccups.
"I never hit women, Ever. I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely.
"You didn't even listen to me. You just slapped me. How could you post such a private video of me online? I told you I didn't know how it happened. I never cheated on you, but you made it go viral, ruining my reputation. Who does that?" I cried.
"What are you talking about? I didn't post any video. Where did you get that idea?"
"If you didn't, then who posted the video you showed me before? I told you I didn't know that man, yet you made it public. Now, everything is gone. I lost my job because of that, and you know how much my job meant to me. I didn't hurt you that badly, did I?"
"I didn't post anything. Why would I? Don't you know that whatever people say about that video affects me too? Do you think I would be spared is anyone else saw it?" He tried to defend himself.
"Everything hurts, Nathan. I only love you; I didn't commit a crime. Why am I being punished?" I sobbed, covering my face.
"I didn't mean to hit you. You pushed me to it. I'm sorry; it won't happen again," he said, pulling me into his arms.
"I didn't cheat on you. I could never have done such a thing when I have you. I didn't do it."
"It's okay. I believe you. Stop crying," he consoled, patting my shoulder.
Suddenly, an image flashed across my mind. I pulled away from Nathan.
"You didn't post the video, Nathan. She did," I mumbled.
"Who is she?" He asked.
"Scarlett. I saw her!"
