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To my face, she praised me: "I trust your judgment completely, Evelyn. Any role you pick has always been perfect."
But behind my back.
Alexander stormed in with her in tow.
"Evelyn Yates, how petty can you get? Picking on someone so much younger than you!"
His sudden anger stunned me.
"Maybe there’s a misunderstanding…?"
Bella stood behind Alexander, speaking in a wounded voice, "Evelyn, do you… do you think there's something between Alex and me? I don't know what I did wrong for you to target me like this."
She sniffled dramatically. "I just wanted a chance at that supporting role in Alex’s new project. Why are you forcing me to play that awful villain in the other one?"
I turned to Alexander. "Is that what you think too? That I’m being biased?"
Alexander looked disappointed, but stood firmly beside Bella. "She's just a kid compared to us! Why would she lie about something like that?"
Then he bulldozed on: "Apologize to Bella. Tonight, I’ll set up a dinner with the director and producers. You’ll make it right and convince them to give Bella that supporting role!"
My heart froze solid at that moment.
I asked him bitterly, "What if I don’t apologize? What if I skip the dinner?"
His eyes flashed with anger and disappointment: "Fine! But since you’re my wife, your mistakes reflect on me. If you won’t go, I’ll beg the director and producers myself. I’ll drink, I’ll grovel, hell, I’ll get on my knees if I have to! Because you owe them, and I’ll pay your debt!"
He wasn't paying any debt. He was… he was using himself as leverage against me, for another woman.
My heart felt ripped apart, agonizingly painful.
So out of spite,
clenching my jaw and holding back the sharp pain in my heart, I said with a pale face, “Alright… I’ll go.”
