EVERYTHING FELL APART

ISABELLA'S POV 

The night went by. The birthday party continued and the mysterious man was no where to be found. Frustration and exhaustion weighed down on me as I left to the lodging area to a book a room. I couldn't go back to my apartment. Not with the overwhelming weight of Daniel's betrayal still hanging down on me. I needed space, a place where I could breathe without the ghost of our marriage suffocating me.

Taking out my black card, I walked to the front desk "A room for the night, please" 

The receptionist smiled warmly and took the card, swiping it. The second stretched between us and when she glanced up at me, her expression had shifted. 

"I'm sorry, Ms. Sterling but it's been declined"

My eyes grew wide. "I- what do you mean declined?" My voice wavered but I tried to hold on to my composure. "That’s impossible, Try it again."

She glanced at the screen, her brows furrowing "It's not going through. Perhaps there's an issue with your bank"

I felt the ground tilt beneath me. How? I'd just used this the other day. A cold sweat pricked my skin and for a split seconds, Daniel flashed my mind. No. He could have tampered with my black card. He doesn't have full access to it.

"I'll try another card" I mumbled and reached for a second card. I slide it into the machine. This time, the transaction went through smoothly. The receptionist handed me the key with a polite smile but I barely registered her words.

With a slow exhale, I made my way up to the room. The exhaustion from the night's events was too much and all I wanted was to take a shower and shut out of the world.

The warm water in the shower helped to melt away the tension in my shoulders. I let my thoughts drift, but they only came back to the same place—Daniel. I wasn’t sure how, but I was certain that somehow, he was behind this. 

When I finally crawled into bed, it was as if my body was made of lead. Every muscle ached, my mind too tired to fight off the relentless weight of the day. My eyes closed, and before I knew it, I had drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

THE NEXT DAY

The persistent ringing of my phone cut through the morning silence. I groggily reached for my phone, seeing Anika's name flash across the scene. I answered it quickly, still half asleep but the urgency in her voice jolted me awake. 

"Mrs. Sterling. Something happened. Your law firm... it's been invaded"

Her words didn't immediately make sense "Anika, calm down. What do you mean?"

"Ma'am, I've been outside the law firm since 6 am. Security won't let me in. They're blocking everyone. They said it's a direction from Mr. West himself" 

The cold grip of panic finally sank in my chest and I sprang up. My law firm. The only thing I had left.

"Hold on, Anika. I'm on my way" I scrambled out of bed, my mind racing. I rushed through a hurried shower and threw a pair of clothes on and dashed out.

Simon was waiting outside. 

"Take me to the office," I ordered, my voice trembling with anger.

Simon gave me a concerned look but didn’t question me. The drive was a blur of fury, every thought consumed by the possibilities of what Daniel could have done. I clutched the seatbelt tightly, my jaw clenched. When we finally arrived, I jumped out of the car and marched toward the entrance,

"Ma'am!"Anika approached when she saw me.

"Stay right here. Let me deal with this" I said but the second I reached the front doors, the two security guards blocked my way.

"Mrs. Sterling, we can’t let you in," one of them said, his voice firm yet apologetic.

"What?" I blinked, incredulous. "I own this building."

"I’m sorry, ma’am, but we’ve been given strict orders. You’re not allowed inside."

Anger roared to life in my chest. "By who?"

The guards exchanged a nervous glance. "Your husband, ma’am."

My heart skipped and it felt like the ground had shifted beneath my feet. 

"Mr. West told us not to let you in no matter what. We can't go against our boss' order"

I clenched my fists, my body trembling with rage as the words from the security guards settled in. Boss? I am their Boss! So who the fuck do they think they are to keep me out of my own law firm? 

"I said, let me in!" I growled, stepping forward. The guards shifted uneasily, but the one on the left tried to push me back gently, his hand on my arm.

I snapped. Without thinking, my hand flew through the air, slapping him hard across the face. The sharp crack echoed around us, and his eyes widened in shock as he stumbled backward, rubbing his cheek.

"This is my firm! No one has the fucking right to keep me outside!" I roared, the pent-up fury finally exploding. I stormed past them, not waiting for any more protests. The adrenaline pulsed through me as I marched straight towards my office, my mind already locked on one thought: Daniel.

I knew where he would be. My blood boiled as I imagined him sitting in my chair, in my office, gloating. By the time I reached the door to my office, I was practically shaking with fury.

I threw the door open, and there he was- lounging in my chair, spinning it casually like he didn’t have a care in the world—like he was the one who built this firm from the ground up. The sight of him there, in my chair, sent a new wave of rage through me. The moment he saw me, he stopped and grinned widely, like a snake.

"I thought I told those incompetent guards not to let this woman inside," he said, his tone dripping with smugness.

My heart pounded in my chest, and without a second thought, I stormed towards him. He stood up, but I didn’t care. Unlike yesterday, I wasn’t heartbroken or blinded by grief. Now, I was furious, consumed by the sheer audacity of what he had done. I didn’t care that it was Daniel standing in front of me. He had no right. None!

"What kind of nonsense is this, Daniel?" I demanded. "How could you block my black card? And how dare you lock me out of my own firm?"

Daniel laughed—a dark, mocking laugh that made my skin crawl. "Your law firm?" His eyes glittered with malice. " None of them are yours anymore, Isabella. The black card, this law firm—" he spread his arms out, gesturing to the office like it was some grand prize "they’re all mine now."

I could feel my pulse in my ears. I was so close to losing it. "You don’t have that fucking right!" My voice echoed through the room. "I worked hard to bring this law firm to where it is now. I built it from scratch, and you don’t have the fucking right to wake up one morning and claim it as yours!"

"Shut the fuck up, Isabella," Daniel snapped back, his tone venomous. He stepped closer, his face twisting in irritation. "I can very much wake up any day and claim this firm and everything else as mine, because you gave them to me—willingly"

My breath caught, and before I could reply, he reached for something on the desk. With a grin, he threw a document at me. It landed on the floor by my feet. "Go on, read it. It’s all there, clear as day."

I stared at the paper, my heart pounding. My hands trembled as I bent down and picked it up, my eyes scanning the words. As the lines of text began to sink in, disbelief washed over me like ice water.

There it was. My signature. Legalese that boiled down to one horrifying truth: I had signed everything over to Daniel. 

I lifted my head, the document shaking in my hand. "You—" My voice faltered, a mix of shock and fury making it hard to speak. "You did this. You manipulated me. You tricked me into signing everything over to you, didn’t you?"

Daniel’s grin widened, and he leaned back against my desk, completely unbothered by my fury. "You were so eager to do whatever I asked, Isabella. So gullible. I barely had to lift a finger. Now, you’re finally getting what you deserve."

"You bastard! How dare you?" I bellowed, my hand flying toward his face, but Daniel was quicker. He caught my wrist in mid-air, gripping it with a force that made my entire arm go numb.

"Just give up, Isabella," he sneered, leaning in closer until his breath was hot against my face. "You’ve lost everything. And it’s all rightfully mine now."

My body trembled as his words hit me like a ton of bricks. I wanted to scream, to throw something, to tear that smug grin off his face. But all I could do was stand there, my hands trembling, the weight of what I had lost crashing down around me. Tears began to well up in my eyes, blurring my vision. "How could you do this to me, Daniel?" My voice cracked, the weight of everything crashing down on me. "After everything we’ve been through together?

Daniel’s sneer only deepened. "Shut up, Isabella," he spat. "What exactly have you even done for me? You couldn’t even give me a son like I’ve always dreamt of. What man would love a barren woman like you?"

His words stabbed through my heart, sharper than any blade. I froze, my whole body growing cold as the reality of his accusation sank in. Barren. Was that why? Was that why he stopped loving me and annulled our marriage? I had tried—God. I had tried for years to get pregnant. I’d taken all the pills, drank all the fertility medicines he’d given me. I did everything he asked. Was it my fault? Was I the reason for everything falling apart?

My knees weakened beneath me. I looked up at him, my vision blurred by tears, searching for any trace of the man I once thought I knew. But all I saw in Daniel’s eyes was cold, unrelenting disgust.

"Believe me, Isabella," he continued, his voice dripping with venom, "no man will ever love you because you’re pathetic. What can you even offer a man? You can’t even bear children with that accursed womb of yours. You’re useless. Unlovable. Disposable."

Each word was a fresh twist of the knife in my chest. How was any of this my fault? How could he blame me for something beyond my control?

"Now get out of here before I call the guards to drag you away."

I shook my head "No... no, you can’t throw me out of my own firm!" My voice cracked, but I stood my ground, even as I felt my world crumbling beneath me.

Daniel hissed in frustration, stepping toward the door. "Guards!" he barked. Two guards stormed in, their faces void of sympathy as Daniel instructed, "Get her out of here."

Before I could even react, the guards grabbed me roughly by the arms, dragging me toward the door. I struggled against them, kicking and protesting with every ounce of strength I had left, but it was no use. They were too strong,

"No! Let me go!" I screamed, twisting in their grip. "This is my firm! You can’t do this!" 

But my protests fell on deaf ears. The guards threw me out onto the cold pavement outside the firm and the door slammed shut behind me, sealing me out of the life I had built, the life I had fought so hard for.

I stood there for what felt like an eternity my body trembling with shock and disbelief as I tried to process everything that had just happened. How had my life fallen apart so quickly? How had I let him take everything from me?

- - - - - - -

I arrived at my best friend’s house, my heart heavy and my mind foggy with grief. I hadn’t even thought of where else to go, but my body had instinctively taken me to her.

When the door swung open, I stood there, disheveled. My best friend’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of me, her gaze flicking down to the luggage at my feet.

“Isabella… what are you doing here?” she asked, her voice filled with concern. “With your bags?”

I swallowed hard, my throat still raw from the hours of crying. “Can I… come in?”

“Of course.” She quickly stepped aside, letting me in with no hesitation. 

I sat down on the sofa, my hands still trembling slightly as she brought me a glass of water. “Drink this first,” she said softly, her eyes filled with worry as she sat next to me. “Calm down.”

I took a sip, trying to compose myself, but the moment I looked into her eyes, the weight of everything crashed down on me. I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“I… I don’t even know where to start,” I choked out, my voice breaking as I set the glass aside. “Everything… it’s all gone. He… he took everything from me.” 

My best friend’s eyes darkened with concern. “What are you talking about, Isabella? What happened?”

And so I told her. I told her everything. About Daniel, the law firm, Christabella. The way Daniel had humiliated me, stripped me of everything, crushed every dream I’d ever had, the guards throwing me out like I was nothing. 

By the time I finished, my friend’s face was etched with disbelief, her mouth slightly parted. She looked as though she couldn’t comprehend what I had just told her.

“That bastard,” she muttered, anger flashing in her eyes. “How could Daniel do something like this to you? And Christabella, too?” She pulled me into a tight hug, her arms wrapping around me as if trying to hold me together. “I’m so sorry, Isabella. I can’t believe this.”

I buried my face in her shoulder, the sobs returning as the weight of everything overwhelmed me again. “I don’t know what to do,” I whispered, my voice weak. “I’ve lost everything.”

“No, no you haven’t,” she murmured, rubbing my back soothingly. “We’ll get through this, Isabella. I promise. You’re strong. Don’t let them break you. Please, stop crying. You can stay here as long as you want, okay?”

I nodded against her shoulder, though the tears still flowed freely. Her words were kind, but the wound Daniel had left in me felt too deep to ever heal.

- - - - - - -

A week quickly passed by since my last visit to the hospital, and I sat in the sterile, cold office of Dr. Phillips, trembling inside. My hands clutched the hem of my dress so tightly I thought the fabric might tear. Today was the day I would get the results, both about my health and the medicine I had submitted, the one Daniel had been feeding me for years. I tried to remain calm and positive, but a lot of thoughts kept running rent-free on my mind. What if? Daniel might have cheated and betrayed me but he wouldn't go that far.

Right?

These few days I've been staying at my grandparents house. I had told them everything and the news was devastating for them especially my Grandpa. Those two were the only true family I had from the mother's side.

The door creaked open, snapping me out of my lost thoughts and the doctor entered. My heart pounded in my chest as he sat down across from me, his expression grave. I could barely breathe as he began, praying my gut feeling would be wrong, at least this one time.

“Mrs Sterling, I’m afraid the news isn’t good.”

 I could feel the blood drain from my face, my fingers shaking uncontrollably.

“YOU HAVE STAGE 2 HEART FAILURE...