Chapter 2- Anguish

Stephanie‘s POV

The sunlight filters through my window, weak and indifferent, as if it knows nothing can lift the weight crushing my chest.

I smooth down my blouse, take a deep breath, and tell myself it doesn’t matter. Work is the one thing I have left, the one place I can prove my worth. I won’t let this ruin that, too.  

My name is top of the list for a supervisor promotion. I’ve worked my ass off for this, and I deserve it. And today is the big day.

When I step into the office, the air feels strange. People glance at me, then quickly look away, whispering behind their hands.

“Stephanie?” I hear someone mutter as I pass. Their tone is laced with disdain, and it makes my heart picks up speed, my stomach twisting.

I shake it off. Maybe it’s just paranoia. Maybe I’m imagining it. Then I see it.  

“Hey!” I shout, my voice sharp enough to make heads turn.

Two coworkers are standing at my desk, carelessly tossing my belongings into a cardboard box.

My breath catches in my throat as I storm over. “What the hell do you think you’re doing with my things?”  

One of them glances at me but quickly looks away, guilt flickering across his face. “Orders from upstairs,” he mutters, shoving another file into the box.  

“Orders?” My voice rises. “What orders? No one told me anything about this!”  

The other coworker snorts, his expression full of contempt. “You’ve been let go,” he says bluntly. “Honestly, you should’ve seen this coming.”  

“Let go?” My voice sharpens as the words sink in. “That’s impossible. I’ve worked here for years! I’ve been running this department—how could I be fired without even being notified?”  

He shrugs, but there’s a malicious glint in his eyes. “Guess you didn’t check your email last night. Maybe you were too busy.”  

His words feel like a slap, and my stomach twists violently. “What are you talking about?” I demand, my voice trembling.  

The two exchange a look, smirking. “Come on, Stephanie,” the first one says. “Don’t play innocent. After what you did, you’re lucky you’re just being fired.”  

“What I did?” I whisper, my voice barely audible over the blood roaring in my ears.  

“Just leave,” the second coworker sneers. “Save what’s left of your dignity.”  

I have to talk with someone who can make decisions. I clutch the box on the desk and march toward the supervisor’s office, my heart pounding like a war drum, my knuckles white as anger and humiliation battle for dominance.

When I rush to the supervisor’s office, I freeze. The nameplate says *Darci Riordan.*  

My stomach drops. This has to be a mistake. Darci doesn’t work here—she’s never worked here. What the hell is going on?  

I dedicated myself to my role as a designer at the architectural firm Vince built, never once leaning on our marriage to claim success that wasn’t my own. Every promotion I earned came through sheer determination and effort. But now, Darci has been named supervisor, snatching away the chance I had fought so hard for. There’s no mistaking it—this betrayal could only have come from Vince himself.

“Anna!” I call out, spotting one of my few allies in the office. I grab her arm, my grip desperate. “What’s going on?”  

Anna hesitates, her face full of pity. “You… you really don’t know?”  

“No,” I hiss. “Tell me. Now.”  

Biting her lip, she pulls out her phone and holds it up. “This is what everyone’s been talking about,” she says softly.  

The screen lights up, and my heart stops. A pornographic video shows a woman who looks eerily like me, caught in an intimate encounter with a man I don’t even recognize.

My breath catches as the room tilts around me.  

“This isn’t real,” I'm stupefied, shaking my head violently. “That’s not me. It’s fake—it has to be fake.”  

Anna looks at me, her eyes wide with worry. “It was emailed to the entire company last night,” she whispers. “Steph… people believe it. I don’t, but—”

“Of course it’s not real! I don't even know who this man is!” I snap,  “You know me, Anna. You know I wouldn’t do something like this!”  

This is truly vile. If I weren’t the one being slandered, I might have believed it myself. I feel a wave of nausea and can't watch anymore.

Anna places a comforting hand on my arm. “I believe you,” she says firmly. “But with everything going on… Look, does Vince know? Maybe he can help—”  

“Vince and I are divorced,” I cut her off bitterly, my voice breaking. “Even if he did know, he wouldn’t care, I-”

The door to the office creaks open, and Darci Riordan steps out, her face the picture of smug satisfaction.

“Attention, everyone,” she calls out, her tone dripping with false concern. “I get that everyone’s really focused on the video we got last night. But please note, I’ve already issued a strict gag order regarding that video. I don’t want to see anyone spreading rumors or escalating this situation further.”  

Her words make my blood boil. She knows this will only fuel the fire, spreading the rumor faster, wider, and making it even more believable. The triumphant gleam in her eye making it impossible to ignore the likelihood of her involvement in this.

I can’t take it anymore. I march straight to her office, slam the door shut behind me, and glare at her with every ounce of rage coursing through me.

I thought I would stay composed. After all, I was in the right, with every reason to fight back. But my body betrayed me, trembling with anger, and it was almost impossible to suppress the hatred I felt for the woman standing before me.

“You,” I hiss.  

Darci leans back in her chair, her smirk widening. “Ah, Stephanie. What are you doing here?”

“You did this,” I accuse, my voice cracking. “Stop acting like you’re trying to help me, I know you released the tape.”

Her actions and attitude make it perfectly clear that she’s the mastermind behind all this. That vicious bitch surely knows the impact it would have on me.

She only smiles though, and tosses silky hair over her shoulder. "Stephanie, please. Accusing me like this—it’s practically defamation. Why ever would I do that? I have so many cases to handle. "

I glance—no, my gaze lingers—at the stack of files neatly arranged on her desk. Anger twisting through my chest like a tide surging against a breaking dam. Those cases, the ones she now claims as hers, are the very ones I have poured my soul into for months. The late nights, the endless revisions, the sacrifices—I gave everything for those, and yet she speaks as if they were hers all along!

My fists clench at my sides. I stride over, barely containing my bubbling rage.

She laughs, a sharp, cutting sound. “Oh, don’t be so dramatic, sweetheart. I’m simply reclaiming what’s mine.”  

A firm slap hit her face, sending her gracelessly.

“What’s yours?” I snap. “You're just the other woman. You abandoned Vince all those years ago, and now you shamelessly interfere in his marriage. All you do is steal from me—steal my husband, my achievements. A thief!”  

Darci’s beautiful face twisted up and she began to scream. Vince suddenly opened the door and rushed towards us angrily.

"How could you, Stephanie? You knew Darci is pregnant! Why are you trying to take away the one thing you never gave me?!" Vince yelled while pointing a finger at me. "You can be angry with me, but you’re not allowed to hurt Darci! You’ve been fired. Do not set foot in this office again. Security!"

The blood drains from my face.

The security guard swiftly grabbed me and dragged me out the door, tossing me onto the street in front of the office building.

My vision blurred, the world spinning around me.

The screech of brakes is the last thing I hear before everything goes black.