Five

CELINE HERRERA POV

I gaped in horror as the cold air hit my bare skin. My dress was ripped down to my waist and if I'd thought that would stop Belshar from throwing me out, it didn't, he pushed me out and slammed the door behind me.

I stood like a fish that had been taken out of the ocean, staring at the dozen pairs of eyes that were all trained on me.

My eyes burned, the humiliation making my face hot. I clutched my dress close, forced a smile onto my lips, and tried not to break down as I blindly navigated my way out of the huge company.

Once I stepped into the elevator and the door shut, the tears that I'd tried so hard to hold in started falling. 

I sobbed so hard that when the elevator stopped on the first floor, my eyes were puffy and red-rimmed. 

I stepped outside the elevator only to freeze as camera lights flashed in my face from all directions.

Reporters? What the hell were reporters doing here... Did Delia find out that I would be coming here and have all this planned? 

Questions were being thrown at me from all directions about what had happened and that was it true that I had come to seduce Belshar and was thrown out by him... They saw my ripped dress as my knuckles clutched harder on it and they went into a frenzy.

My face throbbed and I stepped back, my heart hammering in my chest as their question grew louder and a lot more mean.

"Are you doing this out of desperation because you haven't been able to find any suitor due to your health condition and the way you look"

"Is it true that you're a psycho stalker and that despite not coming out, you lurk in the shadows stalking men and trying to find a way to get with them"

"Is it true that you pay men for sex... Did you try to pay Belshar too... I have to give it to you, that is a bold move..."

They kept pressing up on me and when it felt like my head was going to explode, I screamed.

"Enough!" I shouted and the whole place quieted down as they waited for me to speak. "I will not be slandered and falsely accused. I am Celine Herrera and I will sue whoever defames my name"

"Is it really defamation If you're coming out of Belshar's office in that state of undress... What is your relationship with Belshar Abed Nessar"

I swallowed. "I and Belshar," I said knowing what I was about to say was going to get me killed but it was either that or lose face with the board members when articles came out painting me as a slut who paid men for sexual favors because I was too ugly. "We are dating" I answered and it got so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"As for my state of undress, I went to visit my boyfriend and things got a bit heated, is that a crime, or do I have to spill everything we did to satisfy your curiosity?"

I said then things got chaotic but my guards had already arrived at the scene and they rushed toward me as questions were thrown from all sides.

They helped pave the way for me and I was able to escape to my car. 

The ride back to my mansion was fraught with tension. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I wanted to slam on the fucking door. I also wanted to drive off the road and ram my car into a tree but I wasn't at the steering wheel so I couldn't do that.

What the hell had I been thinking? I should have just left... Why did I say all that? Now I was not only going to lose my company, I was going to lose my life too.

Belshar was probably going to tell them it was all a liar and then I'd be branded a liar to the whole country. I was ruined. Ruined.

Once the car stopped, I stumbled out of my car into my house and then stopped when I came face to face with Julie.

Karen's warning about her came unbidden to my mind.

"Celine. What the hell, I just saw the news" she said her eyes almost bulging out of her head. "What the hell was that... Are you two really dating... You told me you were meeting him today, so how..."

"Why did you tell me Belshar was gay?" I asked cutting her off and ignoring her question as my heart burned within my chest.

She gaped at me. "What?" She asked stupidly and I wanted nothing more than to strangle her.

"Don't play dumb Julie, you told me that he was gay but he's not. He had a wife... A whole wife that died four months ago, Julie!"

Julie shrugged, her gaze darting every which way. "Well I guess my Intel was wrong, but It's not my fault I was given false information, and you can't blame me for choosing to believe that information without fact checking"

"Fact-checking," I asked incredulously. "You assured me that what you had was legit"

"Why the hell do I feel like I am being accused of something... I tried to help you and this is what I get in return. You just told the world that the two of you are dating right which means things went well, so what the hell is your problem" she yelled her nostrils flaring.

"Dating? That was all a lie because I didn't want those reporters writing all those nasty things about me" I choked out then broke into tears when the feeling in my chest overwhelmed me. I turned away from her and bit at my fingers. "I shouldn't have gone there... Karen told me not to, I should have listened to her... And Belshar might have me killed because he was going on about shit I had no freaking idea about. I should have just let Delia have the company. I don't know what I was thinking... When has anything ever gone my way" I cried and dropped to the floor. My heart hurt so much that I just clutched at it, praying that the pain miraculously went away.

Julie let out a sigh and then crouched in front of me. "Hey, stop crying would you? It's not the end of the world... Yes, Belshar is probably going to deny that you two are dating, but that's just what he'll do. If you lay low for a month or two without showing your face, people will forget all about it and you can move on from this"

"Move on from this," I said with a bitter chuckle. "I am going to lose everything and who would want to work with me when someone like Belshar brands me as a liar? Who'll want to date me, who'll want to marry me at that point"

"True. You should have really thought this through before you went ahead to meet up with him" Julie said and the words were like a dart through my heart

It was like Deja Vu because every time she'd given me a suggestion and I'd pushed through with it when I started to face the repercussions, she said those same words to me.

I knew it was my fault... And I guess I was a fool because I'd already been bitten more than twice and yet I kept repeating the same mistake all because I wanted to believe that she was my friend and truly had my best interest at heart. 

"You should stop crying... If your face gets puffier than this and the reporters get a picture, you'll really look like a monster" she said and I glanced up at her, my hands clenching by my side. "What? I am right, am I not? You do know you look way uglier when you cry right"

I wiped my tears and got to my feet and Julie did the same. "You should go. I want to be alone"

Julie hesitated, her brows furrowing as she stepped closer to me. I could see the worry in her eyes and they were so genuine... Why?

"Are you sure you'll be alright? I can stay with you... we can just talk until you feel better. I hate leaving you when you get this way, you know that right" 

I shook my head. "I'll be fine. You should go" I said and she nodded then pulled me into a warm hug.

"Call me if anything comes up. I'll come running no matter where I am." She said and pulled away from me.

I nodded as more tears gathered in my eyes.

Julie walked out of the house and I dropped into the sofa staring at the huge house that conveyed just how alone I was.

The television was on and I wasn't surprised to see that I was the trending topic. 

I dragged my hand over my face as my phone started to blow up with a notification.

On a normal day, no one cared about Celine Herrera, but I guess everyone was invested now that I was being torn down.

I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes, the television was on and Belshar was standing In front of me.

I jerked upright, my eyes widening, and then I blinked and wiped at my eyes to get rid of my hallucinations but when I opened them, he was still standing there. 

"Belshar?"

He stepped toward me. "Yes, it's me. I saw the news and here I am, my fake girlfriend"