Chapter 1Someone I hadn't talked to in forever suddenly texted me:
"Good news~ Just had an 8-pound baby boy! Mom and baby doing great! ?"
I frowned at my screen. We weren't even close.
So I ignored it.
Then another text came through.
"Jaxon Reid, CEO of Apexion Group, just became a dad! Feel free to send your congrats! ??"
WAIT.
Apexion Group is my dad's company. Jaxon Reid is MY husband.
What the hell?
I sent back a single question mark.
A few minutes later, she exploded.
"Seriously? Everyone else sent a cash gift. Can't you READ?"
"You don't even know my husband?! I'm being nice, giving you a chance to kiss up to my family, and you can't even take it?"
"Stay broke, bitch. Blocked!"
My blood boiled.
Then it hit me—I finally remembered who she was.
Blair Finch. Right.
Did she seriously forget? I'M her landlord.
Her cute little store pulling in half a mil a year? Lease expires tomorrow.
Guess I'll swing by and ask one hell of a question:
Since when does my trophy husband—the one living off MY family's money—just have a baby with HER?
...
I immediately messaged Blair to confront her, but—
Message failed to send.
I took a deep breath.
Just as I was about to screenshot everything and send it to Jaxon, the HOA group chat was blowing up.
Blair had posted our conversation—with her own caption:
"Some folks are just bitter."
"I share baby news and she has to be all passive-aggressive with a question mark."
In the screenshots, she'd cropped out all the parts where she cursed me out.
And even Photoshopped in a line I never said:
"Oh wow, a baby boy? How special. Keep your trashy good luck to yourself!"
I NEVER said that.
The editing was sloppy as hell, but no one in the group noticed.
They were already tearing me apart.
"Someone's celebrating and she's being this nasty? What's wrong with sending a little cash gift?"
"Who is this bitch? So rude! Sending question marks and insulting people! I'm so pissed!"
But she didn't stop there.
Blair dug up a gym photo I'd posted six months ago and shared it in the group.
I was wearing a sports bra, holding dumbbells.
"She's always posting thirst traps to seduce men. Clearly a whore. Ladies, watch your husbands around her!"
I was shaking with rage.
My retail space sits at the busiest spot in Manhattan. I've never had trouble renting it out.
Years ago, when Blair wanted to lease it, she couldn't even afford the first year's rent upfront.
Jaxon convinced me to cut her some slack.
"Her mom was sick, we should let her rent first and pay later."
I gave in.
And he handled the whole thing, personally leasing the store to Blair.
We met once after that. I added her on WhatsApp.
The group kept buzzing:
"I've seen her before. Lives in Building 17. Drives a luxury car. Loaded."
"Oh yeah, I know that car. Black Porsche. Always parked outside Blair's store."
"She's so young and doesn't even work. Wonder what she does for a living ?"
Blair replied: "? Who knows? Probably got a few sugar daddies paying her bills."
The further I scrolled, the colder I felt.
They'd already dug up my unit number and license plate.
Then someone tagged me.
"Oh look, she's in here. Come on, say something. Why are you so MEAN?"
I took a deep breath and typed fast.
"She's spreading lies. I'll be pursuing legal action."
"Is that really what happened? Let me post the full, unedited conversation right now!"
Chapter 2
The group chat suddenly went silent.
No one expected me to actually speak up.
I was about to post the screenshots when a message popped up.
"You have been removed from this chat."
Right before kicking me out, Blair sent one last message.
"Ew, disgusting. How is this dirty slut even in here?"
"Trying to slander me? My group doesn't welcome trash like her!"
I was fuming. Then property management called.
"Ms. Thorne, there's been an incident with your vehicle. Can you come down?"
I headed out immediately and tried calling Jaxon.
No answer.
He'd claimed he was handling a major client this week. Hadn't been home in days.
Just in case, I called my dad and asked him to come over.
I kept a low profile after getting married.
Jaxon, on the other hand, became hot CEO at my dad's company.
We'd been together four years.
I married him despite him being broke. Didn't care.
When I reached Blair's store, property management was nowhere in sight.
But what I saw made my blood run cold.
My black Porsche was DESTORYED.
Tires slashed. Body covered in scratches. Windshield smashed.
And spray-painted across the side in red: "HOMEWRECKER."
But that wasn't even the worst part.
Outside her store, she'd hung a massive poster.
It showed the cropped screenshots, blown up, with huge text:
"NEIGHBORHOOD MENACE. Curses a Newborn Out of Jealousy!"
Below that, my gym photo—plastered with vile insults.
Blair's voice drifted out from inside the store.
"Oh look, the witch herself. What are you doing here?"
I didn't let her finish, stepped forward and ripped the poster down.
"What gives you the right to plaster my photo up!"
Blair snatched it back. "This is MY store. I do whatever I want."
I stared at her, speechless.
"You're renting this place. Since when is it yours?"
Several women shopping nearby jumped in.
"Everyone knows Blair's husband is Apexion Group's CEO! He bought her this store!"
"Yeah! While she was in labor, Jaxon stayed by her side the whole time. Didn't even go to work!"
"She shared good news out of kindness, and you insulted her. Posting the truth isn't too much!"
Blair smirked.
"Hear that? You have no idea who you're messing with."
So that was the "important client" Jaxon had been with.
Blair. In labor.
I almost laughed.
"Fine. Let me call Jaxon Reid right now."
Blair snatched the phone from my hand.
"Who the hell do you think you are, calling my husband by his full name?!"
Then she noticed my lock screen.
Jaxon's photo.
She screamed and hurled my phone to the ground.
"Oh, I get it now!"
"You're his mistress! You actually dared to come here and show off?"
I'd had enough and shoved her aside.
"I'm Jaxon's WIFE and your landlord! Get him out here—"
Blair stumbled back into a table.
"Your husband? Have you no shame?!"
Then she clutched her side, gasping.
"She hit me! Help!"
"This homewrecker's trying to seduce my husband and now she's attacking me—right after I gave birth!"
Chapter 3
The crowd immediately erupted.
"So she came prepared! Steals someone's husband and now attacking the real wife!"
"She's the landlord? What a ridiculous lie!"
"If we don't help, she'll get away with it!"
Blair had turned the whole crowd against me.
There was no way I could defend myself now.
Then I remembered—the marriage certificate and the lease agreement were still in my car.
I turned to go get them.
Blair lunged at me and slapped me hard across the face.
"Girls! She's trying to run! Don't let her!"
Everything went black for a second. My head spun.
"You—"
Before I could finish, several women grabbed my arms and held me down.
"Let go of me!" I struggled. "The contract! I have my marriage certificate and the lease in my car! I'm not lying!"
Someone opened my car door and pulled out my briefcase.
Blair grabbed it, yanked out the contract, and tore it in half without even looking at it.
She crumpled the pieces and threw them in my face.
"You came here with fake documents. Don't even need to read it, you fraud!"
The women around me spat at me.
"You lying homewrecker! Everyone saw you attack her first!"
"Stop lying! Blair's such a sweet woman—fresh produce, fair prices. You're just slandering her!"
"Exactly! We can tell who's good and who's trash!"
"I already called the cops! We're not letting you get away with this!"
Then the punches and slaps started raining down on me.
I've trained for years—could handle one or two people.
But this many? No chance.
My hair was yanked loose. My clothes were torn. My face burned.
Then Blair found something else in my bag.
My marriage certificate with Jaxon.
Her face went pale.
"Everyone look! This homewrecker even forged a marriage certificate!"
I tried to lift my head.
"Forged? That's real—"
"Shut up!" Blair slapped me again.
"I've been married to my husband for five years! This is obviously fake!"
"So desperate to steal my husband, you even faked a marriage certificate! Shameless!"
The women gasped and chimed in.
"My God, she's terrifying. She'd do anything to steal someone's husband!"
"Forgery is illegal. The cops need to investigate her properly!"
My head was spinning.
Wait.
Blair said she's been married to Jaxon for five years?
What the hell is going on?
She tore my marriage certificate to pieces, then pulled out her own.
"Mine's registered at City Hall. Can your fake one compare?"
Everyone leaned in to look.
"Yeah! That's a real marriage certificate!"
All the commotion woke the baby in the stroller. He burst into tears.
Blair rushed over to pick him up, but he wouldn't stop crying.
The women still had me pinned down, but my eyes drifted to the child's face.
That little face.
That nose.
Those eyes.
I had seen childhood photos of Jaxon.
This child looked EXACTLY like him.
There was no doubt—this child was Jaxon's son.
So Jaxon's been keeping a mistress and a bastard right under my nose?
Then why did both Blair and I have marriage certificates with his name on them?!
