Page 55

Kairi

I was surprised that people were coming up to me with smiles, holding copies of my books, and telling me how much my work had meant to them. It felt good—normal, even. For a moment, I almost forgot about Ashlen and the smear campaign that had turned my life into a circus.

That’s why I was caught off guard mid-conversation with a reader when I heard a voice dripping with disdain, cutting through the crowd.

“There she is, the homewrecker herself.”

I turned, my stomach tightening. A blonde woman in a tailored coat, arms crossed, her expression a mix of disgust, was standing behind me. I didn’t know her, but she clearly knew me. Or at least the version of me Ashlen had plastered all over the internet.

“You’ve got some nerve showing your face here,” she sneered, her voice loud enough to draw attention. “Parading around like you’re some kind of role model. It’s pathetic.”

I froze. Words deserted me. I’d spent weeks enduring this online—strangers calling me names, dissecting my life, making judgments based on half-truths and outright lies. But hearing it in person was different.

Atlas must have known I was about to snatch the bitch by her hair. He stepped in immediately, moving between us. “You need to leave,” he barked.

The woman laughed, a humorless sound. “Oh, isn’t this sweet? The cheating husband defending his mistress. You two deserve each other.”

“You’re embarrassing yourself.”

“I’m embarrassing myself?” she snapped, taking a step closer, her voice rising. “You abandoned your wife for her. Everyone knows it. Everyone knows what kind of trash you left her for.”

“Stop,” Atlas said, his voice dropping into something dangerous. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She didn’t stop. She turned her focus to me again. “You’re disgusting. A liar. A homewrecker. Everything Ashlen said about you is true.” I could hear the whispers around us. People were watching. Judging. Luckily, it was the first day, and not many people had shown up yet. We were also near the end of the event.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. My face burned with anger and humiliation, but I didn’t know what to say. I hated that she had the power to make me feel this small.

My heart pounded in my chest, and for a second, I thought about lunging at her. I thought again about beating her ass like I’d done Ashlen’s.

Atlas stepped closer to her, his voice calm but dangerous. “Walk away. Now. Or I’ll drag you out by your fucking hair.”

Her eyes widened for a second, but she recovered quickly. She turned, muttering something under her breath. But before she disappeared into the crowd, she threw one last jab over her shoulder. “You’ll never escape this. People will always know what kind of woman you are.”

She stormed off, and the room seemed to exhale. Atlas turned to me, his hands on my shoulders. “You okay?”

I nodded, but the truth was, I wasn’t. My hands were shaking, my chest felt tight, and I could feel tears prickling the back of my eyes. “This is never going to end,” I said quietly. “No matter what I do.”

“It will,” Atlas said, his voice firm. “But not if you let people like her win.”

I walked off. I could hear him following me into the empty hallway that only event staff and participants were allowed in. I rested my head against a wall.

His words had pissed me off. Because what did “winning” even mean in this situation? My reputation was already shredded. My career was hanging by a thread.

“This is why I have to release the pictures,” I said, the words coming out before I could stop them.

Atlas frowned. “No.”

“If I put them out there, it’ll prove she’s a liar. It’ll shut her up.”

“No,” he barked. “That’s a terrible idea.”

“You, trying to protect her?” I snapped.

“No. Fuck her.”

“She wants to destroy me, Atlas. Why shouldn’t I fight back?”

“Because it’s not going to fix anything,” he said. “All it’s going to do is make you look just as bad as her. Worse. People don’t support revenge porn, Kairi. They’ll turn on you faster than you can blink.”

“It’s not porn,” I said, my voice rising. “It’s her nasty-ass secrets being exposed.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “This isn’t the way. You think putting those pictures out there will make her go away? It won’t. It’ll just make everything worse.”

I stared at him, my chest heaving. “Okay, Atlas,” I said finally, my tone flat. I didn’t want to argue anymore. But deep down, I knew what I was going to do. As soon as this fair was over and I was back in Florida, I’d post the pictures. Shit couldn’t get worse than it already was. If Ashlen wanted to ruin me, then fine. But we could both be humiliated.

Let’s see how she liked it.