I was like my husband; he treated me like an old coat to carry—not of value anymore. Before we even made it to the ballroom, he leaned towards me and said, “Evelyn, do not get too close; that dress is too embarrassing.”
I looked down at the navy blue dress that I made after working all day—he said it was cheap because it did not have a designer label. Then I looked at his silk tie, which he bought recently with money I knew he thought I did not watch.
“Of course,” I was calm when I replied.
He was happy; he wanted me to be that way—quiet, compliant, and forgotten about.
The chandelier and the “bling” created by the polished floors was amazing, and the new owners of his company were a powerful billionaire named Adrian Vale. He had practiced for weeks on how to impress Vale.
He whispered to me, “Tonight decides everything. If Vale likes me, I will become regional director.”
“And if he does not?”
He quickly looked at me and said, “Then do not mess it up.”
At that moment, Caleb’s assistant, Mara came by dressed in a shiny silver dress. She had her hand on his arm, and I was envious; she looked like she was very comfortable with him.
“Caleb,” said Mara with a seductive tone. “They are looking for you.”
Then she finally noticed me.
“Oh? You brought your wife?” It felt as though a thousand horses were running through my mind when she said the word wife.
Caleb laughed. “The corporate image; you understand.”
Mara smirked, “So bold.”
It hurt, but I would not give her the satisfaction of seeing me hurt because that only made Caleb’s angry outbursts and attacks worse.For twelve years, I watched as he took advantage of my silence to create his career. I was the one to read contracts he didn’t want to deal with, I wrote up reports that needed corrections, and I found mistakes in the accounting that would ruin him. To everyone else, I was just another “housewife” doing whatever accounting work she could get.
What he didn’t realize was that I had a much better memory for numbers than I did for insults.
I looked across the room. Caleb was doing his typical act: laughing loudly, standing confidently, and resting his hand on the back of Mara’s chair while speaking of loyalty and integrity – words that did not belong to him.
Then the doors opened.
All conversation stopped.
Adrian Vale walked in without any fanfare, tall and calm. He was surrounded by men who looked as if they were afraid to breathe too loud. Caleb rushed to meet him.
“Mr. Vale, Caleb Rowan. I was so looking forward to meeting you—”
Adrian did not shake his hand.
Instead, he looked directly at me.
His face went pale. He took his time walking across the room to me, like he was walking out of a storm that had lasted for decades. His hand was shaking when he took hold of mine.
“I have been looking for you for thirty years,” he said, whispering with tears filling his eyes. “I still love you.”
Caleb, behind him, dropped the glass he was holding.
The sound of the glass shattering hit my ears like a gunshot.
Everyone in the room turned and looked. Caleb looked at me like I was an entirely different person.
“What did you say?” he snapped.
Adrian did not even look at him. He continued to lower his voice when he said “Lena.”
My chest felt tight. No one had called me that name for decades.”My name is now Evelyn,” I said.
“But that is you.”
“Yes.”
Caleb stepped in front of Adrian and me. “My wife has no idea who a billionaire is.”
Adrian’s look turned icy. “She knew of me before I became a billionaire.”
Mara’s mouth fell open slightly as the other guests moved a little closer, ready for some drama.
Caleb laughed out loud. “Evelyn is usually dramatic. Maybe she has seen you one time at a charity event.”
I smiled gently. “I never forgot Adrian.”
Caleb’s expression changed. The muscles in his face tightened.
Thirty years before, Adrian and I were young and poor but believed love could conquer all things. Then life happened—his family’s debts and my mother getting sick, the lost letters and lost connections. I was led to believe he left me; he was led to believe I moved on.
Life’s everyday cruelty.
“I wrote to you,” Adrian said softly.
“I never received your letters.”
“I came back.”
“My aunt said you did not.”
“Your aunt was paid.”
The room changed.
Caleb grabbed my arm. “That’s it; just stop. You’re embarrassing me.”
“Take your hand off of her,” Adrian said harshly.
Caleb could not move.
I calmly moved away from Caleb. “Don’t worry, Caleb, I understand how important the illusion of being well-to-do is to you.”
Caleb’s eyes narrowed. There was something in my voice that made him uneasy.
Good.
Beneath the surface, the end was already here.
For six months, I had known about Mara; not suspected, but knew. I had once piece of proof: photographs, receipts, deleted emails, and the messages in which Caleb promised her my house. He also had money; he forged my signature; and he risked everything he was ever going to inherit.Caleb thought I was weak when I cried quietly; however, he didn’t consider what I did when the tears stopped.
Two weeks before this meeting, I had given a forensic accountant, an attorney, and financial investigators all of my evidence. I had also forwarded a copy of my report to his company’s new owner.
The new owner is Adrian Vale.
Caleb had unknowingly brought the person who will ultimately destroy him into contact with the person who still cares for the woman he tried to eliminate.
Mara attempted to steer back to the topic of business. “Mr. Vale, could we speak about this in private?”