She Got His Celebration, I Got His Betrayal Chapter 01

She Got His Celebration, I Got His Betrayal Chapter 01

After the harassment, I hired my own lawyer.

It wasn’t until the opposing attorney swore he’d never lose and pulled out my husband Julian Prescott’s business card that I realized Julian had taken the other side.

On the day of the hearing, we met in court.

Julian stood there in a tailored suit, defending the man who’d harassed me. Every word out of his mouth painted me as exaggerating and trying to extort money.

Against the best attorney in New York, I didn’t stand a chance. I lost. Of course I did.

During recess, he grabbed my arm with a frown. “Why didn’t you come to me when this happened?”

The day I was harassed, my stockings were ripped. I locked myself in a room, shaking, and called him.

Four calls. He didn’t pick up once. Later, I called when I woke from nightmares in the middle of the night.

I called after my boss cornered me in the break room and threatened me. I called again when I overheard coworkers whispering behind my back.

All I ever got back was, “Celeste’s contract lawsuit is at a critical point. Don’t bother me with trivial matters.”

I forced a bitter smile. “Why would a trivial workplace issue like this need to bother Mr. Prescott?”

Julian froze. He wiped away tears I hadn’t even realized had fallen. “Don’t cry. I’ll appeal for you. I’ll handle the retrial myself.”

But on the day of the appeal, I waited and waited.

He never showed.

Again, no messages. No calls.

It wasn’t until after the judgment came down against me that his paralegal finally called.

“Mrs. Prescott, Mr. Prescott won Ms. Vance’s contract case. The family’s celebrating at the estate tonight. Don’t forget to be there.”

He had forgotten.

***

I hung up and realized I had walked straight into the rain. It wasn’t heavy, but it stung like needles, and my eyes burned.

The cab driver took the documents from my hands and fumbled them.

“I’m sorry—I’m so sorry!”

He scrambled to pick them up and stopped cold when he saw the photos.

The surveillance stills showed my boss pinning me to my desk, one hand around my wrist, my skirt pushed up my thighs.

I swallowed the ache in my chest and sent a message to someone I hadn’t contacted in a long time.

“You won the bet. I’m getting a divorce.”

When I got back to the estate, Grandma Prescott’s eyes crawled from my dripping hair down to my wet dress.

“So You finally decides to come home. I still don’t understand why my grandson chose a nobody like you instead of a star like Celeste.”

“You used your face to seduce my grandson. You’re nothing but a cheap little tramp.”

She hated that I came from an ordinary background.

She hated that I didn’t move in their circles.

Three years into this marriage, and I heard those words more often than I heard “good morning.”

I used to be able to take it. But tonight I was too tired to swallow my pride.

“Maybe because I don’t go through five boyfriends a month like Miss Vance does.”

“Katherine. That’s enough.”

Julian came down carefully carrying Celeste in his arms. His dark gray shirt was a wrinkled mess, and his eyes were full of disapproval.

Celeste Vance looked at me with teary eyes. “Katherine, why are you spreading lies about me? I only love Julian. Those other guys were just business.”

“Then you do know Julian’s married, right? Is that supposed to make it okay—you being in love with a married man?”

Julian’s expression hardened. “What’s wrong with you? Celeste and I just spent three months winning her case. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration, and you show up late, disrespect Grandma, and now you’re out here spreading rumors about Celeste.”

There it was again. He had already convicted me.

He was still polished and cold, like he was in court, giving his opponent no ground.

But when had I become his opponent?

My nose burned, and my voice shook. “Julian, do you remember what you promised me today?”

He stopped. He noticed how wrecked I looked and instinctively let go of Celeste.

“Celeste’s wrap-up work also landed around these two days. I thought the timing wouldn’t overlap. I’m sorry. I—”

Celeste hooked her fingers under the documents in my arms and yanked them out.

“Oh my god, Katherine, were you sexually harassed? That’s so sad.”

A dozen pairs of eyes locked onto my dripping skirt, my ruined makeup, my swollen eyes.

Grandma Prescott threw her cane down. “You useless girl. You can’t even keep yourself out of trouble! The way you dress, I always knew you were out looking for attention.”

“Julian, take one look at Celeste and then look at your wife. What were you thinking when you married her?”

I turned away from him and dug my nails into my palms. The tears I’d been holding back spilled hot down my face.

“Grandma, enough. Katherine, go home.”

I went home and burned up to 103 degrees that night.

When I woke from another nightmare, the bed beside me was still empty.

There were two messages on my phone.

[Celeste got caught in the rain and she’s running a fever. I’m staying with her for a while. Just letting you know so you don’t get jealous.]

The other was a reply from overseas, sent in the early hours. [Miss, you really don’t know how to ask for help until you’ve hit rock bottom, do you? I’ll be back in three days. I’ll take care of it.]