42. Rosenna
Chapter forty-two
Rosenna
“R osie, sweetie, it’s good to see you.” My father, Eric, smiled.
I forced a grin. “Same here… I didn’t expect you both to actually show,” I muttered, even though I knew good and well that wasn’t the case; however, openly admitting I didn’t want to see my parents wouldn’t do me any good.
“Well, we needed to see what all the fuss was about, so I’d thought it was about time your mother and I stopped by.”
I nodded silently as I tried to remain calm and not crack under his gaze that looked warm on the surface but was actually scrutinizing me.
He didn’t seem too enthusiastic being in one of my buildings, though I wouldn’t have expected more from the man who showed a lack of enthusiasm in anything I did that didn’t specifically align with what he wanted.
“I’m glad you both could stop by then,” I said, hinting that this encounter wouldn’t be too long for my sake.
As always, my father didn’t take the hint. Placing his hands in his pockets, he gazed around the hall as he looked over to many of the showrooms. “Aren’t you going to give us a tour?”
My mother and I shared a quick glance before I quickly nodded, taking the lead as I walked ahead.
“Of course. Follow me.”
It was still a bit early and the full house we were expecting would be coming later than we initially anticipated. And at this moment, I couldn’t really decipher whether or not I was happy with that fact given my current situation.
“You haven’t been answering my calls,” my father began as we approached one of the abstract art showrooms.
I gave a nonchalant shrug as I avoided making eye contact. “I’ve been busy.”
My father crossed his arms, looking around at Beckham’s paintings.
“I bet you have been. Seems like your new client is giving you a run for your money with how expensive he’s charging for each piece.” He spoke almost dismissively, and I said nothing, not wanting to drag the conversation on Beckham for much longer. “I hear you and your little assistant had to go through Vincent Garcia to get to his son. Must not have been much of a challenge to get to him then, huh?”
My teeth gritted slightly as my eyes narrowed into slits.
“My little assistant, Kira , worked for months to get in contact with Mr. Garcia, and she is the backbone of my business. Us getting to this point is not as easy as you may think,“ I retorted.
My father’s jaw clenched in irritation. If looks could kill…
My mother, Elise, finally deciding to use her voice, gave me a smile as she pulled me into her embrace.
“Regardless, Rosenna, we are very proud of what you’ve accomplished so far,” she said, trying to ease the growing tension.
I know I should have been genuine in my smile as I wrapped my arms around her, but I wasn’t. Not when my eyes were looking over to my father, waiting for his approval, just like I’ve always done in the past despite lying to myself that I didn’t need it. And unfortunately, I was met with his silence, which said more than enough.
Pulling away from my mother, I continued the tour, deliberately steering them away from the more popular exhibit, which still left me blushing.
“So when are we going to meet the star of the show?” my father asked, glancing over to me as we were in Beckham’s modern art showroom.
I gave a slight shrug. “Beckham isn’t one for public appearances.”
“This is no public appearance, Rosie. We’re your parents. Surely you can ask if he can make an exception?”
“We’re pretty swamped here, Dad, but I’ll see what I can do. That said, I really need to get back to my office. I can walk you out, and we can catch up later,” I said firmly, leaving no room for further discussion, which seemed to piss him off even more.
Masking his annoyance, he spoke with a smile. “Of course. We’re actually having a small get-together in a few days or so. Spoke to Gavin about it this morning. His parents will be there too. Should be fun.”
That son of a bitch .
I let out a sigh. “Dad, Gavin, and I are... going through something right now. I don’t think now would be a good idea—” I tried, but he cut me off.
“Nonsense. I haven’t seen my only daughter in years, and your mother misses you terribly. Every marriage has rough patches. And he seemed fine over the phone, excited even to spend time as a big happy family once again.”
“Right… I’ll try to make it,” I muttered, and he nodded, satisfied with my answer at the moment.
“Good. It’ll be just like old times.”
I bit my tongue as my blood began to boil.
Thinking of the past only made me more infuriated as memories of me enduring the misogyny, the berating, the scolding, the belittling, the chastising, the lecturing, and the criticism began to surface. And I would sit there with a smile, hiding my tears as my husband watched silently.
Just like old times.
Stepping out of my car, I slammed the door shut before marching my way up to the building of Gavin’s law firm. Ripping the door open, I stormed into the lobby and everyone went silent as my heels rang through the room.
The receptionist looked over to me and stuttered, “Ms. Hart, Mr. Johnson is currently in a m-meeting—” But she was already out of my earshot as I walked over to the elevator.
Going up to his office floor, I stormed out the doors and caught the attention of a man stepping out of a conference room down the hall. He was speaking on the phone, but as his eyes lifted to meet mine, his face paled .
“I’m going to have to call you back…” he muttered as I marched toward him.
“Rosenna—” he began, but I cut him off.
“Where the hell is he, Brent?!” I seethed.
He seemed almost frozen, like he didn’t know how to open his fucking mouth. Though I wouldn’t have blamed him. I probably looked enraged and bat-shit crazy. But I didn’t care about any of that.
“He’s in a meeting,” he said after a moment.
I crossed my arms. “Then pull him out of it. I need to talk to him. Now .”
Brent ran his hand through his hair, stressing as he averted his eyes from me for a split second before he let out a sigh. “Rosenna, he’s busy. Wait for him in his office, and I’ll tell him you’re here—”
“Don’t bother. I’ll tell him myself,” I raged, and I pushed past him, walking down the hall toward the room he stepped out of. Pushing the door open angrily, the entire room turned toward me, and at the head of the table, I locked eyes with Gavin, who went silent as his jaw clenched.
“I need to talk to you. Now,” I fumed.
The entire conference room was silent as Gavin’s eyes narrowed on me, annoyed. After a few seconds, he stood up and excused himself as I marched over to his office, pushing past Brent, who seemed a bit on edge himself.
Walking into his office, I crossed my arms, standing in the middle as Gavin stepped in with Brent behind him. I would’ve forced him out had I been in a less bitchy mood, but I didn’t care.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I screamed.
“Rosenna, calm down. You’re making a scene,” Gavin warned.
I scoffed. “You think I care about making a scene? Where the hell do you get off inviting my parents to lunch?”
“I didn’t think it’d be a problem given the fact that they’re my in-laws.” I looked at him in complete repulsion as he stepped closer to me. “And you, Rosenna, seem to keep forgetting that you’re still my wife.”
“Still you’re wife?” I sneered. “Gavin, in what world do you think it’s okay to ambush me with our parents after everything that’s happened?”
“I don’t see it as an ambush. I see it as a husband putting in the effort to spend more time with his wife’s family. Sure, we’re going through a rough patch, but I’m willing to work to salvage what we have, what we’ve built together. Sort of forgot that you were in a rush to throw it all away.”
“Gavin. This is more than a fucking rough patch. This is about me waking up and realizing the years of neglect, lack of respect, and feeling like I wasn’t good enough for you.”
“ It’s about your new boyfriend too, isn’t it?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, challenging his hard gaze. “Leave Beckham out of this,” I said angrily.
Gavin reached into his back pocket. “I can’t do that. Not when he’s at the center of it, now can I? And what will your parents say when they realize the sex exhibit is about you and the man you’ve been having an affair with, huh?”
“So what if it is? Let the whole world know because then I’ll finally be free from you!” I raged.
Gavin scrolled through his phone before he stopped and turned the phone towards me.
Looking down at it in confusion, my blood immediately went cold at the sight. I couldn’t look away, and yet all I wanted to do was turn and vomit.
Gavin let out a humorless chuckle and placed a hand on my lower back. It sent another wave of chills through my body, but I still couldn’t move.
I couldn’t move as I watched the horrifying video of me and Beckham having sex in his warehouse through a window. At that moment, all I could think about was my career, my future flashing before my eyes. My stomach clenched so hard I thought I would be sick right there on his office floor.
“Free from me, hmmm?” Gavin muttered beside me.
I was absolutely speechless. The paintings, photos, and sculptures were all of a mystery woman who may or may not be me in the eyes of the public.
And that was the bright side of things. I could deny all the allegations of the similarities between me and the woman in the paintings… but this? This I wouldn’t be able to lie about to a judge, to a jury, to my parents, to my employees, to the media, to anyone … Not when I was caught clear as day cheating with Beckham.
“I wonder what kind of headline this would make,” Gavin taunted. “‘Cheating Wife, Once A Respected Curator and Businesswoman, Caught Spreading Her Legs in Her Client’s Warehouse’? Or maybe just… ‘Whore’? I think I like that better. Short, sweet and to the point.”
“Where did you get this?” I whispered.
Gavin put his phone away. “Does it matter?” He grabbed my jaw and forced me closer to him. Brent, most likely hiding somewhere in the corner of the room, sucked in a breath, but I didn’t flinch as I stared daggers into Gavin’s eyes. “Like I said before. Just because you’ve found yourself a little boyfriend, Rosenna… doesn’t mean you’re still not my wife. You are still mine. ”
“And you have lost your fucking mind,” I gritted out though my teeth.
His grip tightened as he leaned in.
“Well, maybe I have. And maybe when I send this video out for everyone to see, you’ll know what it feels like to have your trust betrayed… So here’s what you’re going to do. You are going to be at that lunch like the loving wife you once were, and I will save us the trouble of a shitshow by not showing your parents what their daughter does in her spare time… And while you’re at it, try to keep your legs closed instead of giving into him like a little slut—”
I slapped him.
Gavin let go of my chin as his hand went to his red cheek. He looked over at me as he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion almost. But I didn’t let it bother me as I turned away and stormed out of the office, not bothering to spare Brent a glance as he watched me silently.