48. Rosenna
Chapter forty-eight
Rosenna
A rriving at my old home, I ripped open the passenger door of the car and stormed inside.
As I opened the front door and stepped in, Myrtle, the housemaid, looked over to me as she was busy dusting, and her eyes widened at the sudden intrusion.
As I looked around for the bastard, I paused for a moment, catching her gaze as Beckham trailed in behind. Myrtle looked over at him for a moment before her eyes went back to me.
“He’s in the master bedroom,” she remarked passively.
I nodded thankfully as I ascended the steps quickly and gracefully as my dress and hair swayed. Reaching the door, I ripped it open only to see Jessica in the bed, practically naked as she held the blanket up to her chest in surprise.
She opened her mouth to speak, but I held my hand up. “Save your breath. I’m not here for you.”
Hearing the bathroom door open, I placed the documents on the desk as Gavin exited with just a towel around his waist. His eyes landed on me, and his face paled only slightly before the same egotistical facade was put back up.
“Rosenna, what are you doing here?”
I tapped the files. “You need to sign these divorce papers.”
“You know what will happen if I do,” he muttered, his eyes narrowing.
“And if you don’t fucking sign them, I will go straight to the judge to show him your inherited law firm that’s so accredited, well renowned and respected is actually part of a money laundering scheme that has been going on for as long as you’ve been born,” I revealed.
Gavin stared for a moment before a humorless chuckle escaped him. “You don’t know what you’re even talking about.” But his shoulders had tensed, however hard he tried to feign nonchalance.
“Maybe I don’t,” I shot back. “But the judicial system you claim to worship and abide by will have no trouble figuring it out... Your little partner in crime filled me in with all the details, and for most of it, I’m not surprised. Lawyers are natural-born liars. It’s just a shame I married one.”
“Rosenna...” he warned.
“You know, I thought about a lot of things over the way here. I could take your same petty route with the tasteless blackmail of the mistress or trying to prove you extorted money from me in court... but that’s simply child’s play. This here? This here is your family’s legacy. The legacy your parents shit on me for not understanding, and the legacy that every Ivy League graduate dreams of building. Imagine what’ll happen to your family the second the world finds out.”
Gavin’s face tightened, the usual arrogance that defined him faltering as he glanced toward the bed where Jessica sat silently, clutching the blanket to her chest.
He looked back over to me stoically. “You’re bluffing.”
I smiled. “You think so? Well, if you don’t sign, you’ll see just how much of a bluff this whole thing is.”
“This isn’t you, Rosenna. You love me. You wouldn’t go to these lengths.”
You love me... I guess that was enough justification for him to treat me the way he did, with no remorse. Because if he loved me, we wouldn’t have been in this position in the first place.
Tears threatened to come to my eyes, but I forced them away, looking up at the man I once loved, the man I once thought was my everything .
“And I once said the same thing about you, Gavin. When I found out everything the way I did, then even more, I realized I never truly knew who you were. What you were capable of. And now that I know... I want nothing to do with you. Ruin my life if you want to; just know I have the evidence to bury yours before you even get the chance.”
I turned—but Gavin scoffed, stopping me in my tracks.
“So what now? Are we just supposed to go to this fucking family gathering now like everything is still normal?”
I shrugged innocently. “Well, that’s what you wanted us to do in the first place, right? You wanted us to show up like the happy couple who are simply going through a ’rough patch.’ I’m supposed to play the loving wife of our little family despite everything that happened, remember? In fact, since you’re all about reuniting families, how about you bring yours to celebrate with us? ”
Immediately, Gavin’s face went even paler than before. Again, it was utterly silent.
I’d only said the words to gauge his reaction after what I’d seen in Brent’s email; however, I knew it was true. I knew it all had to be true. And I had little to no energy to cry about the realization that my marriage was an absolute shitshow, but I would do that in Beckham’s arms later.
“Rosenna,” he began cautiously.
I tilted my head. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? Not so nice to be on the receiving end of the shitty accusation stick, now is it?”
“Gavin, what is she talking about?” Jessica asked.
“Tell your little slut to stay out of my conversation,” I ordered.
Jessica scoffed. “Are you kidding me? Gavin, are you just going to let her—”
He looked over to her angrily, the veins in his neck appearing strained as he seethed, cutting her sentence short.
“Shut the hell up.”
My eyebrows lifted in surprise as his gaze returned to me, the fury in his eyes evident.
“Oh... for once in our marriage, it seems like you’re actually listening to me. Ironic given all the times you said I didn’t listen to you.”
“Rosenna... please, this is not the time nor the place.”
“Not now? Oh. Then I’ll just bring it up at the family gathering when we’re all together. That’s what you were planning to do with your blackmail, right? Play your little video and show a few pictures of me and Beckham, and tarnish my name without any regret... Shouldn’t be an issue if I wanted to do the same, no?” I asked. “But not only will I have pictures to share of your multiple infidelities... I’ll also have a few other photos that show the results of those affairs as well.”
I shook my head. “Ever since I found out, I always wondered why you needed my money to silence your little homewrecking whores. But it’s because a few of them... needed a little extra to raise your illegitimate children .”
For the first time in my life, Gavin seemed vulnerable. He looked at me in utter fear.
Scrolling through the birth certificates in my inbox earlier that held Gavin’s name as the father on each of the papers was an absolute punch to the gut.
“No wonder you can’t let me go... you’re obviously not equipped to raise your families without me. And here you were trying to tie me to you like you did with them, not to mention the fact that you criticized me for years for pursuing my career, growing my business, and not being a loving and submissive wife. Pretty dumb on your part since you needed the money anyhow.”
I looked him up and down before his eyes reddened slowly, accumulating more pitiful tears by the second.
Gripping his jaw in my hand, I jerked him closer as he gulped, practically terrified.
“Rosenna, I’m... I’m sorry,” he whispered.
My face contorted as the man I once knew, the man I loved, was no longer recognizable. This was just the shell of a man filled with pretentious values, lies, and deceit.
“You are absolutely pathetic ,” I seethed, before I pushed him away from me, disgusted. “Sign the fucking papers, Gavin... and maybe I’ll do you a favor and not ruin your life.”
Turning away, I walked over to the door before pausing at the frame. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed Gavin’s body shook with anger—but he said nothing.
“You have a week to pack your things. I want you out of my house,”
Jessica’s face soured.
I shrugged as I looked over to her. “Simple mistake on his part, putting the house fully under my name in case things went south and forging his signature on the deed later. He’s not so charming when you realize he’s a penniless lying fraud, now is he?”
She said nothing. Her face grew red with embarrassment and a hint of anger.
“I’ll see you at brunch.” I smiled at Gavin and sauntered my way down the hall.
My vengeful facade, however, began to falter as my hands shook feebly, the tears coming back to my eyes in full force.
Beckham, who’d been patiently waiting by the steps, noticed me and pulled me into his embrace as he placed a small kiss on my forehead. Grabbing my hand, he descended the steps with me and we exited—but not before the sound of something breaking was heard from the bedroom upstairs.
Standing by his car, he opened the passenger door with a sigh. “Flower...”
I could only shake my head as I took a seat inside. “I’m fine,” I whispered.
Beckham closed the door and went around to the driver’s seat. Sitting in the car beside me, he grabbed my hand in his as he held it to his lips.
Shaking my head, I let my tears of vulnerability and rage flow.
“I just... I still can’t believe it. Holding secrets not even your father could figure out with all of his resources. And the idiot had the audacity to say he was sorry? Almost as if this was all just one big misunderstanding.”
Beckham placed a small kiss on my skin as I dabbed away my fallen tears, sniffling.
“And that’s just us touching the surface of what Brent sent this morning. It’s unbelievable how he threatened to ruin my life when all the while his was in shambles.” I let out a sigh of what felt like a mixture relief and shock. “I’ve been married to him for five years... and I feel like I’m only seeing who he truly is now.”
“Things like this happen when you’re blinded by love...” Beckham replied thoughtfully, and I smiled sadly as he pulled me into his embrace. “But you saw through the lies... you saw through him. Despite how long it took, I hope you know how fucking proud I am of you.”
I had to hold back the tears of joy that attempted to push their way to my eyes.
Sighing as I felt him rub my back soothingly, I pouted softly. “Is it too late to call the hit-man?” I mumbled into his chest.
“Remind me to never get on your bad side, hmm?” Beckham muttered.
I giggled as he pulled away and started the ignition.
“Where do we go from here...” I whispered, my emotions no longer running as high as there were.
“Well, I do believe we have a family gathering to attend. And I don’t know about you, but I am dying to see you tear a new one into your in-laws. If it’ll be as sexy as watching you tear one into your husband, I want a fucking front-row seat.”
I hit his shoulder, annoyed as I tried to hide my growing smile.
Of course, that would be included in his takeaways from this mildly traumatizing but still liberating experience.
“Behave, Mr. Garcia,” I advised.
In response, he only placed his hand possessively over my thigh as he backed out of the driveway and drove off, as I once again began anticipating what would happen at the dreaded family get-together.