Accused of Affairs, Guilty of Being Blind

My husband, Matthew Glover, fabricates a scandal to help his childhood sweetheart, reporter Melanie Reed, boost her numbers.

"Mrs. Glover Sleeps Around—Multiple Affairs Lead to Repeated Miscarriages."

He uses it as a gimmick to grab attention. Next thing I know, my name's in the mud and the internet's tearing me to pieces.

When I bring up divorce, Matthew says I'm blowing things out of proportion.

"Melanie just started at the TV station. If she doesn't deliver, her coworkers will laugh at her. You're just doing her a favor. It's not like you're actually losing anything."

I don't even bother arguing with him. I simply push the divorce agreement toward him.

"If you want to help her, go ahead. But we're getting divorced!"

To help Melanie boost her numbers, Matthew spread rumors that I'd slept with multiple men and had seven miscarriages.

The endless online abuse that followed drove me into depression. When I couldn't take it anymore, I told Matthew I wanted a divorce.

He chucked the divorce agreement on the floor, leaned back in his chair, and frowned.

"It's just news. Once the scandal dies down, who's even going to remember you? Besides, you're still Mrs. Glover. No one's going to mess with you."

Every time I tried to confront him about it, he'd brush me off with the same dismissive excuse.

I scoffed. "That's exactly what you said at the last banquet, when Melanie showed up in jeans and a t-shirt, and you made me give her my gown."

Right there in front of everyone, Matthew made me strip down, turning me into the butt of every joke at the banquet.

The media pounced on it, twisting the story into something even nastier. A wave of cruel headlines followed, and the nonstop online abuse sent me spiraling into depression.

Back then, Matthew had brushed it off with the same old line.

"Can you imagine how bad it'd look if people started shaming a young lady like Mel in public for not dressing up? That kind of gossip could ruin her reputation.

"Who's gonna want to marry her after that? You're already married. You don't have to worry about stuff like that anymore."

"Oh?" I looked at him calmly. "So because I'm married, I'm supposed to sit back and get torn apart by strangers who don't even know the whole story?"

Matthew shook his head, exasperated, like I was the one being unreasonable. He tossed a card at me like it meant nothing.

"If you're after money, just say it. Pulling the divorce card? That's really mature."

I drew in a deep breath, ready to throw it right back at his face, when suddenly, the fingerprint lock on the front door clicked open.

Melanie poked her head through the doorway. "Matt, mind if I come in?"

Without waiting for an answer, she strolled in with a bright smile, a tote bag dangling off her arm. But the moment she saw me, her expression stiffened with awkward surprise.

"Oh, Aurelia!