Tune In for My “Apology”

My ex-boyfriend, Gabriel, the man who once promised me forever, looked at me as if I were a stain on his expensive suit. He was here to finish the job of destroying my life.

To save my brother from jail, he demanded an impossible six-figure settlement and a humiliating, live-streamed public apology.

Three years ago, his now-fiancée, my rival Aspen Watkins, framed me for cyberbullying. Gabriel believed her lies, publicly denounced me, and shattered my world. The scandal led to my expulsion, my parents' fatal car crash, and the loss of our family fortune.

He was ready to humiliate me all over again for a crime I never committed, his eyes cold and unyielding. The punishment wasn't just for my brother; it was for me.

But as I prepared for my public execution, a mysterious billionaire made me an offer. He knew the truth and gave me the means to fight back.

Aspen wanted a spectacle.

I decided to give her one.

Chapter 1

My ex-boyfriend, Gabriel Haynes, the man who' d once promised me forever, looked at me as if I were a stain on his expensive suit, and I knew my life was about to shatter all over again. Three years. Three years I' d spent picking up the pieces he helped break, and now here he was, ready to finish the job.

It wasn't a choice to see him again. The universe, in its cruel, twisted humor, had decided that my seventeen-year-old half-brother, Jalen, would pick a fight with Aspen Watkins's younger brother, Jorden. And just like that, the past came slamming into my present, dragging me back into the very nightmare I' d fought so hard to escape.

I sat in the sterile, overly air-conditioned mediation room, the silence a heavy blanket over us. The polished oak table reflected the grim faces, making them seem even more distorted. Gabriel sat opposite me, his posture rigid, a stark contrast to the casual way he used to lean into me, his arm a warm weight around my waist. Now, he was a high-powered attorney, sharp and unyielding, representing Jorden Watkins, the so-called victim. And I was just Elle Owens, the disgraced socialite, the cyberbully, the girl whose life had imploded.

Gabriel opened his briefcase with a crisp snap. The sound echoed in the quiet room, making me flinch. He laid out a series of glossy photographs, each one a close-up of Jorden' s bruised face. A split lip, a swollen eye, a nasty gash above his eyebrow. The images were damning. They screamed violence, and my stomach churned.

"The evidence is clear, Ms. Owens," Gabriel' s voice was even, devoid of any emotion. It was the same voice he used in court, the one that broke down witnesses and swayed juries. It was the voice that had once whispered promises against my hair. "Your brother, Jalen Hart, assaulted Jorden Watkins. The injuries are severe enough to warrant criminal charges."

My cheeks burned. Shame, hot and unwelcome, spread through