Only Smoke Remains - Chapter 4

After packing up my things at home, I sent the finalized divorce agreement to Zachary.

The moment I hit send, my phone rang. I thought he was finally going to talk about the divorce, but the second I picked up, he exploded.

“Autumn, I can’t believe how vile you are! You actually posted that video online just to ruin Luna’s reputation? She’s being harassed nonstop. She almost slit her wrists last night! You’d better show up at the press conference and publicly clear her name. Apologize. Now.”

His yelling made my head spin. I opened my phone and saw the trending topic.

“Mistress publicly provokes wife at wedding—shameless and scandalous!”

Clicking on it, I saw that the footage from the wedding had gone viral. Thousands of comments were dragging Luna through the mud.

“I didn’t post this,” I said flatly.

He sneered on the other end. “If it wasn’t you, then who else could it be?”

Then, as though he was doing me some huge favor, he added, “If you just show up, explain that it was all a misunderstanding, and help fix things, I’ll let the past go. You can still keep your position as Mrs. Reidser.”

I actually laughed.

Even if I had done it, why on earth would I clean up Luna’s mess? And as for dangling the marriage like some prize? That didn’t mean anything to me anymore.

“Just sign the divorce papers.” I hung up before he could say another word.

Zachary kept calling over a dozen times before he finally gave up.

However, not even thirty minutes later, the phone rang again. I was about to reject it when I saw the name on the screen: Mom.

“Autumn? Grandma’s sick. It’s serious… she might not have much time left. Can you come home?”

My heart dropped. My grandmother had raised me, and we were incredibly close. Without hesitation, I grabbed my car keys and sped all the way home, blowing through red lights.

However, when I opened the door, the sight that greeted me stopped me cold.

Zachary was sitting on the living room sofa. My parents were there too, smiling and fawning over him.

“Zachary, please don’t be angry. Once that ungrateful girl gets back, we’ll teach her a lesson.”

That’s when it hit me. They lied. There was nothing wrong with Grandma.

My mom walked over and took my hand, gently coaxing me, “Sweetie, we heard what happened at the wedding. It’s all just a big misunderstanding. Why don’t you help clarify things?”

I said nothing as she kept going.

“It’s really no big deal—just a few words. And Zach promised he’d give us the Westside development project afterward.”

I bit my lip, holding back tears, staring at them with a bitter smile. “So you sold me out… for some land?”

Their faces darkened.

“Don’t say it like that,” my dad snapped. “We raised you. Can’t you do one thing for the family? A few words won’t kill you. You’re being selfish.”

I looked at their greedy, self-righteous faces. All of them were asking me to sacrifice, and none of them cared if it destroyed me.

That was exactly why Zachary thought he could control me in this marriage.

“I’m not clearing her name. None of you cares about me. Am I even your daughter?”

My father’s expression twisted with rage. He slapped me across the face. “You ungrateful brat! You think you’re all grown up now, huh? Time for a real lesson!”

He grabbed a belt and raised it to strike me, but Zachary stepped in and caught his arm.

“There’s no need for this. Why all this drama over such a small thing? Autumn, even if you won’t do this for your family, think about yourself. You’re a divorced woman now. You’re thirty, not some teenage girl. Who’s going to want you?”

I stood there stunned. That… that was what he really thought of me.

“Come on, Autumn,” he continued, his tone softening. “Just cooperate and it’ll all blow over.”

Everyone in that room was pushing me, pressuring me.

I slowly unclenched my fists and said coldly, “Fine. I’ll do it.”

A collective sigh of relief washed over the room. Zachary immediately called his assistant to organize a press conference that night.

The next day, I stood under a wall of flashing cameras, dozens of reporters pointing their mics at me.

“Is it true that you were the other woman—that you broke up Mr. Reidser and his childhood sweetheart, Luna?”

“Did you leak the wedding video to get revenge? We heard Ms. Luna attempted suicide and is now in the hospital.”

“Your family’s been accused of blackmailing Mr. Reidser over the years. Care to comment?”

Each question was sharper than the last—clearly planted, undoubtedly meant to destroy me.

I turned to look at Zachary. He stood off to the side, arms crossed, confident, certain he had me cornered.

I reached into my purse and pulled out the hospital report from my miscarriage.

My voice rang out, clear and strong. “That video wasn’t a smear campaign. It was the truth. Luna wasn’t just a mistress with no morals. She was the one who caused me to lose my baby.”