Love makes you stupid

He reached out and grabbed the pen, shoving it in her limp fingers.

Melanie held the pen, hesitating as she hovered over the line. Part of her wanted to resist, to not make it so easy for Hardin after his betrayal. But deep down, she knew prolonging things would only cause more pain.

"You don't deserve to be celebrated, Hardin. You're nothing but a liar and a cheat," she spat out.

She scrawled her name quickly in the vacant lines before she lost her nerve, throwing the pen down in disgust.

Natalia clapped her hands with glee. "Oh wonderful! Let's go celebrate your freedom and also continue your birthday celebration, babe."

Melanie struggled to tear her eyes away from Hardin as his lips met Natalia’s in a passionate kiss. Once they left, she ran a bath and sank into the scalding water, sobbing violently.

She had loved this man with all of her heart, even before he married her. Was their entire marriage a whole lie?

The next morning, Melanie woke with a pounding headache, her eyes puffy and red. But she knew she had work to be done.

By 8:00 sharp, she had dressed in her work clothes and headed for her office, needing the distraction of work. At least there, she could focus her energy on her new role of running her grandfather's company.

Today was the day she was going to be sworn in officially as the CEO of the company, Marshall Corp. She had been the assistant to the interim CEO this whole time, whom her grandfather had appointed before his death.

She stepped into the sleek elevator and pressed the button for the top floor, feeling a growing sense of pride as the numbers lit up. But as the doors slid open with a quiet ding, Melanie's smile faded.

Behind the shiny mahogany desk that should be hers sat Hardin, leaning back casually as Natalia perched beside him.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked, fighting to keep the tremor from her voice.

Hardin arched a brow. "Well, hello to you too, ex-wife. I think the better question is, What are you doing here?"

Natalia smirked, running painted nails along Hardin's arm. "You are looking at the new owners of Marshall Corp."

"Yes, that’s right.” Hardin nodded, his eyes cold.

Melanie stared at them in confusion, a sinking feeling already forming in her stomach.

"What...what are you talking about? This company has been in my family for generations; it was left to me. How could you possibly own it?"

Hardin smirked as he replied calmly. "Not anymore. You see, when you so helpfully signed our divorce agreement, you also signed over full ownership of the company to me."

"What?” Melanie asked weakly. “That can’t be right."

There was a hint of a smile on Hardin’s face as he answered. "Surprised? This company is mine now, Melanie. You signed it over along with everything else."

Melanie staggered backwards in shock. Dear God, what has she done?

How could this be happening?

"Here, darling sis, take a good look.” Natalia slid the divorce papers from yesterday across the table.

Shakily, Melanie picked them up, and her eyes scanned the fine print rapidly, then landed on the highlighted clause at the bottom of the last page.

It read: "The signing party agrees to forfeit all ownership rights to Marshall Corp., all other existing properties, transfer shares, and the CEO title to Hardin Cole and Natalia Marshall."

A sob escaped her lips as the truth hit her. Hardin had meticulously planned this all along—the divorce, the betrayal, even getting her to sign while she was emotionally vulnerable. It was the perfect trap.

"How...how could you?" She whispered brokenly.

Hardin leaned forward, his eyes cold. "Come on, Melanie, you should have known better than to trust me. Love makes you stupid and gullible. Did you really think I was going to let you keep this thriving company after I was done with you?"

Beside him, Natalia snickered. "Poor Melanie. You were so easy to manipulate. Now you have nothing."

“How could you both be so cruel?” She yelled louder than she intended. "Listen, you may have won this round, but my grandfather built this company with his own hands before you ever came along. I won't go down without a fight."

"Oh, just shut up.” Natalia snapped at her. “You’re the illegitimate child leeching off my grandfather’s money in the first place. You do not belong in the Marshall family, and I wondered how you deceived my grandpa into signing seventy percent of all his properties to you.”

“Your grandpa?” Melanie scoffed. “The same one you never gave a hoot about unless it came to money? Did you ever care to really know him? Take care of him?.”

Natalia gave a dramatic flip of her long blonde hair. “Oh please. It doesn’t change the fact that you do not deserve any of the wealth you were about to acquire. This was our plan from the beginning. None of it was ever real.”

Melanie’s heart started pounding so wildly in her chest that she could hear it loud and clear in her ears. She swallowed hard. “What does that even mean?”

Natalia strutted over to where she stood and smiled maliciously. “It means everyone was in on the plan except you, the foolish little girl who was blinded by love. Hardin never loved you. How could you even believe he broke up with me just to be with you, huh? Dad found out about the will just in time, and once we all knew seventy percent of all the shares were to go to you when you were married for at least two years, we had to secure it for ourselves.”

“And that’s where I came in.” Hardin’s deep voice was heard. “Marshall Corp. was a big obstacle to making my family’s company the most successful and biggest. Taking control of the company was the perfect plan. So I had to deceive you into marrying me for two years so we could share all the properties amongst ourselves, stripping you of any rights.”

Melanie held her chest because it felt as though her heart was going to burst out any minute now.

“No,” she said in a whisper. “You’re lying! That’s not true.”

“Wake up and don’t be stupid,” Natalia said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “It’s all over now. And you have absolutely nothing. So, do yourself a favor and never come close to our family again, you hear me?”

Melanie’s legs felt like jelly at this point, and she was in a daze.

“Well?” Hardin called out impatiently. “Get out. You’re fired as of today.”

Melanie shook her head vigorously. “No! You can’t do that.”

"Oh, I already did, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” he sighed, as if she were a nuisance, and pointed to the door. “It’s for you. You gotta leave now before I call security to drag you out immediately.”

Her tears were stinging her eyes so badly that they were beginning to make her vision blurry. But she wasn’t going to shed a single tear in front of them.

“Just know that this isn’t over, both of you,” she managed to say, striving to sound as firm as she could. And with that, she spun on her heel and strode towards the door, head held high.

Melanie knew just where to go.

She found her way to the office of Peters & Associates, the most respected law firm in the city. She was shown promptly into Michael Peter's office, where he rose politely to greet her.

"Melanie, it's so good to see you again. Though I wish it were under better circumstances, please have a seat and tell me how I can help."

Melanie took a deep breath before telling him everything.

Michael took his time listening and reviewing the documents. Finally, he leaned back with a sigh. "Legally, this puts us in a tricky spot. The settlement is fully enacted, and your signature is binding."

"You have to help me get it all back!" Melanie pleaded desperately.

Michael hesitated. "I want to, Melanie, truly. But overturning a legal document already in effect is quite hard. With Hardin's resources, he'd fight this to the bitter end."

The blood drained from Melanie's face as she sank back into the chair. Her heart was hurting so much, and she wanted to cry again.

"There must be something you can do. Maybe argue that I was emotionally compromised. Please, I need to get my life back."

Sighing, Michael took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "We could try to argue you were not in the right frame of mind and weren't properly counseled on the terms. However, these cases are long, drawn-out processes. Even with a skilled lawyer like myself, a win is not guaranteed."

"I don't care how long it takes; I have to try!" said Melanie urgently.

"Based on what you've told me, I estimate fees of at least $50,000 just to take it to trial. And there are no guarantees."

"Fifty thousand?" Melanie echoed in dismay. She didn't have anywhere near that amount. "Isn't there any way to argue the case for less?."

"I'm afraid not. That means you do not have the resources available then.” He peered at her.

Melanie's face fell. "No. We had a shared account, and now I have no access to it. I don't have any money of my own left after the divorce."

Michael nodded sympathetically. "I thought that might be the case. If you can’t pay, I can't take the risk."

"He took everything; I have nothing left." Tears spilled down her cheeks as she spoke. “Please, you have to help me.”

Michael leaned forward intently. "I cannot officially take this case without upfront payment. I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”