Chapter 4

Nathaniel hadn't come home the next day either. Ella was going mad with her racing thoughts. Where had he slept? Had it been with Vera? Did he even care about what he was doing to her heart? She wandered through the house aimlessly, mad at herself for how much this bothered her. She found herself in his office. It smelled of his cologne... She looked around the room until her eyes stopped on the laptop. Without hesitating, she crossed to the chair and sat down. She opened it with shaking hands. Of course it was password protected. She tried her birth date, their wedding date, his mother's birth date. Nothing worked. She pulled out her phone and found Vera on social media. The beautiful, bombshell blonde was everything Ella wasn't. Tall, thin, clearly worked out religiously and had an angelic face. Full lips, shocking green eyes framed with lush, dark lashes, high cheek bones and perfect eyebrows. Ella sighed. No wonder her husband was tempted by her. It wasn't like he'd picked Ella. She pushed those thoughts aside and found Ella's birth date. She typed it into Nathaniel's computer and hit enter. It worked! She was in. She quickly went to his email and searched for anything from Vera. She scrolled through a couple dozen work emails, opening them now and then, just to be sure. Nothing inappropriate there. She opened his social media accounts and found nothing from her. He liked her pictures, but that was about it. She went back to his email, almost ready to give up. Maybe she was wrong. She would have to track him down and beg for forgiveness. She put her hand on the top of the laptop lid, ready to shut it and eat humble pie, when a notification sounded and a chat popped up. She opened it. It was from a messenger app he used on his phone. He must've linked his computer. He liked to use encrypted apps for personal communication, especially of the naughtier flavor. Wouldn't want the press getting ahold of a scandal and running with it. Her blood ran cold when she opened the chat. She could see weeks worth of chats between Nathaniel and Vera. Most of them making fun of her. He told Vera he'd leave Ella for her just as soon as he could figure out how to do so without a scandal. He'd been working late because he was actually sleeping with Vera. They both thought it was so funny how Ella had no idea. More insults... details of their romantic encounters... he never wanted to have children with Ella because they'd turn out ugly like her... he resented the marriage and his grandfather for forcing it on him...

"You didn't have to agree to marry me..." she whispered as tears began to flow. He could've waited and found someone else. He agreed to it. She felt used and when she thought about their love making she felt violated. He'd just used her because he wasn't getting it anywhere else. Not until Vera at least.

She steeled herself and began to email every bit of evidence she could to herself. She scrolled back through the weeks, months, to almost a year prior, and sent it all to her email. She slammed the laptop shut and went upstairs. She dressed in all black, leather pants, tight black tanktop and a leather jacket. Pulling on black boots and putting her hair in a ponytail she looked at her reflection. "That won't do," she said to herself. She grabbed her makeup bag. A dark smokey eye with gun metal gray and red lipstick. She put false lashes on for good measure. She never dressed this way. She hadn't since she'd gotten engaged to Nathaniel. It just wasn't what his image needed. Screw his image now.

She grabbed her purse and got into her car. She quickly drove to his office and got out. She was greeted at the door, but when security moved to alert Nathaniel that his wife was in the building she stopped them. "Let it be a surprise," she said sweetly. They looked shocked to see her, but even more shocked to see her dressed so differently than the proper, rich wife she always dressed like. Her pants were tight enough to leave almost nothing to the imagination. But she needed to dress like a badass because she needed to feel like one. She needed that confidence.

She went to the elevator and the hit the buttons for Nathaniel's office floor. She walked straight to it, not even glancing at Vera working at her desk. Vera gasped and fumbled for the buttons to call Nathaniel. Before she could do anything, Ella was already walking into his office.

"Ella? What are you doing here?" he said, shock evident in his voice. "After last night, you think you can just walk in here?"

"I can just walk in here and you deserved last night." She walked across to his and stood at his desk. She pulled her phone out and logged into her email. She found what she'd emailed herself and pulled it up. She turned the phone to show him. "I know about your affair."

He paled and sucked in his breath. He looked up at her. She kept her face neutral. She would not show emotion. He could not know how much he hurt her.

"You... I..."

She put up a hand to silence him. "No excuses. She can have you."

Nathaniel slammed his fists into the desk. "How dare you go through my email! You were on my computer? How?"

"Don't use your side piece as your password," she sneered.

He reached across the desk and grabbed her wrist. Searing pain made her drop her phone. He yanked hard, until she was face down on the desk. He grabbed her ponytail and yanked her head up, putting his face in her's, "you won't be able to ruin me with this. I'm all you have. Without me you're just a divorced has been." He yanked her up to her feet. He grabbed her phone threw it out the door. "Go get it and get out of my sight!"

She stood straight, fixed her hair and leveled him with a look so mean he stepped back. She turned and walked out the door. Vera was trying to push away a small group of men that were at her desk. One picked up Ella's phone and handed it to her. "Mrs. Woods, I'm sorry, but I believe this is yours?"

"Thank you," she said sweetly. "You're right. My husband is just having one of his fits." She smiled at him, took her phone and glided past him. She was sure they'd seen everything. She was almost sure they were clients of Nathaniel's. Hopefully after that, they wouldn't be much longer. She was going to watch him lose everything if it was the last thing she did.