I walked through the lobby and was finally out of the building.
With fast strides, I approached the taxi ride I arrived with and when I opened the backseat of the car to get inside, Ivan hurriedly came up behind me and pushed the door close.
"What the..?" I started to say but Ivan pushed me up against the car and glared daggers at me.
"What gave you the actual guts to show up here and throw those fucking papers in my face?" He hissed and I swallowed the lump in my throat and soon bit my lower lip to stifle my emotions.
With the absence of alcohol to boost my confidence, I tried not to let out the tears that blurred my vision.
I suddenly wished I had taken several shots of tequila before confronting Ivan. But if I'd done that, what the heck would happen to my pride?
"Don't you get it? I signed those papers like you've always wanted, it's over!" I hissed back at him and before I could register anything else, he slapped me across my face.
"You cheap scheming bitch!" He seethed as he screamed to let out his frustration.
I tasted a metallic substance in my mouth and instantly knew it was blood. How cruel can he be to hit his supposed wife in public?
Thankfully, there weren't many people who paid attention to us, and I doubted that the taxi driver saw what he did to me. I didn't want any more rumors or fake news about me and Ivan.
Gosh, I pinched myself for being concerned about him at the moment.
"What the fuck did I ever do to you?" I heard myself ask. I thought I'd shouted the question at his face but it was only a weak mumble that didn't travel far enough to pose as a determined confrontation.
"You don't know?" He laughed maniacally at my weakness and immediately said some things to the taxi driver who wasted no time to revive the engine and drive away.
I landed with a loud thud on the ground because I'd leaned up against it for support.
I instantly groaned and then stifled my sobs by biting my lip. I glared at the taxi that sped away.
I watched one of his bodyguards rush to help me up.
"If you move another inch, consider yourself jobless!" Ivan growled at him and the bodyguard had no other option than to stand back.
I got several bruises on my body and that was when people started to notice what was happening and began to take pictures.
"No," I mumbled under my breath and instantly stood up to wave at them to stop. "No pictures.. please…"
Ivan just stood there like he didn't want to be complicated further by approaching me. He didn't even bother to stop them from taking pictures of us because he had the power to.
"Ivan…" I breathed out and approached him. "Why are you so cruel to me?" My voice broke at my confrontation.
Ivan's amusement disappeared and a serious look appeared on his face.
"I'm surprised you don't know why I'm being like this…" He trailed off, and from the corner of my eyes, people were no longer taking pictures of us; they were videoing instead.
I furrowed my brows at Ivan and didn't know how to get him to control his emotions in public before it got to the press.
"I... I don't.." I stammered, what do I do?
"You think I don't know you deliberately killed our unborn child pretending you fell off the stairs!" He hissed at me and my heart ached at his words.
I heard a series of gasps and whispers around us.
"What? W-What are you talking about?" I asked as I felt myself tremble at the memory of what happened.
"You actually think that I won't discover how vile you are, huh?" He stated and frowned at the thought of something.
When I was rushed to the hospital ward three months ago because Ivan's mother pushed me down the stairs. When the news got to the press, I was forced by the Andersons to make a statement that it was an accident, which was obviously my fault, before they allowed the doctors to attend to my bleeding.
For a moment, I thought of stabbing myself to death, even in the pool of embarrassment. But I had decided against it.
With the look in Ivan's eyes, I wasn't sure what his mother told him but I resolved to never tell Ivan the actual truth. But look where it got me…
And this asshole is busy spewing ridiculous judgments in front of these conspicuous eyes. What did I ever do wrong?
"Ivan, you don't know what you're saying; that's not true even in the slightest," I said to him, but he shook his head at me.
"I can see through all your lies!" He seethed before he leaned in closer to whisper to my ears.
"That night, Ricky should have rammed the vehicle into a freaking wall or have you eliminated! Too bad, that didn't happen." His breath pierced daggers into my pores at the memory of that night.
My nails dug into my palms, not just his father, the Andersons were all in cohort to get rid of me.
But I couldn't bring myself to move from my position in front of him. I was so frozen in place that I just watched Ivan and his bodyguards walk back into the building, leaving me at the mercy of the ambitious paparazzi.
After a while, it began to rain and by the time I recollected myself, I was already drenched in it.
Not just Ivan and his whole Anderson family, I just believed the whole world was against me, except for Chloe, who remained the only one closest to me as family. Except for her, I had no one else.
I tiredly hailed a taxi and got into the backseat to go home, a little relieved that I had left those ambitious content creators to their imaginations.
I gave the driver Chloe's address and leaned back in the seat. I pinched myself a couple of times while in deep thought.
When we arrived, I paid him and he nodded slightly at the bill I handed over to him.
"Thank you." He collected it, and I turned to walk away, but he stopped me. "But ma'am?"
I slowly glanced at him.
"You're bleeding." He said as I looked at my arms in confirmation.
"I know…" I mumbled under my breath.
"No, that's not what I'm referring to.." He said awkwardly and gestured to my blood-stained thighs. "Down there.."
I gasped in embarrassment and bit my lip. "T-Thank y-you.." I stammered as he nodded at me and drove off.
I looked at my legs and felt like screaming out my lungs but I held myself still.
"Why the heck are you covered in blood?" Chloe asked from the entrance and I snapped my head to look at her.
"Chloe…" I mumbled as she saw the tears in my eyes and gasped at my disheveled self.
"What the hell happened to you?" She asked as she rushed towards me, but my wobbly feet couldn't keep me up any longer.