"How dare you threaten to sue my son over a small sum of money?!" The familiar voice echoed in my ear. It finally clicked in my head. It was Laura, Blake's mother, my ex-mother-in-law.
I was now wide awake as I sat up straighter, pressing the phone against my ear. I turned on the bedside lamp, the soft yellow glow lit up the room.
A cold chuckle emerged from my throat.
"If it's just a small sum of money then I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem for Blake right?" I questioned, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
She scoffed loudly on the other end of the line. "Don't be sarcastic with me, Aurelia," she sneered with disdain. "My son was the one providing for you the past two years and this is how you repay him? Have you always been so greedy and selfish?"
"So what if I am?" I retorted fiercely. "I'm not the one bringing another woman on a vacation and paying for her rent with my partner's money without her consent!"
"Stella isn't just another woman," she spat. "She was Blake's best friend since they were 5, they grew up together. What's wrong with my son helping out his friend? Besides… who are you to question my son? I heard that you already found a new husband so quickly, aren't you quite the slut?"
"No, I just found out that I can do much better than that failure you call your son."
"My son is not a failure!" She yelled back in a fit of anger. "You are the one who's doing nothing but staying at home all day. If I had known this back then, I wouldn't have agreed to the marriage even if I was held at gunpoint. I would have convinced Blake to marry Stella instead. You can never replace her or have what they have. I knew from the start that it was a mistake that Blake chose to marry you back then!"
"No, what's a mistake is me agreeing to marry Blake," I said coldly, my voice remained unwavering.
"How dare you-"
"I'm getting every single cent of my money back," I interrupted, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Else, you can tell your precious son that I will see him in court," I said as a slight smirk tugged at the corners of my lips.
"Aurelia-"
I hung up on her before she could say another word.
***
Third person POV
Evelyn burst through the front door, tears streaming down her face and her eyes were already all red and puffy.
Her mother quickly noticed her and rushed to her side. "Eve, what happened?" She asked, concern and worry laced her soft voice as she gently placed her hands on Evelyn's shoulders. "Tell me, what's wrong," she urged in an urgent tone as she pulled her into a hug.
Evelyn finally calmed down after a while, her hands reached up to wipe the tears off her face as she continued to sniffle. She sucked in one deep breath.
"It's… it's… Aurelia," she stammered in between deep breaths.
Jennifer, who was also cleaning in the living hall, heard from a distance as Evelyn wasn't exactly being hush about it either. She stopped whatever she was doing the moment she heard Aurelia's name reached her eyes. Curiosity burned within her and she found herself inching closer towards the mother-daughter duo, trying to hear more of what they had to say.
Natalie's eyes widened. "What did she do?"
"She stole my boyfriend! She's married to Xavier Wilder!" She screamed in her high-pitched voice. "He even made her the company's new vice president!"
A soft gasp left Jennifer's lips when she heard the news. What are the odds? Aurelia's new husband turned out to be Evelyn's ex-boyfriend.
"What?" Natalie muttered under her breath as shock flashed past her eyes for a mere second. "Are you sure about that? How did you know?"
Evelyn crossed her arms over her chest and stomped her feet on the ground. "Of course I'm sure! I saw it with my own eyes at the company banquet, he announced it in front of everyone there. Are you doubting me?"
"No, no! Of course not, Eve," Natalie quickly said, clearly flustered at her daughter's accusation. "I just wanted to make sure this wasn't some misunderstanding," she explained.
"It's not a misunderstanding, mum. Aurelia seduced Xavier and now they are married. What's so good about her? What does she have that I don't have? I fucking hate her guts!" She lashed out as anger coursed through her body in an instant. "I want you and daddy to confront her and fire her!" she demanded through gritted teeth.
"Eve, let's not make any rash decisions. How about you go get some sleep and we will talk about this tomorrow?" She suggested calmly.
"You are doing this again!" Evelyn yelled, her sharp voice piercing through the air. "I told you that Aurelia stole my boyfriend, how could you be so calm? Why are you not angry? Why are you not cussing her out? It's almost as if you are siding her, choosing her over me! What's wrong with you!?" She continued to scream and shout before stomping off into her room and slamming the door behind her.
An exasperated sigh left Natalie's lips as she was enveloped in silence. She turned around to leave, walking back to her room while Jennifer made a beeline towards Evelyn's room.
Slowly, Jennifer twisted the door knob and carefully pushed open the door.
"Go away, I don't want to talk to you," Evelyn muttered under her breath as she had her back against the door.
"Evelyn, it's me, Jennifer."
Evelyn turned around quickly and sat up, quickly wiping the tears off her face. "Jennifer? What are you doing here?" She questioned, a hint of confusion laced her voice.
Jennifer approached her, placing her hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile despite the ache in her heart seeing Evelyn's tear-stained face.
"Don't be upset. I know a way to get Aurelia here if you want to talk to her."
Evelyn's eyes lit up for a brief moment and she sat up even straighter this time.
"You do?"