CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE: PIERCING BETRAYAL.

MILES:

Her games were getting old, and knowing exactly her cards would make it easy to toss her out from the top floor. Once Meredith shut the door, I stood. “I will give you ten seconds to spill your rubbish and leave.”

“Shouldn't you be looking for a way to get back into my good graces for the sake of your stocks?”

“Six.” I checked my wristwatch, faking a yawn.

“Someone from your household sold you out,” she rambled.

“Two seconds.”

“Miles, let's get back together. You know you still love me. I do. It was a mistake. What I did was a mistake.” She swayed her hips towards me, putting her hand on my groin. “You know you missed the sex.”

“Your time is up. You wasted my time. Now leave,” I sneered. There was a time when her hands there would have affected me, but now it only felt like a rock was laid on my lap. “Get out.” Peeling her hand off me, I walked around to my table.

She began to throw a tantrum, which I was in no mood to take. Dialing the telecom, “Mr. Kane, have Brandon come to my office,” I instructed once he picked up.

“Miles, I won't rest until I've gotten rid of that girl from your life. We're meant to be.”

“What happened to your fiancée? Aren't you supposed to be walking down the aisle soon?” Examining her ring, “the diamond doesn't seem to be shining anymore.” I scoffed.

“I'm planning to break up with him. I realized that I love you more than I love him. You're on my mind.”

Thankfully, Brandon knocked and entered in time. “Yes, Mr. Pierce,” his voice answered. His frown grew deeper at the sight of Louis. None of my employees ever liked that girl. She seemed to attract hatred, unlike Meredith, who treated everyone with love, kindness, and grace.

“Escort Miss Theodore out,” I instructed, closing the last folder I was attending to.

“Yes, sir.” He went to her and grabbed her arm. “Let's go, ma'am.”

“Don't touch me. Miles, please.”

“Brandon?” I growled.

At that, he lifted her and carried her out of my office. I once allowed someone to come back into my life and completely ruin it. Never again. I knew what women like her could do. It was irrelevant to stick around to find out. Don't just let it happen.

After the headache was gone, I took a bit of time to take in the striking resemblance between the roses Neymar claimed to have received, and the one Meredith received from Alan. No need for overthinking and creating scenarios. She would never lie to me.

The time for the press conference came, and I changed into another suit. A gray one this time with a white shirt and black shoes. Meredith changed too into a red straight-cut gown that stopped just slightly above her knees, paired with silver pumps. She looked good in literally anything. The final was Neymar, who wore the same black suit he wore to the office since he wasn't coming on camera.

“Ready?” I asked them both.

They nodded in response, and we headed to one of the television stations that was handling the whole thing.

Before we got on stage, Meredith leaned in to kiss me and then whispered, “I'm next to you.”

I don't know why she said that, but it worked like magic. I hate public appearances. Certainly, anything that has to do with one-on-one with the media. We didn't have a choice.

The cameras and lights were on us as we stood on the stage overlooking a lot of camera flashes, microphones, and individuals furiously typing away on their laptops.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm going to keep this short and straight to the point. I'm here with my breathtaking girlfriend to debunk the crazy news that we're faking our relationship. Only a crazy person would fake anything with this beauty.” The crowd cracked a peal of laughter, camera flashes going off at us.

Meredith was uneasy. While I was used to this, she wasn't. I reached for her palm and held it in mine, maintaining my straight gaze at the camera and crowd. “We're in love, and whoever came up with such news is just a purveyor of unhappiness. Thank you for your time. Goodnight.”

Thousands of questions came flying at us. As much as I could take, I began to answer. It got to the fourth person, and Meredith's uneasiness grew. She was acting strangely. Apart from a nervous breakdown, she was shaking.

“Are you good, baby?” I whispered into her ears.

“Can I go for some fresh air and use the restroom?” she whispered back.

“Of course.”

She slipped her hand away from mine, gliding through the exit. At every step, cameras flashed on her. She looked gorgeous, and her pictures taken made me smile. I was proud that she was mine.

Twenty minutes passed, and she wasn't back. I took a few moments away from the conference to go find her. Asking Neymar and Brandon, they were clueless. She was neither outside nor in the restroom. She obviously didn't leave us there with her handbag to walk home. Did she? I had to end the conference to find my woman. She was more important than any meeting.

Heading back inside, I caught sight of her red gown. She was leaning in a dark corner, her back to the entrance, on the phone with someone. I tiptoed toward her to hug her from the back, but her words stopped me in my tracks.

“Yes, the heart transplant. He had one. Tell others. Ruin him.” Those were the words I made out from the rest of her sentence.

I moved back, giving her space. We will talk after the call. It was really time to end the conference.

Heading back inside, the intensity of the camera flashes was overwhelming. “Is it true that you had a heart transplant, Mr. Pierce?” I was asked by someone at the front while I walked back to the stage.

“If that's so, you've been withholding great information from Steele. Then the rumor about the fake relationship would also have been true,” another voice added.

What? How did that get out? A secret that's been fraught with problems. And, just when I let another woman know a vulnerable part of me, it destroys me.

The crowd grew aggressive about the question when I didn't respond because I was trying hard to process the question. Brandon and the guards escorted me out.

“Hi, baby,” she turned to wave at me as if she hadn't just indeed ruined me. I felt disgusted by her presence. I couldn't stand her still, I wanted her to tell me this was all wrong and a big misunderstanding. Everything was purely coincidental, but again the betrayal pierced harsher than my heartache. She was disgusting with that smile on her face.

I was escorted to the car without responding to Meredith. She followed. When Brandon and the guards had cleared the crowd, we drove off.

During the drive, the low music of "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi played on the radio. I couldn't continue with her by my side. It was suffocating. Breathing out, I decided to give her one opportunity to explain what happened.

“Meredith, what took you so long, and why did you leave the conference?” I internalized my plea. "Please tell the truth. Please, baby, explain and prove me wrong."

“What's wrong, baby?” she raked her fingers over my hair, still maintaining that pretense.

“Answer the question. Please,” I added. I wanted to yell and throw her out of the car, but I held it together. She has never given me a reason to doubt her love for me. I will give her a chance.

“Baby, I told you I wanted some fresh air and I used the restroom afterward.”

Nodding, I swallowed the huge lump in my throat. “Meredith, why?”

“Why what, Miles? You are acting strange.” 'Am I acting strange?' Damn! Another woman hurting me. This time, harder than the last one.

“When we get home, move out. This is over. Take everything I have gifted you. Just leave,” I whispered, holding back the lone tear that almost escaped my eyes.

“Miles, what are you talking about? What is happening?”

“You sold the information about my surgery to someone.”

“What are you talking about?” she shuffled in her seat to squarely face me. “How could you say that, Miles?”

“Check the blogs.”

Rolling her eyes and scoffing, she punched aggressively at her keypad. When the questions started coming, I didn't bother to check them myself, since I knew they would be making headlines. However, adding to my disappointment, one of the first things she opened on her phone read, "Billionaire's girlfriend leaks the secret of his heart transplant." There was a picture of myself and Meredith. I went cold. She did.

“Miles, this is a lie. I could never do this to you. To us. Believe me.” All while saying that, she only had a squeezed face and not tears.

“I should never have given another woman a chance. I thought you were my second chance to love. A fool I am for the second time.”

Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved" continued to play, the music sinking deeper and hurting more. I thought I knew this one.