The Scandal
The Black Wind scandal was plastered across most of the headlines. Everywhere I looked, the story seemed to be the same. Some of the headlines were vicious, accusing me of being a gold digger, sinking low and a social climber.
Scattered among these were pictures of Emerson proposing to me yesterday, and people were astonished. They couldn’t believe that Emerson, the father, had suddenly gotten engaged to his son’s ex–wife. The speculation about the Blackwinds. was everywhere.
The rumours were going hard with the news about, THE FATHER–IN–LAW AND HIS DAUGHTER–IN–LAW.
Some articles focused on the scandal creating a rumour between Emerson and Eric, suggesting that the two of them had shared women in the past and they probably continued with this behaviour after Eric’s marriage to me.
One particularly outrageous headline read,
“This doesn’t surprise us. We’ve always known they share women. Eric would bring them home, and he and his dad would have threesomes with these women.” I was livid.
They even claimed to have women who could give evidence to the fact! How dare they? None of it was true, but that didn’t stop them from running with it. The vultures.
But what hurt the most was the insults and speculations directed at me. The internet exploded with insults. I was branded a gold digger, a social climber, and worse.
“How could she?” Most comments read. “Being married to the son, and now just a few weeks later, she’s marrying the father? This woman has no shame.”
It felt like the entire world was condemning me, and I could hardly keep up.
I couldn’t bring myself to read all of it. The panic set in as I scrolled through the endless hate. My face was everywhere. Images of me from my wedding to Eric, and now the engagement proposal from Emerson from yesterday.
The anger, the judgment, it all seemed to land on me. While a small number of people seemed to not care what we did with our love lives, asking everyone to leave us alone, most of the comments were harsh, personal, and directed straight at me.
I wasn’t sure how to handle it.
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Speculations were flying everywhere, like absurd stories of a father and son sharing
a woman.
Then came the crueller questions: Did this woman lie to the poor son in order to get close to his father? They painted me as a master manipulator, claiming I had married Eric just to seduce Emerson, which was laughable, considering I had known. Emerson for most of my life.
These people were making up their own versions of my story. They didn’t know anything, yet they felt the need to act as experts on my life. Our lives.
The lies, the assumptions, the judgment, it all felt too much for me to take. I didn’t know why, but I felt weak at that moment, and before I could stop myself, the tears started falling.
I got so mad that I cried, alone in that room.
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. I didn’t want to see anyone, but, Emerson walked in nonetheless.
“Hey,” he said softly.
I quickly tried to wipe away my tears and straighten up, but it was useless. I knew he saw right through me and I must have looked red in the face.
“Have you been crying?” he asked gently, walking towards me and pulling me into.
his arms.
I shook my head no slowly, not having the strength to say a word.
“Don’t cry, okay? This is nothing. Don’t worry about it. People are going to talk. You knew this would happen. They’ll speculate. Don’t let it get to you. You know the truth. You know what you’re doing and they don’t matter.”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I’m just… overwhelmed. I mean, I should have thought about it, but I didn’t think this far.” And that was the truth. I never thought the whole thing could backfire on me.
He looked at me with understanding and nodded. “I know. That’s why I told you this would help us. But now, they’re saying you were cheating on Eric… that we were going behind his back. That’s why he got married to Rita.”
“What?” I shouted, pulling away from him.
“I thought you already saw the news,” Emerson said calmly.
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The Scandal
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“Yes, I saw it,” I replied, my voice shaking. But I couldn’t read any more of it after seeing that they called me a gold digger. Now they’re saying I was cheating on him? They’re calling me a cheater?”
He nodded, his face filled with sympathy. “Im sorry, but that’s the story trending right now. That you were unfaithful, and it pushed Eric into Rita’s arms. You know a lot of people were confused and unapproving of Eric’s marriage to Rita, but now they think you pushed him towards her.”
I couldn’t believe it. “They think I cheated on him? That I’m the one responsible. while he slept with my sister? My own blood? Got her pregnant?” My voice rose in anger as I paced around the room. “And now I’m the one who’s being called a cheater? While he plays the victim? Now they’re saying it’s my fault? That I… That I…”
Emerson remained calm, nodding sympathetically. “Look, we know the truth. Don’t let it….
11
“Don’t tell me not to worry!” I snapped, with frustration. “This whole thing was supposed to be my revenge! I was supposed to hurt them, not be the one getting hurt. This is destroying me, my image! They’ll get to laugh about it. They’ll think they were right all along, and I’m the villain”
My voice shook as I thought about everyone…. At the company, the house, my mother. They would all think I was the villain. They think I am a big fat liar. A cheater. A gold digger.
“Calm down, okay?” Emerson said softly. He came towards me again and took my hand, pulling me back into his arms.
“Just calm down, Mina. We’ll figure this out.”
I watched as Emerson pulled me into his arms, my mind racing. I hadn’t realized I was shivering or breathing hard until his calm, soothing voice reached my ear.
“Come on, that’s it. Breathe in. Breathe with me. Breathe in… and then breathe out. Breathe in… and out.”
His words flowed like a gentle rhythm, making me take the breaths with him. “Come on, that’s it. Let’s do it again. Breathe in… and out.” he continued,
I followed his lead, slowly syncing my breath with his, and gradually, I felt the tightness in my chest begin to ease. My heartbeat slowed, and I managed to calm down.
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The Scanda
“That’s it,” he murmured softly, still holding me close. “This was bound to happen. Let it Go. Just don’t think about it.”
I pulled back slightly, looking up at him. “Okay, so what are we going to do, Emerson? What are we going to do?” My voice trembled as I spoke. “I can’t have people judging me, speculating about me. I can’t do it, okay?”
He sighed, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. “This comes with being a Blackwind. It comes with being in the spotlight. I thought you knew this.”
“Yes,” I whispered, frustration bubbling up again. “But not like this. I didn’t. expect… this.” I clenched my fists. “I’m at war here….. We’re at war.”
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