Chapter 6 Aftermath
Desperation drove him to find me. Paul tried calling my workplace, drove to my family’s house, even reached out to my closest friends.
I knew he would. That was why I had made sure everyone was in on the plan. They had already been told weeks ago that the wedding was off, and they all played their part.
They acted surprised when he showed up, offering vague responses like, “We haven‘ t seen her, but we know she’s safe.”
With every door that closed in his face, his anger grew. He must have realized that everyone knew about his betrayal and that he had lost not only me but our entire circle of support.
I heard from my family later that Paul had started shouting and screaming outside their house, demanding to know where I
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was. He was so frantic and out of control that they had to call security to escort him away.
That night, he should have been celebrating with me at the wedding reception, surrounded by love and
laughter. Instead, he was out on the streets like a madman, screaming into the void.
The humiliation didn’t end there. Paul was too ashamed to return to his parents‘ house, where he would have to explain why his wedding had become a disaster. His only option was Claire.
But when he showed up at her apartment, he found it empty. She wasn‘ t even living there anymore–she had been crashing with a friend after losing her job. Claire had nothing left to offer him either.
On top of everything, Paul’s financial situation was dire. We had shared accounts for years, but I was the one managing the finances. The credit card he carried was technically in both our names, but I had
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been the one paying it off every month.
Without me covering the bills, the card was useless. Paul had only a few bucks in cash. to his name, barely enough to survive more. than a week, let alone a month.
By the time I was done, he had nothing–no home, no money, no friends. Every place. he tried to rent turned him away, his name now tied to scandal and unreliability.
No one wanted to deal with the mess that followed him, afraid the paparazzi would come snooping around. Even his professional contacts started pulling away once the full story came to light.
His reputation was destroyed, and with Claire out of the picture too, Paul was left with just one thing: his car, the only possession he still had to his name. Forced. to live out of it.
He could have gone back to his parents‘ house, but pride and fear of their disappointment kept him away.
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They had been so excited for our wedding, so proud of the man they thought he was. Now, he would have to face the truth of what he had done, not only to me but to
our entire future.
Paul had no idea how far my reach truly extended. We had built our business together, and he assumed that without me, he could simply move on, start fresh, and rebuild somewhere else.
What he didn’t realize was that I had been preparing for this eight step long before he even thought about leaving the company.
Our industry was tightly knit, and I had spent years cultivating relationships, favors, and influence. If there was one thing I knew, it was how to make sure that Paul’s name would be tainted wherever
he went.
I started subtly. First, I made sure that he could no longer work within our company. Since I had already gained full control of the business, I quietly pushed him out,
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citing “internal restructuring” to make it look like a necessary move.
No one questioned it, especially after they heard about his affair with Claire and the damage it caused. The team was already loyal to me, and they rallied behind the decision, further isolating him from the business he helped build.
Also, the CEOs, investors, managers, and key players in the industry definitely heard about our failed wedding, as it had become. a national talk at this point.
Paul used to think those people had good relationships with him as well, but most of them were much closer to me than he ever
realized. No one likes drama in the workplace, and Paul’s reputation became synonymous with exactly that–drama and betrayal.
When Paul tried to find a new job, doors that were once wide open suddenly closed. in his face. Every opportunity he pursued crumbled before him.
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He went from being a well–regarded figure in the industry to someone blacklisted at every turn. Even companies that had nothing to do with ours were warned about his behavior. I made sure of it.
One particularly devastating move involved a new startup he had been eyeing. Paul thought he could use his experience from our business to get in on the ground floor of a promising new venture.
He attended interviews, pitched himself as an expert who had led a successful company, but what he didn’t know was that I had already spoken to one of the board members–a friend of mine.
During the interview process, they praised him, made him feel confident that he had the job locked in.
But behind the scenes, they were well informed about the affair and the way he tried to manipulate me. The board quietly. pulled away, leaving Paul in the dark, waiting for a call that would never come.
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The same thing happened when he tried to launch his own business. He managed to secure a few meetings with potential investors, but with just a few clicks on their phone, those investors could know exactly who they were dealing with from the online news.
No investor wants to throw money at someone with such a toxic reputation, and every deal he attempted collapsed.
Over time, Paul became a pariah in the professional circles he once thrived in.
It didn’t matter if he tried to stay in the same industry or switch to something new -his reputation followed him everywhere.
I had carefully dismantled his entire professional future, just as he had dismantled our life together. He thought he could cheat, lie, and walk away without consequences. But now, every time he looked for a way out, all he found were closed doors and burned bridges.