Her Night Dance
Chapter 8
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Julian wasn’t one to waste time.
One phone call later, the gala organizers released the full footage from the evening.
The unedited video captured Amber’s fans attacking me on the red carpet and Ethan and his group coercing me to drink inside.
It didn’t take long for the colleagues who had falsely accused me of workplace bullying to receive lawsuits and termination letters.
They didn’t even get to enjoy their moment of infamy before losing
their jobs.
As for Ethan, the fallout hit him even harder.
Word spread that his entire production line had ground to a halt.
Julian later informed me that Ethan was frantically trying to find
out where I was.
“If he apologizes and admits he was wrong, what will you do?”
Julian asked.
He was rubbing his temples lightly–a telltale sign of his tension.
I placed a freshly baked cake in front of him. “Ethan Ward would
never admit he was wrong.”
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A smudge of frosting clung to Julian’s lips, an endearing contrast to his usual sharp demeanor. “Why do you think that?”
I gave him a wry smile. “The signs were there all along. I just got used to ignoring them.”
The first time Ethan and Amber were caught kissing by the media, I cried and confronted him. He dismissed me, calling me immature, and whisked Amber off to see the northern lights. That was when I realized some changes were beyond my control.
What I didn’t expect was Ethan’s way of retaliating, a grand fireworks display and a public proposal to Amber.
The water army didn’t miss a beat, redirecting their attacks toward
me once again.
[Sure, Mr. Ward was a bit harsh at the gala, but anyone would be annoyed being hounded by a lunatic.]
[Clara brought this on herself.]
Julian, always quick to sense trouble, was ready to step in, but I stopped him.
“I’ll handle it,” I said calmly. “He and I need closure.”
He had drained every last ounce of gratitude I had left. This time,
wouldn’t waver.
I compiled a slideshow of our years together–moments I had
Chapter 8
originally planned to gift him for his birthday–and uploaded it
online.
3/3
Now, it served as a very different kind of gift, one he couldn’t
ignore.
Amid the firestorm that followed, I reposted my wedding photo. This time, the comment section pinned a response from a city hall
official.
[Yes, they’re legally married. I officiated the ceremony myself. Mr. Ward’s secret marriage was understandable for his career, but proposing to another woman while still married is a criminal act.]
Julian didn’t stop there. He dug up footage of Ethan meeting with Crimson Ballet’s director, brazenly offering investment money to replace me as the lead dancer.
The narrative flipped in an instant. Ethan, once a romantic hero, was now a reviled scumbag. Amber, once the sweet ingenue, became the ultimate homewrecker.
It all unraveled so fast.
Letting go wasn’t as hard as I’d imagined.
On Ethan’s Space X post of his proposal to Amber, I left a comment. Clara: [Congratulations. But divorce me first.]
Not long after, Ethan deleted the post.
Moments later. I received a private message from him. Ethan:
Her Night Dance
