It was finally night time in Washington DC. Cynthia had a cup of hot chocolate in one hand while her other hand caressed her pregnant belly lovingly. She moved her neck left and right, trying and failing to get rid of the stiffness, and thinking about when to make an appointment for a massage.
'I thought this day was never going to end,'
She gazed at the moon and tried to recall how she felt when she saw her ex-best friend lying still on the ground right outside the church. She 'apparently' passed out when she saw her soon-to-be husband about to follow his ex-wife to her car.
"She was always a lousy actress, that wicked woman that you'll never have to meet in your life." Cynthia talked a lot to her baby, she closed her eyes and remembered how she left the happy couple with one final glance their way before her car left the scene.
The church was surrounded by paparazzi at that point.
The 'not really' passed out woman was in the arms of her ex, who -if she knew him at all- did not fall for the fake performance either. She wondered idly why he humored her when he never tolerated liars in his life.
Cynthia scoffed, "What a hypocrite,"
They ended up getting married soon after Cynthia was out of the pathetic picture, according to the WhatsApp message she received from the young detective. She left the message unread, not wanting to dignify it with an answer. She already leaked an explanation to the tabloids about what happened and was going to make sure the outcome of the scandal was to her advantage.
She caressed her belly again, tenderly.
Cynthia stood by the window in her office and looked up at the beautiful moon again, it was shining bright tonight.
She hated it.
One of her husband's wedding vows was to have a date with her every time there was a full moon in the sky. She closed her eyes as she started seeing uninvited ghosts from her past. It was the image of her and her ex, dancing barefoot on the balcony on a night similar to this one. She laughed sardonically when she remembered that her ex-best friend -now her ex's new wife- took a few photos of that dance while they were in their own world.
She took a sip from her cup, savoring the heavenly taste of chocolate, trying to wash down the bitterness that never seemed to go away.
Cynthia sighed, "I'm so happy I ruined her wedding day,"
It was the first thing on her Revenge of The Ice Diva to-do list. But the list was long and full.
"Mommy will have no regrets; she will not stop until she walks all over them."
The woman stole Cynthia's husband, it was less than fair for Cynthia to steal Sally's thunder. So the next thing to steal was going to be her new husband's undivided attention. That would only be fair.
But fair was not enough for Cynthia.
Everything her husband had today; His CEO position, his company, his cars, his yacht, his helicopter, and all his assets, and on top of all that his prestige that he cherished so much... None of them would have existed if it wasn't for the Evans family's mother company that fostered and supported his business until it reached the skies.
"You just wait and see how hard you'll fall..." She dialed up George Robinson's number who had been acting as her secretary besides being Evans-soft's lawyer for the past few months. He answered after the second ring.
"George, are we ready for the board meeting?" She smiled widely as she listened to his response. "...Yes, I'm sure about it. He won't be there. We're pulling the rug from under him and his company once and for all,"
***
Cynthia rocked her red and black designer suit that unlike the dress she wore for her ex's wedding camouflaged her pregnancy. She felt horrible about that.
'Mommy is so sorry sweetheart!'
Just like any other businesswoman, she knew about some of the most common yet unspoken business rules that existed, there was one that took the cake: In business, to earn men's respect, you need to be a man amongst them,'
Having a pregnant belly would not help her cause.
The company's board of directors held meetings three times a year, the fixed agenda item was a discussion about the company's policies, but they added on it during the meeting itself, such gatherings determined the overall business strategy of Evans-soft.
Cynthia went in through the door of the meeting room, she immediately dazzled the men who were already seated around the famous vintage Victorian mahogany oval table. George Robinson stood two steps behind a chair that he had already pulled back for her.
Her eyes darted left and right registering the empty chair that stood out like a sore thumb. Her ex was a no-show today as expected. It was just like she planned for things to be.
George smiled at Cynthia knowingly, the man was by all means better fit to be a model than a lawyer and definitely not secretary material at all. He was well over 6 feet tall, with gorgeous smart blue eyes that sparkled under his glasses, he never had a bad hair day in his entire life -it was more than what she could say about her own cooperative locks.
Cynthia smiled back at Geroge, it was the first time she was seeing him again after long years and it was good to see him. She hoped that her boy could stand tall and look that confident one day.
The lawyer was one of her best supporters and it ran deep in his blood. The Robinsons had an eternal debt to the Evans family, and all of their descendants were sworn to loyalty. George was no exception to that rule, he was dedicated to guaranteeing Cynthia's well-being since the two of them were just kids, that was until he was shooed away by her jealous husband.
Cynthia sat down in the seat that he had pulled back for her and George immediately took the seat next to her. Both of them mentally preparing for this meeting to be a long one.
She gave the men her best professional smile, "Hello gentlemen, let this meeting begin,"