After He Betrayed Me, I Disgraced Him

Pamella Blackwell was infamous for her wild ways. Everyone knew her—the queen of the party scene, always out to get guys wrapped around her finger. These days, her love life seemed more talked about than her music career.

The internet exploded into two camps: one group shipping them as a power couple and the other hating on Pamella for her past with men.

[They look good together. Who’s that guy?]

[This is the first decent guy Pamella’s been with. Her exes were all duds.]

[Isn’t he some rich businessman?]

[He’s way too good for her.]

[Can she stop flirting? It’s embarrassing.]

Curious and jealous, I checked Pamella’s social media and saw a story she posted that night. She was leaning on a man’s shoulder, with the caption, [So good to be with you again.]

My stomach twisted. My boyfriend had ditched me on our anniversary and now this? It was beyond humiliating.

I tossed my phone on the bed and buried my face in the pillow. I fell asleep pretty quickly, the whole situation weighing on me.

The next morning, I woke up to a bunch of missed calls and apology texts from Niall.

[Emilie, I'm so sorry. Please call me back, I can explain.

[Em, are you asleep?

[Please call me in the morning. I love you.]

I rolled my eyes, ignored him and got ready for work. As a journalist, I had a pretty solid rep for digging deep into high-profile names—Entertainment stars, wealthy families，you name it. Just a few days ago, I wrote an article exposing a famous wealthy heir for money laundering. and it blew up so much that the police ended up getting involved.

I used to think my life was pretty great—a solid five-year relationship with a handsome, rich man, good friends, supportive coworkers and a decent spot in my career. But I had no clue that what happened last night, combined with an upcoming work task, would soon uncover my boyfriend's affair and send me spiraling.

When I stepped outside, Niall was waiting with coffee and my favorite sandwich, trying to smooth things over. I was still annoyed and hurt, so I just grabbed them without saying a word and headed to the office.

“Emilie!” he called after me, but I was already pressing down on the accelerator, leaving him behind.

As I arrived, I overheard my coworkers discussing the viral video. Most of them didn’t know the man in the clip was my boyfriend, since they had never met him.

"Em, did you watch the video I sent you last night?" one of them asked.

"Oh, yeah, I did," I replied, trying to sound casual.

"I think it could be a good story to cover."

"Well, I'm still working on my article. Maybe you can pitch it to Margareta," I suggested.

Right on cue, Margareta walked in. "You girls must've heard about the award show clip last night. It’s a big deal! Everyone’s talking about it. We need to dig up more on the man with Pamella!"

"Yes, Mar," the others chimed in. Meanwhile, I tried to keep my cool, focusing on my own work and pushing down the jealousy gnawing at me.

"What are you working on right now, Emilie?" Margareta asked, catching me off guard.

"The fraud I mentioned a couple of weeks ago?"

"Is it done yet?" she asked, walking over.

"Not quite, but almost..." I started, but she cut me off. "Em, let’s put that on hold. We need you on this hot news first."

"Mar, you know I’m not into celebrity gossip," I protested.

"I know you prefer the serious stuff, like exposing big cases. You’ve got integrity and awards to back it up. But why not switch it up? Your trafficking story might get lost in the noise with all this buzz about Pamella and her mystery man. Give it some thought."

"I’ll think about it," I replied, not entirely convinced as she patted my back and walked away.

Before lunch, Margareta called me into her office again. "Emilie, you’re on the Pamella and mystery man story. Everything else can wait," she said as I sat down.

"But I'm almost done with my current piece. Can’t you assign this to someone else?" I asked.

"Sorry, Em. The CEO loves your work, but he wants us to play it safe for now after stirring up some big names. It’s for your own good too. Celeb stories can be fun, trust me. And no one knows who this guy is yet. He’s super private. Don’t let the competition beat us to it. This could boost your profile too,” she said.

I hesitated and said, “But what if there’s nothing going on between them? What if they’re just friends? I don’t want to spread rumors.”

Margareta smiled, “That’s exactly why we need you. Investigate, get the truth. If there’s nothing to it, you can clear their names too.”

I couldn’t really argue. This assignment was mine whether I liked it or not.