Chapter 3

By the time my plane lands in Southport, the concert video is already everywhere online.

I turn on my phone and see Nathan on one knee again.

The video shows Claire, Sophie, and Vivian in their wedding dresses.

It shows the three rings, the screaming crowd, and Nathan's perfect smile.

Then the edited clip cuts to me crouching in the aisle and picking up candy favors from the floor.

No one online knows I am Nathan's wife.

No one online knows I am the woman he married five years ago.

Soon, two photos start spreading with my account tagged under them.

One photo shows me wearing the staff badge.

The other photo shows me picking up Vivian's phone after the show.

The caption is short and cruel.

[The woman in the video is only a temporary event worker.]

[After the proposal, she stole a female guest's phone, probably because she wanted attention.]

My notifications explode within minutes.

[She is a thief.]

[She is so jealous that it is embarrassing.]

[She tried to ruin someone else's happy moment.]

[She really thought she could fake being important.]

I sit in the airport with my suitcase beside me and read comment after comment.

For five years, Nathan hides me from the world.

Now the world is helping him erase me.

I send the posts to Ethan.

[Screenshot everything, because I want to pursue this.]

Then I upload my own evidence.

I post a blurred copy of our marriage certificate.

I post the lost-and-found record for Vivian's phone.

I post the full screen recording of their private group chat.

The recording does not only show what they said tonight.

It shows the bets, the missed anniversaries, and Nathan saying I would never leave because I wanted the title of Mrs. Hayes too badly.

For a few minutes, the comments begin to change.

[Wait, the woman picking up candy is his wife?]

[They made his wife work in the aisle while he proposed to three other women?]

[That group chat is disgusting.]

Then my post disappears.

A platform notice pops up on my screen.

[Removed after joint complaints from involved parties.]

Nathan calls before I can even take a full breath.

I answer, and his voice comes through cold and controlled.

"Did you post the marriage certificate and the chat?"

"Yes."

"Stop responding, and I'll handle it."

I look at the complaint notice on my screen.

"How are you going to handle it?"

"Our PR team will explain that you were part of the proposal setup," he says. "They will also explain that you have feelings for me, so you forged a marriage certificate."

For a second, I think I must have misheard him.

Then I laugh because the truth is too ugly to swallow quietly.

"You are going to smear me in public for three mistresses?"

The line goes quiet.

Then Nathan says, "Be reasonable."

"No."

"If I admit you are my wife, people will call them homewreckers."

"They are homewreckers."

"You know who you are, and that should be enough."

His words land harder than the insults online.

A secret marriage, a staff badge, a pillow thrown outside my own bedroom, and a lie big enough to bury me are supposed to be enough.

Nathan continues, "After the statement goes out, this ends here."

He hangs up.

Thirty minutes later, Hayes Group posts an official statement as the concert tour's sponsor.

[Nora Bennett knew about the proposal arrangement in advance and voluntarily participated in the on-site execution.]

[The private group chat was a joke among friends, so please stop spreading false claims.]

The statement does not say I am Nathan's wife.

It does not explain why those friends placed bets on me.

It does not explain why Nathan gave three women rings while I cleaned the aisle.

The internet turns on me again.

[So she really was staff.]

[I almost believed her fake wife story.]

[She got caught lying and still wants sympathy.]

I stare at the screen until my eyes burn.

Nathan knows I am his legal wife.

He knows I did not steal the phone.

He knows they lied about me.

But he would rather let strangers call me a thief than let Claire, Sophie, and Vivian be called what they are.

Not long after, the concert's official account announces an extra encore show in Southport.

Then the Southport venue manager calls me.

"Ms. Bennett, Mr. Hayes has confirmed your appearance before the encore show."

I stop walking.

"What appearance did he confirm?"

"The clarification segment," she says. "The three ladies will remove their rings onstage."

My hand tightens around the phone.

"What do you expect me to do?"

"You will put the rings back on them yourself and publicly state that you accept the proposal."

I do not answer her.

The manager clears her throat.

"There is also a short statement for you to read."

A file arrives on my phone while she is still speaking.

I open the document.

[I, Nora Bennett, acted out of jealousy and released private messages without permission, and I sincerely apologize to Mr. Hayes and the three ladies.]

One line is printed in bold at the bottom.

[Approved by Nathan Hayes.]

I read the document twice.

Then I forward it to Ethan.

[Add this to the case.]

Nathan wants me to kneel again, but this time he wants cameras in front of me.

He wants me to apologize to the women who laughed while he broke me.

I turn off my phone and step outside the airport.

The cold Southport air hits my face and clears my head.

I need to stay awake for what comes next.