Whitney suddenly realized they had been standing there, conversing at the threshold, with her inside and him on the outside.
“Sorry, I forgot. Come in,” she stammered, stepping aside to let him enter.
Klein slipped off his shoes, stepping inside barefoot, and Whitney recalled how he had done the same during his previous visit.
“I apologize; I don’t have any men’s slippers. I’ll make sure to buy some tomorrow,” she said, a bit embarrassed.
‘It feels awkward to make him go barefoot every time he visits,’ she thought, not even registering that she was already assuming there would be more visits in the future.
“Don’t worry about it. You can get them the day after tomorrow if you want,” he replied, his voice reassuring.
‘Wait, is the day after tomorrow rushing things?’ Whitney pondered, her thoughts a jumble.
Clearing her throat to hide her embarrassment, she asked, “So, why the glasses today?”
It was a weak attempt at conversation, and she was well aware of it.
Klein chuckled softly, “I wear them sometimes. I had a meeting with an old fox today, and the glasses make me appear more harmless.”
‘Not even close, but thanks for the effort,’ Whitney thought, a small smile tugging at her lips.
Behind his glasses, Klein’s eyes glimmered in the cold light as he focused on a photo frame on her dresser. “When was this taken?” he inquired, genuine curiosity in his tone.
Whitney walked over, a smile spreading across her face. “Oh, that was during my first year of grad school. One of my seniors snapped it for me.”
Klein removed his glasses, as if wanting to scrutinize the woman in the photograph more closely.
In the picture, her smile was radiant, her hair pulled back into a simple ponytail. Her cheeks bore a natural flush, reminiscent of a perfectly ripe peach.
It made him want to take a bite.
Klein swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured, setting the photo back down.
He glanced at his watch, attempting to appear nonchalant. “It’s getting late; I should let you get some rest.”
Whitney felt a pang of surprise; she had thought he would linger a bit longer.
She walked him to the elevator, the silence between them heavy with unspoken words.
“Don’t bother seeing me out; just head back in. I’ll see you this weekend!” he called over his shoulder, his voice light.
Whitney smiled softly, “See you this weekend.”
As she returned to her apartment, her eyes were drawn to the silver-rimmed glasses resting on the console table. ‘When did he even leave those here?’ she wondered, a flicker of annoyance creeping in.
Without hesitation, she dialed his number. “Hey, you forgot your glasses.”
Klein had just stepped off the elevator, his voice relaxed and unhurried. “Oh right, I forgot about those. I’m already in my car, so I’ll just grab them next time.”
Before she could respond, the line went dead.
Whitney frowned, perplexed. ‘Couldn’t he just pick them up this weekend?’ she thought, a wave of frustration washing over her.
*********
The following day, Whitney received a call from Samuel before she had even set foot in the office. “Whit, did you have anything to do with the news about your sister online?”
Her brow furrowed in confusion. “What news?”
Samuel hesitated, a sense of urgency creeping into his tone. “It wasn’t you?”
“No,” she replied firmly, but from his tone, she could sense the seriousness of the situation.
Samuel hung up, frustration evident in his voice.
He glanced at Tina, who was sprawled on the couch, exhausted from crying, and irritation surged within him. “I already told you it wasn’t Whitney. You did this to yourself, and now you want to shift the blame onto her?”
If Samuel were honest, he had always favored Tina. But the constant spoiling had seemingly gone to her head, leading her down a reckless path.
Now, she had become someone’s mistress, and the paparazzi had captured her indiscretions, plastering them all over the internet.
He had tried everything to bury the story, but the scandal persisted, and as a result, the company’s stock had taken a significant hit.
He was furious.
“Dad, she’s lying! It had to be her!” Tina sobbed, bitterness coursing through her. ‘Otherwise, how did everything fall apart?’ she thought. ‘Maybe she even benefited from it somehow.’
Tina couldn’t comprehend why Klein hadn’t come to her room that night. ‘She must’ve bribed the staff,’ she thought, her mind racing. ‘And she made me lose my virginity.’
The hatred swirling within Tina twisted her features into a mask of resentment.
Laura, not being her biological mother, kept her voice soft and gentle. “Samuel, I don’t believe Whit would do this either. But she was at the party that night, and she’s never liked Tina.”
Samuel’s expression darkened. ‘Would Whitney really stoop so low?’ he pondered. ‘Maybe not before, but now? I’m not so sure anymore.’
“Fine. Tina, you’re staying home for a while. No going out and making things worse. I’ll talk to Whitney tomorrow.”
‘If she did this,’ he thought grimly, ‘she has to take down those articles. No matter what it takes!’
As Whitney stepped into the law firm, she immediately caught snippets of hushed conversations among her colleagues, their voices laced with intrigue.
“Oh my god, did you guys see the news? They’re saying the Moore family’s daughter is some married guy’s mistress, and the wife caught them red-handed.”
“Wait, the daughter from AetherTech? That Moore family?”
“Has to be her, right? Didn’t we just hear she called off her engagement with the Harris family a while back?”
Someone gasped. “Which Harris family? Klein Harris’ family? Because of the cheating scandal?”
“Obviously. It’s not like we have multiple powerful Harris families running around.”
Whitney’s jaw tightened, irritation bubbling to the surface. ‘How did this story twist around to make me the scandal?’ she thought, disbelief washing over her.
Her phone buzzed with a TikTok DM, and she opened it, her heart sinking.
[Whitney, is this what you’ve become after we broke up? Throwing yourself at married men like some desperate mistress?]
Her eyes narrowed, anger flaring within her. ‘Not this again,’ she thought bitterly. ‘Carter just won’t leave me alone.’
Whitney felt as though a veil had been lifted from her eyes, revealing the truth she had been oblivious to all along. It was as if the world had suddenly come into focus, and she was left grappling with the intensity of her emotions.
She snatched her phone from the table and rose to her feet, her heart pounding with a mix of anger and frustration. Just then, a voice called out to her from across the room, “Whitney, want some coffee? I bought an extra cup!”
A fleeting smile crossed her lips, but it was quickly overshadowed by the tempest brewing inside her. “Thanks, but I’m good,” she replied, her tone lacking the usual warmth. She was far too furious to even think about consuming anything. What she truly needed was an outlet for her pent-up rage.
*****
Meanwhile, Carter was already regretting the impulsive message the moment he hit ‘send.’ It had been a rash decision, one that he feared might have spiraled out of control. He assumed it was merely a misunderstanding, yet the image he had seen had triggered an instinctual urge to confront Whitney. In that moment, he hadn’t paused to reflect on the fact that he had no right to judge her anymore.
Whitney found herself crouched in the dimly lit stairwell, her fingers dancing across the keyboard with such ferocity that it felt as if they might ignite. The words poured out of her like a dam breaking loose.
Whitney: [Carter, I’m warning you-stop harassing me over nothing. I don’t care if you think I’m someone’s mistress or side piece or whatever. I could hire eighteen male escorts in one night, and it would be none of your damn business, got it?]
Whitney: [We broke up. I can be with whoever I want now. Don’t you have a company to run? Don’t you have your own girlfriend? Why are you obsessing over what I’m doing?]
Whitney: [Or are you having regrets? Well, too bad. Even if you came crawling back with money, I wouldn’t take you back now.]
With a final, defiant “Go to hell,” Whitney blocked his number, severing that connection once and for all.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.