The Girl Who Fought Back

My boyfriend chased after a rich girl, then turned around and dumped me. Inside, I was celebrating. I was finally free of that monster. I could understand them showing up to rub it in my face. But could someone tell me why the rich girl, who looked all arrogant on the surface, was actually looking at me with a gaze full of... pity? My boyfriend, Renly Wilton, was chasing after a rich girl while stringing me along and refusing to break up. He called it: "keeping his options open." I waited and waited, and finally, he succeeded in winning her over. He dumped me, clean and quick. I was out celebrating that very thing when Renly walked into the same restaurant, holding hands with his new girlfriend. When he saw me, his face fell. "Baby, this is such terrible luck. We ran into my ex." "She can't even compare to a single strand of your hair. Just treat her like she's air. Don't let her ruin your appetite." My stomach churned violently. The rich girl's name was Trisha Cunning. She looked down at me and snorted coldly, unimpressed. Then she dragged Renly off to a corner. My perfectly good meal instantly turned to sawdust in my mouth. I asked the server to pack up my food and went to the restroom. Trisha was standing at the sink. I froze for a second, then pretended I hadn't seen her. But after I finished in the stall, she was still there. As I washed my hands, I secretly sized her up. One glance, and my heart jumped. Why was she looking at me with that pitying expression? After hesitating a moment, I spoke up: "Renly Wilton is scum. A total psychopath. Don't let him fool you." Trisha's lips moved, but before she could say a word, Renly's voice cut in sharply from the doorway: "Trisha, what's taking you so long in there? Is Molly bullying you?" She looked away from me, cleared her throat, and walked toward him. "We ran into each other, yeah. But does she look like she's got the guts to bully me?" Her voice took on a coquettish tone: "Renly, my mood's totally ruined now. Let's just go eat somewhere else." "Baby, wherever you want to eat, we'll go. Seeing you upset makes my heart ache and throb." Just from the sound of his voice, I could picture Renly's sycophantic, greasy smile. But honestly? Suited me just fine. I put my to-go box back in my bag and sat down to enjoy my breakup dinner in comfort. Still, why had Trisha looked at me like that? Was I seeing things? I met Renly Wilton at work. Less than a week after I started, Renly launched an all-out offensive. He chased me for three whole months. I'd never been in a single relationship my whole life, and I thought, why not give it a shot? Who knew that taking that one little chance would throw me straight into hell on earth? Somewhere along the way, he'd heard a rumor that I got my job through connections, that I had ties to upper management. I said that wasn't true. My parents were ordinary farmers. Not a single relative or family friend held any kind of powerful position. I got into the company on my own merit, not through the backdoor everyone was gossiping about. Renly's face went ashen the moment he heard that. He slapped me, hard, across the face. His tone did a complete one-eighty: "You worthless bitch. I wasted all that time and effort chasing you, and your family's nothing but a bunch of broke farmers!" I clutched my stinging cheek, stumbling backwards in shock. I pointed at him in disbelief: "Renly, you... you hit me! Are you saying the only reason you chased me was to exploit my connections? To climb the corporate ladder through upper management?" The man in front of me raged like a wild animal, completely unhinged, a total opposite of his usual gentle and cultured facade. Terrified, I scrambled back toward the door, my only thought to get away from this unhinged monster. "Molly, I swear to God I'm going to beat you to death! Do you know how much money I spent chasing you!" My hand had just touched the doorknob. Inches away. Then my whole body was yanked back violently. Before I could react, I was shoved with brutal force. Renly slammed me against the wall without the slightest bit of mercy, like I wasn't even a person, just a doll he could take his rage out on. I heard the sickening crack of bone. Pain exploded through my entire body, like I'd been split into a dozen pieces. Everything spun. The cold dread in my heart was nothing compared to the primal need to survive. I tried to threaten him with the last of my strength: "Renly, I never thought you were this kind of man! Do you want me to call the police?" Renly's lips curled into a mocking smile. His voice suddenly dropped, soft and gentle, as if he was back to normal: "Molly, what evidence could you possibly have to show the police?" As he spoke, his hands wrapped around my throat, squeezing tighter and tighter. His face loomed closer and closer, twisted and menacing. My hands beat uselessly against this freak of a man. It did nothing. Just as I was about to pass out, he finally let go, looking almost disappointed. After that day, Renly still didn't let me go. He refused to break up. He kept picking me up and dropping me off at work, and showed up right on time every day to crash at my apartment. "Breaking up this soon? I'd be getting the short end of the stick. Once I win over Trisha Cunning, then I'll let you go!" Trisha Cunning was the new hire who'd appeared out of nowhere. Rumor was she was the CEO's daughter. With the sheer difference in physical strength between a man and a woman, every time Renly laid his hands on me, my attempts to fight back ended in failure. It wasn't that I hadn't tried calling the police... it's just... a long, complicated story.Renly's torment lasted twenty days. It wasn't until he and Trisha Cunning became an official couple that my personal hell finally ended. "Did you guys hear? Someone filed an anonymous complaint against Renly Wilton!" "For real? What was the complaint about?" "No idea. The department head went looking for him first thing this morning, all pissed off, but he was nowhere to be found. That just made her angrier." My coworkers were whispering amongst themselves. I started my work, pretending I didn't care. Renly knew I was thin-skinned, that I hated being the subject of gossip. Whenever I resisted him or went against his wishes, he'd start spreading vicious rumors around the office. Like how I'd seduced older men back in school. Or that I used to be in the adult industry. Or that my hymen was surgically repaired several times. All my coworkers looked at me with naked disgust and did their best to avoid me. Every time I tried to explain, they'd offer the fakest agreement, then turn around and mock me even more viciously behind my back. In over twenty years of life, I'd never been treated like garbage by everyone around me. Going to work every day felt like a fate worse than death. I wanted so badly to tear up my employment contract, to rip their lying mouths apart, to just jump straight off the top floor of the building. Close to noon, Renly swaggered into the office. He noticed the looks the other coworkers were giving him and a flicker of confusion crossed his face. When he saw our supervisor, Ms. Laurie, yank him into her office in a fury, a long-lost smile finally touched my lips. The office soundproofing was terrible. Ms. Laurie's shouting echoed through the whole floor. "Are you coming in late every single day? Do you think you own this company? You just show up whenever you feel like it and disappear when you don't!" "And you set up an old phone to clock in remotely? If you don't want this job, then get the hell out!" "I'm docking fifty percent of your monthly pay! And this is going out as a company-wide warning. From now on, anyone who's late is going to be called a 'Renly Wilton'!" Everyone was fighting to hold back their laughter, taking no small amount of schadenfreude—everyone, that is, except for Renly, whose face was a deep, angry red. Before this, Renly used to brag to his colleagues that he had connections, that he only needed to work half days. After laying into him, Ms. Laurie stormed off. Renly watched her retreating back with a murderous hatred. It was a look I knew all too well. I quickly dropped my head and pretended to be busy. A second later, his gaze shifted to me, like he was sizing up the culprit. He stared at me for what felt like an eternity. Long enough for my neck to go stiff and goosebumps to erupt all over my body. When Renly finally turned away, I let out a tiny sigh of relief and couldn't help but lift my head. I never expected him to whip his head back around and glare right at me! My head shot back down. My heart skipped a beat. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. Renly eventually went back to his desk. But I knew it. He was already plotting his revenge against me.Quitting time came. Everyone streamed out of the office building in twos and threes. I got up to leave and joined the crowd piling into the elevator. Renly squeezed in, too, his face like thunder. The moment the elevator doors opened, he took a few steps out, then stopped dead in his tracks, standing off to the side and watching me with a dark, sinister look. Sure enough, Renly grabbed me and yanked me into the building's main lobby. My coworkers' eyes lit up with the hunger for juicy gossip. Every single one of them was sneaking glances our way. "Molly, are you so bitter about me and Trisha being together that you went and filed an anonymous complaint against me?" Renly practically spat the words through gritted teeth, loud enough for the entire floor to hear. In order to get with Trisha Cunning without any public backlash, he'd already started the rumor that I'd cheated on him. Everyone believed that our breakup was my fault. So nobody criticized him for moving on to someone new so fast. "What? I'm the one who's been desperate to break up! You were the one stringing me along as a backup, playing both sides, clinging to me and refusing to let go, threatening me with violence! You have the nerve to say I'm the bitter one? What, am I some kind of masochist?" I screamed the words with every ounce of strength I had, completely shattering the quiet, sweet image I'd always projected at work. A wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd. Renly flinched. A flash of shock crossed his face, and his voice came out panicked: "Molly, don't you dare go spouting lies and twisting the truth!" Then he leaned in close to my ear, so close only I could hear him. His voice was a low, menacing snarl: "Who gave you the guts to say all that? Aren't you afraid I'll mail those nude photos to your parents' house?" I forced back the bone-deep chill that ran through me and offered him a defiant little smile. As soon as my paycheck had come in, I'd bought my parents tickets for a senior tour group. Out of the country. They were already on their way. Renly raised his hand to slap me, his expensive watch flashing on his wrist, the gesture second nature to him by now. Instinctively, I dodged—and backed right into someone. I spun around. It was Ms. Laurie. I turned my head again, and saw Renly's hand stopped in mid-air, caught by a slender, elegant hand. I followed the arm up. It was the last person I expected—Trisha Cunning. Maybe it was my imagination, but I could have sworn I saw a flash of deep loathing in Trisha's eyes as she looked at Renly. It was there and gone in an instant, quickly replaced by sweet affection. Renly couldn't hide his shock. He stared, baffled. "Trisha, what are you..." Trisha wrapped her arm around his, coquettish and sweet. "Honey, we have a family rule. Men don't hit women. No matter what kind of nonsense she's spouting, you can't hit her." Renly gave her a strained, forced smile. Before he could get a single word out, a slap to the face shut him up. Crack! The slap echoed loud and clear. The side of his face instantly turned a splotchy, bruised purple. Renly stared at the person who'd hit him in total disbelief. It was Ms. Laurie.A collective gasp went through the crowd. Including mine. Ms. Laurie didn't seem to feel one slap was enough. She kicked him savagely in the back of the knee. Thud. Renly went down on his knees. "There are two kinds of men I hate most in this world! Men who hit women! And men who two-time! And you managed to be both! If I didn't smack you, I'd be beyond pissed!" Trisha stood to the side, her expression cold and detached, unreadable. Renly scrambled to his feet, rage twisting his face. He didn't bother hiding his viciousness as he glared at Ms. Laurie. "Don't think you're so high and mighty! Just wait until I'm in a position to crush you! You just wait!" Then, with the red handprint still fresh on his face and the whispers of the crowd buzzing around him, he hurriedly grabbed Trisha and dragged her away. "Ms. Laurie, I really can't thank you enough for that. But that guy is rotten to the core. Please be careful and protect yourself." Ms. Laurie just gave a carefree wave and walked off, like she was just a passerby. I was left standing there alone, going back over what just happened in my head. Trisha's reaction was so strange. Seeing the man she loved getting hit—shouldn't she have been anxious or worried? Why was her face so cold? And another thing, Renly didn't buy a watch the last time we were at that watch store. I went back to the watch store Renly had visited. Back then, I'd been standing by the door, bored out of my mind, not paying attention to what he was doing. "Hi there, what kind of watch are you looking for?" I shook my head at the owner and bent down, scanning the watches inside the glass display case. There. I found the exact same watch Renly was wearing. "Sir, could you take that one out for me?" The owner tore himself away from his game, pulled the watch out, and handed it to me without a second thought. I examined it carefully. It was a fake. No doubt about it. A bold idea popped into my head. I cleared my throat. It was hard to even get the words out. "Sir... this watch is a counterfeit. I think my ex-boyfriend must have switched them." The owner, a six-foot-three wall of muscle, finally put his phone down. His face went slack with shock. "What?" He snatched the fake from my hand, and two seconds of looking at it was enough to send his face a deep, furious purple. "Who's your ex-boyfriend? I'm going to make him pay!" I'd heard the rumors about this watch store owner. He was a gym fanatic, solid muscle, and when he hit people, he didn't stop until it was serious. Last time someone stole from him, the thief ended up with a broken arm and a broken leg. I forced down the gleeful smile threatening to break out on my face and told him Renly's name, where he worked, and where he lived. Then I put on a face full of bitter resentment and pain. "He's a total scumbag who abused me! We're finally broken up, so I got the courage to come tell you. Please, please don't tell him it was me. If he finds out, he'll make me pay for it!" I squeezed out a few tears as I spoke. The owner's eyes went wide with fury. He gave my shoulder a hearty, reassuring slap. "Don't you worry. I won't breathe a word. I'll find the right opportunity to take care of this scumbag, this watch thief! I'll beat him to a pulp!" I gave the owner a deeply grateful smile. A dark thrill of revenge bubbled up inside me. Renly, when you were beating me, did you ever imagine the day would come when someone would return the favor with their fists?