I Assisted My Aunt in Getting Divorced

I never imagined that staying at a hotel with my uncle Edmund Gordon would get me labeled a homewrecker.

His girlfriend, Violet Wolfe, came after me with a vengeance.

She and her crew stormed my dorm, tossed my stuff out, and deleted my nearly finished thesis, swearing to crush anyone standing in her way of love.

Outnumbered, I took a beating that left my stomach bleeding.

Just as Violet's hired thugs were about to strip me and pin me beside a toilet, my uncle rushed in.

1

I heard the chaos before I even reached the dorm building.

A girl in designer clothes stood at the entrance, livestreaming on the latest iPhone, her voice booming with rage. "I knew his promises were lies! All that talk of loving only me forever, and then he hooks up with some college floozy. To think I've loved him for years!"

Gossip pulled people in like a magnet.

I had planned to slip out the back but stopped and joined the crowd.

The girl kept shouting, full of righteous anger. "Today, I'll show this tramp who am I! I'm doing everyone a favor by taking down these homewreckers!"

A red banner glowed under the lights, its bold text glaring.

"The Gordon family has a daughter, beloved by my husband."

"Here to claim a mistress!"

A giant photo of me stared back.

Shock froze me in place.

A simple trip with my uncle had somehow made me a mistress.

Before I could process it, Violet spotted me in the crowd and pointed. "That's the one who seduced my boyfriend! Watch me set things right!"

2

I recognized her.

Violet interned at my uncle's company and had recently become his personal assistant, always by his side.

But I never imagined it was this kind of closeness.

Anger flared in my chest.

The crowd parted, and Violet lunged like a rabid dog, tearing at my clothes. A man with a camera smirked and clicked his tongue.

The livestream's comments flew by.

"Hit her harder!"

"Why pity a homewrecker? She's just clueless, so what if you rough her up?"

"This is what college students are like now? They care about degrees, not morals."

The insults piled up, but I had no time to grab my phone.

Someone found my keys and kicked open my dorm door, throwing out everything I owned.

I fought back but was no match for the mob.

Violet grabbed my hair, and with her clique's help, dragged me up the stairs, shoving me into the wreckage.

Pain snapped me back to reality.

My voice rasped with defiance. "I'm not a mistress! Don't think every woman is as shameless as you. Show me proof if you've got it!"

Violet scoffed, mocking my stubbornness, and shoved a cracked phone screen in my face.

It showed texts from my trip with my uncle.

"When are you picking me up?"

"Grab me a nightgown on your way back."

"Get that bag too, I need it soon."

I froze, stunned.

3

Everyone in the family knew my uncle and I were close.

To celebrate my joining the family business, he and my aunt planned a spa hotel getaway with me, but peak season left us with one room.

I didn't know how Violet found out about the trip, but it wasn't through honest means.

I tried to explain, but blood filled my mouth, garbling my words.

Violet yanked my hair, sneering as I winced, and turned to the eager men nearby.

"I'm paying you good money, and you just stand there? This tramp loves climbing into men's beds, so a few of you should be enough to satisfy her!"

Violet slapped my face lightly.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I faced the hulking men, dropping to my knees to beg. "I'm not a mistress, I didn't seduce Edmund! Check the hotel cameras if you don't believe me. If I'm lying about me and Edmund, let lightning strike me dead!"

The men exchanged glances, pity flickering in their eyes.

Violet spat in disgust. "Hotel cameras? You probably tampered with them already! If you're so innocent, why do you know Edmund's name and share a room with him?"

I opened my mouth to say Edmund was my uncle.

A rock smashed into my forehead, blood mixing with what I coughed up, leaving me a mess.

Humiliation fueled my hatred.

My life had been comfortable, even enviable, never touched by such disgrace.

People pelted me with rotten vegetables.

"Beat the homewrecker!"

"Sharing a school with her makes me sick. How do the law students stand it?"

"A law student playing mistress? Doesn't she know what breaking up a family means?"

The stench made me gag.

Someone tore at my shirt.

Violet, standing in the dorm, snarled at the men. "What are you waiting for? Get to it!"

The men outside showed their fierce intentions.

4

As I struggled to cover myself, Violet's grin widened, her posse jeering.

"Didn't peg you for the pure type. Where was that when you wrecked a happy couple?"

"Probably after Violet's rich husband!"

"I can't stand gold-diggers!"

I bit the arm tearing at my shirt, shouting through the man's yelp. "I have nothing to do with Edmund! He's my uncle, and he's married. Who are you to come after me?"

Before I could finish, Violet slapped me hard, and a rag was stuffed in my mouth.

Violet sighed in relief, turning to her skeptical friends. "Did you hear that? She said Edmund's her uncle! Who shares a hotel room with their uncle?"

The livestream comments kept rolling.

Gagged, I couldn't speak.

I pinned my hopes on the counselor, but he glanced once and left.

He just said, "She just got back a few days ago. She's not my problem. Deal with whoever you want."

Despair consumed me.

The crowd, swayed by Violet's story, watched coldly as I fought like an ant against a tree.

My strength faded.

Tears fell.

I closed my eyes amid Violet's taunts.

A shout cut through. "What are you doing!"

My eyes snapped open.