***** THAT SAME DAY

Bethany seethed with rage in her home, her anger fueled by Fred's latest stunt.

She glanced at her phone and saw the incriminating pictures he had leaked to the media.

Why did this have to happen all of a sudden? Everything was going smoothly before they came back to haunt her.

Fred must be stupid to involve the media and humiliate her like this. What does he want from her?

And with this scandal, was Chantel ever going to return her son after seeing the compromising pictures of her and Fred?

Her phone rang, shrill in the silence. It was her boss from the finance company where she worked as a manager.

Apparently, it was against company policy to be embroiled in a personal scandal. For all she knew, she had a lot of explaining to do.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, jolting her out of her thoughts. She went to open the door, her frown turning into an angry stare. It was Dean at the door.

"What are you doing here?" she asked immediately, her voice laced with annoyance.

He replied, his lips pursed with worry etched on his face, "Oh! That's why you didn't come for the meeting!"

"I told you... I can't do business with you. Please go away!" She was about to slam the door on his face until he uttered something that made her stop midway.

He coughed and said with a grunt, "I saw the video! And the pic..." She cut him off, "And so? I am really not in the mood to play your stupid games. Who hasn't done something worse to their ex-partner?"

"Your company asked me if I knew where you were since I never cancelled the meeting. What should I say?" Bethany shook her head in disappointment, looked left and right outside before saying, "Just come in!"

"My pleasure!"

**** QUEEN'S ENTERTAINMENT

After Chantel had finished answering a plethora of questions regarding the compromising position Bethany and her husband were seen in, she was going to confront Fred.

Unfortunately, the spotlight she wanted was shifted from her to the exes. She never got the attention she needed.

She reached the door of her office and opened it, seeing Fred on his phone, acting like nothing had ever happened.

"Are you insane?" she asked aggressively, shutting the door.

He just laughed, turned his phone to Chantel, and showed her the video of him and Bethany.

"Look how scared she was!"

Out of anger, Chantel snatched the phone from his hand and tossed it on the floor.

"Hey! You will pay for that!" he shrugged with a hint of indifference in his attitude.

Chantel was hesitant to ruffle her hair, so she screamed, "How could you? You knew this was a great day for me, and you stole the attention!"

Fred stood up, slicked his hair back, walked towards her and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Aww! You always cease to amaze me! Isn't that why you wanted me? To have all the attention in the world. But no... Chantel, it's my turn!"

She retaliated, "I... But why? Why does it have to be her? You can't possibly go back to her!"

She took a step closer and tugged at his shirt, a distraught look on her face.

"I... worked so hard to put this family together. I accepted your son into our love. You're such an ingrate! What do you want more from me?"

He chuckled and replied quickly, "Enough with your dream wife poem. You think you can get whatever you want, but I won't allow you this time!"

Chantel gave him a slap on the face and wiped away her tears. Then, she started throwing things all around the office – papers to the dustbin, appliances to the wall.

"You are such an ingrate. All these years... Beth... Beth. Aren't you ashamed of using the same underwear twice?"

He replied with a wide and satisfactory grin on his face, "If I had known, I wouldn't have worn the shorts twice not the underwear because they hurt and stink!"

**** BACK TO BETHANY

Dean was seated in her house, and she failed to entertain him or make him comfortable.

She popped out of the kitchen to the living room where he was sitting, watching TV, and yelled, "You have spent enough time. I think it's the best time for you to leave!"

He groaned and quickly stood up to his feet, wearing a remorseful look on his face .

"Okay, fine. I shouldn't have said those hurtful words. I..."

Before he could finish, the doorbell rang again, but this time, she had no idea who was behind the door.

She hoped it wouldn't a member of the Hart family. She opened the door, and then she saw Chantel poking a hole in her wall with a glass.

"What are you doing?" Bethany yelled.

Chantel gave her a devilish grin and replied, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm destroying your things like I would destroy your life!"

Bethany came out of the door and shut it, ready for the confrontation between them.

"Excuse me!" Bethany said, her voice firm.

Chantel turned around, her eyes blazing with anger. "You think you're so smart, don't you? Thinking you can just waltz back into Fred's life and steal him away from me?"

Bethany rolled her eyes. "Please, Chantel. You're not even in the same league as me."

Chantel's face turned red with rage. "How dare you! I'll have you know, I'm the one who's been taking care of Fred all these years. I'm the one who's been supporting him, loving him, and putting up with his crap. And you think you can just come along and steal him away from me?"

Bethany shrugged. "I'm not stealing him away from you, Chantel. I'm just taking back what's rightfully mine and it's obviously not Fred"

Chantel's eyes narrowed. "You'll never have him. He's mine, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep him."

Bethany smiled sweetly. "We'll see about that, Chantel. We'll see about that....I will use him to get my son back! "

Just then, Dean appeared at the door, his eyes fixed on Chantel. "I think it's time for you to leave, Chantel. You're not welcome here."

Chantel's face turned white with rage, but she knew she was beaten.

" And who are you? "

He put a comforting arm around Bethany's shoulder and uttered, " I'm her boyfriend! "

Bethany turned to dean, a disgust look on her face as she tried to process his words.

Chantel's angriness was replaced by happiness as she brought out her phone and took a picture of the two.

" Perfect. The single ex is not so single after all! Wow...I can't wait to break the news to Fred. " She said with a laugh.

" Now I can hand this over to you knowing you might faint in someone's hands " Chantel grinned and handed an envelope to her.

" What's in there? " Bethany asked.

" Check yourself! "