Our Accidental Forever
Chapter 28: Joanne’s Fury

Chapter 28: Joanne’s Fury

Joanne POV:

I slammed the door behind me as I stormed into my apartment, my heels clicking hard against the floor as I paced back and forth. I couldn’t breathe. My chest was tight, and my hands were shaking. I ripped off my coat and tossed it on the couch, too angry to care where it landed.

"How dare he?"

How could Arec do this to me? To - us?

I stopped pacing, staring at my reflection in the hallway mirror. My face was flushed, my makeup smeared from where I had wiped at my eyes in frustration. I was trying to hold back the tears, but it felt impossible. The anger bubbling up inside me was overwhelming, choking me.

He had the nerve to invite me to his wedding - his wedding, and to ’her’ of all people. Ella, his assistant. A nobody. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms so hard it hurt, but it didn’t stop the rage. If anything, it fueled it.

I grabbed the nearest object, a glass vase sitting innocently on the coffee table, and threw it against the wall. The sound of it shattering echoed through the room, sharp and piercing. I watched as the pieces fell to the floor, scattered like my thoughts.

"How did it come to this?"

The rage was suffocating. Ella. That name felt like poison on my tongue. How dare she take what’s mine? A mere assistant? My Arec, right under my nose. The thought made me sick. I was muttering, cursing like I was losing my mind.

My heart felt like it was pounding in my throat, and I couldn’t calm down. I pulled on my hair in frustration. How did I not see it coming? How did everything go so wrong?

I had known Arec for years. We’d grown up together. We shared memories, laughter, moments that no one else could understand. He was supposed to be mine. It was always going to be us. That’s what everyone said. That’s what his grandmother wanted.

I thought I had time. I thought he would eventually see me the way I saw him, his future, his partner. But instead, he stood there today, looking at me with those familiar eyes, and told me he was marrying her.

I screamed, grabbing another vase and smashing it against the wall. The pieces flew in every direction, but it still wasn’t enough. Nothing would be enough to calm the storm inside me.

"How could he do this?" I muttered to myself, pacing again. "How could he pick her? A mere assistant?"

I had known from the beginning that something was off about Ella.

The first time I saw her, that Ella of a girl, something inside me screamed that she didn’t belong. There was something off, something I couldn’t put my finger on. She was beautiful, yes, but I brushed it off. I told myself I was overreacting. She’s just an assistant, I thought. What could possibly happen? I trusted Arec. He was focused, professional. He’d never let some assistant get close to him like that. But looking back now, I can see the signs. God, how could I have been so blind and stupid?

I ran my fingers through my hair again, pacing even faster. I could see it all so clearly now. Whenever I visited Arec at the office and saw her sitting at her desk, my always chest tightened. The way she always looked at him, so calm, so comfortable. She didn’t act like a nervous employee; she acted like she belonged there, like she knew him.

I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes as the memories flooded back.

The way Arec smile at her. Smiling. He never smiled at his employees. His smiles were always reserved for family, close friends. Yet he always smile at her, eyes lingering on her for a moment too long, the corners of his lips lifting ever so slightly. He tried to be discreet, but I saw it. And I didn’t question it. I didn’t pay attention. I told myself I was overthinking it.

Idiot! I slammed my fist on the dresser, wincing as pain shot up my arm. I should’ve seen it then. I should’ve realized that this, this so-called assistant, was worming her way into his life, into his heart. But I was so focused on our history, our friendship. I thought I had time. I thought Arec just needed to see me for who I was, his perfect match, his future wife.

I grabbed a photo frame from the table, one of Arec and me at a family party, and hurled it across the room. The glass shattered, and I watched as the picture fluttered to the ground, the image of us laughing together now surrounded by broken glass.

That’s what we were now, broken. Everything I thought I had, everything I thought we could have, was shattered.

How could Arec be so blind? How could he not see that I was the one who belonged by his side? I had everything , a perfect background, the right connections, years of history with him. I was the obvious choice. Everyone knew it. His grandmother had practically told me as much. She had wanted me for him. She had pushed for us to be together.

So what the hell happened?

I pressed my palms to my eyes, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to spill over. My breathing was shallow, my chest tight. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t believe I was losing him, to her.

I thought the pieces were falling into place. Arec’s grandmother was on my side, always making little comments about how I would be the perfect match, how I had the family background, the education, the grace. She never missed an opportunity to remind Arec that a man like him needed a woman who could stand beside him, not some nobody with no connections. And I had that in spades.

I thought we had a plan, his grandmother and I. I believed that, when the time was right, Arec would finally see me as more than just a friend. I had waited, been patient, kept myself available for him whenever he needed me.

But then she came into the picture. Quiet, unassuming, and so damn perfect. She wasn’t even trying. That’s the worst part. She didn’t have to try. She just was. I’m sure she played it off, like she didn’t know what she was doing. But I knew better now. Ella knew exactly what she was doing.

"How could he choose her?" I whispered to the empty room. My hands trembled as I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold it together. "How could he?

What did she have that I didn’t?

Now I was invited to his wedding. To watch him marry someone who isn’t me.

I clenched my jaw, fury bubbling up inside me again. I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t just sit back and let this happen. Arec was mine. He was supposed to be mine. I had waited for him, stood by his side all these years. I wasn’t going to let some nobody assistant take him from me.

Not without a fight.

I gritted my teeth, my nails digging into my palms. "This isn’t over," I muttered to myself. "I won’t let her take him from me."

Arec’s grandmother was supposed to stop this from happening. I thought she’d pull the strings, force Arec to see reason. But she’d failed. She’d let him make this ridiculous decision, allowed him to throw away everything we’d planned for years. The old witch had proven unreliable.

I bent down and picked up the broken picture frame, holding the photo in my hands. The memory stung now. It was supposed to be us. We were supposed to be together. I had waited, been patient, and now... I’m loosing him.

I tossed the photo onto the couch, turning away from it. If his grandmother couldn’t stop this, if she was going to let him make this mistake, then I would handle it myself. I would make sure Ella knew her place. She didn’t belong in Arec’s life, and I would make damn sure she realized that.

I couldn’t trust anyone else to fix this. Arec needed to see that I was the only one who truly knew him, who could stand beside him as his equal. Ella was just a distraction, a temporary lapse in judgment.

I could fix this.

I stared at the shattered glass on the floor, feeling the determination harden inside me. I had to act, and I had to do it fast. The wedding might be soon, but there was still time. Time to show Arec that I was the only choice that made sense. Time to remind him of everything we had, everything we could still have.

I would make sure of it.

I paced the room again, my mind racing with possibilities. I couldn’t be reckless. I had to be smart. I had to be strategic.

Ella didn’t know what was coming for her. She thinks she’s won. She thinks she’s secured her place beside him, but she doesn’t know who she’s up against. I’ve fought too hard, waited too long, to let some nobody steal my future.

She didn’t know how far I was willing to go to get what I wanted.

I grabbed my phone, scrolling through my contacts until I found the one I needed. I wasn’t going to do this alone. I had friends, powerful ones. People who could help me, people who knew how to deal with problems like Ella.

I wasn’t going to let her win.

I took a deep breath, my fingers hovering over the screen. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through me, the fire in my veins. This wasn’t over. It was just the beginning.

I pressed the call button and lifted the phone to my ear, a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I heard the voice on the other end.

"Joanne," they said, their voice cautious.

"I need your help," I replied, my voice steady, controlled. "It’s about Arec."

There was a pause, then a sigh. "What do you need?"

I looked at the broken glass on the floor, my resolve solidifying.

"I need you to help me take care of something."

Ella wasn’t going to take what was mine. I would make sure of it.

Arec was mine, and I would stop at nothing to get him back.

I would have him. I must have him.

He’s mine. ..