When my boyfriend and I were broke, splitting a single bowl of cheap instant ramen to save money, I told him about some juicy gossip I’d heard that day while picking up designer clothes for a consignment shop. "So there’s this new tech billionaire, right? Instead of living it up, he's basically slumming it in a tiny apartment." "Word is, he built his company from nothing, and he has this girlfriend who stuck with him through all the hard times." "But now that he’s rich, he wants a young, beautiful trophy wife, but he also doesn't want to let go of his original girlfriend. So he’s lying to both of them." "Why are rich guys so messed up? Isn't that just destroying someone emotionally?" My boyfriend’s hand froze. The piece of egg he was moving to my bowl dropped onto the table. I was so focused on mourning the wasted food that I completely missed how deathly pale his face had turned. Until the next day, when I went to a client’s house for a consignment pickup. I put on my white cotton gloves and carefully inspected the clothes and handbags. "These are incredibly hard-to-get limited editions. Ma'am, your husband really spoils you." The client smiled. "He says I’m so young, he’s the one getting the better end of the deal. Every time we... you know... he buys me a bunch of gifts." She lazily lifted one foot, examining her shoe. "These heels got wet in the rain. Just take them too. My husband will just buy me the newest season's pair anyway." I mentally calculated that this would mean an extra fifty bucks in commission. I could buy some late-night takeout for me and Liam to share. Happily, I bent down to help her take off the shoes. Suddenly, a gentle, familiar male voice echoed through the room. "Baby, why are you selling the things I gave you again?" "I'm going to get mad. Ten grand, twenty grand... to your husband, it's the same as a couple of bucks." I snapped my head up. My eyes locked onto a deep, dark gaze. Liam. The man who was supposed to be riding an e-bike delivering DoorDash right now was standing in this luxury foyer. In the fraction of a second our eyes met, a million questions surged up my throat. But they were instantly extinguished by the female client’s whiny, flirtatious complaint. "Hmph. Don't let him fool you with how much he spoils me and gives me whatever I want." "When he bullies me in bed, he's absolutely ruthless!" Liam’s eyes shifted away from mine, his expression completely unreadable. He reached out and pulled her silk robe back up over her shoulder, covering a cluster of dark red hickeys. His voice was incredibly soft. "Chloe, fix your robe. We have company." It wasn't hard to imagine. How reverently he must have pressed his lips against her neck and chest to leave those marks. I suddenly noticed something else. They were wearing matching designer silk pajamas. A set that cost over two thousand dollars. Just a few days ago, I had held up my phone, showing Liam a picture of those exact pajamas. I couldn't help but complain, "It's just a piece of clothing, but I'd have to work for months just to afford it. I hate rich people!" He had kissed the corner of my mouth. "Audrey, we'll have things like that too. I'm working hard so you can be a rich man's wife." I had taken it as a sweet, romantic joke, smiling contentedly. I never imagined that he would wear those pajamas first—and with someone else. They made him look impossibly wealthy and elite, elevating him to a status I could never reach. Chloe pouted, turning to lightly punch the man’s chest. "You jerk, you even get jealous of women now!" "Last time a guy at your company looked at me a second too long, you fired him on the spot." "You think you're some kind of mafia boss from a movie. You're so mean!" The girl’s face was glowing with youth, packed with collagen and vitality. That was why she had the confidence to act so spoiled. I stood there, stunned, and it took me several seconds to snap back to reality. My voice came out hoarse. "Do you guys... own a company together?" My client, Chloe, pushed out her red lips. "It's my husband's company." "When I was just an intern there, he landed a massive contract." "He insisted I was his lucky charm, and he chased me relentlessly." Those words were like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head. Three years ago, Liam had enthusiastically drained our entire life savings to launch a tech startup. Later, he told me the startup failed, and he fell into a deep depression because of it. Turns out, he didn't fail my expectations. He ran the company incredibly well. It’s just that the position of "Founder's Wife" he promised me... He gave it to another woman. Chloe looked at me, her eyes full of genuine concern. "Ma'am, are you looking for a job?" "If you need money, I can set you up with something." She patted her chest confidently. "Besides him, I'm the boss." Liam chuckled lightly, pinching her nose. "Always causing trouble." "Don't just hire random strays off the street." "From now on, our company is only hiring Ivy League graduates." My chest suddenly felt incredibly hollow. Both he and I went to no-name state schools. We endured endless eye rolls and rejections when looking for jobs because of our lackluster degrees. Now that he was at the top, he was invalidating everyone with a background like ours. And by extension, he was discarding me. I tried desperately not to look at them flirting. I turned my head stiffly, looking around the room. This massive mansion Chloe lived in... I had never even seen the inside of a place like this in real life. Even in my wildest dreams, I couldn't imagine luxury on this scale. The tiny apartment we had rented for eight years was smaller than one of the guest bathrooms here. Liam and I used to squeeze onto a full-sized bed. On rainy days, the ceiling leaked, and we patched it over and over again. Back then, we were so poor all we had was love. But I couldn't understand it. Why were we able to share the suffering, but not the success? Once the fruit of our labor was ripe, he picked it and handed it to another woman without a second thought. Making my youth, and my love, look like a complete joke. Ten minutes later. I picked up the heavy bags filled with designer goods and turned toward the mansion's front door. The plastic handles dug into my palms like sharp blades. It hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my chest. Liam had his arm around Chloe, his thumb quickly tapping out a message on his phone. It was a secret code we used to use when we were playing around. Wait for me. I'll contact you in a bit. I pretended I didn't see it. Before leaving, I offered them a respectful, professional bow. From the wealthy suburbs to our cheap apartment across town, it was a two-hour walk. I was usually incredibly frugal, and I would have gritted my teeth and walked until my legs gave out. But today, for the first time, I called an Uber. The money I had painstakingly saved up for our wedding suddenly felt like meaningless scrap paper. I turned my head, looking out the window at the passing scenery. Certain memories clawed at the nerves deep in my brain. In college, I was the student council president. While reviewing dining hall data, I noticed a guy who only spent two dollars a meal, eating the cheapest slop available. That was Liam, the campus golden boy I had secretly crushed on for months. I started quietly applying for low-income grants for him, finding ways to take care of him without bruising his pride. Until Liam found out. He cried, begging to be with me, swearing he would make me happy in the future. Later, his mother was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. We went to the bank and withdrew the first twenty thousand dollars we had saved from our part-time jobs. On the way to the hospital, we were cornered by a group of thugs with baseball bats. Facing them down, I spoke calmly. "Let him go. I have all the cash." I turned and whispered in Liam's ear: "This is your mom's life-saving money. Go pay the hospital bill." "I know these guys. I can talk to them. I'll be fine." To this day, Liam still doesn't know. That last part was a lie. Afterward, I even tried to lie to myself. To pretend that nothing happened that night in the alley. Stepping out of the Uber, my hands shook as I unlocked the apartment door. I hugged the toilet, dry heaving violently. I threw up my lunch, my dinner, and ten years of absolute trust. I frantically scrubbed my hands under the faucet. But the humiliation those men subjected me to... no matter how hard I scrubbed, I could never wash it off. I looked up at the mirror. My skin was rough and dull, and fine lines were starting to show at the corners of my eyes. What did I have to compete with a young girl in her early twenties? Suddenly, I started laughing. As I laughed, tears began to fall, one by one. He promised me everything, yet gave me nothing. And I never promised him anything. Yet I gave him everything I had. I don't know how much time passed before Liam came home, acting as if absolutely nothing was wrong. But this time, he had finally given up the disguise. He was wearing a perfectly tailored dark suit, exuding an aura of wealth and arrogance, completely shedding the exhausted, broke delivery driver persona. His first words upon walking through the door weren't a plea for forgiveness. Instead, he demanded to know why I was working a side gig. If it weren't for today, I probably would have never discovered the truth. I looked him dead in the eye, my face perfectly calm. "Liam, you delivering DoorDash after work was a lie." "But me working three part-time jobs every single day... that was real." He instantly grabbed my wrist, his gaze sharp and aggressive. "Audrey, have I ever let you go hungry or cold these past few years?" "Who are you putting on this pathetic 'poor me' act for?" I stared at him intently for a long time. "I wanted to make extra money so you could afford to marry me sooner." "Is that a crime?" My voice trailed off, becoming as light as a breeze. "But looking at things now, I guess there's no need." As the words fell, his grip on my wrist suddenly went rigid. I looked toward the bedroom. Liam and I used to curl up on that tiny bed. We would count on our fingers who we were going to send invitations to, and fantasize about how we'd decorate the venue. We role-played him putting the wedding ring on my finger countless times. Those dreams were the fuel that kept me going. But I never got the wedding I longed for. Instead, I got his betrayal. Wiping away my tears, I stared into his eyes and asked: "It's been ten years. What exactly am I to you?" He rubbed his temples, looking exhausted and frustrated. "At a corporate dinner, I got too drunk and... I took Chloe's virginity. I have to take responsibility for her." "She's just an innocent girl fresh out of college." He stared at me for two full seconds, an expression I couldn't read crossing his face. "Whereas you... before we got together, God knows how many men you'd been through." His voice was icy, slithering into my heart like a venomous snake. Suddenly. I remembered our first time. When he entered me, his body suddenly paused. He went completely stiff. I didn't want to rip open the old wound and tell him the truth. I looked at him nervously, whispering. "Does it bother you? If it bothers you, I can..." Before I could finish the sentence. He gently shook his head, his warm palm caressing my cheek. "You fool. I only feel bad for you." "If only I had met you sooner. You wouldn't have had to suffer through bad relationships." Liam actually thought I had just dated a lot of guys before him. It’s my fault I didn't see through his hypocrisy back then. I stupidly thought he was different from other men. I didn't respond to his accusations. I pushed past him, grabbed his clothes, and started throwing them out the front door, one by one. His large hand covered mine. He let out a low sigh. "Audrey, don't do this..." Suddenly, a vicious slap struck my face. Chloe had somehow found out my address. She sneered sarcastically, "Hey, old lady. Do you really think someone like you is allowed to touch my husband?" She shook her hand, which was red from the impact. Her hands were soft, white, and perfectly manicured. They had never known a day of hard labor. My hands were rough as bark, yet they had earned Liam's first startup capital. I bit my lip hard, fighting back the tears. I turned to look at Liam. The man was watching me coldly, showing zero reaction to my swollen, red cheek. Compared to the young boy who used to get teary-eyed with devotion... He was a completely different person. Chloe was shaking with anger, her voice shrill. "When we were at the house earlier, I knew something was off about you." "I said all those things just to make you back off." "I didn't expect a cheap slut like you to keep clinging to my husband!" She looked at me with absolute disdain, her eyes filled with naked humiliation. "You live in this hundred-square-foot dump, while I live in a multi-million-dollar mansion." "Even now, can't you figure out who he actually loves the most?" Liam's brow furrowed slightly. He raised a hand to block Chloe's next slap. He wiped away her fake tears, his voice deepening: "Haven't you made enough of a scene? Let's go home." He swept Chloe up into his arms, carrying her bridal style, while she continued to whine and complain. "You jerk! You big jerk!" "You'll eat anything, won't you? How could you stomach trash like her..." The woman nestled in his warm embrace, her face radiating triumph. Downstairs, the engine of a black Bentley roared to life. Speeding away from the impoverished neighborhood where it so clearly didn't belong. I lay on the sofa for a long time, until my entire body was freezing cold. My phone vibrated on the table. Chloe had sent me a link to a couple's vlog account with a million followers. In her videos, Liam was the perfect lover. He was always endlessly patient, playing along with whatever bizarre couple's challenges she came up with. He always looked at her with a gentle, unwavering gaze. It turns out, every time Liam told me he was going "out of state for business." He was taking Chloe to chase blue whales in Antarctica, kissing her under Mount Fuji, and proposing by the Eiffel Tower. And me? I was wearing a stifling mascot suit handing out flyers in the dead of summer, and sorting packages at a freezing warehouse in the winter. Late at night, I would check my bank balance over and over, stupidly counting down the days to our imaginary wedding in my head. That night, after he left with Chloe, he never came back. I really wanted to know. When he pinned that young girl to an expensive mattress, completely exhausted after making love... Was there ever a single second where he remembered eating spicy ramen with me in this crumbling, tiny apartment? Did he remember holding me tight to keep me warm because we couldn't afford to turn on the heat in winter? Chloe's latest video was from their company's annual gala. Liam had her wrapped in his arms, his face full of adoration. "For the next sixty seconds, every time you yell 'Boss Lady,' you get a hundred bucks." "I'm covering the bonus pool, and there is no cap." Amidst the roaring, chaotic cheers of the employees, Chloe laughed with wild, reckless abandon. Tears splashed onto my phone screen. Liam. Ten years together, and it meant absolutely nothing. The bitterness turned to tears, streaming from the corners of my eyes. I raised my hand and wiped them away, over and over, until my eyes were bloodshot and raw. Using details from the video, I tracked down his company's address. 19 Ocean Boulevard. Before I left, I pulled an old, faded envelope from under my bed. Stepping into the ultra-expensive downtown high-rise for the first time, a wave of insecurity washed over me. "Hi, I'm looking for Liam Vance." The receptionist glanced up at me. "Do you have an appointment?" I shook my head slightly. She flashed her acrylic nails and dismissively pointed toward the exit. "To make sure his wife feels completely secure, Mr. Vance issued a strict order: he does not see any unknown female visitors." "Mr. Vance is famous for spoiling his wife. You? You don't have a chance in this lifetime." He certainly gave all his loyalty to Chloe. I didn't leave. I waited for an employee to badge in and quietly slipped through the turnstiles behind them. Walking through the building. I saw high-end, spacious executive suites. Hundreds of elite employees hustling to close deals. Here, in just one hour, they could earn what took me a full day of grueling labor. Everyone's future was so much brighter than mine. So bright it almost burned my eyes. Finally, I stopped in front of an office door. Through the crack in the door, I heard a man's voice. Liam had the girl sitting on his lap in his executive chair, his large hands massaging her slender calves. His lips parted. "Chloe, what do I have to do to make you forgive me?" She reached up and grabbed him by the tie. Laughing flirtatiously. "Give me a baby. I want to use a baby to tie you down permanently." "So you can never leave me and our child." He let out a silent chuckle, leaning down for a deep kiss. "Okay. Whatever you want." He picked Chloe up, unbuttoning his shirt as he carried her toward the private rest suite attached to the office. My eyes burned terribly. I remembered 20-year-old Liam telling me I was the only woman he would love for his entire life. I slowly looked up, glancing one last time at the gold plaque on the wall. It read: CEO's Office. Tears streamed down my face. I could barely stay on my feet. 30-year-old Liam Vance, congratulations on achieving your startup dream. Even though I no longer exist in your future. Before I left, I took the envelope out of my bag and left it at the front desk. I sent him a text. 【Liam, I'm leaving.】 The next second, my phone rang. "Audrey, stop throwing a tantrum." "Since you already know about me and Chloe, pack your things and get ready to move." "I bought a penthouse for you downtown. The neighborhood is great, you'll love it." My voice was dead calm. "No need." He paused, his voice softening. "I'm a nostalgic guy. You've been with me the longest." "As long as you behave yourself, I can take care of you for a very long time." Through the receiver, I silently shook my head. But I care. I care that you kissed her lips. I care that you held her body. A meal that's already half-eaten... how could I possibly swallow it? I hung up the phone and got into a taxi. The city streets receded rapidly. I stared out the window. I pulled the SIM card out of my phone and snapped it in half. I threw away the phone plan, deleted my social media, and moved to a new city. Aside from knowing my name, what else do you really know about me? Liam, we will never see each other again. As Liam was leaving the office, his secretary stopped him. "Mr. Vance, a woman dropped off an envelope for you earlier." It was a yellowed, faded police report receipt. [Complainant: Audrey Evans] [Incident: Sexual Assault by suspect John Doe and others.] The date on the receipt. Liam would never forget it for the rest of his life. It was the exact day, over ten years ago, when they were supposedly "mugged." Tears dripped from the corners of his eyes. He dialed the number saved as 'Wife,' whispering in agony, "Audrey, pick up the phone..."
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "401617", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel