The instant a five-million-dollar transfer hit my bank account, my mind went blank. The note on the transfer read: “Leave my husband.” I thought it was some kind of mistake, a wrong transfer, and my first instinct was to tell Landon. Just as I turned, a text message popped up on my phone: “Mia, this is Landon’s wife. Do the smart thing and take the money. Get away from my husband.” My world shattered, plummeting from heaven to hell. He had a wife? What did that make me? After everything blew up, our mess became public, known across the entire internet. Heartbroken and disillusioned, I left the city. But then, Landon, against all odds, chased me to this quiet, secluded town. He cornered me, tears dripping onto my collarbone, begging me to come back to him. After a passionate night, an endless emptiness gnawed at my stomach. I snuggled closer to Landon, teasing, “Can we grab some late-night takeout?” Landon lowered his head, licking my lips again, his voice husky, “Of course, sweetheart. Whatever you want, I’ll pay.” Gasping after a breathless kiss, I picked up my phone, ready to open the food delivery app, only to see a transfer notification pop up. I stared at the unexplained five million dollars in my account, utterly bewildered. Then, a text message followed. “Mia, hello. I’m Landon’s wife. I hope you’ll be sensible and take the money to leave Landon.” My fingers instantly went numb, a cold dread creeping down my spine. Landon and I started a business together. For six years, we worked side-by-side, day in and day out, pouring our blood, sweat, and tears into building it, turning him into a top-tier online personality. But he was married? And I had no idea when? What did that make me? Noticing my silence, Landon reached out and pulled me into his arms again. He turned his head to kiss me. “Mia, what’s wrong?” I twisted away from his embrace, pushing my phone into his view. “Your wife sent me five million dollars, telling me to leave you.” Landon frowned, took my phone, glanced at the text, and without a moment’s hesitation, he pushed me away, swinging himself out of bed. Then, in the dead of night, he just turned and walked away, disappearing into the darkness. I lay awake all night, tears streaming down my face, but I never got a single explanation from him. It used to be that no matter where he went, he’d text me, send me his location, even FaceTime me every half hour, checking in constantly. When Landon and I first met, he was a small-time streamer nobody had heard of. He had big dreams, and I stayed by his side, helping him. Eventually, he made it big, becoming a recognizable name in the influencer world. He hugged me, crying hysterically, sobbing that he finally had the courage to confess his feelings and ask if I would be with him. I was so touched, tears streaming down my face, and I responded with a kiss right then and there. As his fame and fortune grew, I became more and more anxious. Sometimes, I’d suddenly start crying, feeling insecure, like I didn’t deserve him. But he brought me into his streams, into the eyes of all his followers, right there beside him in the spotlight, showing me through his actions that I was his greatest love. I believed him completely. We were inseparable for six years, never once fighting. I even started making plans for us to get married. The love he gave me was so openly displayed, for the whole world to witness. That’s why, when he left without hesitation, it left me gasping for air, my heart aching. For six years, our lives and work were so intertwined. When did he get married? I never even noticed. A sleepless night later, I dragged myself to the office, feeling like a soulless shell. Landon placed a cup of coffee on my desk and casually reached to hug me. “Mia, look at those dark circles! Didn’t get any sleep last night?” I looked up, tears spilling from my eyes, and forcefully shoved him away, screaming, “Get lost! Go find your wife!” Landon smiled gently, completely ignoring my outburst, and pulled me into his arms. “Come on, Mia, she’s my wife, you’re *you*.” “Please, stop saying things that try to separate us, pushing me towards another woman.” With that, he leaned in to kiss me. I opened my mouth and bit him hard. The metallic taste of blood instantly filled my mouth. He finally dropped his carefree facade, his face darkening as he asked, “Mia! How long are you going to keep this up?” “Landon, are you serious?! You’re disgusting! If you’re done being a pathetic creep, then get lost!” Landon didn’t say anything. Instead, he grabbed my arm and dragged me outside. He pointed down at the street. “Mia, look. This whole building, all this height, we built it all from the ground up! This is *our* shared business. I can’t leave you, and you can’t leave me. Isn’t it great for us to just stay like this?” From up here, the people on the ground looked like tiny, indistinguishable specks. This was *our* business. But no one knew better than Landon how desperately I wanted a home of my own. Yet he ignored it, insisting I stay in this hidden, secret relationship with him. Tears streamed down my face. I violently shook off Landon’s hand, unable to stop myself from yelling, “What about me, then?! You have a warm home now, but what about *me*?!” Landon fell silent, then walked over and gently wiped away my tears. “Mia, you love me so much. I have a family now, and that’s like you having one too. And…” He leaned in close, whispering in my ear, “If you want to leave, don’t forget the one hundred million dollar penalty clause in our influencer contract.” In that moment, our eyes met. I saw pure manipulation in his gaze. In that moment, I felt a suffocating helplessness. My expression must have satisfied him. Landon shrugged, chuckling softly, and pulled me up. “Alright, just kidding. I love you too much to let you go, you know?” “Just be good, and we’ll be exactly like before. Whatever you want, I’ll give you.” Looking at Landon’s smile, countless sharp thorns pierced my heart, making me double over just to breathe. I finally couldn’t take it anymore and fled, running as fast as I could. Landon, he always knew how to control me, and he always knew exactly what to say to hurt me the most. Six years of ‘love,’ and finally, his true colors showed. The next few days were relatively calm. Landon didn’t appear. But then, one day as I walked into the company building, an unwelcome visitor stood in the lobby downstairs. Camilla stood in front of me, clutching her bag. “Mia, I told you to take the five million and leave.” Camilla showed up, asserting her status as the rightful wife. Her condescending smirk stung my eyes. “I’ve already broken up with him,” I said. But Camilla still wore that superior expression. “When I said ‘leave,’ I meant you need to leave this company, this city, and never come back.” I was speechless, my lips pressed into a tight line. “Ms. Camilla, I wouldn’t stay involved with Landon, knowing he was married. But I also have my own career.” Camilla looked at me, then suddenly laughed. “Ms. Mia, you’re smart, you know money’s great, but I’m not stupid. What I mean is, both the money *and* the man are mine.” She made no effort to hide her ambition. I pursed my lips, coldly refusing. “I told you, what’s mine, I won’t let go of.” “As for Landon, I’ll reduce our work interactions. I’m quite well-off, you know. I’m not so desperate as to cling to a two-timing jerk.” Camilla’s eyes widened, clearly shocked I’d talk about Landon like that. She bit her lip, a flash of malice flickering in her eyes. “Since you won’t leave, then just wait.” With that, she turned and walked away. At the time, I just thought she was making empty threats. I never imagined she’d be so utterly insane. In the early hours of the morning, my assistant, Chloe, blew up my phone. “Mia, check the trending topics!” I opened Ins, clicked on the trending list. Camilla had posted photos of Landon and me, along with our chat logs. Every single word accused me of seducing Landon. She was clever, alright. The photos she released included one of Landon and me when he was angry, his face cold, and me standing on tiptoes to kiss him. I didn’t even know who took that picture. I rushed to the company that night, where the senior management was already gathered. Their gazes all landed on me. “Mia, Landon isn’t just our company’s biggest shareholder, he’s also an incredibly influential top influencer. He can’t afford to have anything happen to him, do you understand?” I understood. Which meant I was the one who deserved to be sacrificed. A tidal wave of nasty accusations came crashing down on me from across the internet. Third Chapter Completely devastated, I returned home, only to find the front door blocked by countless media reporters. I covered my face, scared senseless, and fled. I ran to a twenty-four-hour drugstore, bought a mask, and then checked out of the hotel, feeling the judgment from the front desk. I’d barely laid down and sighed in relief when my phone rang, relentlessly ringing like a death knell. Unknown numbers—I ignored them all. Until I was added to a SnapChat group chat, and a video call started ringing. I hesitated, then answered. My parents, divorced for over ten years, appeared on the screen together for the first time in ages. It was a scene I’d always dreamed of, but they both glowered at me, then started tearing into each other. “Look at the daughter *you* raised! A homewrecker, seducing married men!” My mom immediately shot back, “She’s just like *you*, isn’t she? Cheating and keeping a mistress!” I just sat there, stunned, as they ripped each other apart, wave after wave of bitter ache swelling in my chest. Their insults grew nastier and nastier until I finally couldn’t take it anymore and roared, “What do you two even want?!” They finally looked at me. “Mia, it’s all because of you! My house is swarming with reporters!” “Mine too!” Then my mom decreed, imperiously, “You go clarify right now! Tell them you left with your dad years ago, that we cut ties, and nothing you do has anything to do with me!” My dad chimed in with the same demands. Just like the year they divorced, they both just wanted to shake off the ‘problem’ that was me. I hung up, feeling their eyes burn into me like I was their worst enemy. Instantly, tears streamed down my face like rain. I don’t know how long I cried. Trembling, I logged onto Ins and recorded a video, stating that I had long since cut ties with my parents, then posted it. It only brought on another wave of public condemnation. I thought if I just hid in the hotel for a few days, the whole thing would blow over. But to my surprise, a few days later, my parents, who had just claimed to cut ties with me, sought me out again. This time, their eyes weren’t filled with disgust anymore, but pure, unadulterated greed. “Mia, honey, we heard you got a huge sum of money after being kicked out of the company.” “It wasn’t easy raising you, your dad and I. You owe us something, right?” My dad nodded vigorously, giving me a look that said, ‘Your mom’s right, just listen to her.’ A wave of bitter sadness washed over me. They hadn’t gotten along in twenty years, yet here they were, peacefully discussing how to squeeze money out of their daughter. I forced a stiff smile. “Where did you hear I had money?” Their eyes darted nervously, and they mumbled evasively, “Oh, well… someone sent us a text, you know.” I pulled out Camilla’s phone number and read it aloud. “Was it her? Tell me the truth, and then I’ll give you the money.” As soon as they heard that, they both nodded emphatically. “Yes! It was her!” A bitter taste filled my mouth. I buried my head in my knees, quietly sobbing. My mom named a number, and then they hung up. It was the exact amount the company paid me for my shares, no more, no less. I wiped away my tears, transferred the money, and severed the already fragile ties between us. I pulled the covers completely over my head. The stale air under the covers suffocated me; each time I threw them off, it felt like being reborn. After a few times, I finally managed to calm myself. Just then, my phone started ringing relentlessly again. All unknown numbers. As soon as I blocked one, another would call right back. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and picked up. “I am NOT a homewrecker! Stop harassing me!” Landon chuckled on the other end, his voice soft and coaxing. “I know you’re not, honey. In a few days, no one will even care. Did you miss me?” All this mess was his wife’s doing. How did he even have the nerve to call me? I screamed into the phone, “You pathetic loser, get lost!” I hung up decisively. I organized all the major and minor details of my six years with Landon, complete with a timeline and photos, into a document. I made it into a presentation and gave it a catchy, attention-grabbing title. Without hesitation, I posted it online.
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