I had been with Chloe Sinclair for ten years, helping her climb the corporate ladder at her family’s company. To secure deals for her, I attended countless business dinners and client meetings. She kept delaying making our relationship public, saying she wanted to wait until her career was stable. But on the day she became CEO, she publicly announced that her childhood friend Lucas was her fiancé and set a wedding date. That same night, I was at a business dinner celebrating her promotion, trying to close a big deal for her. I ended up drinking too much and got sick. The client’s husband misunderstood the situation and had me beaten up. Limping and bruised, I brought her the signed contract. But she allowed Lucas to run over my foot with his car, then casually said, “Lucas just learned to drive. Don’t take it personally if he bumped you by accident.” The pain I had been enduring exploded as Lucas’s car crushed my foot. I doubled over in agony. Lucas feigned innocence, saying, “Zach, why did you suddenly step out?” Every cell in my body was screaming in pain. The contract I had been protecting fell to the ground. The clean white paper looked out of place next to my blood and dirt-stained clothes. Chloe walked over and picked up the contract. After glancing through it, she put it in her bag and looked down at me condescendingly. “Lucas just learned to drive. Don’t take it personally if he bumped you by accident.” I was in too much pain to speak. I reached out to her, but she made no move to help me up. It seemed Chloe’s CEO celebration party was ending, as more and more people walked out of the hall. “Isn’t that CEO Sinclair and her fiancé Lucas? Who’s that man lying on the ground?” Fiancé? Lucas? What about me? I struggled to prop myself up on my arms, wanting to ask Chloe what was going on. But my arms seemed to be broken too – I couldn’t put any weight on them. The murmurs of the crowd continued. “Isn’t that guy the model Chloe keeps around?” “Shh, keep your voice down. Rich people having boy toys is nothing unusual.” “Did Lucas’s car hit him?” Hearing this, Chloe finally reacted. She signaled her bodyguards to pull me up, then addressed the crowd: “Lucas didn’t hit him. He fell in front of the car himself.” I was lifted like a rag doll by the bodyguards. I kept replaying the word “boy toy” in my mind, feeling a bitter taste in my mouth. Chloe and I had been together for ten years. She had cried to me about her father favoring her brother for the family business, even though he was incompetent. She said her father was trying to force her to marry a much older divorced man. I felt for her and wanted to help. After graduation, I came to work for her, closing deal after deal to help her prove herself to her father and gain a foothold in the Sinclair family business. But after all I had done, I was still a nobody with no official status. And now I had the degrading label of “boy toy” who was just there for her entertainment. “What?! So he’s trying to scam them!” “He looks so young, how could he stoop so low?” Chloe’s explanation had turned everyone against me. My consciousness was fading. The last thing I heard was one of the bodyguards yelling to Chloe, “Ms. Sinclair, this guy passed out.” When I woke up, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled my nose. My hand was wrapped in bandages and my leg was in a cast. The slightest movement sent waves of pain through my body. Those men who beat me up had clearly gone all out. The doctor noticed I was awake and glanced at me. “You’re up. Contact a family member to pay the bills and take care of you. The men who brought you here left right after dropping you off.” I had no money on me. Chloe had grown up in a wealthy family and seen a lot of scheming and betrayal. She lacked a sense of security. To reassure her, I had voluntarily given her control of our finances, letting her manage all the money. But now, she wouldn’t even pay for my medical bills. After the doctor left, I called Chloe, hoping to ask her to transfer some money for the hospital fees. But a man’s voice answered the phone. “Chloe’s in the shower. Talk to her assistant if you need something.” He hung up abruptly. The vague words, along with the “fiancé” from last night… A fire of anger ignited in my chest. I felt like a complete fool. Ignoring the nurse’s protests, I yanked out the IV and grabbed the crutches by the bed. I stumbled out, desperate to get to the Sinclair house and catch Chloe with her lover red-handed. I finally made it to the Sinclair house, but when I opened the door, I saw Chloe sitting with my family, looking happy and relaxed. Lucas was chatting with my mom, making her laugh. I staggered over and grabbed Lucas’s arm. I glared at Chloe and snarled, “Chloe, isn’t Lucas supposed to be your cousin? How did he become your fiancé?!” Before Chloe could respond, my mom stood up and slapped me hard across the face. She pulled Lucas away from me. “Zachary Miller, what the hell are you doing?! For years, Ms. Sinclair has given you a job, paid you well, and even sent food and gifts to our family. Instead of being grateful, you’re acting crazy now?” The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. My mom had worked as a farmer for years and had very strong hands. The slap made my head spin. I belatedly realized that Chloe had never publicly acknowledged our relationship. Chloe didn’t want to go public, and I respected her wishes as a man. When talking to my family, I just said I worked for the Sinclair company. But now, this had become a knife stabbing me in the back. My brother also stood up with a frown. “Zach, what are you doing? You’re acting like you and Chloe were dating or something. We need to know our place with families like the Sinclairs.” Chloe just sat there sipping her tea, making no move to explain things for me. Lucas put on an act of being magnanimous. “Chloe has probably been too nice to him, leading to some misunderstandings. It’s okay, Mrs. Miller.” One mouth can’t win against several. I looked at my family in despair as they all took Chloe and Lucas’s side. Chloe finally spoke up. She handed my mom a bright red invitation. “Mrs. Miller, Lucas and I are getting married next month. You’re welcome to attend. Zach has contributed a lot to the company. More than an employee, I see him as a brother. So you’re like family to me too.” My mom was overjoyed, clutching the invitation to her chest. She couldn’t stop smiling. “Oh my, Ms. Sinclair, you’re too kind. You’ve been such a blessing to our Zach. His father passed away when he was young, and I struggled to raise the two boys on my own. Life was so hard back then. But after Zach met you, our lives improved so much.” I stared at that invitation with bloodshot eyes, my chest heaving with anger. Chloe and I had been together for ten years. I cared for her, respected her, and helped her climb to the CEO position. But she had used me and tossed me aside, turning around to marry another man. What was I to Chloe Sinclair? Just a stepping stone on her path to success? A dog she could kick around? I leaned on my crutches, feeling waves of hatred and regret wash over me. In the end, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. My laughter drew everyone’s attention. My brother looked at me with disgust. My mom rushed over to try to cover my mouth. She awkwardly explained to Chloe, “My son must be excited to hear about your wedding, Ms. Sinclair.” Chloe looked at my pathetic state – one hand on a crutch, the other in a sling. “I should thank Zach too. He closed a big deal for me yesterday. You’re injured, so take some paid leave. Get well and then come to my wedding.” I stared at Chloe in disbelief. I had loved her for ten years, only to end up stabbed in the back. And now she wanted me to attend her wedding. For any man, this would be the ultimate humiliation. But my mom’s eyes lit up at the mention of paid leave. She ignored my struggles and had my brother help me out. “Thank you, Ms. Sinclair. We’ll definitely attend your wedding.” I didn’t want to go to Chloe’s wedding. But my mom threatened to hang herself to force me to go. She said, “Zachary Miller, Ms. Sinclair invited you. If you don’t go, you’re disrespecting her. Where would our family be without Ms. Sinclair? Or are you saying you actually have feelings for her? Know your place!” My brother held my mom back from finding a rope. He also complained, “Bro, are you trying to get our whole family killed?” But they had no idea that our family’s comfortable life wasn’t thanks to Chloe. It was from all the drinks I had with clients to close deals. I wanted to explain, but their eyes were full of contempt and distrust towards me. So I swallowed my words and just said, “Fine, I’ll go.” On the wedding day, I watched Chloe walk down the aisle in a white dress towards Lucas. Lucas was in the spot that that should have been mine. I pushed down the bitterness in my heart and signaled my friend Leo to play the video I had prepared. The video that was supposed to show Chloe and Lucas’s love story suddenly changed to moments between Chloe and me. There were photos of us from college, handwritten letters we had exchanged, records of our anniversary celebrations. The video caused an uproar among the guests. “Who is that guy? He doesn’t look like Lucas.” I picked up a microphone, ready to tell them everything. But as soon as I started speaking, I realized there was no sound coming from the mic. I looked over at Leo, but he avoided my gaze. Meanwhile, Chloe calmly raised her own microphone. “I’m so sorry for the confusion, everyone. The man in the video is Zachary Miller. We dated in college, but broke up due to incompatibility.” “Out of consideration for our past, I gave him a job at Sinclair Corp after graduation. But he didn’t take it seriously and kept trying to hit on wealthy clients.” “As you can see, his arm is in a sling. That’s because one of the client’s husbands had him beaten up.” As she spoke, a spotlight shone on me, nearly blinding me. My heart sank as I realized Leo had sold me out. Chloe continued relentlessly, “In fact, Mr. Jackson is here today. His wife was harassed by Zachary.” A heavyset man stood up from the audience, pointing at me and yelling, “You little punk! I warned you to stay away, but you dare show up at Ms. Sinclair’s wedding to cause trouble!” He waved his hand and several burly men came to drag me out. I struggled desperately, “Mom! Tyler! Help me!” But they turned away, pretending not to know me. One of the men knocked me to the ground. Then a barrage of fists and kicks rained down on me. I could only use my one good arm to protect my head. When the men got tired of beating me, one of them spat on me and cursed, “I hate pretty boys like you the most.” “Take a look in the mirror, you piece of trash.” “Let’s go, it’s a waste of energy beating up scum like this.” I lay on the ground like a dead dog while the wedding continued inside. I heard the officiant say, “The groom may now kiss the bride.” My face was wet with tears as I remembered Chloe scolding me for being clumsy during our first kiss, saying I had cut her lip. I’m not sure when the wedding ended, but I felt people walking past me. I grabbed a familiar ankle and looked up to meet Chloe’s cold eyes. With my last bit of strength, I croaked out, “Why?” She crouched down and pried my hand off her ankle. Without a hint of emotion, she said, “I got bored of you.” This time, I didn’t hesitate to raise my hand and signal the person who had been hiding nearby. “My dear sister, how could you not invite your brother to your wedding?”
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