Exposing His Lies, Burning His Empire

Exposing His Lies, Burning His Empire

Meng Xinyu

5.0
Comment(s)
4K
View
10
Chapters

I gave up my tech career for my professor boyfriend, Donovan. For ten years, I was his perfect, supportive partner, but he repaid me by cheating with his student, Brie. On our anniversary, he brought her favorite peanut butter into our home-forgetting my deadly allergy-and then left me to be with her. I finally escaped to Europe, but he hunted me down. Consumed by a possessive rage, he found me with my new partner, Kevin, and brutally attacked him. I had to smash a wine bottle over Donovan's head just to make him stop. As he stood there bleeding, he actually tried to propose, swearing she meant nothing to him. But then my phone rang. A frantic woman on the other end sobbed, "Brie is at his mother's house! She's pregnant with his baby!" That's when I decided leaving wasn't enough. I would use the very skills I sacrificed for him to expose every single one of his lies and burn his entire world to the ground.

Chapter 1

I gave up my tech career for my professor boyfriend, Donovan. For ten years, I was his perfect, supportive partner, but he repaid me by cheating with his student, Brie. On our anniversary, he brought her favorite peanut butter into our home-forgetting my deadly allergy-and then left me to be with her.

I finally escaped to Europe, but he hunted me down.

Consumed by a possessive rage, he found me with my new partner, Kevin, and brutally attacked him. I had to smash a wine bottle over Donovan's head just to make him stop.

As he stood there bleeding, he actually tried to propose, swearing she meant nothing to him.

But then my phone rang. A frantic woman on the other end sobbed, "Brie is at his mother's house! She's pregnant with his baby!"

That's when I decided leaving wasn't enough. I would use the very skills I sacrificed for him to expose every single one of his lies and burn his entire world to the ground.

Chapter 1

Aria Chen POV:

I hauled the massive box of Donovan' s sentimental junk to the curb, the cardboard scraping against the concrete. It was heavy, just like everything else he' d left behind. My muscles screamed, but I didn't care. The only thing that mattered was getting it all out.

Three years ago, I wouldn't have dared. I would have carefully sorted, labeled, and stored every single piece of his past. Not anymore. Not after a decade of him.

Stepping back inside, the apartment felt... lighter. Even before I noticed the unfamiliar scent of peanut butter wafting from the kitchen. My stomach churned. I' m deathly allergic.

That' s when I saw it. A half-eaten jar of chunky peanut butter on the counter, next to a sparkly, childish mug that definitely wasn't mine. It was a slap to the face, a bright red flag I'd been too blind to see.

A chilling calm settled over me. I grabbed the jar and the mug without a second thought. Straight into the trash they went, the thick spread adhering to the plastic, clinging like a bad memory.

My phone buzzed. It was a notification for my flight. Europe. In two days. The timing was almost poetic. It was our tenth anniversary.

The front door clicked open. Donovan walked in, whistling a jaunty tune. He stopped dead, his eyes scanning the noticeably emptier living room.

"What happened to the vintage record player?" he asked, his voice sharp, cutting through the pleasant silence I' d just created.

I didn't flinch. "It was gathering dust. I donated it."

His jaw tightened. "Donated it? Aria, that was a gift from my grandmother. You know how much that meant to me."

He always did this. Everything was about him. His feelings, his things, his past. Never mine.

"It was broken," I stated plainly, my voice flat. "And it was taking up space."

He sighed, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair. "You' re so dramatic sometimes. We could have fixed it."

I just stared at him. He didn' t even remember the argument we' d had last year about fixing it, how he promised he would, and then just let it sit there. Just like he let so many other things in our life sit, broken and ignored.

His gaze drifted to the kitchen. His eyes narrowed, then widened slightly. "Where' s my special peanut butter? The organic kind Brie found for me?"

My breath hitched. Brie. Of course. The student he' d been "mentoring" for the past year. The student my best friend had recommended for a scholarship. The student who was now seemingly living in our apartment.

"I threw it out," I said, my voice dangerously calm.

Donovan laughed, a short, dismissive sound. "You' re joking, right? Go get it. I just bought it." He walked to the trash can, ready to retrieve it himself.

"Donovan," I said, a tremor in my voice, "I told you, I threw it out. I'm highly allergic to peanuts. You know this."

He froze, his hand hovering over the rim of the bin. For a split second, a flicker of guilt crossed his face. It was quickly replaced by annoyance.

"Oh, right. I forgot," he mumbled, sounding more put-out than apologetic. "But it was in a sealed jar. It wouldn' t have hurt you."

My blood ran cold. He forgot my life-threatening allergy. For her. For Brie.

"You used to be so careful," I whispered, the words tasting like ash. "You threw out everything with peanuts when we first moved in together. You even made sure the restaurant knew every time we went out."

He walked over to me, attempting to wrap an arm around my waist. His touch felt foreign, contaminated. "Hey, hey. I' m sorry. My mind' s been a million places. You know how stressful work is." He tried to pull me closer. "Let me make it up to you. I' ll order your favorite takeout. How about that?"

He rubbed my lower back, right where a bruised knot of muscle pulsed with pain. I winced, pulling away from his touch.

"I can' t believe you actually suggested that after yesterday," I said, my voice sharp. "My back is still killing me."

He frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"The hiking trip, Donovan. When you tried to show off, pushing me up that hill, and I slipped. You didn' t even notice I twisted my back until we were halfway home." My voice hardened. "You were too busy talking on the phone with Brie."

He bristled. "That was an accident, Aria. And it was your fault for not watching your step. Besides, I told you I was sorry. What do you want me to do, grovel?"

"No," I said, a strange, hollow feeling settling in my chest. "Just... have Brie make you dinner tonight. I hear she' s quite the cook."

His eyes widened, then a slow, pleased smile spread across his face. "Really? You wouldn' t mind?"

My stomach turned. He was actually happy about this.

He pulled a crumpled, colorful coupon from his pocket. "Here. It' s for that new artisanal ice cream place. Brie loves it. We can go together tomorrow."

I took the coupon. It was for a vegan, gluten-free ice cream shop. My eyes dropped to the small print. A special promotion for "first-time visitors" to their new location. I' d seen Brie post about it on her Instagram story just last week. A selfie of her and Donovan, laughing, holding two vibrant scoops. The caption read, "Best dessert date ever! Thanks, D!"

My phone vibrated. Donovan glanced at it, his face paling. He snatched it up, his back to me, his voice low and hushed. "Yeah, I' m on my way. Be there in five."

He turned, a hurried look on his face. "Something came up with Brie. Urgent. I have to go. I' ll be back later. Promise." He squeezed my arm once, a fleeting, disconnected gesture, and then he was gone.

I stood there, the ice cream coupon clenched in my hand. He hadn't even waited for my response. He rushed out of our home, on our anniversary, to go to her.

I looked down at the colorful paper. Then, slowly, deliberately, I tore it in half, then quarters, letting the pieces flutter to the floor.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Continue Reading

Other books by Meng Xinyu

More
Shattered Proposal, Unexpected Bride

Shattered Proposal, Unexpected Bride

Romance

5.0

It was my 30th birthday, and I was all set to propose to Sarah, my girlfriend of five years, at the fanciest restaurant in the city. I had the ring, the perfect table, and a future all planned out. But as I waited, she walked in, not alone, but with another man – her colleague. And then, in a devastating twist, she got down on one knee and proposed to him, right there in front of everyone, as my world shattered. My mother called, wishing me a happy birthday, and confused when I could only whisper about the arranged marriage she' d mentioned. Sarah' s excited shouts of "She said yes!" echoed in the background as the entire restaurant applauded their engagement. Moments later, her text popped up: "Happy Birthday, Ethan! Sorry, got held up at work. On my way home now. I got you a cake!"-the lie a final stab. When she came home that night, full of excuses about how it was just a "career play" and a "fake engagement," I smelled his cologne on her. The lie was too much. I packed a single suitcase, leaving behind five years of a life that was nothing but a pretense. The next morning, at the office, the humiliation continued. Sarah and her fiancé, Mark, announced their engagement, and Mark took the promotion that should have been mine. Sarah told me I was fired, then orchestrated a cruel setup, framing me for stealing Mark' s Rolex. She publicly shamed me, slapped me across the face, and accused me of being a lowlife. Why had I given up everything for her? Why was she so intent on destroying me? With my world crumbling, I accepted an arranged marriage with Olivia Sterling, a woman whose calm, sharp eyes suggested a powerful intelligence, and who just might be my unexpected salvation.

When Love Became A Plot

When Love Became A Plot

Romance

5.0

Three years ago, Liam Hayes, the tech titan and my husband, promised to protect me. Now, I sat in the front row of his grand auction, expecting a product launch. Instead, the massive screen behind him flickered to life, not with an innovation, but with intimate photos of my deceased parents. The crowd' s murmurs turned to horrified whispers, their pity a suffocating blanket of shame. He was crucifying their memory, and I, his perfect, supportive wife, trembled with silent agony. When I pleaded with him to take the photos down, his eyes, once so full of warmth, were chillingly empty. "Everything has a price, Ava," he said, holding out a kidney donation consent form. "Donate a kidney to Skylar Vance, and I' ll end this. Their honor for her life. A fair trade." My breath hitched. He was using my dead parents, my most precious memory, to blackmail me, and I had no choice. As I signed, I remembered a secret vow we' d made-a desperate promise to defy a "plot" that dictated he'd leave me for Skylar. He' d sworn he' d fight it, that his heart was always mine. But now, as I was wheeled into surgery, I saw him kiss Skylar' s hand, a look of sacred devotion in his eyes-the same look he used to give me. The mask came down, and I knew: the plot had won. When I woke, alone and empty, the first call I heard was not from him, but from my heartbroken housekeeper. My parents, humiliated by Liam's stunt, had taken their own lives. The man I loved, the man who was supposed to be my protector, had destroyed everything. Now, standing at their desecrated graves, watching him cuddle Skylar, I knew my only path was to disappear forever.

You'll also like

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book