The Price Of His Public Betrayal

The Price Of His Public Betrayal

Dong Shengxue

5.0
Comment(s)
24
View
10
Chapters

On New Year's Eve, I was ready to go public with my secret boyfriend of a year, Alberto. Instead, I watched him kiss another woman and announce their engagement in front of my own parents. He didn't just break my heart; he publicly humiliated me. "And this is Charlotte," he said with a cold smile. "She's like a little sister to me." He had systematically erased every trace of our year together, even packing my things from his apartment-our home-into a storage unit to make room for his new fiancée. A year of stolen kisses and whispered promises, all a lie. He had used me, then tried to erase me, expecting me to quietly disappear. But when I quit my job, he tracked me down at the airport, thinking he could threaten me back into line. Instead, I gave him an ultimatum: transfer $100,000 to my account, or his new fiancée would get a full, detailed history of our 'secret affair,' complete with screenshots.

Chapter 1

On New Year's Eve, I was ready to go public with my secret boyfriend of a year, Alberto.

Instead, I watched him kiss another woman and announce their engagement in front of my own parents.

He didn't just break my heart; he publicly humiliated me.

"And this is Charlotte," he said with a cold smile. "She's like a little sister to me."

He had systematically erased every trace of our year together, even packing my things from his apartment-our home-into a storage unit to make room for his new fiancée.

A year of stolen kisses and whispered promises, all a lie. He had used me, then tried to erase me, expecting me to quietly disappear.

But when I quit my job, he tracked me down at the airport, thinking he could threaten me back into line. Instead, I gave him an ultimatum: transfer $100,000 to my account, or his new fiancée would get a full, detailed history of our 'secret affair,' complete with screenshots.

Chapter 1

Charlotte POV:

My heart shattered the moment I saw him, my secret boyfriend of an entire year, Alberto Morgan, kissing someone else.

It was New Year's Eve.

I' d just sent him a text, a picture of the sparkling Times Square ball drop on my TV screen, a silly little message asking if he was watching too.

"Happy New Year, my love," I'd typed, my thumb hovering over the send button. "Can't wait to finally tell everyone about us this year."

My parents were with me, their faces glowing from the festive lights of their annual holiday party.

"Oh, Charlotte, you look so radiant tonight!" my mom exclaimed, her eyes twinkling.

"Is there someone special you're hoping to share this new year with? Someone we don't know about?" my dad teased, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

A sudden chill, colder than the winter air outside, crept up my spine.

It was a premonition, a cold, sharp blade of dread.

"No, Dad, just... hopeful," I' d replied, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling.

Then my mom pointed, her voice a little too excited.

"Howard, look! Isn't that Alberto? And he's with someone!"

I followed her gaze, my breath catching in my throat.

The world tilted.

It wasn't a slow-motion reveal, it was a punch to the gut, swift and brutal.

There he was, Alberto, under the soft glow of the firm's rooftop party lights.

His arms were wrapped around a woman I didn't recognize.

Her head was thrown back, a laugh escaping her lips, and then his mouth was on hers.

A deep, lingering kiss that stole the air from my lungs.

My body went numb first, then a searing pain bloomed in my chest.

It spread like wildfire, burning away every ounce of hope I' d just harbored.

That woman, the new intern, Daniella.

My eyes met Alberto's across the crowded room.

His eyes widened for a split second, then narrowed.

A flicker of panic, of something dark, crossed his face.

He pulled away from her, a little too quickly.

He started walking towards me, a forced smile pasted on his handsome face.

Daniella, still oblivious, tugged at his arm, giggling.

He brushed her off gently, his eyes still fixed on mine, a silent warning.

He reached us, a practiced ease in his steps.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bright! Happy New Year!" he said, his voice smooth, too smooth.

He turned to Daniella, pulling her closer.

"And this is Daniella, my fiancée," he announced, his voice booming over the festive music. "We're celebrating our engagement tonight!"

My parents gasped, genuinely surprised and delighted.

My mother clasped her hands together.

"Oh, Alberto, darling, what wonderful news! Congratulations!"

Then he gestured vaguely towards me.

"And this is Charlotte," he said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "She's like a little sister to me, you know, my protégé at the firm."

A little sister.

The words hit me like a physical blow.

My mind reeled, trying to process the casual cruelty, the public dismissal.

A little sister.

I looked at him, truly looked at him, and saw a stranger.

The man I' d loved, the man I' d shared a secret year with, was a ghost.

Our year together, the stolen kisses, the whispered promises, the late nights working side-by-side that always ended in his bed-it was all a lie.

It was nothing.

He had erased me, systematically, completely, to make room for her.

The intern, his fiancée, the 'strategic partner.'

My parents were still gushing, oblivious to the earthquake shaking my world.

"Charlotte, isn't that just wonderful?" my mom beamed, turning to me.

I could feel Alberto watching me, a challenge in his eyes, daring me to react, to shatter his perfectly constructed facade.

You want me to be a little sister, Alberto? Fine.

My throat was tight, but I forced a smile, a brittle, fragile thing.

"Wonderful, Alberto," I managed to choke out.

My voice sounded alien, thin and reedy, even to my own ears.

"Absolutely wonderful."

Continue Reading

Other books by Dong Shengxue

More
The Prophet Cop's Treachery

The Prophet Cop's Treachery

Modern

5.0

I announced my retirement, and the whole SWAT team erupted in celebration. They popped champagne, hoisted me onto their shoulders, cheering. Only one person wasn' t celebrating: Ethan, my rising star colleague, pushing through the crowd, face pale, eyes desperate. He was searching for me. The media swarmed, asking how he felt about "Prophet Cop" Alex retiring. He forced a smile, "Captain Alex is a legend. We'll all miss him. He taught me everything I know." Lies. All of it. Because this wasn't the first time. In my previous life, a decorated SWAT leader, my career was flawless until Ethan, with his "danger prediction," arrived. He' d sense hidden bombs, get hunches about suspects' locations, always right. He became the "Prophet Cop." I became the joke. The team mocked me; the public called me incompetent. My fiancée, Sarah, also my second-in-command, had stopped me on our final mission. "Alex, wait! Ethan says it's too dangerous for you to go first." As I hesitated, she shoved me. I tumbled over the cliff edge, the last thing I saw was her cold face, standing beside Ethan. They didn't save me. Then, darkness. And I woke up in my own bed, phone buzzing with a message about a hostage rescue operation. The same day. The day I fell. I had a second chance. I remembered this day, the beginning of the end, when Ethan publicly overshadowed me. I wouldn't let it happen again. "Gear up," I ordered. "We're changing the route." But as we screeched to a halt, the warehouse was already surrounded. By the Narcotics Unit. And standing there, cuffing the last suspects, was Ethan. "What the hell?" Miller muttered. "How did they get here so fast?" I remembered this exact scene: We arrived late, a hostage died, and I was blamed. Sarah accused me of incompetence, Director Thompson, my mentor, backed her. My career was ruined. I stood there, watching Ethan soak up the glory, and made a vow. This time, history would not repeat itself.

From Ashes: My Unclaimed Life

From Ashes: My Unclaimed Life

Young Adult

5.0

At just ten years old, my life in the sleepy, fading town of Oakhaven was unremarkable. We were a hardworking family, simple and honest, clinging to the quiet hopes for a decent future. Then Brittany Evans, who lived just a few houses down, cornered me by the old park swingset. Her voice was too grave for a child, her eyes too knowing. She declared, "Everything good that's supposed to happen to you? It's mine now. I'm taking it all." She claimed to be reincarnated, privy to the "original script" of my life. And she proceeded to steal it. My father' s long-awaited promotion, my mother' s cherished dream of a small business, even my crucial college scholarship-all systematically diverted to Britt or her parents. When a devastating flood wiped out our home and savings, Britt merely smirked, claiming it was her "prediction," clearing the way for her own gains. We were left with nothing, forced to abandon the town. How could one family so consistently snatch away every opportunity? Was Britt genuinely disturbed, or was there an unsettling truth to her chilling pronouncements? The utter injustice, the persistent feeling of being targeted by an unseen force, left me confused, isolated, and raw with a burning, desperate rage. But as we left Oakhaven, facing an uncertain future, a fierce determination rose within me. Britt thought she' d stolen my fate. She was wrong. I would build a new life, brick by brick, far from her reach. A life she could never, ever claim as her own.

The Girl They Buried Alive

The Girl They Buried Alive

Young Adult

5.0

Every day of my life, I, Hailey, was keenly aware I was nothing but an unwanted burden to my parents, Frank and Brenda, their every word and action reserved instead for my coddled younger brother, Kevin. Thanksgiving approached, and their solution to saving money for Kevin's new gaming console was horrific: I was to travel hundreds of miles, locked inside an old, smelly footlocker, checked as luggage on a Greyhound bus. Buried in suffocating darkness, I scratched at the lid with weakening fingers as the air dwindled, until my desperate struggle became nothing more than a final gasp before floating into oblivion. Upon arrival, my parents, eager to enjoy the holiday, left my tomb in a corner, only to casually open it a day later to find my lifeless, blue body, eliciting Frank's curse and Brenda's chilling remark about the "bad luck" I brought before they paid a local man, with the money saved from my bus fare and food, to bury me swiftly and quietly in an unmarked grave, forgotten for Kevin's new treats. To them, my life was merely an obstacle, and my agonizing death was nothing more than an inconvenience, solidifying their profound and terrifying indifference towards me. But then, with a choked gasp, I bolted upright in my bed, the morning sun streaming through my window, and realized I had been given an impossible second chance: it was the same fateful Thanksgiving morning, the old footlocker by the door, and this time, I wouldn't just obey.

You'll also like

He Thought I Was A Doormat, Until I Ruined Him

He Thought I Was A Doormat, Until I Ruined Him

SHANA GRAY
4.5

The sterile white of the operating room blurred, then sharpened, as Skye Sterling felt the cold clawing its way up her body. The heart monitor flatlined, a steady, high-pitched whine announcing her end. Her uterus had been removed, a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, but the blood wouldn't clot. It just kept flowing, warm and sticky, pooling beneath her. Through heavy eyes, she saw a trembling nurse holding a phone on speaker. "Mr. Kensington," the nurse's voice cracked, "your wife... she's critical." A pause, then a sweet, poisonous giggle. Seraphina Miller. "Liam is in the shower," Seraphina's voice purred. "Stop calling, Skye. It's pathetic. Faking a medical emergency on our anniversary? Even for you, that's low." Then, Liam's bored voice: "If she dies, call the funeral home. I have a meeting in the morning." Click. The line went dead. A second later, so did Skye. The darkness that followed was absolute, suffocating, a black ocean crushing her lungs. She screamed into the void, a silent, agonizing wail of regret for loving a man who saw her as a nuisance, for dying without ever truly living. Until she died, she didn't understand. Why was her life so tragically wasted? Why did her husband, the man she loved, abandon her so cruelly? The injustice of it all burned hotter than the fever in her body. Then, the air rushed back in. Skye gasped, her body convulsing violently on the mattress. Her eyes flew open, wide and terrified, staring blindly into the darkness. Her trembling hand reached for her phone. May 12th. Five years ago. She was back.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book