Building My Own Empire

Building My Own Empire

Shui Qingying

5.0
Comment(s)
269
View
11
Chapters

The Travis County Courthouse air felt thick with possibility, or maybe just anticipation. I stood beside Eleanor, ready to get our marriage license, imagining a new life, our life, about to begin. Then her phone buzzed, an email cracking her perfectly calm facade. Her voice thin, she announced her protégé David was in professional meltdown, demanding her immediate presence. Just like that, she left me standing there, marriage license application in hand, and walked away. Minutes later, a text arrived: a confession of an affair with David, a secret pregnancy, and her audacious offer to raise their child as ours. But the humiliation deepened when I returned home to find them intimately entwined on our sofa. As I packed my bags, a video arrived on my phone: Eleanor, with a sneering smile, calling me "unambitious" and "boring," a mere "means to an end." The betrayal hit like a physical blow, curdling into hot, sharp rage. Was this who she truly was? Had our entire relationship been a calculated charade, and I, Michael Thompson, just a pawn in her ambitious scheme? The depth of their cruelty was staggering. Broken, humiliated, and operating on pure adrenaline, I scrolled through my phone, pausing on Sarah Chen's name. "Marry me," I blurted, a desperate, defiant plea. And in a surprising twist, she said yes, igniting an unexpected path forward.

Introduction

The Travis County Courthouse air felt thick with possibility, or maybe just anticipation.

I stood beside Eleanor, ready to get our marriage license, imagining a new life, our life, about to begin.

Then her phone buzzed, an email cracking her perfectly calm facade.

Her voice thin, she announced her protégé David was in professional meltdown, demanding her immediate presence.

Just like that, she left me standing there, marriage license application in hand, and walked away.

Minutes later, a text arrived: a confession of an affair with David, a secret pregnancy, and her audacious offer to raise their child as ours.

But the humiliation deepened when I returned home to find them intimately entwined on our sofa.

As I packed my bags, a video arrived on my phone: Eleanor, with a sneering smile, calling me "unambitious" and "boring," a mere "means to an end."

The betrayal hit like a physical blow, curdling into hot, sharp rage.

Was this who she truly was?

Had our entire relationship been a calculated charade, and I, Michael Thompson, just a pawn in her ambitious scheme?

The depth of their cruelty was staggering.

Broken, humiliated, and operating on pure adrenaline, I scrolled through my phone, pausing on Sarah Chen's name.

"Marry me," I blurted, a desperate, defiant plea.

And in a surprising twist, she said yes, igniting an unexpected path forward.

Continue Reading

Other books by Shui Qingying

More
A Compass, A Betrayal, A Life

A Compass, A Betrayal, A Life

Romance

5.0

The first sign was a hotel receipt I didn' t recognize, crumpled in my husband' s suit pocket, for an "Ocean View Suite" for two. He was supposed to be at a tech conference that night. The next evening, I followed him. He left his office building with a woman, his new assistant, Chloe Davis. They were laughing, and his hand was on the small of her back as they entered a fancy downtown restaurant. I watched them inside, looking like a couple in love. When I stumbled and dropped my purse outside, I heard Chloe say, "She' ll never find out, Mark. She' s too trusting." And Mark replied, "I know. But Ava… she' s sensitive." "Sensitive." The word felt like a slap. I confronted them, only for Mark to defend Chloe, who feigned illness and leaned on him. Then I saw it: my fifth-anniversary gift, an architect' s compass, dangling from Chloe' s neck. A sharp pain shot through my abdomen. I was three months pregnant. Mark chose her, shielding her as if I were the threat. I collapsed, blood pooling on the pavement, my baby gone. He had killed our child. Yet, in the hospital, he sided with Chloe again, letting her lie about her miscarriage, then using my dog, Daisy, to force my apology. Why did he abandon me so utterly, so cruelly? How could the man I loved destroy everything we had built, and then blame me? I was lost, but a new resolve sparked within me. I was not alone. My loyal Daisy, waiting at home, was my last pure comfort. I called my lawyer and asked for divorce papers.

Contaminated Love, A Wife's Escape

Contaminated Love, A Wife's Escape

Romance

5.0

For five years, I chased my husband Liam' s love, a tech mogul I deeply adored. Then, after three incredible nights where I finally felt like his wife, I stumbled upon a chat on his computer. It was with my sister, Chloe, and it revealed a horrifying truth: those intimate moments were a cruel setup. Liam recorded them, sent them to Chloe, and messaged, "This way she' ll finally leave me alone. Don' t worry, Chloe, I' d rather die than touch her. You' re the only one I love." My world shattered. An audio file played Chloe' s sweet voice, "Oh, Liam, I' m so touched! You found so many people to mess with her just to protect my reputation?" So many people? Liam' s reply sickened me: "She' s so loose, it' s a blessing anyone would touch her. Besides, I have all the compromising photos and videos, so she can' t blame anyone even if she knows." The man who held me for three days wasn' t Liam. He sent strangers. I fled, my body screaming contamination, only to have Chloe, wearing Liam' s shirt, block my entry back home. "Liam was just adding my face to the system, and I think I accidentally deleted yours. My bad," she smirked. Liam emerged, his voice flat, "Chloe needs this room. It' s closer to me." He ordered me to a distant guest room, then handed me a pill. "Take this. I' m not ready for kids yet." It hit me: he worried I' d get pregnant with a stranger's child-a child he' d arranged. Later, listening to their laughter from the master bedroom, rage simmered. Then Chloe, wearing Liam' s sacred bracelet, whispered close, "Every month, he spends a week with me at a secluded resort. That' s our special time… He even says he feels sick when he sees you at home." Before I could react, she scratched my arm, drawing blood. "Ava, you bitch, stop pretending! I hate your pitiful act! I want to take everything from you!" She shoved me, a vase shattered, leaving a gaping wound on my arm. Liam rushed down, sweeping Chloe into his arms. "Chloe, does it hurt? I' ll take you to the hospital." He saw her nails' marks but blamed me. "Ava, you' re still so manipulative! You' ve always framed Chloe!" he roared. "Go to the basement tonight. Don' t come out until you' ve copied a hundred books!" He stepped over my prostrate body, crushing my arm. Bleeding, broken, I crawled to the ER. "No anesthesia," I told the doctor. "I want to remember this. I want to remember the pain." I needed every stitch to burn away my foolish love. I signed the divorce papers. Back in the mansion, trapped in the basement, I heard fireworks. Liam was celebrating Chloe' s "recovery." Five days later, Chloe feigned reconciliation, offering me tea. Liam forced my mouth open and poured the scalding liquid down my throat. My flesh screamed. I woke in a hospital, my throat ruined, my face Liam' s only concern. "Don' t worry," he told me, "Your face won' t scar." My face. Not my voice. Not the agony. I croaked, "Let me go." He hung up, leaving me to call my lawyer: Deliver the papers. Relief washed over Liam when I handed him two documents. He quickly signed, thinking I wanted property, not realizing the divorce agreement lay beneath. My phone rang moments after he left for Chloe. A headline screamed, "Socialite Scandal: Architect Ava Miller' s Wild Lifestyle Exposed, Intimate Photos Leaked." My private photos. My voice raw, I called 911. The IP address traced to Chloe. Liam' s call came, "Ava, are you crazy? Chloe was just messing around, it didn' t even hurt you. Do you have to be so petty?" He still thought I didn' t know the truth. He warned, "I' ve already had the case dropped. No one in this city will take your case now." My mother called, screaming, "You' ve disgraced our entire family! If you don' t apologize to her immediately, you are no longer our daughter!" "I won' t be your daughter anymore," I replied, then hung up. At the airport, Liam messaged: "I' ll give you a child." I sent him the signed divorce agreement. "Liam, I won' t bother you anymore. I' ll make way for you two." I boarded the plane, leaving him, my family, and my shattered past behind.

The Code Monkey's Revenge

The Code Monkey's Revenge

Modern

5.0

I poured five years of my life into Nexus, the social media giant, building its very soul from lines of code in my quiet apartment. The world knew my live-in boyfriend, Mark Davis, as the CEO of ConnectCorp, the charismatic face of our success, but they didn't know I was the genius behind the curtain. On the eve of our IPO, a critical server failure threatened to derail everything, which I, Ava Chen, single-handedly fixed, only for the doorbell to ring. It was Chloe Miller, my college rival and Mark' s new Head of Product, who sauntered in uninvited, her smile as sharp as her designer suit, to tell me my contract was "terminated, effective immediately." Fired? It was impossible, I was Nexus, the very heart of the company. My call to Mark rang once, then Chloe answered on another phone, locking eyes with me as she faked distress for her "call with Mark," accusing me of aggression. "You' re his mistress," the horrifying realization hit me with the force of a physical blow, confirmed by her cruel smirk and the photo of Mark and me she turned face down. Outside, a crowd of ConnectCorp employees gathered, pointing and whispering, eager witnesses to my public humiliation, confirming my worst fears. Then Mark' s car screeched up, and he stormed out, ignoring me to pull Chloe into a theatrical embrace before yelling, "What the hell did you do, Ava?" Before I could explain, his hand flew through the air, connecting with my cheek, the crack echoing through the silent street. The man I loved, the man I built an empire for, had just publicly slapped me for his mistress. "You' re just the code monkey who got replaced," he sneered, joining Chloe' s cruel laugh as the crowd cheered my downfall. It was in that moment, stripped of everything, that a cold, hard resolve solidified within me. When Mark, attempting a final insult, offered me our old, dilapidated apartment as severance, I grasped the USB holding Nexus' s un-uploaded core. "There' s your data," I declared, throwing the drive to their feet, forcing them to scramble like dogs. Then I walked out, leaving the life I built behind, burning it all down for a chance at true liberation.

The Road of A Unwanted Wife To Her True Home

The Road of A Unwanted Wife To Her True Home

Romance

5.0

The first time I saw proof of my husband' s affair, it wasn' t some hushed secret, but splashed across the internet for everyone to see. Grainy paparazzi photos showed Ethan Carter, the formidable head of Carter Industries, at a parent-child carnival, dressed in a ridiculous bear mascot costume, holding a little boy' s hand and smiling at the woman beside him. That woman was Isabella, his ex-fiancée, and the boy was their son, Leo. They looked like the perfect family. My first instinct was to call my PR team to scrub the photos, but Ethan had already beaten me to it, making them vanish, a stark reminder that our marriage was nothing more than a strategic business merger. Then, they arrived at my doorstep: Ethan, Isabella, and Leo-a picture-perfect trio, while I, his legal wife, stood an outsider in my own home. Leo, a three-year-old, kicked my shin and shrieked, "You stole my dad!" Ethan, instead of chastising his son, turned his icy gaze on me and declared, "He' s just a child. Besides, Isabella raised him alone all these years. I owe her." His words cut deeper than any physical blow. In three years of marriage, he had never once scolded me, yet now, he defended his ex-fiancée and her child against me, his wife, with a chilling coldness. That night, Isabella, with a triumphant smirk, flaunted a hickey, whispering, "As long as Leo is around, Ethan and I can never truly be cut apart. Give him back to me." My composure cracked, replaced by a cold, searing rage. Love? For people like us, it was the most insignificant thing in the world. Three strikes, Ethan. You' re out.

You'll also like

My Alpha's Heartless Contract Wife

My Alpha's Heartless Contract Wife

Rabbit
5.0

"Anya, a 'wolfless' in a world of powerful werewolves, was invisible, drowning her sorrows and desperately lonely. One drunken text, a desperate cry for attention, accidentally reached the Alpha, pulling her into his terrifying orbit. Now, she's trapped, a pawn in his game, forced to warm his bed while he waits for his true mate, her heart breaking with every stolen moment. As a 'wolfless' in the Blackwood Pack, Anya felt like an outsider, always yearning for a connection. One night, in a drunken haze, a misdirected text meant for her best friend landed in Alpha Declan Blackwood's inbox: ""Send me something hot."" Minutes later, the most powerful, terrifying man in the Pack stood at her door, claiming her with a possessive kiss that ignited a dangerous, unwanted fire. The next morning, his cold indifference shattered her world. Publicly humiliated and instantly fired, Anya became a pariah. Her dying mother's urgent need for a million-dollar heart transplant left her with an impossible choice: accept the Alpha's cold, transactional marriage proposal or watch her mother die. She became his ""placeholder"" wife, a contract, not a partner, all while battling a confusing attraction to the man who treated her as property. Why did he demand her, only to remind her constantly of her worthlessness, especially when everyone knew he waited for his true mate? Her world crumbled when she overheard Declan tell his returning ""true mate,"" Kristin Larsen, that Anya was ""just a substitute."" Despite the crushing betrayal and a strange, unyielding pull, Anya, fueled by her mother's desperate need, vowed to survive this gilded cage and reclaim her life before she lost herself completely."

The Billionaire's Cold And Bitter Betrayal

The Billionaire's Cold And Bitter Betrayal

Clara Bennett
5.0

I had just survived a private jet crash, my body a map of violet bruises and my lungs still burning from the smoke. I woke up in a sterile hospital room, gasping for my husband's name, only to realize I was completely alone. While I was bleeding in a ditch, my husband, Adam, was on the news smiling at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. When I tracked him down at the hospital's VIP wing, I didn't find a grieving husband. I found him tenderly cradling his ex-girlfriend, Casie, in his arms, his face lit with a protective warmth he had never shown me as he carried her into the maternity ward. The betrayal went deeper than I could have imagined. Adam admitted the affair started on our third anniversary-the night he claimed he was stuck in London for a merger. Back at the manor, his mother had already filled our planned nursery with pink boutique bags for Casie's "little princess." When I demanded a divorce, Adam didn't flinch. He sneered that I was "gutter trash" from a foster home and that I'd be begging on the streets within a week. To trap me, he froze my bank accounts, cancelled my flight, and even called the police to report me for "theft" of company property. I realized then that I wasn't his partner; I was a charity case he had plucked from obscurity to manage his life. To the Hortons, I was just a servant who happened to sleep in the master bedroom, a "resilient" woman meant to endure his abuse in silence while the whole world laughed at the joke that was my marriage. Adam thought stripping me of his money would make me crawl back to him. He was wrong. I walked into his executive suite during his biggest deal of the year and poured a mug of sludge over his original ten-million-dollar contracts. Then, right in front of his board and his mistress, I stripped off every designer thread he had ever paid for until I was standing in nothing but my own silk camisole. "You can keep the clothes, Adam. They're as hollow as you are." I grabbed my passport, turned my back on his billions, and walked out of that glass tower barefoot, bleeding, and finally free.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book