Leave Them With Nothing
“I’m so sorry, darling,” she said, her face a mask of professional regret. “A massive project just came up at the company, and I have to be the one to sign off on it.”
“Could you go on ahead without me? I promise, I’ll handle everything in a few days and fly out to meet you.”
It was disappointing, but work was work. I told her I understood.
As soon as she was gone, I tore up my ticket.
I decided I’d go have a look for myself. I was intensely curious about which company was so blind as to be negotiating a “massive project” with the figurehead CEO of a corporation that I had, just that morning, fully repossessed. Especially since they dared to bypass me—the actual owner—to do it.
1
I followed her all the way to the luxury hotel I’d bought for her when we first started dating, a place worth a hundred million dollars.
The welcome sign near the entrance almost blinded me.
【Congratulations on the wedding of Ms. Chloe Jensen & Mr. Tom Vance】
Next to it was a professionally shot wedding portrait. Chloe, radiant in a white gown, was smiling brightly. But the man with his arm around her wasn’t me, her fiancé.
It was her male secretary, Tom—the one who’d just texted her about that “massive project.”
It all clicked into place.
No wonder when we’d discussed getting married, she said she was tired of all the fake corporate schmoozing and didn’t want a big, phony ceremony. All she wanted was a quiet destination wedding with me.
It turned out she’d had someone else lined up for the wedding photos, the grand ceremony, and the marriage license all along.
Before walking into the hotel, I made a quick phone call.
I found a table with the best view of the proceedings and sat down just as the master of ceremonies began. Chloe’s father walked her down the aisle, her hand on his arm, and they stopped right next to my table. Tom approached from the other end of the aisle, holding out his hand to her.
The moment her father placed her hand in Tom’s, just before their fingers could intertwine, I kicked Chloe hard in the shins, sending her sprawling face-first onto the floor.
Her veil flew off, and her bouquet scattered across the pristine white runner. The force of her fall even took Tom down with her.
Chloe, sprawled at my feet, was about to let loose a stream of curses, but then she looked up and saw me. The blood in her veins seemed to turn to ice. Tom kept whining for her to help him up, but she couldn’t even bring herself to look at him.
I looked down at her, panicked and scrambling on the floor. “What’s with the grand gesture?” I asked coolly. “Are you bowing to me for a wedding gift?”
The sound of my voice made Tom’s head snap in my direction. His face went pale with terror. He instinctively tried to crawl behind Chloe to hide, but her father grabbed him by the collar.
Chloe’s father, a shrewd look in his eyes, pointed a finger at me and bellowed loud enough for the entire hall to hear, “You shameless homewrecker! You just don’t give up, do you? I thought I already threw you out! How did you get in here?”
His words made every head in the room turn toward me.
“Look at that weaselly face. No wonder he’s the other man.”
“Chloe’s a stand-up girl. She’s been devoted to Tom her whole life. This guy never stood a chance.”
“They’ve been childhood sweethearts since they were kids, started dating in middle school. The second Chloe made it big, she brought Tom to the city to live the good life, even made him an executive to help run her company. What kind of trash are you, trying to get between them? Take a good look at yourself.”
Childhood sweethearts.
Dating since middle school.
Perfect.
I nodded slowly. Chloe had pursued me relentlessly from the moment we started college. It wasn't until our senior year that her persistence finally wore me down, and I agreed to be with her.
Which meant that today, the day of our elopement, was the day I discovered I’d been the other man for three years.
And why would she, a woman so deeply in love with her childhood sweetheart, chase after me? The answer was obvious. It was for my status as the son of a billionaire and a pop superstar. For my money, the kind you couldn't spend in a dozen lifetimes.
Just perfect.
I nudged her with the toe of my shoe. “So, you agree? I’m the one who broke you two up?”
Chloe’s face was a mess of guilt. She shook her head frantically, about to offer some pathetic explanation, but Tom suddenly shrieked and threw himself on top of her.
“Chloe, are you okay?!” he cried, hugging her tight while shooting her a series of frantic, meaningful glances.
Their eyes met for a moment. Chloe slowly regained her composure, a calculated glint appearing in her eyes.
Seeing Chloe on the floor, the room full of her family and friends erupted in outrage.
“Who the hell do you think you are, hitting her?” one man shouted, rolling up his sleeves and raising a fist as if to strike me.
“Wait,” Chloe said, her voice suddenly firm, all traces of her earlier fear gone.
“Julian,” she said, looking straight at me. “I’ve told you time and time again to leave me alone. I’ve made it clear that my heart belongs to someone else. Today is my wedding day, and I will not let anyone ruin what I’ve prepared for Tom. Leave now, before I have security throw you out.”
I met her gaze with a cold smile. “Chloe, have you forgotten who owns this hotel? On what authority do you get to throw me out? Or do you think if I leave, all your dirty little secrets will just disappear?”
Tom stepped forward, clutching her hand. “Julian, my friend, I know you’ve always had feelings for Chloe. It must be hard seeing us get married. But she’s always loved me. You can’t force these things. We’re married now. I hope you can respect that and leave her alone.”
Honestly, I wasn't surprised. It was because I’d discovered their affair that I’d decided to take back the company I had funded, staffed, and built for her from the ground up.
And she still had no idea.
I had originally planned to give her one last chance, worried that my actions were too ruthless. Looking at her now, I realized I’d been far too generous.
I was about to slap the company repossession documents on her face when her father’s eyes darted around, and he deliberately raised his voice.
“Oh, I remember now! You’re that secretary from her office she told me about! The one who’s always trying to make a move on her!”
I almost laughed. I nudged Chloe’s foot again. “What world are you living in? Me, your secretary? Your father doesn’t even know what his own son-in-law does for a living?”
Before the words were even out of my mouth, a man at a nearby table spit a mouthful of peanut shells in my face. The entire room roared with laughter.
“You’re a kept man, a parasite, and you didn’t even bother to research your sugar mama? Chloe is a multi-millionaire CEO! She owns countless companies, luxury cars, mansions! You see this hotel? This massive, opulent hotel belongs to her!”
“And don’t even get me started on Tom. He not only manages all of Chloe’s businesses, but he’s also closed countless multi-million-dollar deals for her, single-handedly turning her company into a global powerhouse.”
Tom managed her company? Tom closed her deals? Tom made her a global powerhouse?
It was me who poured tens of millions of my own allowance into her ventures. I was the one who leveraged my parents’ connections to build her network. I was the one who debased myself at endless cocktail parties to secure her one project after another. I was the one who stayed up for countless nights, guiding her through every step, and more often than not, doing the work myself because her vision was too narrow and her experience non-existent.
Without my help, Chloe, a poor girl from the countryside who couldn't even afford college tuition, would have needed generations of her family to work themselves to the bone to achieve a fraction of what she has today.
Someone in the crowd, annoyed by my defiant silence, chimed in. “See, Chloe, this is what happens when you’re too soft on your employees. A secretary gets a little brave and thinks he can crash your wedding. If it were me, I’d have him fired on the spot. Teach him his place.”
The sentiment was echoed around the room.
Chloe looked at me as if she were actually admonishing a subordinate. “After a scene like this, I obviously can’t keep you on as my secretary. But, considering you’ve been with the company for so long, I’ll transfer you to a branch office. I won’t leave you completely jobless. But if you push it, don’t blame me when you’re out on the street.”
Her “magnanimity” earned a round of applause.
“Chloe’s a true leader! So forgiving, even to a man like this.”
I, however, was not impressed. I let out a cold laugh. “Fire me? Go on, then. Fire me. I’d love to see you try.”
Someone immediately shot back with a sneer. “Of course he’s not afraid of being fired. He can just go sell himself somewhere else. A secretary’s salary is nothing compared to that, right?”
A wave of lecherous understanding washed over the room. A shirtless, greasy man stared at me, practically drooling. “Nice body, kid. You up for anything? What’s your price? I can’t pay what those rich folks do, but I’m a relative of the bride. How about a family discount?”
My expression turned thunderous. I stared at Chloe. “Are you really going to let this happen? You’re going to stand there and let them humiliate me like this?”
Chloe hesitated for a moment, then turned her face away. “Tom is my husband. My conscience is clear. If you leave now, this can all be over.”
Tom’s face was a mask of smug victory. “Julian, my friend, I know you’re just upset because you’ve ruined your own reputation and gotten nothing out of it. Normally, a generous person like Chloe might not mind giving you some money to go away, but you chose our wedding day to make a scene. Even after all this, she’s not firing you. Hasn’t she been kind enough? Doesn’t your conscience hurt at all?”
As he spoke, Tom began to cry, fat tears of “pity” for Chloe rolling down his cheeks. She immediately pulled out a tissue to dab his eyes.
I’d had enough of their performance. I lashed out with my foot, kicking Tom square in the back. He yelped and tumbled into Chloe’s arms.
“Julian, have you lost your mind?!” Chloe shrieked. Seeing Tom hurt, she flew into a rage and slapped me across the face with all her strength.
The blow sent me staggering back into a dining table. I was covered in food and greasy sauces, but worse, the hot dishes scalded my skin through my thin summer shirt, leaving angry red welts.
Chloe didn’t even seem to notice. She cradled Tom protectively and snarled at me, “Apologize to him. Now. Or this isn’t over.”
Tom’s eyes danced with triumph.
I pushed myself up, my body trembling with pain and rage. The blistering burns on my exposed arms were a gruesome, mocking testament to the so-called love I’d wasted all these years.
The searing pain intensified, but my voice grew colder.
“Chloe, you hid your relationship with him while dating me for three years. You married him in the very hotel I bought you, on the day you were supposed to marry me. And now you want me to apologize to him?”
“Have I given you everything you’ve ever wanted for so long that you actually think you can walk all over me? Do you have any idea how fast I can make you lose everything?”
For a moment, my words stunned her into silence.
Whispers broke out among the guests.
“Did he just say they’ve been together for three years? And that this was supposed to be their wedding day? And that he gave her the hotel? Could that be true?”
“No way. We all watched Chloe grow up. We know what kind of person she is. He’s just making it all up.”
“Yeah, right, he owns the hotel. Next he’ll say he owns her company too.”
Then, a quiet female voice piped up. “But… I’ve seen his clothes online. It’s a really, really expensive designer brand. I’ve never even seen Tom wear anything like it…”
Tom immediately shot the girl a furious glare. “You’ve never even been to the city before, what do you know about quality? We’re from the same village! How can you take his side?”
The girl shrank back, silenced.
Satisfied, Chloe raised her and Tom’s hands into the air, showing off the brilliant, matching wedding bands on their fingers. She looked down at me, as if I were a thoroughly defeated enemy.
“Julian, you say today was our wedding day. Do you have any proof? My parents, my entire family… none of them have ever met you. If I were really marrying you, don’t you think I would have introduced you to them?”
“Besides, do we have a marriage license? Did we take wedding photos? Did I give you a wedding gift? You need evidence to make claims like that. And I’ve given all of those things to my Tom.”
Tom snuggled against her shoulder, his smile triumphant. “That’s right, Julian. You need to be careful what you say.”
Her words sealed my fate in their eyes. I had no rebuttal. In my foolishness, in my love for her, I had asked for nothing. I had everything I needed, and I thought she was all that mattered.
I never imagined that love would become the blade she’d use to stab me in the heart.
The entire hotel was now buzzing with condemnation.
“A homewrecker, caught in the act! Now you’ve got nothing to say for yourself!”
“We can’t just let him go! He needs to be taught a lesson!”
Someone grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked me to the ground. Tom’s father gave a subtle nod to the shirtless, greasy man.
The man bent down, a lewd grin on his face, and grabbed my stomach. “Being the other man isn’t very nice, little brother. Uncle here is going to have to teach you a lesson today.”
I cried out, struggling to get away, but my arms and legs were pinned down. Fear, cold and absolute, washed over me. I screamed Chloe’s name, hoping for a shred of decency, a flicker of conscience that would make her stop this.
Her eyes widened, and for a second, she looked like she was about to intervene. But then Tom pulled her back.
“He ruined our wedding,” he whispered. “I’m not happy. I just want to teach him a little lesson.”
Chloe hesitated. “But…”
“Just a little one. You know our people. They know when to stop. Besides, we’re right here. What could possibly happen?”
Chloe said nothing more. Tom wrapped his arms around her, and she numbly patted his back as more men and women began to grope and paw at me.
“Get off me! This is assault! You’ll go to jail for this!”
A slap from an unseen hand made my head ring.
“A whore like you gets passed around anyway! What right do you have to accuse us? This isn’t assault, it’s justice!”
A flood of filth and insults washed over me. Just as I gave in to despair, a voice boomed from the entrance.
“My apologies for being late, everyone, I had some business to attend to…”
The voice trailed off as the man saw me on the floor. His tone shifted to pure horror.
“Stop! What in God’s name are you doing?!”
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