He Traded My Horse for Her Smile

To pay off my boyfriends debts, I sold Scoutthe rare, purebred Akhal-Teke stallion who grew up with me, the last of his kind in the world.

On the day of the transfer, Howard held me tight, his eyes red and tearful.

Im so sorry, Bella. I promise Ill work myself to the bone and buy Scout back for you!

Today, while I was mucking out stalls at the dusty suburban ranch, I spotted a newly released issue of a luxury finance magazine left on a bench.

The cover headline screamed at me.

[New Billionaire Icon Bids Fortune for Ultra-Rare Stallion, All to Win a Beauty's Smile]

Inside, on a high-definition, double-page spread, was Howardthe man who claimed he was working himself to death.

He was wearing custom-tailored equestrian gear, elegantly holding Scout's reins.

And the woman sitting on my horse, laughing with wild, arrogant triumph?

It was Chloe White.

My former rival who, jealous of my riding skills, had sabotaged my saddle three years ago and severed the tendons in my right hand, ending my career.

In the photo, Scout was pawing at the ground, looking visibly stressed.

Meanwhile, Howard was leaning down, tenderly kissing the back of the hand of the very woman who had destroyed my life.

I gripped the magazine so hard the glossy pages sliced into my palm, leaving deep, red marks.

My stomach churned. I dry-heaved, but nothing came up.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Howards number.

The screen showed it went through, but he declined it instantly.

Without a second thought, I ripped off my manure-stained apron and bolted out of the run-down suburban stables.

There was only one place Chloe White hung outthe elite Sky Equestrian Club in the heart of downtown.

I spent my last $50 on an Uber to get there.

The security guards at the gate stopped me, but I managed to slip through a side entrance when a luxury sports car was being waved in.

Suddenly, a sharp, agonizing neigh echoed through the arena.

I knew that sound all too well. It was Scouts cry of extreme pain.

I ran toward the noise. In the center of the indoor sand arena, Scout was secured to a metal exhibition post by two heavy iron chains.

Chloe was dressed in a pristine white riding habit, holding a professional whip tipped with metal spikes.

She raised her arm and brought the whip down hard across Scouts back.

A bloody welt bloomed instantly on his coat.

"Still got a nasty temper, huh? Just like your pathetic, crippled former owner!"

Howard stood nearby, holding a glass of red wine. He frowned slightly, but his voice was completely indulgent.

"Careful, Chloe. Dont let him kick you. Hes wild and untamed."

The blood rushed to my head, boiling hot.

To pay off Howard's $300,000 debt to those shady loan sharks, I had literally knelt before the buyer, begging him to treat Scout well.

Howard had held me and wept, swearing he would do anything to make it up to me.

And now, he was watching my worst enemy abuse my horse, only telling her to "be careful."

I lost control. I charged into the arena and shoved Chloe away with all my might.

Chloe lost her footing and stumbled, crashing hard onto the dirty sand. Her white outfit was instantly ruined with mud.

I turned around, wrapping my arms around the panicked Scout, my rough fingers gently stroking his neck.

Sensing my scent, Scout slowly calmed down. He lowered his head, nuzzling my shoulder with a soft, trembling whimper.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!"

Howard slammed his wine glass down. He marched over, grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, and threw me to the ground.

I crashed onto the hard dirt, my right wrist taking the brunt of the fall.

Pain flared instantly in the exact spot where my tendons had been severed three years ago. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

Howard knelt down, checking Chloes arm with deep concern. Once he was sure she didn't have a scratch, he whipped his head around to glare at me.

"Bella? Are you stalking me?"

I clutched my throbbing right wrist and slowly forced myself up, staring directly into Howards eyes.

"What are you doing here? You said you were working yourself to the bone!"

"You said the loan sharks were going to kill you!"

"Why are you with Chloe White!"

Chloe dusted the sand off her clothes and walked over to me.

She looked down at my faded t-shirt and my mud-caked sneakers, letting out a sharp scoff.

Then, she raised her hand and slapped me across the face.

The loud crack echoed through the quiet arena.

My head snapped to the side, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

"Know your place, Bella. Do you really think someone like you belongs in a club like this?"

I ignored Chloe, my eyes locked onto Howard.

"Howard! Say something!"

Howard stood up, stepping in front of Chloe to shield her. The warmth and tenderness he used to look at me with were completely gone.

His eyes were dead and cold.

"You see it. It is exactly what it looks like."

Looking at Howards familiar face, my head spun.

"Why?" I screamed, my voice cracking. "I sold Scout to save your life! Ive been working three jobs a day!"

"And you used my sacrifice to hang out with Chloe?"

Chloe burst into a mocking laugh.

"Oh, Bella. You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Did you honestly think Howard needed your pathetic $300,000?"

She wrapped her arm around Howards, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Let me introduce him properly. The man standing in front of you is the sole heir to the Wilmot Group, and the actual owner of this very club."

I froze.

The Wilmot Group. They were the mega-corporation that monopolized the entire equestrian industry in North America.

Howard looked at me, showing no remorse. Instead, he looked relieved, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Chloes right, Bella. I dont need your money."

"I only hid my identity and went to that trashy suburban ranch to study the operational model of low-end stables."

"And, of course, to find a free, highly skilled trainer to break Scout in."

"Your $300,000 wouldn't even buy the cufflinks on my suit."

Every word he spoke felt like a dagger to my chest.

Three years ago, right before the national championships, someone cut my saddle girth. I fell, and my hand was ruined.

We later found out Chloe had bribed the stable boy, but her family was too powerful, and they got a scapegoat to take the fall.

I lost my career. I was forced to retreat to the countryside to survive with my Grandpa Charles and Scout.

Then, Howard showed up.

He played the part of a struggling, penniless traveler. He mucked stalls for me, brewed my herbal teas, and swore he didn't care about my disability. He promised to protect me forever.

Last month, a group of terrifying men broke into the ranch, holding a knife to Howards throat.

To save him, I swallowed my pride and sold Scout to a mysterious private buyer.

It turned out that buyer was Howard all along.

It was all a sick, twisted game.

I looked at Howard, my body trembling violently.

"You knew Chloe destroyed my hand. You knew what Scout meant to me!"

"You lied to me from day one? You treated me like a joke?"

Howard frowned, a look of pure disgust flashing in his eyes.

"Bella, stop playing the victim."

"Chloe is an heiress. It's an honor for Scout to belong to her."

"As for you... look at yourself."

"You smell like horse manure, and your hands are covered in ugly calluses and scars."

"Every time I had to hold your hand, it made my skin crawl."

"How could a girl like you ever think she was worthy of standing next to me?"

A physical pain stabbed through my heart.

The calluses I got from working day and night to keep us afloat, the scars I got from cooking his meals...

To him, they were just disgusting marks of poverty.

Chloe raised her chin proudly.

"Howard and I are getting engaged next month. Scout is his engagement gift to me."

"Have some self-respect, Bella. Go back to the gutter where you belong."

I looked at Scout. He was pacing nervously, chained up.

I tried to run over to unchain him, but Howard kicked me hard in the back of my knee.

I collapsed heavily onto the sand.

"Get out. Don't dirty my arena."

Howard threw those cold words over his shoulder as he walked toward the VIP lounge, holding Chloe's hand.

Two burly security guards rushed in, grabbed me by my arms, and dragged me out of the club.

They threw me onto the hard pavement of the street. My palms were scraped raw, dripping blood.

The next morning, ignoring my aching body, I put on my only clean white shirt and went to the National Equestrian Association headquarters.

Today was my final evaluation to get certified as a rehab coach for disabled riders.

It was my only way back into the industry, and my only hope to pay for Grandpa Charless urgent heart surgery.

I sat in the waiting room, clutching my application form tight.

The large screen in the lobby was playing promotional videos for the association.

Suddenly, the screen glitched, and a security camera video started playing.

In the video, a woman wearing the exact same white shirt I was wearing was brutally whipping a chained horse.

The horse was Scout.

But the person wielding the whip wasn't me!

It was Chloe, wearing her white riding habit from yesterday!

The video had been maliciously edited. The face was blurred, leaving only the clothes and the silhouette.

The riders and coaches in the lobby gathered around, pointing and whispering at the screen.

"Isn't that Bella? How does she have the nerve to apply for a coaching license?"

"Her hand got ruined, so shes taking out her anger on a helpless animal? What a psycho!"

I jumped up, shouting, "Thats not me! That video is fake!"

A soft laugh echoed from the entrance.

Chloe, dressed in a designer suit, walked into the lobby, accompanied by Howard.

"Bella, the evidence is right there. Are you seriously trying to deny it?"

Chloe pulled out a document stamped with the Wilmot Group's official seal and handed it to the association's president.

"Chairman Thomas, I saw it with my own eyes. Bella was desperate for cash."

"She not only sold her horse illegally, but she also abused him severely before the sale, leaving him traumatized."

Chairman Thomas took the file, his face darkening as he glared at me.

Howard stepped forward, standing close to Chloe, looking at me with total indifference.

I stared back at Howard.

"Howard, you were there yesterday! You know exactly who was whipping Scout! Tell them the truth!"

Howard casually adjusted his designer watch.

"I was indeed there. And I personally witnessed Bella whipping Scout with a spiked crop."

"I couldn't stand the cruelty, which is why I bought the horse at a high price and handed him over to Chloe to be saved."

Gasps erupted around the room.

The testimony of the heir of the Wilmot Group was the final nail in my coffin.

I shook with rage, my fingernails digging deep into my palms.

"Howard! You liar!"

Howard looked away, annoyed.

"Bella, take responsibility for your own actions. Stop making a scene."

Chairman Thomas announced loudly to the room:

"After reviewing the evidence, Bella is found guilty of severe unsportsmanlike conduct and animal abuse."

"Her application is denied. She is banned for life from holding any position in the equestrian industry!"

Banned for life.

The words shattered my world.

I had lost my career, lost Scout, and now I had no way to make money to save Grandpa Charles.

The crowd began hurling insults at me.

Someone threw a half-empty cup of cold coffee, splashing it all over my white shirt.

Security guards grabbed my collar and threw me out the front doors.

I tumbled down the concrete steps, my forehead hitting the edge of a step. Warm blood trickled down my face.

Chloe stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at me like I was trash.

"You can never beat me, Bella. You're done."

As I lay on the cold ground, my phone vibrated violently in my pocket. It was the hospital.

"Is this Bella? Your grandfather, Charles, has gone into acute heart failure. He needs an emergency bypass right now."

"We need a 0-000,000 deposit immediately, or we can't proceed with the surgery!"

I scrambled up from the ground.

Grandpa Charles was my only family left in the world.

Wiping the blood from my eyes, I stumbled to the street and hailed a cab.

I ran to the hospital's billing counter, pulling out the bank card that held all my hard-earned savings.

The receptionist swiped it and handed it back.

"Declined. Your account is frozen."

I gasped.

"Thats impossible! Theres at least $20,000 in there!"

I begged her to try again, but the people in the line behind me began to complain.

Then, the click of high heels echoed down the hallway.

Chloe and Howard strolled over.

Howard was casually holding a black credit card between his fingers.

"Bella, your account has been frozen by the Wilmot Group's legal team due to investigation into illegal horse trading."

Howards voice was flat, as if he were just reading a weather report.

I turned to him, desperate.

"Howard, thats my grandfather's life-saving money!"

"Give it back to me, or unfreeze my card. Please, Im begging you."

I bowed my head, swallowing every ounce of pride. Chloe sneered.

"Why should Howard give you a dime? But... I'm in a good mood today. I can pay the 0-000,000 for you."

Chloe pointed to the filthy, cold tile floor of the hospital lobby.

"Kneel. Admit to everyone here that you abused Scout, and sign this contract waiving all your rights to ever see him again."

Howard stood by, silent and cold.

"Chloe is offering to help you. It's your last chance. Don't be ungrateful."

I looked toward the ICU doors.

Grandpa Charles was in there, fighting for his life.

I closed my eyes. My knees hit the hard tiles with a dull thud.

"I admit it. I abused Scout. I waive all my rights. Please... pay the bill."

I pressed my forehead to the floor. Chloe let out a delighted laugh.

She whipped out her phone and snapped several pictures of me.

"Good girl. Howard, go pay."

Howard walked toward the counter with his card.

But before he could hand it to the receptionist, the doors of the operating room flew open.

The surgeon walked out, drenched in sweat, pulling down his mask.

"Are you Charles's family? I'm so sorry. We couldn't save him. The patient has passed away."

My mind went completely blank.

"No... no, doctor! We're paying right now! Please, try again!"

I scrambled up and rushed toward him.

A nurse rolled out a gurney covered in a white sheet, sighing softly.

"A young woman snuck into his ward earlier and played a video of you being banned for life and accused of animal abuse. She told him you were going to prison."

"The patient's condition was already critical. The shock caused his heart to stop instantly."

The nurse's words echoed in my ears.

I slowly turned my head to look at Chloe.

She was playing with her phone, not a single trace of guilt on her face.

"Oops. I just wanted to keep the old man updated on your life. Who knew he was so fragile?"

A primal, agonized shriek escaped my throat. I lunged at Chloe.

Howard immediately stepped in, grabbing Chloe by the waist and kicking me squarely in the chest.

"Bella, have you lost your mind! He died because of his weak heart! What does this have to do with Chloe!"

I collapsed onto the floor, staring at Grandpa Charless covered body, gasping for air.

Just then, loud sirens wailed outside the hospital.

A squad of armed police officers burst into the lobby, quickly surrounding Howard and Chloe.

The lead detective flashed his badge, his voice booming.

"Howard, Chloe! You are under arrest for suspicion of manslaughter. Come with us!"