Login to ManoBook
icon 0
icon TOP UP
rightIcon
icon Reading History
rightIcon
icon Sign out
rightIcon
icon Get the APP
rightIcon
My Life, A Perfect Scam

My Life, A Perfect Scam

Gavin

5.0
Comment(s)
View
11
Chapters

My life as a rising star in software development was predictable, good. Then the Affinity Gauge appeared, numbers hovering above everyone's heads, revealing their true feelings for me. My college sweetheart, Chloe, charming and affectionate, always told me how much she leaned on me, especially after her wealthy adopted family found their biological daughter. I poured thousands into "her foster mother's medical bills" and "her childhood friend's 'vocational' tuition," believing it was all for our future, our marriage. Despite my love, her Affinity Gauge stubbornly read a stark, unbelievable 0. I told myself it was a glitch, until I overheard her in a cafe. "That five thousand Ethan gave me barely covered Mrs. Gable's retainer for the month's act!" she'd hissed. Her friend, Liam, added, "We need to push for the big one, the six-figure investment, then you dump him." My world tilted, the 0 above her head blazing into terrifying clarity. The woman I loved, the future I envisioned, was a meticulously crafted lie. I watched them, Liam flashing designer everything, Chloe playing the innocent victim, their intimacy undeniable. Their demands escalated, a fabricated medical emergency the final straw. My affection curdled into a cold, grim resolve. How could I have been so blind, so stupid? The betrayal cut deep, but the Gauge had been right all along, a cruel, undeniable truth. The sheer audacity of their fraud, the hundreds of thousands they'd robbed from me, demanded justice. I wouldn't be their fool any longer. I began to dismantle their carefully constructed reality, piece by piece, starting with a call to a private investigator. This wasn't just about reclaiming my money; it was about exposing every single lie and making sure they paid for every cent of their deceit.

Introduction

My life as a rising star in software development was predictable, good.

Then the Affinity Gauge appeared, numbers hovering above everyone's heads, revealing their true feelings for me.

My college sweetheart, Chloe, charming and affectionate, always told me how much she leaned on me, especially after her wealthy adopted family found their biological daughter.

I poured thousands into "her foster mother's medical bills" and "her childhood friend's 'vocational' tuition," believing it was all for our future, our marriage.

Despite my love, her Affinity Gauge stubbornly read a stark, unbelievable 0.

I told myself it was a glitch, until I overheard her in a cafe.

"That five thousand Ethan gave me barely covered Mrs. Gable's retainer for the month's act!" she'd hissed.

Her friend, Liam, added, "We need to push for the big one, the six-figure investment, then you dump him."

My world tilted, the 0 above her head blazing into terrifying clarity.

The woman I loved, the future I envisioned, was a meticulously crafted lie.

I watched them, Liam flashing designer everything, Chloe playing the innocent victim, their intimacy undeniable.

Their demands escalated, a fabricated medical emergency the final straw.

My affection curdled into a cold, grim resolve.

How could I have been so blind, so stupid?

The betrayal cut deep, but the Gauge had been right all along, a cruel, undeniable truth.

The sheer audacity of their fraud, the hundreds of thousands they'd robbed from me, demanded justice.

I wouldn't be their fool any longer.

I began to dismantle their carefully constructed reality, piece by piece, starting with a call to a private investigator.

This wasn't just about reclaiming my money; it was about exposing every single lie and making sure they paid for every cent of their deceit.

Continue Reading

Other books by Gavin

More
The Discarded Daughter's Rise

The Discarded Daughter's Rise

Short stories

5.0

Christmas morning should have been filled with joy, but for me, it was the day my hard work, my straight-A report card, was ripped to shreds by my father. Instead of comfort, my own paternal grandmother slapped me, calling me a "bad omen" just like my mother, Brenda. My mother, a paralegal who valued appearances, had vanished weeks prior, only for divorce papers to appear. Soon after, my father dumped me at a bus station, tossing a few crumpled bills and driving off, telling me not to call him, even in an emergency. Hours passed, the cold seeping into my bones, every hopeful car not hers, until finally, it was my Grandma Rose who saved me, wrapping me in a hug that smelled of cinnamon and soap. But the truth soon crushed me: my mother hadn't wanted me, and my grandmother, with her meager social security, had to invent "gifts from your mom" to keep my hope alive. Just when I thought I had a haven, Brenda reappeared, engaged to a wealthy businessman, dragging me back into her world of superficiality and ridicule. Life with them became a new hell, culminating in a public slap from my mother for making her "look bad" and finally, being thrown out onto the street with nothing but a small bag. I walked for miles, desperate to get back to Grandma Rose, the only person who had ever truly loved me. And then, just weeks before my SATs, she collapsed, needing an expensive surgery my parents coldly refused to fund, forcing me to sacrifice my future for her. She passed, leaving me heartbroken, but also with a cold, clear rage burning inside me. When my mother brazenly reappeared after Grandma' s funeral, complaining about the "inconvenience" of her death and scoffing at my efforts, something inside me snapped. I was done being a victim. I stood up, my voice dangerously quiet, and told her to get out, but not before she paid what she owed me. I sued both my parents for years of neglect, studied relentlessly, and when I emerged as the state's top SAT scorer, exposing their hypocrisy to the world. Years later, as a successful investment banker, I faced them again, broken and desperate for money, and coolly repeated their own words back: "That's not my problem." Now, holding my daughter, Rose, a child I chose to have on my own terms, I realized I had not only broken the cycle but built a new legacy of unconditional love.

You'll also like

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book