The $50 Amazon Empire

The $50 Amazon Empire

Gavin

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I developed the AI that powered Innovatech's meteoric rise, securing $50 million in Series B funding. My wife, Bella, our CEO, promised me significant public recognition and a hefty bonus for my pivotal role. But after calling me on stage, she handed me a flimsy envelope containing a $50 Amazon gift card. Hours later, I scrolled through her latest social media posts: Julian Vance, our new 'Chief Branding Officer' of two months, grinning beside a new Tesla Model S Plaid, sporting a limited-edition Audemars Piguet watch, all company-expensed, with Bella's caption praising his "contributions to our Series B success." The humiliation deepened when I discovered my generous bonus was withheld. Worse, my entire engineering team' s monthly performance bonuses were zeroed out, with a sub-note about "inefficient resource utilization"-a transparent excuse to cover Julian's exorbitant spending. To add insult to injury, Bella then brazenly demanded my late grandmother's cherished sapphire locket for Julian, promising to reinstate my team's stolen bonuses in return. The audacity was breathtaking. How could the woman I built this empire with, my partner, my wife, so completely devalue my work and our shared legacy for a charlatan who barely understood our product? The betrayal wasn't just personal; it was a professional insult, a systematic dismantling of integrity and respect. "I want a divorce," I told her, the words flat and final. This wasn't merely about meager compensation; it was about reclaiming my worth and liberating my brilliant team from a company spiraling into delusion. I would ensure Bella paid the ultimate price for choosing a fraud over the very foundation of her empire.

Introduction

I developed the AI that powered Innovatech's meteoric rise, securing $50 million in Series B funding.

My wife, Bella, our CEO, promised me significant public recognition and a hefty bonus for my pivotal role.

But after calling me on stage, she handed me a flimsy envelope containing a $50 Amazon gift card.

Hours later, I scrolled through her latest social media posts: Julian Vance, our new 'Chief Branding Officer' of two months, grinning beside a new Tesla Model S Plaid, sporting a limited-edition Audemars Piguet watch, all company-expensed, with Bella's caption praising his "contributions to our Series B success."

The humiliation deepened when I discovered my generous bonus was withheld.

Worse, my entire engineering team' s monthly performance bonuses were zeroed out, with a sub-note about "inefficient resource utilization"-a transparent excuse to cover Julian's exorbitant spending.

To add insult to injury, Bella then brazenly demanded my late grandmother's cherished sapphire locket for Julian, promising to reinstate my team's stolen bonuses in return.

The audacity was breathtaking.

How could the woman I built this empire with, my partner, my wife, so completely devalue my work and our shared legacy for a charlatan who barely understood our product?

The betrayal wasn't just personal; it was a professional insult, a systematic dismantling of integrity and respect.

"I want a divorce," I told her, the words flat and final.

This wasn't merely about meager compensation; it was about reclaiming my worth and liberating my brilliant team from a company spiraling into delusion.

I would ensure Bella paid the ultimate price for choosing a fraud over the very foundation of her empire.

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When Love Turns to Ash

When Love Turns to Ash

Short stories

4.7

My world revolved around Jax Harding, my older brother's captivating rockstar friend. From sixteen, I adored him; at eighteen, I clung to his casual promise: "When you're 22, maybe I'll settle down." That offhand comment became my life's beacon, guiding every choice, meticulously planning my twenty-second birthday as our destiny. But on that pivotal day in a Lower East Side bar, clutching my gift, my dream exploded. I overheard Jax' s cold voice: "Can't believe Savvy's showing up. She' s still hung up on that stupid thing I said." Then the crushing plot: "We' re gonna tell Savvy I' m engaged to Chloe, maybe even hint she' s pregnant. That should scare her off." My gift, my future, slipped from my numb fingers. I fled into the cold New York rain, devastated by betrayal. Later, Jax introduced Chloe as his "fiancée" while his bandmates mocked my "adorable crush"-he did nothing. As an art installation fell, he saved Chloe, abandoning me to severe injury. In the hospital, he came for "damage control," then shockingly shoved me into a fountain, leaving me to bleed, calling me a "jealous psycho." How could the man I loved, who once saved me, become this cruel and publicly humiliate me? Why was my devotion seen as an annoyance to be brutally extinguished with lies and assault? Was I just a problem, my loyalty met with hatred? I would not be his victim. Injured and betrayed, I made an unshakeable vow: I was done. I blocked his number and everyone connected to him, severing ties. This was not an escape; this was my rebirth. Florence awaited, a new life on my terms, unburdened by broken promises.

Five Years' Love, Shattered by a Call

Five Years' Love, Shattered by a Call

Romance

5.0

My wedding to Ethan, the man I’d loved for five years, was weeks away. Everything was set for our future, a beautifully planned life together. Then the call came: Ethan’s high school sweetheart, Chloe, was found with severe amnesia, still believing she was his girlfriend. Ethan postponed our wedding, asked me to pretend to be his brother Liam’s girlfriend, insisting it was "for Chloe’s sake." I endured quiet agony watching him relive their past, his every loving gesture now for her. Chloe’s Instagram became a public shrine to their "rekindled" love, #TrueLove emblazoned everywhere. I even found a groundbreaking clinic for Chloe, hoping for an end, but Ethan brushed it off. Then, I overheard him: I was just a "placeholder," a "good sport" who would wait, because I had "nowhere else to go." Five years of my life, my love, my loyalty, reduced to a disposable convenience. The cold, calculated betrayal punched the air from my lungs. He thought I was trapped, that he could use me at will, then return to me, expecting gratitude. Numb, I stumbled. And then, I met Liam, Ethan’s quiet brother. "I need to get married, Liam. To someone. Soon." The words escaped me. Liam, who had watched silently, responded: "What if I said I'd marry you, Ava? For real." A dangerous, desperate plan ignited within me, fueled by pain and a fierce desire for reckoning. "Alright, Liam," I declared, a new resolve hardening my voice. "But I have conditions: Ethan must be your Best Man, and he must give me away at the altar." The charade was about to begin, but now, it was on my terms. And Ethan had no idea the bride was truly me.

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