The Five Hundred Thousand Dollar Lie

The Five Hundred Thousand Dollar Lie

Gavin

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Three years of playing my guitar until my fingers bled, enduring stale smoke and leering eyes in a Vegas lounge. It was all for him, my fiancé Jax, to pay off a $500,000 debt that threatened his family's legacy. Finally, the "contract" was fulfilled, the debt paid, and I was on my way home, dreaming of our reunion. But when I reached our old apartment, it was empty, a foreclosure notice taped to the door. Panic clawed at my throat as his phone went straight to voicemail, over and over. Then, a notification from a music blog changed everything, showing Jax, my fiancé, beaming with Savannah Monroe at a high-profile Nashville party. The caption: "Nashville's new power couple, Jax Thorne and Savannah Monroe, celebrate their groundbreaking merger." My phone clattered to the dusty floor, my mind unable to grasp the words. I stumbled to the penthouse address listed, only to overhear their voices dripping with casual cruelty. "She'd do anything for me," Jax bragged, his voice cold, "Pure profit." Savannah's syrupy drawl followed, "The loan shark? Seriously? You hired an out-of-work actor from Memphis." My blood ran cold as the truth hit me: the debt, the loan shark, the three years of hell-all a lie, a twisted game orchestrated by the man I loved. "Revenge," Jax hissed, "Her father stole a hit song from my dad. Ruined him. Drove him to suicide. I wanted her to feel what it was like to have everything taken away." My entire life, my sacrifice, my love-it was all a setup, a cruel, elaborate joke. His father was a jealous drunk, a gambler, and the 'stolen song' was a generous gift, not a theft. I was a pawn in a revenge plot based on a lie, completely broken, with nothing left. But as I stood there in the Nashville sun, clutching a small, crumpled piece of paper-a mysterious number for "a true emergency"-a desperate, fluttering hope ignited. I had never used it. With trembling hands, I dialed. "Rothschild, private office." The name echoed in my mind, a legend. "I... I need to speak to Marcus Rothschild," I whispered, "It's an emergency."

Introduction

Three years of playing my guitar until my fingers bled, enduring stale smoke and leering eyes in a Vegas lounge.

It was all for him, my fiancé Jax, to pay off a $500,000 debt that threatened his family's legacy.

Finally, the "contract" was fulfilled, the debt paid, and I was on my way home, dreaming of our reunion.

But when I reached our old apartment, it was empty, a foreclosure notice taped to the door.

Panic clawed at my throat as his phone went straight to voicemail, over and over.

Then, a notification from a music blog changed everything, showing Jax, my fiancé, beaming with Savannah Monroe at a high-profile Nashville party.

The caption: "Nashville's new power couple, Jax Thorne and Savannah Monroe, celebrate their groundbreaking merger."

My phone clattered to the dusty floor, my mind unable to grasp the words.

I stumbled to the penthouse address listed, only to overhear their voices dripping with casual cruelty.

"She'd do anything for me," Jax bragged, his voice cold, "Pure profit."

Savannah's syrupy drawl followed, "The loan shark? Seriously? You hired an out-of-work actor from Memphis."

My blood ran cold as the truth hit me: the debt, the loan shark, the three years of hell-all a lie, a twisted game orchestrated by the man I loved.

"Revenge," Jax hissed, "Her father stole a hit song from my dad. Ruined him. Drove him to suicide. I wanted her to feel what it was like to have everything taken away."

My entire life, my sacrifice, my love-it was all a setup, a cruel, elaborate joke.

His father was a jealous drunk, a gambler, and the 'stolen song' was a generous gift, not a theft.

I was a pawn in a revenge plot based on a lie, completely broken, with nothing left.

But as I stood there in the Nashville sun, clutching a small, crumpled piece of paper-a mysterious number for "a true emergency"-a desperate, fluttering hope ignited.

I had never used it.

With trembling hands, I dialed.

"Rothschild, private office."

The name echoed in my mind, a legend.

"I... I need to speak to Marcus Rothschild," I whispered, "It's an emergency."

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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.

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