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Unmasking Her, Reclaiming His Life

Unmasking Her, Reclaiming His Life

Gavin

5.0
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27
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The heavy glass door of the city clerk' s office swung shut, sealing my fate. Today was supposed to be perfect, our third wedding anniversary, a day to celebrate the love Olivia and I had built. I clutched a small, official envelope, the certified copy of our marriage certificate, a simple gift. But the clerk' s flat voice still echoed in my ears: "There is no marriage certificate on file for an Ethan Miller and an Olivia Reed." My perfect life shattered. Olivia, my wife, the love of my life, was legally married to Alex Thorne, my protégé. The man who had filled in for me, the man she' d once dismissed. Every memory, every whispered promise, every intimate moment we shared, felt like a meticulously crafted lie. My heart pounded, a grotesque drumbeat against a hollow chest. How could this be? How could the woman I loved, the woman who promised me forever, be living a double life? How could I have been so blind? I walked into our apartment, the home I designed as a monument to our love, and heard her voice from the bedroom, low and intimate. "Of course, I miss you, Alex. Ethan doesn't know anything, he' s as clueless as ever. You know I can' t leave him, not yet. He' s too useful, his name still carries weight in this city, but you' re the one I' m married to, you' re the one I truly need." The words struck me like a physical blow, choking the air from my lungs. I wasn' t a husband; I was a prop, a stepping stone in her grand scheme. But the love I felt for her died in that hallway, replaced by something cold and sharp. I wouldn' t give her the satisfaction of a fight. I would disappear. And then, when she was comfortable in her world built on my back, I would return and take everything from her.

Introduction

The heavy glass door of the city clerk' s office swung shut, sealing my fate.

Today was supposed to be perfect, our third wedding anniversary, a day to celebrate the love Olivia and I had built.

I clutched a small, official envelope, the certified copy of our marriage certificate, a simple gift.

But the clerk' s flat voice still echoed in my ears: "There is no marriage certificate on file for an Ethan Miller and an Olivia Reed."

My perfect life shattered.

Olivia, my wife, the love of my life, was legally married to Alex Thorne, my protégé.

The man who had filled in for me, the man she' d once dismissed.

Every memory, every whispered promise, every intimate moment we shared, felt like a meticulously crafted lie.

My heart pounded, a grotesque drumbeat against a hollow chest.

How could this be?

How could the woman I loved, the woman who promised me forever, be living a double life?

How could I have been so blind?

I walked into our apartment, the home I designed as a monument to our love, and heard her voice from the bedroom, low and intimate.

"Of course, I miss you, Alex. Ethan doesn't know anything, he' s as clueless as ever. You know I can' t leave him, not yet. He' s too useful, his name still carries weight in this city, but you' re the one I' m married to, you' re the one I truly need."

The words struck me like a physical blow, choking the air from my lungs.

I wasn' t a husband; I was a prop, a stepping stone in her grand scheme.

But the love I felt for her died in that hallway, replaced by something cold and sharp.

I wouldn' t give her the satisfaction of a fight.

I would disappear.

And then, when she was comfortable in her world built on my back, I would return and take everything from her.

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The Price of His Deception

The Price of His Deception

Short stories

5.0

The soft glow of three monitors was my world, lines of code and complex algorithms my language. Tomorrow was the IPO, the culmination of years of tireless work building Nexus from the ground up with my live-in boyfriend, Mark Davis, CEO of ConnectCorp. But then, the office door hissed open, revealing Chloe Miller, Mark' s new Head of Product and my old college rival. Her voice, dripping with fake sweetness, announced, "The board and I have had a discussion. We've decided to let you go." I blinked, the words echoing, "You're firing me? The day before the IPO?" She sneered, calling me redundant, uncommitted, just a "coder." Then, with a predatory smile, she whispered, "I'm going to be the First Lady of Tech... You were just a gold-digger who got lucky. Your time is up." Rage surged as I reached for my phone to call Mark, but Chloe snatched it, answering and feigning distress. "Mark? Oh, thank god," she sobbed into the phone, "It's Ava... she's going crazy. She's threatening me... I'm scared." The crowd gathered, their judgmental eyes painting me as the unstable villain. Mark stormed in, his handsome face contorted with fury, not at Chloe, but at me. "What did you do to her?" he snarled, immediately comforting Chloe. "She's lying," I pleaded, "She fired me." "I heard the whole thing, Ava! You're harassing my Head of Product. I can't believe you." Then, he slapped me. The sting on my cheek was nothing compared to the shock that cleared everything: the late-night meetings, Chloe's perfume, their triumphant glances. "You're sleeping with her," I stated, not a question. He didn't deny it, dismissing my years of dedication. "You were just the help," he spat, "A glorified typist." "A code monkey," Chloe added, snuggling into his side. The final blow came when I demanded my share, only for Chloe to brandish a marriage certificate-hers and Mark's, dated three months ago. "The one we have is a fake, Ava," Mark confessed, his voice devoid of emotion. "It was just a piece of paper to make you feel secure. It never meant anything." My world shattered. "You have no equity, Ava. You were an employee. And now, you're a fired employee." He tossed me a grimy key, "As a severance package, you can have our first apartment. The one you loved so much with the leaky ceiling." They wanted the core Nexus algorithms, the encryption keys, everything. I pulled the small, black USB drive from my laptop. Then, with all my strength, I threw it between them. "You want it? Find it." I walked away, leaving the wreckage of my old life behind, a spark of cold fury igniting a new resolve.

The Price of Jealousy: A College Nightmare

The Price of Jealousy: A College Nightmare

Short stories

5.0

My parents dropped me off at college like a princess, with a platinum card and no worries. My new life, full of independence and excitement, was just beginning. My roommate, Sarah, seemed sweet at first, a quiet girl with kind eyes. But her sweetness quickly turned sour, poisoned by resentment over my privilege. She' d sneer at my new laptop, comparing it to her brother' s grueling factory job. Then, the unthinkable happened: my emergency debit card, with over a hundred thousand dollars, vanished. A bank alert confirmed my worst fear: a $5,000 withdrawal attempt blocked. I knew, with a sickening certainty, who the thief was-the quiet girl consumed by jealousy. The betrayal shattered my idyllic college dream, leaving a bitter taste. I called the campus police, my hands shaking with fury. Sarah was arrested, my card found in her bag, and my sense of home was destroyed. I moved into a new apartment, seeking peace, but my mom' s well-meaning housekeeper, Mrs. Davis, brought a new kind of terror. She started with subtle criticisms, then tried to turn me into her domestic servant. Her demands escalated, culminating in an outrageous proposal: she wanted to control my finances and marry me off to her unemployed son, Kevin. The audacity of her plan, the sheer delusion, made my blood run cold. When I fired her, she called my mom, trying to slander me, but my mom shut her down cold. As she stormed out, my grandmother's silk scarf, a cherished gift, was found crumpled in her bag. Just like her daughter, she was a thief and a liar. I thought the nightmare was over when Kevin, her "good, strong boy," was leaning against my apartment door. His sneer, his entitlement, and the reek of stale cigarettes chilled me to the bone. He raged about his family, about how they were entitled to my money, our money. The fear was sharp, but my own anger surged. Then, I came home to a ransacked apartment, my belongings destroyed, and Kevin sitting in my armchair, drinking my dad's scotch. Mrs. Davis was there too, silently watching, complicit. My phone was shattered. They laid out their plan: I would empty my accounts, sign over my car, give them everything. Then, maybe, they' d let me go. Trapped, I feigned submission, my mind racing for an escape. In a desperate, reckless moment, I grabbed my heavy coffee pot from the kitchen. With a surge of pure, unadulterated rage, I swung.

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