Rekindled Embers

The Cold CEO's Unwanted Genius Wife

Meng Xinyu

I stood in the darkest corner of the Pierre Hotel’s ballroom, my cheap polyester dress itching against my skin while my wristband buzzed with a DARPA Priority Red alert. In front of the city’s elite, my fiancé Bryce Calloway took the stage, not to toast our future, but to publicly end our engagement and announce he was with my sister, Chloe. The room turned on me instantly, a hundred pairs of eyes pinning me down with pity and disgust as they physically backed away like I was contagious. When I returned home, my mother shattered a crystal vase at my feet, screaming that I was a humiliation and a "dropout" who didn't deserve a cent of the family fortune. Chloe and Bryce mocked me, laughing when I told them I had a mission with the National Security Agency, convinced I was either a pathological liar or a low-level criminal. They watched in horror as a black, unmarked military helicopter descended on our backyard to extract me, yet they still chose to believe I was being arrested for drug trafficking. They saw a pathetic girl who couldn't even parallel park, never realizing I was Dr. Nova Vance, the lead physicist behind the world's first successful fusion reactor. To secure funding for my research and gain a "fortress" of a name, I signed a thirty-day marriage contract with the arrogant billionaire Roman Knight. He treats me like a fraud, convinced I’m a gold-digger who failed out of college, while I quietly run global energy simulations from his guest bedroom. He has no idea that the "loser" he’s forced to live with is the same anonymous grandmaster who has been ruthlessly crushing him in online strategy games for months. "The contract is active," I told him, looking past his expensive suit. "But don't expect me to be your maid."

Modern Mystery

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I paced to and fro the room dialling Mr. TK, slapping my cheeks several times to wake up from this nasty dream. I refuse to believe what I just heard. That Tema Inc- the company I invested all my life’s savings in is a Ponzi Scheme?!

“No No, this is not happening” i said plopping down on the floor as the call kept going to voicemail. Mr. TK had stopped responding to my calls 3 months ago when I transferred the deposit. I should have known then. My sixth sense should have kicked in! But no, I was too gullible to grab the get-out-of-jail-free card turned scam that was a better option than my cleaner by day and waitress by night job as Mr. TK had promised.

I only wanted to get a head start on my student loan.

“Don’t tell me you put your money in that, '' Khloe said slowly. Her voice was on the verge of losing it as she looked back and forth between the TV and I. The news anchor announced Tema’s CEO fleeing the country after being found guilty of fraud.

I was mute as my mind raced. Where do I start from? Where do I go from here? My breathing was shallow with hot tears streaming down my cheeks.

“Never have you volunteered to pay for the water or light bills in this house but you have enough money to throw away?” She yelled.

“How much lower can you stoop, huh? All your years of education were for what if you can’t beware of scams?”

Mom please…

“Your mates are relieving their parents of some responsibilities. Buying them houses and giving them a better life but here you are wasting the little you’ve acquired” she continued angrily removing the ingredients from the grocery bags.

Please ma.. don’t add insult to injury.

“I can’t boast of something you’ve done to benefit anyone else in this house. You’re always so selfish”She said washing her hands aggressively

“Your mates are also leaving properties and trust funds in their children's names but what am I left with? Poverty and toxicity? If not for your pressure would I have jumped into this fire? Would I have been so desperate to get money and land here? What? Education? That you didn’t pay for? That you clearly told me was not your responsibility?” I wanted to reply so badly but my mouth was numb.

“What’s the point of having a grown ass daughter like you when there’s nothing to write home about. I have to feed and clothe your dumbass”

“Have a child they said, it’s a blessing they said but what use are you to me. I don’t know why I skipped my goddamn birth control pills.” Khloe screamed throwing a ceramic plate on the floor, smashing it in pieces

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