The Con That Broke My Heart

“The air in the City Clerk' s office was thick with the smell of old paper and cheap disinfectant. My name, Ethan Miller, sat on the marriage license, waiting for one more signature to make Chloe my wife. Then, a picture of her childhood friend, Liam O' Connell, bleeding with a razor blade nearby, flashed on her phone: "Goodbye, Chloe." She bolted, claiming he' d kill himself because of her. A minute later, a message from Chloe arrived: "Even though Liam and I are married now, he's still willing to let you be my side-piece. You should learn from his generosity and understanding. Don't be ungrateful." She then promised me weekly visits once my father' s assets transferred to her. I was left alone, staring at the empty space where she had been, with the clerk looking on with pity. The staged suicide, her frantic escape-it was all a setup. They had been bleeding me dry, and I had been too blind, too desperate for her love, to see it. It wasn't just a few incidents. It was a pattern. A long con. She thought she had abandoned me, but she had no idea. The game was over. She just didn't know it yet.”