My Fiancé of Five Years Broke Up with Me for 8 Million

After five years of emotional neglect from my fiancé, he posted about his engagement.

Our mutual friends flooded the group chat, tagging me and demanding I send red envelopes as a "new bride."

In a shocking move, he added my professional rival Sophie to the chat, declaring, "This is my bride."

Feeling betrayed and humiliated, I congratulated him sarcastically and promptly left the group, blocking him.

He then threatened to demand back the advance on the bride price—$8 million including interest.

To his surprise, I actually returned the full amount.

The next time I saw him, I was at an event with a successful businessman, who kissed me in front of Ethan.

1

I had just finished a grueling jewelry design competition and was exhausted.

My phone buzzed with messages celebrating Ethan's engagement.

I scrolled through the chat history, filled with congratulatory messages urging me to send red envelopes.

Confused, I noticed my fiancé Ethan's post announcing his engagement.

Just as I was about to clarify things in the group, he added my workplace rival Sophie to the chat.

"What's all this noise? This is my bride," he declared.

The chat erupted in chaos.

"Ethan, what's going on? How can you just switch like that?"

"Yeah, you two have been together for so long!"

Sophie changed her profile picture to one of her and Ethan looking sweet together.

She chimed in, "Thank you, everyone! From now on, I appreciate your support."

Ethan often disregarded my feelings, publicly humiliating me.

I was always the one to apologize and make up with him.

After a prolonged cold war between us, I couldn't believe he would go this far.

Not wanting to dwell on whether he was serious or just trying to provoke me, I simply typed, "Congratulations Ethan, wishing you both a lifetime of happiness."

I immediately left the group and blocked him—out of sight, out of mind.

2

Ethan had always controlled my appearance—no short skirts or dyed hair.

But today, I chose freedom.

A dazzlingly short dress adorned with sparkling diamonds, my glasses off, hair in glamorous waves dyed purple, and bold red lips.

I headed to the trendiest bar to drown my sorrows.

I felt a bit restless; today was supposed to be a happy occasion as the final competition had just concluded, and the judges were pleased with my work.

I was in a good mood until Ethan pulled his stunt.

I kept drinking, trying to drown my sorrows, and soon I was tipsy and disoriented when I felt someone tugging at my arm.

"Hey, beautiful, drowning your sorrows?"

Two sleazy guys started getting too close for comfort.

"Looking so hot in that outfit!"

"Come on, play with us!"

They began to touch my face, making me feel sick.

In a surge of anger, I slapped one of them.

"Hey? This girl has some fight!" they said, plotting to drag me away.

I mustered my last bit of strength to push them away.

"Get off me! I'm not in the mood! My fiancé is coming for me!"

But they wouldn't back down.

"Oh really? If your fiancé shows up, we'll leave."

That's when it hit me—I had blocked Ethan.

Tears threatened to spill from my eyes.

"Don't cry, sweetheart. A night like this is worth a fortune," one of them sneered as he reached for me again.

Before he could touch me, I was suddenly pulled into a strong embrace.

A soothing voice asked, "Is there something you want with my girlfriend?"

His tone was commanding yet gentle.

His embrace made me feel safe.

"No, no! We were just joking around," the two men stammered as they stepped back awkwardly, realizing they had messed with the wrong person.

With that, they left in a hurry. I looked up at my rescuer with gratitude.

3

I looked up and met the gaze of a man with gray-blue eyes that seemed to shimmer with starlight, the outline of his chest muscles barely visible.

"Emma, why are you drinking alone?"

Perhaps I was drunk, not realizing he knew my name.

"I... I just got dumped."

Before I could finish, my phone suddenly rang.

The screen displayed: [Mom]

Startled, I accidentally put the call on speaker.

"Emma!"

"Mom..."

Her voice erupted from the other end.

"Did you know the Hunters called off the engagement?"

"Mom, I..." I was terrified of her.

"Don't 'Mom' me! You know the betrothal gift was 8 million. We need to get it back. Your dad and I can't come up with that amount; your sister still needs her dowry."

"You either find a way to raise the money or go beg Ethan."

"As a woman, you need to learn to humble yourself before men."

"His money will eventually be yours."

"Mom..."

Then the call abruptly ended.

She was still the same, not allowing me a word.

"Emma, you were dumped?" The man spoke in a lowered voice.

I awkwardly laughed, "Sorry for making you witness this."

The thought of Ethan marrying Sophie made me tear up.

The man slowly wiped my tears away.

"There's nothing funny about this. You need 8 million; maybe I can help."

I perked up at his words, raised my glass, and gulped down the last bit of drink. I pushed him away.

"I'm a decent girl."

I was about to stand up but stumbled into his arms instead.

"I never thought of you as anything less than decent."

"I just need you to do me a favor."

"This favor is simple and worth 8 million."

My eyes lit up. "Okay!"

"What's the condition?"

"Let's get a marriage certificate."

"What?"

"Don't worry; it's just for the certificate; no need to fulfill any marital duties."

I sighed in relief.

"I agree..."

Before I could finish my sentence, I fainted in his embrace.

4

The next day, I woke up to find 8 million in my bank account, finally realizing that last night was not a dream.

There was also a new contact on my phone, saved as Kyle Anderson.

That name sounded familiar; I think I heard it last night.

I seemed to have blacked out during the evening and didn't remember when I gave my number to that man.

After getting out of bed, I walked into the living room to see my dad flipping through the newspaper while my mom poured milk.

The peaceful scene shifted dramatically as they noticed me.

Their expressions darkened visibly.

"Emma, how dare you come back?" my mom said, putting down the milk bottle and approaching me.

"Have you reconciled with Ethan?"

"Mom, Ethan and I are done."

"What?" she frowned, scolding me. "Do you realize that the betrothal gift of 8 million needs to be returned?"

"Emma, I invested the money; we can't come up with 8 million now," my dad added, tossing the newspaper onto the table with irritation directed at me, as if being dumped was entirely my fault.

"I've already raised 8 million."

"What? How did you manage that?" My mom looked at me in disbelief.

At that moment, my sister Emily walked in barefoot, rubbing her eyes and looking half-asleep.

"Mom, I want a fried egg," she said.

Seeing Emily made my mom's face light up.

"Sure, Emily! I'll make it for you right now."

My mom's face lit up with affection as she turned to cook for my sister. But every time she spoke to me, her tone was icy cold.

Emily glanced at me with a smirk and asked leisurely, "Emma, you got dumped?"

"Do you know who my fiancé is? James Smith from the Smith family," she nudged my shoulder.

"James wouldn't be so fickle or call off an engagement."

"How did you get 8 million?" my dad asked curiously.

I had initially intended to be a good girl and explain everything to them, but I changed my mind and shrugged.

"I took out a naked loan."

Everyone stared at me in shock.

My dad slammed his hand on the table. "You've brought disgrace upon the Johnson family!"

"Emma! How can you make your father and me hold our heads high outside?"

"What do you mean ‘hold our heads high'? Mom, when did you ever need me to do that for you?" I unleashed all the grievances I had bottled up over the years.

"You even swallowed my betrothal gift? Do you still need me to support you?"

With a loud slap, my mom hit me across the face.

"We don't have a daughter like you in the Johnson family!"

"Fine then! Mom, let's sever our mother-daughter relationship!"

My dad stood up and rubbed his temples. "Let's end our father-daughter relationship too."

With that, he walked away.

5

I never expected they would really sever ties with me.

Everyone in our circle knew that I had no further connection with them.

I thought I would feel heartbroken, but I didn't realize just how deeply it would hurt.

Growing up, I was never considered attractive, I wasn't particularly bright, and I had a host of health issues.

My parents didn't like me.

They only favored my sister, who was both smart and beautiful.

All I could do was work hard in my studies.

I managed to get into an art academy on my own merit.

After that, they only saw me as a means to get money.

I transferred the 8 million to Ethan's bank account.

As if things couldn't get any worse, I received a message from Kyle.

[Tomorrow at 10 AM, bring the necessary documents. See you at the civil affairs bureau.]

6

We had just gotten our marriage certificate.

I said to Kyle, "Kyle, the conditions you wanted have been met."

Kyle nodded, understanding my meaning, and got into the Maybach and drove off.

Everything happened so fast. I suddenly received an email.

It was a mass email from the company.

When I opened it, it bluntly stated: [The winner of this design competition is Sophie.]

Then there was another individual email.

[Dear Ms. Emma Johnson, you have been fired. The severance pay will be deposited into your account within 48 hours.]

Even though my score was 20 points higher than hers, why was she the first place winner?

How could I suddenly be dismissed when I was the design editor-in-chief?

At that moment, a call came in from Ethan.

"Emma, have you received the emails? You must be confused. I'll send you an address, come meet me and I'll explain the reason."

I really didn't want to see them, but I still went to the place Ethan mentioned.

It turned out to be a clubhouse.

I wore my prettiest clothes and high heels. I tried my best to look impressive.

But at the entrance, I overheard Ethan's mocking.

"Without me, what is Emma?

"The design genius of the jewelry world? Without me, the so-called design genius is just an idiot!"

I stood at the door, clenching my fists, my breathing a bit unsteady.

"Ethan, when it comes to the competition, it's all because of your one word. Whether I can win or not is completely up to you."

My palms were sweating, and I just happened to bump into Sophie coming out of the restroom.

She looked at me, purposefully raising her voice.

"Emma! Why are you standing at the door and not coming in? Ethan has been waiting for you for a long time."

The people inside murmured.

"Oh, I just got here."

I awkwardly pushed my bangs behind my ear.

"Congratulations Sophie, on winning first place in this competition." I smiled awkwardly at her.

Sophie sneered contemptuously without responding to me.

She walked straight to Ethan's side, twisting her waist as she sat down next to him.

"Do you see, Emma?" Ethan stroked Sophie's thigh. "It's just a pity that some people can never learn how to use the resources in their hands."

I glared at him. "Ethan, if you called me here today, is it to humiliate me? You really don't need to do this.

"I've already transferred 8 million to your account.

"We're even now!"

"Hahaha, even?" He raised his chin and laughed loudly.

"Do you know how much money your dad has borrowed from me? In total it's been 10 million!"

He was really good at manipulating me, or rather, manipulating my weaknesses.

I calmly took out a copy of the document severing ties with my parents and placed it in front of him.

"Unfortunately, Ethan, my dad and I have already cut ties."

He read the words on the copy, his eyes widening.

"You've severed ties with the Johnson family?"

"No, Ethan, look closely, it's the Johnson family that has cut ties with me."

"Huh? Even better, then you're just a wild girl." Ethan came over, looking down at me from above.

"Come here, keep me company." He pulled me into his embrace.

I struggled, and in the process tore open his shirt.

"Emma, can you afford to compensate me?" He still wanted to make things difficult for me.

Suddenly at this time, the clubhouse was surrounded by people.

A group of bodyguards came in, each wearing tight clothes and sunglasses.

Ethan was startled, immediately sitting back down.

"Welcome home, young lady." An old butler-like man came out and walked straight towards me.