Blair cut me off again, her voice cold and merciless. “Alright, drop the act. First, yes, I really did get rid of the baby. Second, all those little ‘tests’ you thought I was playing? They weren’t tests at all. I used them to flip the story and make myself look like the victim so I could blame you and still come out clean.”
What?
I stood frozen, every inch of me stiff with shock.
“Yes,” she said, catching the look in my eyes and nodding with smug certainty. “I never saw you as someone I’d grow old with. You were just a placeholder, someone to string along until someone better came along. And now that I’ve found a real man, someone rich enough to give me everything I want, I don’t need you anymore.”
She let out a cruel scoff. “And by the way, whoever told you the baby was even yours? Did you forget we used protection every single time? Did it never once occur to you to question it?”
My mind spun, buzzing with a blank, numbing silence. Blair’s smirk deepened, her eyes gleaming with triumph.
“So honestly,” she said, her tone mockingly sweet, “I’m doing you a favor. You should be thanking me for ending it now. Better to know the truth today than wake up old and grey, only to realize your so-called son and grandson were never yours to begin with.”
3
I couldn’t find the words. My knees gave way, and I collapsed onto the floor, helplessly watching as Blair packed her things in silence. The home we had shared for three years was being emptied, piece by piece, like our memories meant nothing.
Only when her silhouette faded through the doorway did the truth finally hit me; this wasn’t a nightmare. It was real—all of it.
I had known Blair for five years. Loved her just as long. And yet, I had never imagined that the woman I’d held each night, the one I trusted with my heart, wasn’t even worthy of being called human.
It was almost laughable. I had fallen for her the moment I laid eyes on her, convinced that no one else could ever compare.
For her, I cut ties with my parents and moved out with nothing but belief in her and in us. Every single day, I worked myself to the bone. Nearly every cent I earned went straight into her hands.
But I did it all willingly because I truly believed she deserved the world.
I had never wanted to burden her with my family’s background, so I kept it to myself. As the years passed, my love for her only grew stronger. There were countless times I’d thought about telling her the truth about everything.
But every time I so much as hinted at it, Blair would cut me off with that same cold impatience.
“I already told you, I don’t care what your family’s like. Stop bringing it up. I’m dating you, not your family.”
“If you keep talking about this, I swear I’ll get mad and ignore you.”
Back then, I was foolish enough to believe it meant she didn’t care about material things. But today, I saw it clearly for what it was, she just didn’t want to hear that my family might be poor. To her, that would’ve meant a life of struggle. A future too small for someone with standards like hers.
At that thought, I let out a long, bitter sigh. Maybe it was better to know now than to keep living in a lie.
Once my head cleared, I picked up my phone and dialed my assistant.
“Cancel everything: the estate I asked you to buy, the wedding dress, the diamond-studded Bentley, and every single thing. Just cancel it all.”
“And book the private jet. I need to leave the country for a while.”
4
Half a year later, I finally returned home. I had clawed my way out of the black hole of betrayal, and my parents, seeing that I’d finally seen through Blair’s true colors, breathed a long-awaited sigh of relief. They believed the ordeal had tempered me and made me wiser. Without a second thought, they handed me the reins to the family business and told me to take some time to enjoy life abroad.
Not long after I landed, my assistant whisked me straight to a social gala. I adjusted my cufflinks, straightened my suit, and walked in.
I hadn’t even taken two full steps when Blair suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me by the arm, yanking me aside.
It had been six long months since I last laid eyes on her. But time hadn’t been kind. She looked far more worn than I remembered. Even beneath layers of heavy makeup, the dark circles under her eyes betrayed the truth she was trying to cover.
