JAQUEL
I couldn't believe it. I never thought bad things happened to good people. I had always been kind to everyone I met—how could this happen to me? My kindness was all I had, my way of proving I was a good person. I tried my hardest. So how could this happen?
"Don't think about it too much, my dear," my mother said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"He didn't deserve you. You're the best girl he could ever come across, and he doesn't even realize what he lost."
As she continued speaking, I struggled to understand the situation. Then, a realization struck me—I had just been dumped. After everything I put into that relationship, after all the effort and trust, it was over. I had never questioned his behavior because I feared it would seem like a lack of trust.
A warm trail of tears slid down my face. I was crying. But the pain in my chest wasn't just from the breakup—it was from the crushing realization of how foolish I had been. He tricked me.
He took everything.
My assets.
The investments.
The joint account we shared.
The rights and documents to my publishing company.
Everything... gone.
I didn't know how or when it happened, but I had brought this upon myself. If only I had seen through his lies… if only I had questioned his behavior. Maybe then I wouldn't have been fooled.
I didn't know where to start. All I could think about was what I had lost—years of hard work, gone in an instant. Everything I had built, everything I had trusted him with, down the drain.
I curled up beneath my blanket, too exhausted even to feel. But I needed a plan—fast.
How would I make money now? Where would I even start? Should I look for a job?
My head spun as a flood of overwhelming thoughts crashed over me. Finally, the darkness consumed me, and I fell into a deep slumber.
When I woke up, my eyes felt swollen—a painful reminder of the tears I had shed.
Dragging myself out of bed, I headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. That's when I overheard my mother on the phone.
"Yeah, she cried a lot… I wish there was something I could do to comfort her. It breaks my heart seeing her like this. Could you come over and talk to her?"
I already knew who was on the other end of the call—Roya, my best friend. The concern in my mother's voice made my chest tighten, and tears threatened to fall again.
All because of that bastard Micheal Grien.
I swear on my name, he's going to pay.
Having heard enough of the conversation, I continued on my way to the kitchen and started brewing my coffee. Moments later, my mother walked in.
"How are you feeling, dear?"
I glanced at her and mumbled, "Not good."
I could see the worry in her eyes, the quiet anger she held toward Grien for what he had done to me. I turned to her with a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. I just need to find a job and start over again."
"I have a friend who works at a big publishing company. I could get you in… if you want."
I hesitated. I had never been one to ask for help—I built my own publishing company from the ground up. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd have to rely on someone else.
But I had no choice. I had to start somewhere.
"Thank you, I would love that," I said.
She nodded and walked away to make the call.
I couldn't wait to make him pay.
As that thought crossed my mind, I felt a warm liquid trickling down my finger. Frowning, I looked down—and realized the glass in my hand had shattered. I had squeezed it so tightly that it broke.
Snapping out of my rage, I quickly swept up the shards, erasing the evidence. Then, without hesitation, I rushed to my room to treat the cut before my mother saw it. The last thing I needed was for her to think I was losing my mind.