Semua Bab Gave Him My Paycheck, Now I Owe Him 800k: Bab 1 - Bab 9

“Estelle, congratulations! You're so blessed to have a boyfriend as perfect as Jenson!”“Seriously! He’s good-looking, has a solid job, and is head‑over‑heels for you. We’re honestly so jealous!”My college roommates surrounded me at our engagement banquet, pouring me drink after drink.I smiled, but a warm, bittersweet feeling welled up inside me.They were right. Getting engaged to Jenson Middleton was the best thing that had ever happened to me.A year ago, I was fresh out of college and full of hope. However, every résumé I sent out sank without a word. At that time, I sank deeper and deeper into discouragement in my tiny rental apartment.Jenson, my boyfriend, was working as a department supervisor at a major company. He stood firmly by my side. He never complained, not even once. Instead, he even slipped his card into my hand.“Estelle, don’t worry, and don’t pressure yourself. Take this card. The PIN is your birthday. A working woman needs to have money on her, or she’ll

My composure took everyone completely by surprise.“Settle accounts? How are you going to do that? Can you even pay?” shouted one of Jenson’s friends. “Don’t think playing tough will let you wiggle out of this! If you can’t get the money today, we’ll call the cops and report you for fraud!”“Exactly! A gold digger living off a man, and she has the nerve to talk back!”Laughter and taunts swirled around me, but I paid them no mind. I reached into my pocket, took out my phone, and made a call. “Mrs. Zane, you may come in.”No sooner had I spoken than the doors of the banquet hall swung open. A poised, professional middle-aged woman stepped inside.Mrs. Zane walked straight to my side and placed a file on the table, sliding it in front of Jenson.“Mr. Middleton, regarding the financial dispute between you and my client, we've prepared a detailed account for your review.”Jenson froze for a moment as he stared at the document, seemingly too stunned to even reach for it.“First, the

That single sentence exploded through the banquet hall like a bomb.Yes, I was Elbert Hale's daughter!Jenson stared at me, then at Dad, as though he was trying to find traces of plastic surgery on my face.“No… No way… This is impossible!” Jenson shrieked hysterically. “She told me she was an orphan! Her parents died in a car accident when she was little!”I stared at him coldly before finally speaking again. It was the second time I voiced out since this entire ordeal began.“I did say my parents were gone.” I deliberately paused for a moment between each word. “It was because the day I decided to live on my own, the title of Glory Corporation’s heiress was already dead to me.“I wanted someone who would love me for who I was, not my family or wealth. I thought I had found that person.”My gaze, filled with endless disappointment and mockery, swept over his pale face.“Now, it seems like it was I who was blind.”Jenson’s legs buckled, and he collapsed to the floor while mutt

I attended the cocktail party as a representative of Glory Corporation that evening. Amid the clinking glasses and laughter, I spotted someone I never expected—Jenson.He had lost a lot of weight, and the innocence he once carried was gone. Now, he was arm-in-arm with a corpulent, middle-aged woman, laughing in a way that was almost grotesque.The woman was a well-known real estate tycoon in the city. Her family name was Walls. She was notorious for her appetite for men.Jenson’s body stiffened the moment he saw me. His smile froze on his face.Ms. Walls followed his gaze and immediately plastered on a smarmy smile when she saw me.“Oh my, isn’t this Ms. Hale? What a pleasure!”I gave a faint nod, acknowledging her.“Ms. Hale, let me introduce you. This is my… new favorite, Jens.” Ms. Walls patted Jenson’s hand. Her tone dripped with frivolity.Jenson paled but dared not speak.I felt the bitter irony. The man who once stood proudly before me like a prince had now become someo

Ever since the day we opened up to each other, things between Linden and me just fell into place. There was nothing dramatic about it. No fireworks or grand gestures, but there was warmth, steadiness, and a quiet understanding that grew deeper day by day.He could read every look in my eyes, and I grew used to the way he always planned around me. We worked together, ate together, and talked about the future together.Six months later, I proposed to him. It was an ordinary evening, right in the office where we always stayed late. There were no flowers or diamond rings, just my sincerity.He looked at me with red-rimmed eyes and nodded hard.Our wedding was set for early fall.That day, the sunlight was perfect, and the guests filled the venue.Linden stood at the end of the aisle, watching me walk toward him step by step, dressed in a pristine white dress with Dad holding my arm. There was a soft, blissful smile on his face, and his eyes were filled with affection. I knew then I h