Exposing His Bankrupt Act Turned Me Into a Queen

It was just like three years ago.

I started shaking. Not out of fear, but because of how shocked I was at the show Steven had put on.

He'd really put in the work when it came to lying to me.

Just as Scarface and his crew were about to start trashing the apartment, I suddenly pulled out a bank card. "There's 100 thousand dollars on this. Is that enough?"

Steven froze, even forgetting to keep up his act. "Have you gone mad, Mel? This is the startup fund you saved for me. You can't give it to them!"

He lunged at me, grabbing my wrist like he'd lost his mind.

However, I tossed the card onto the floor, near Scarface's feet. I even added on, "The PIN is 888888."

The room fell completely silent.

Steven's expression went rigid. He stared at me in disbelief, completely forgetting to keep up his act by now. "So, you're just giving it away like that? Have you lost your mind, Melanie? You're just handing money away when someone asks you for it?

"That's the money you worked your ass off for! Why didn't you just go on your knees and beg them? It'd be done with as long as you humble yourself and beg for forgiveness!"

Steven grabbed my head and slammed it down toward the floor.

Digging my fingers into my palms, I suppressed my tears and said, "I'm calling the police if you don't leave right now."

The thugs exchanged glances. Eventually, Scarface picked up the bank card and walked out.

The moment the door slammed shut, Steven kicked over a chair in rage. "Are you stupid? That's 100 thousand dollars! You should've begged them not to take it at the very least!"

I slowly looked up and reached out to touch the bruise on his face, but he jerked away sharply.

"Money will never matter more than you to me," I replied.

It was as if something had caught in Steven's throat. He froze, then turned and stormed out without another word.

I let out a bitter laugh as I watched his retreating back. I knew that his live stream comments had to be blowing up right now.

The whole performance was staged just so they could watch me humiliate myself, begging on the ground just to hold onto the startup fund even if it meant losing my dignity.

But now, I have ruined their show.

I opened the live stream. Sure enough, Steven was complaining.

"This woman must have gone mad today. She actually handed the money over just like that! But this also proves she really loves me, or she wouldn't have given the money so easily. Don't worry, guys. I've still got ways to test her," he said.

Steven ended the live stream.

I didn't know what he meant, but it was time to end this farce. I returned to the basement and started packing.

My belongings weren't much, with only two sets of clothes, my acceptance letter, and the only family portrait I'd always kept with me. That was the only thing my parents left behind after the car accident.

The door was pushed open just as I finished packing up.

Seven or eight well-dressed men and women followed Steven in, holding cakes and gift boxes in their hands. The looks they gave me were openly mocking.

"Happy birthday, Mel! I even brought a few colleagues over to celebrate with you," Steven said.

A woman dressed in a Chanel dress covered her mouth, her eyes flicking over my unwashed hair and the pilled sweater I was wearing. "So you're Steven's girlfriend? You're… really something."

The others stifled their laughter, but my eyes remained fixed on the woman.

I knew who she was.

Selena Smith was the Delaney family's intended match for Steven's marriage. She was also the same woman he'd been holding in his arms in the live stream.

I caught a whiff of her expensive perfume. It clashed violently with the beer smell clinging to me and with the damp, moldy odor that came from living in the basement for too long.

They wandered around the basement as if they were touring the zoo, snapping photos of the moldy walls and leaking ceiling.

"Why is this mattress so hard? You're really cruel to yourself, Steven," someone commented.

Out of my line of sight, Steven slipped an arm around Selena's waist. "She doesn't mind it hard. She clings to me every night."

The room erupted in hoots and teasing. They started egging him on to spill more details.

But this wasn't their luxury home but a dilapidated basement. Every word carried clearly into my ears even with a wall between us.

Humiliated, I fled and locked myself in the bathroom.