I Learned Who I Am After She Betrayed Me

The man swaggered over, tossed the mop at my feet, and looked at me with open contempt."So, you're Callum Brook?"I froze. How did he know me?He let out a short, disdainful laugh before turning to Stacie, his smirk triumphant. "I told you these low-lifes are a pain to deal with, and you just wouldn't listen!"He turned and took a plush towel from a staff member before draping it over Stacie's shoulders. Then he began drying her off as if he were her husband.As he fussed over her, he complained, "Honestly, Stacie, you overdid it. You were only supposed to play around for a few weeks, not five years."Now look. This loser's stuck on you."After saying that, he even ruffled her hair like he was scolding a disobedient puppy.Stacie let him do whatever he pleased, but her uneasy eyes were fixed on me.The realization hit me like a blow. It turned out that all this time, I was nothing more than a toy and a prop in some flirtatious bet between a socialite and her rich heir boyfrie

I stubbornly forced myself onto my feet and slapped Stacie's hand away.I said, "Ms. Garcia, instead of an apology, you should keep your promise and transfer the two payments you mentioned."At this point, I wasn't stupid enough to walk away with nothing. I was getting back every dime of the ten million dollars I'd worked myself to the bone for.When Stacie froze, I mustered the courage to repeat, "I hope you keep your word."The light in her eyes immediately dimmed. She looked as though she couldn't believe that the man who had just been screaming and fighting could easily back off.I kept my eyes fixed on the subtle changes in her expression. Her hair was dripping with filthy water, her clothes were soaked through, and she reeked of an unpleasant odor. Blood was sweeping from her where I had struck her shin.After we stood in silence for a long time, she pulled out her phone and unlocked it. The phone case was a cheap, three-dollar DIY I'd made for her. Inside the clear plast

Stacie looked all broken and pitiable, but in my mind, all I could see was the way she'd stood in front of Oliver and protected him yesterday."You can lie to me, Stacie, but don't lie to yourself."I wasn't falling for her fake affection anymore."If you did love me, would you have watched me work eight jobs a day and never told me the truth? If you loved me, would you have stood by and watched Oliver insult me?"If you truly loved me, you wouldn't have kept up the cripple act and strung me along like a joke after he returned home."The anger suppressed in my chest now poured out of me as words.Stacie knew that she was in the wrong. Still, she lowered her head and explained in a muffled voice, "There's nothing going on between Oliver and me. We're clean—""Clean?"How clean was that exactly?"So clean that you were willing to buy him a million-dollar car, kiss and cuddle him in public. In that case, I guess I just don't understand the way you rich folks have fun."For five

Details of my identity were blurred and incomplete after so many years.I scoured the entire city, but only a private investigator named Maren Ginger was willing to take my case.Although she operated a small firm, she was experienced in relevant cases. She was professional and incredibly expensive, but I chose to trust her anyway.Armed with only my verbal account and the documents from my folder, she went to work. It only took her one week to uncover a secret from the orphanage that I'd never heard of in all my years growing up there."You weren't found on the side of the road; a woman specifically dropped you off at the door."That birth certificate was tucked in your swaddling clothes, along with this gold bracelet."She handed me a gold bracelet and explained that she had used a combination of high-priced bribes and legal intimidation to track down the former director of the orphanage and demand he cough it up.She straightened up, and her eyes gleamed with excitement as sh

"That's my biological dad, so why on earth should I give him up for Oliver?" I asked.I had handed Stacie over to Oliver, but I'd never let go of one thing I'd dreamed of my entire life—my family."Besides, only by reclaiming my place can I find out what happened back then, and what my mom went through."No wonder Mom had always been weeping in my dreams. Had she suffered greatly?Stacie tried to plead with me again, but I shoved her out the door, feeling utterly disappointed in her. "What kind of spell did Oliver cast on you to make you this heartless and lose all sense of right and wrong?"At that critical moment, Maren appeared. She blocked the door and threatened to call the police if Stacie didn't leave.Although traces of lingering resentment flickered in Stacie's eyes, she had no choice but to slink away.Maren turned back to me, grinning triumphantly. "Just call my name whenever you need protection. I'm a professional, after all."I laughed and told her to stop messing