I Owe Her 800K... After Giving Her My Pay?

"Charles York, congratulations! You must have done something great in your past life to end up with a wonderful girlfriend like Stella Smith!" one voice spoke.

"Seriously. She's gorgeous, has a steady career, and is completely devoted to you. We're all insanely jealous," another said.

At the engagement banquet, my college roommates crowded around me, passing me one drink after another. I kept smiling, but a wave of bittersweet warmth rose in my chest. They were right. Getting engaged to Stella felt like the greatest luck of my life.

A year ago, I had just graduated. I was full of ambition, yet every resume I sent out sank without a trace. I spent most days sinking into discouragement in my tiny, rented apartment.

Stella, who worked as a team lead in a major company, stood firmly by my side through it all. She never complained. Instead, she pressed her payroll card into my hand.

"Charles, don't stress out. Take this card. The password is your birthday. A man trying to build a career shouldn't be walking around without money. It kills your confidence," she said softly.

Even as a grown man, my eyes welled up. I promised myself that once I found a job, I would make it up to her a hundred times over.

Eventually, I landed a position at a start-up. The only problem was the distance. My daily commute was a four-hour-long round-trip. It hurt her to see me exhausted, so she took me straight to a dealership and bought a car in full.

"From now on, drive to work. Don't waste all your time on the road," she said, pushing the key into my hand, smiling with warmth and patience. Everyone around me said I was unbelievably lucky to have a girlfriend like her.

After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere grew lively. Suddenly, Stella stood up and picked up the microphone.

"Thank you all for coming to our engagement banquet. Before the ceremony begins, there's something personal I want everyone to witness," she said.

I thought she was about to make a romantic speech. I looked at her with a smile, full of affection. Instead, her expression shifted, and her voice turned cold.

"Charles, we've been together for three years. I've never wronged you. When you were unemployed, I supported you. When your commute was too far, I bought you a car. I gave you everything. And you… What did you give me?" she said.

I froze. The large screen behind her suddenly switched from our sweet engagement photos to something else entirely. One image after another flashed across the screen, each more shocking than the last.

In those photos, a man who looked strikingly like me appeared in dimly lit private rooms. He was entangled with one seductive woman after another, behaving with unmistakable intimacy.