CHAPTER ONE: DUMPED FOR FREE. 

JESSIE

“Congratulations, man; you are finally free.” I knew that voice; it was one of Allen’s friends.  

Today was supposed to be the day I registered my marriage to my boyfriend, but he was nowhere to be found. All of my calls and messages felt like they were hitting a dead end. I had to go to his apartment to see him. 

When I stood outside his door, this is what I had heard. Free? From whom? 

“I was getting worried for you, man; I thought you had fallen for her,” another one said, and they all erupted in pretentious loud laughter. 

They were talking about me. In that moment, it suddenly dawned on me that I was the subject of their mocking. 

My legs grew heavier; I wanted to barge in and demand answers. At the same time, my woman's intuition told me that this wasn’t all; there was more information waiting for me. 

“Fall for her? I would be out of my mind to fall for a fat girl like her,” Allen scoffed. “I am finally free,” he cheered loudly, and they all clapped like he had finished a marathon. 

“I am glad you let us throw you a party,” a female said. Slutty and too high-pitched. I racked my brain, but I had never heard it before. “To celebrate your freedom”

“I wonder if she has taken the hint already,” the first voice I had heard came again. “It would be quite embarrassing if she hadn’t.” 

Their voices mixed in laughter pushed and twisted a blunt knife through my heart. Allen had been with me for five years. His words only carried so much warmth and love that I was convinced he had given up his Playboy ways to be with me. 

But what he said in the room proved me terribly wrong.

He let his friends laugh at me.

He let his friends insult me.

And the way he talked about me was as if he were getting rid of a piece of trash, an annoying chewing gum. My heart shattered in my chest as my stomach tightened. This was not just heartbreak; it was a chilling realisation that I had spent five years as an ornament in a life I never belonged to. 

I can't believe how much I gave up just to be with this man.

“She has to,” Allen spoke again. “She would not believe I was ever going to marry her. I am engaged to Freya, and I have to go back home to take over the family business,” he declared. 

“That fucking bastard.” My hand clenched to my side.

He betrayed me. He's already involved with another woman. I was never the woman he wanted to marry. So why did he propose? Just to humiliate me? Why? I still can't wrap my mind around it.

Tears blurred my vision; my heart felt like it was being torn apart. I was such a fool, letting him deceive me for five years.

I took a deep breath and entered; their eyes trailed until they landed on me, and a sinister smile crept across all of their lips. 

“The fatty came to play,” one of the men jested. Their eyes on me left me feeling exposed. 

“The fat girl is here to embarrass herself,” Freya snarled, and the laughter continued. They seemed to be having a field day. 

“Allen,” I said when our eyes met. He looked away too quickly.

Freya wore a sexy red dress. She got up, champagne flute in one hand, as her other hand suspended in the air like something was in it. She walked to me like this was a runway and stopped right in front of me. 

Her eyes ran all over my body in a mocking glare before she turned to the men littered around the room. 

“Allen,” she purred like a cat. “I am disappointed in your taste in women.” She leaned in and took a fistful of my hair, twirling it in her hand, eyes looking down at me with a sardonic glance. “Why would you like someone like her?” 

“I never liked her; she was just a way to pass the time,” Allen was quick to throw in the air. 

“Come on, Jessie, you don't believe that I ever liked you, do you?” 

His words hurt deeper than they should have. 

“How hypocritical of you,” I scoffed and pulled away from Freya’s touch and shot her a glare. 

“Don't be too mad.” Her finger recoiled like she had been burnt. “If you want a man to like you, work on your figure first,” she added, as if it were some kind of thoughtful advice. 

“I am not fat,” I retorted. I hated how they were all superficial. It was surprising that the reason his friends had avoided me was that I was oversized. 

 “If you think a hundred and forty pounds is fat, then you all need a reality check.” My voice was louder as I crossed my hand over my chest. I smirked, leaning closer. “At least I don’t look like an overstarved chicken.” 

“Allen, so you stood me up because of my size?” I hadn't wanted to ask that, but I couldn't help myself. 

Allen finally got out of his chair as if my question was his invitation. He took out a cheque from his breast pocket and waved it in the air. Each step toward me felt like torture, but it was a spectacle to everyone in the room.

“Here is a million-dollar cheque.” He stopped close enough for me to take in his cologne. The smell I had always loved felt like poison down my throat. 

He leaned in and used the cheque to trace the outline of my face, the sharp edge leaving a painful trace against my face. “I think this is enough for someone like you from an ordinary family.” 

I felt my blood surge through my body; I picked the nearest glass and emptied its contents on his face. The entire room erupted in a loud gasp. From their faces, it was obvious that they hadn't expected me to fight back. 

I snatched the cheque from him and tore it up, throwing the pieces into his face. 

“Have you thought this through? After today, even if you come back begging, I won’t give you a single penny.” He looked at me with contempt and coldness, expecting me to pick up the torn cheque.

“Don’t worry, keep your filthy money. I will never come back begging.” I turned to leave.

A strong hand grabbed my arm. “You think you can just walk away after insulting me? Hmm?” Allen sneered, about to say something more.

I slapped him across the face!

That bastard! My hand trembled slightly from the force of the blow.

People around gasped; they seemed to be enjoying the show a little too much. 

“Jesse!” Allen reacted, issuing a dangerous threat.

I didn’t wait. I rushed out of his apartment. Each step felt like a drag as my chest rose rapidly. My hands clenched to my side as my nails dug too painfully into my palm. Tears dropped from my eyes involuntarily. 

I wasn't supposed to be crying over that bastard, but I couldn't help it. Five years I had spent wasting! Five years I could never get back!

I had intended to reveal my identity to him as the Moore heiress after we were legally married, but he had fumbled this. 

When I first started dating Allen, my mother disapproved of our relationship. She decreed that I couldn't tell him I was the heiress to the Moore family; she would only approve if our love blossomed.

We were so close, almost getting married. Ultimately, he proved he wasn't worth my trust. I wiped away my last tears.

It was time to go home; stalling any further was only going to make my mother angrier. Before I could dial her number, a call came through. 

‘You lost the bet; it is time you returned.’ 

“I did lose,” I murmured, not bothering to try to figure out how my mother knew. Allen wasn't worth crying over; I will rejoice instead.