When I first met Owen, his family was dirt poor. He couldn\u2019t afford tuition and walked around every day in shirts washed so many times they\u2019d turned yellow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he worked incredibly hard. He was always at the top of his class academically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By all rights, there was no way we should have attended the same school, but his grades were so exceptional he got a full scholarship. He juggled his studies while working multiple jobs to earn money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He once told me he couldn\u2019t stand those good-for-nothing rich kids who\u2019d never accomplished anything, so I hid my real background from him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All for love, I gave up my comfortable life to eat food with him that I could barely choke down. I worked those menial jobs alongside him for wages I wouldn\u2019t have looked at twice before. I even had a huge fight with Dad over it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was an only child. Dad wanted to groom me as his second-in-command to help shoulder the family business. But I refused his plans, choosing instead to live on a measly 2,000 dollar monthly salary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I must have lost my mind or gone crazy over love. Back then, my head was full of nothing but romance. I thought Owen could give me everything I wanted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I helped him start his company, I finally felt like I\u2019d made it through the hard times. I could show him off to Dad and prove I\u2019d found myself a capable man. But that was all it amounted to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d been too naive, naively stupid.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After hanging up, I returned to the apartment Owen and I rented together. The place was decorated warmly and cozily, the result of all the years I\u2019d lived here. On the nightstand was a property deed for a luxury villa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a gift I\u2019d prepared for Owen. I\u2019d planned to surprise him with it after we went public with our relationship. I\u2019d imagined Owen\u2019s reaction to the property deed countless times, but I never anticipated Lila becoming a variable in the equation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I packed everything away and booked a flight for tomorrow at noon. I\u2019d need the morning to hand off all my work responsibilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My phone chimed. It was a video from Lila.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the clip, Owen carried Lila in his arms. Her face was flushed bright red as she clung tightly to his neck, burying her head against his chest. They looked every bit like a couple in love.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Colleagues stood nearby clapping and cheering, egging them on to kiss. The video was quickly deleted. Lila sent a follow-up message.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, sent that to the wrong person.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course I didn\u2019t believe her. I knew perfectly well this was intentional on Lila\u2019s part. She\u2019d pulled stunts like this plenty of times over the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Usually, I\u2019d get wildly jealous, confront Owen, and then get lectured by him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you stop being so sensitive? Why don\u2019t you put that energy into your work instead?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At first, I thought maybe I was overthinking things. But then one day when he was sick and delirious, he called out Lila\u2019s name. That was when I knew his heart had already shifted toward her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t feel much about it and blocked Lila without hesitation. Almost immediately, my phone rang. It was Owen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCharlotte, did you block Lila?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He questioned me the moment he picked up, not bothering to ask what Lila had just done to me. I was used to it by now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d I replied flatly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you block her? She\u2019s still your colleague, no matter what. How is she supposed to work with you after this?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe thinks she did something wrong and keeps blaming herself. She\u2019s been crying nonstop. Unblock her right now and apologize to her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I laughed bitterly instead of getting angry. \u201cDo you even know what she just sent me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The other end of the line went silent for a few seconds. Owen was probably getting the full story. Soon enough, his dismissive voice came through.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she accidentally sent you a video. What\u2019s the big deal?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course. Whenever Lila did something wrong, Owen always took her side. I let out a cold laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOwen, Charlotte is probably still upset about what happened today.\u201d Lila\u2019s crying voice came through the phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI should be the one apologizing to her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Owen cooed at her gently. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to. It\u2019s not your fault. Let her cool down on her own.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then he hung up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It had always been like this. After any conflict, he\u2019d use the excuse of letting me \u201ccool down\u201d to go comfort Lila instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time, though, I didn\u2019t feel angry. I simply drafted a resignation letter and sent it to the company\u2019s HR. Even though he\u2019d threatened to fire me, the proper procedures still needed to be followed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After sending the resignation, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. I lay down on the bed and slept peacefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the early morning hours, I was woken by my phone ringing. It was Owen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCome pick me up. I\u2019m still at the office and haven\u2019t left yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The background noise suggested he was somewhere lively. Before, I would have jumped out of bed without hesitation to get him. But now I just lazily rolled over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCall an Uber. There should be plenty of drivers around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Owen picked up on my tone immediately. \u201cYou were asleep?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the past, whenever Owen stayed out late, I\u2019d worry and wait up for him. But now I just felt relieved.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hanging up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I put my phone on silent and went back to sleep. I didn\u2019t even know what time Owen came home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next morning when I got up to use the bathroom, I found Owen sitting in the living room as if waiting for me. \u201cCharlotte, did you submit a resignation letter last night?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His tone was accusatory, as if I\u2019d done something unforgivable. I nodded, not wanting to explain further.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCharlotte, you\u2019re being ridiculous. I made Lila a shareholder because she\u2019s the heiress to Clearshaw Group! This is how we keep her around so she\u2019ll invest her money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBesides, I did this for the company. This is the only way she\u2019ll see I\u2019m serious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to maintain company resources. We can\u2019t just start a company and then abandon it, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
These excuses might fool a child, but after all my years in the business world, I wasn\u2019t that naive anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Did he even believe his own lies?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSave it. If you\u2019re done, I need to go to the office and process my handover.\u201d I cut him off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Owen\u2019s expression instantly darkened. \u201cCharlotte, have some shame! You\u2019d better actually resign and not use this as some jealous manipulation tactic!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf your background can\u2019t compete with hers, you need to know your place. You think just because you\u2019re capable, you can call the shots? You think way too highly of yourself!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I packed my things while listening to Owen\u2019s tirade, nodding along. \u201cYep, you\u2019re absolutely right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you dare regret this!\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruby Walker is a rising voice in the world of romance and spicy fiction. With a gift for weaving deep emotions, sizzling chemistry, and unexpected twists, her stories are a blend of passion and drama that captivate readers from start to finish. Ruby\u2019s writing style is bold and irresistible\u2014perfect for those who crave intense, addictive love stories.<\/p>\n
Royal Blood in Exile by Mark Twain 2 Chapter 2 When I first met Owen, his family was dirt poor. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-betrayed-wife-to-heartless-ceo-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23416\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}