Chapter 3

He acted like I was some embarrassing burden, desperate to get rid of me as quickly as possible.

Honestly, the second he ditched me at our own wedding like I was nothing, something inside me just shattered. I was done.

After all that humiliation, I didn't even feel sad anymore. I just gave up on him for good.

It was almost funny to look back. How stupid was I, groveling, humiliating myself for some fake love?

Jonathan towered over me and said with a tone that felt like a handout, "Charlotte, you've been with me for five years. I don't want to be too cruel, so here's 3,000 dollars. Consider it compensation for our five years together. Just take the money and get out."

I dragged my suitcase out into the freezing night, the icy wind stinging my face—painful, but it snapped me awake.

I called my grandma. "Let's announce we're cutting ties with York & Associates. Make it public on the day of his wedding. Consider it my little wedding present to him."

Just then, a sleek black luxury car rolled to a stop right in front of me.

A tall, devastatingly handsome man—like he'd stepped right out of a fashion magazine—got out and strode quickly to my side.

I looked up at him, fighting back a flood of emotion as my eyes reddened with unshed tears. "Alex..."

He wrapped his black trench coat around my shoulders, then gently brushed away the tears streaming down my face.

His expression was dark and tense, but his low voice was full of comforting warmth.

"Don't be upset over someone like him. He's just a scumbag. I'll make him beg bitterly for your forgiveness," he promised, his words gentle yet charged with determination.

Alexander wrapped his arm around me as we got into the car.

He even handed me a hand warmer, saying softly, "Stay warm. Don't catch a cold."

I found myself thanking him before I even realized it.

Soon, he brought me back to Sinclair Manor.

As soon as we walked inside, Grandma hurried over, her eyes shining with warmth and joy. "Lottie, my precious granddaughter, you're finally back. It's been so long."

Her voice, thick with emotion, really pulled at my heartstrings.

Before the Sinclair family found me, I was just an orphan, bouncing from one foster family to another, never having a real home.

But once the Sinclair family tracked me down, I suddenly became their one and only heiress.

Alexander Sinclair, the man by my side, was adopted into the Sinclair family.

While I spent five years devoted to Jonathan, taking care of him like a nanny, Alexander handled all the family affairs and made sure Grandma was always properly cared for.

I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as I spoke, "Grandma, I'm sorry. I should've come back sooner. From now on, I'll listen to you no matter what."

"Just take good care of yourself, Lottie. As long as you're alright, that's all that matters to me," Grandma replied gently.

Grandma really did worry about me.

Grandma had my room cleaned regularly, so everything was just as I'd left it.

By the time I was back, my room was overflowing with stacks of designer bags, clothes, shoes, and sparkling jewelry. She'd gone all out knowing I was returning.

But none of it meant anything to me.

All that was running through my mind was how I could make Jonathan pay dearly for what he'd done.

Suddenly, a notification popped up on my phone.

[My wedding is on the 9th of next month. Everyone's invited.]

I saw it in the class group chat.

And the one who sent it? None other than Jonathan, the guy who spent our wedding day playing happy family with another woman and her kid, after cheating on me for five years straight.

Not only did he make the announcement, but he also shared their wedding photo in the group chat.

[Wow! They're such a perfect match.]

[I'll be there. Wishing you two everlasting love and adorable kids soon!]

[Em and I already have a kid.] Jonathan dropped that news in the group.

It was the class group, and come on, everyone knew I was with Jonathan for five whole years.

Still, not one of them called him out. Instead, they were all busy congratulating him.

Honestly, come on. It was so obvious. Everyone was lining up to suck up to Jonathan just because his law firm was finally getting some attention, and he was suddenly the newest big shot around.

But what really threw me was that, just to score points with him, they started dragging me into the drama too.

Someone tagged me in the group chat and wrote: [Seriously, why are you still hanging around here? Lurking like this—isn't it embarrassing?]

[She spent years acting like a live-in maid for Mr. York, groveling at his feet like a loyal dog. Does she even know what embarrassment is?]

[Don't confuse love with pity, Charlotte. Get it? If you finally do, just leave already!]

[Come on, don't be so mean to Charlotte. She spent five long years looking after Jon. That couldn't have been easy.]

That last message was from someone going by Em.

There Emily went again, pretending to be kind.

She sent out the wedding invite, making a show of it. [Jon's had it easy these past five years, all thanks to Charlotte looking after him so well. I'm honestly grateful. You have to come to the wedding. I want to thank you in front of everyone.]

She even tagged me in the group, making sure I couldn't ignore it.

She and Jonathan were all lovey-dovey now, had a kid together, and she was using that syrupy tone to twist the knife.

Before I could reply, the group chat blew up with a pile of sycophants chiming in, all eager to take their side.

[She's nailed that "win a man through his stomach" thing. Seriously, she went all in.]

[Being with a guy isn't the same as babysitting your own kid, you know.]

[It's Mr. York's big day. Why should we let Charlotte stick around and ruin the mood?]

As soon as that message dropped, I was instantly booted from the group chat.

I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous it all was.

Everyone was falling over themselves being respectful to Jonathan, like he was some big shot, and he was clearly loving the attention.

Getting kicked out didn't bother me, and honestly, their comments didn't sting either.

Honestly, I kinda wanted to see their faces when these bootlickers finally realized they'd been fawning over the wrong guy all along.