Chapter 5
The plane was descending toward Miami–a coastal city I’d never been to but had always dreamed about.
No Jake here. No Riley. No suffocating gossip or judgment.
Through the cabin window, I watched our plane cut through the clouds, and suddenly I remembered that night six years ago when Jake stood soaked in the rain outside my apartment building, confessing his feelings:
“Chloe, be with me and I swear I’ll give you the good life!”
I turned on my phone. Seventeen unread messages. The latest one from five minutes ago:
[Chloe, I’m at the County Clerk Office. When are you getting here?]
I stared at the screen and actually laughed out loud.
How freaking ironic.
Twenty–seven days of begging, and all I got was his promise to “marry me in three days.”
Well, three days were up, and I didn’t even have the energy left to rip his lies apart.
My finger scrolled through our chat history–six years of messages flashing by like a movie reel.
That rainy night when he was drenched, pouring his heart out.
Those broke startup days when we shared ramen in his crappy apartment.
Him spinning me around when we landed our first big contract.
It all ended with the image of Riley in my pajamas, curled up in his arms.
I’d been trapped in the prison called “Jake” for six whole years. But now I felt… free. Maybe they’re right when they say emotional liberation can happen in an instant.
“Ma’am, the exit is this way.”
A flight attendant’s gentle voice snapped me back to reality.
During all those years building Jake’s company, I’d lost everything–my dreams, my dignity, myself.
Six years of waiting, twenty–seven days of desperate pleading–none of it mattered as much as Riley needing help moving apartments.
I used to think that if I just loved him enough, sacrificed enough, I’d get my happy ending.
21:00
Just a Stand In?! My Billionaire Hubby’s OTHER Wife…
68.0%
Chapter 5
But every single time, all I got was heartbreak and betrayal.
The love I treasured meant nothing to him. I was just his entertainment, something to amuse himself with when he was bored.
He never actually cared about me.
Suddenly I remembered Mom’s final moments–her frail hand clutching my sleeve, her cloudy eyes full of desperation. “Chloe… let Mom… rest easy…”
Tears dropped onto my phone screen, blurring Jake’s last message.
My phone buzzed. Jake was calling again.
I declined the call and blocked him on everything–phone, social media, email. All of it.
I was cutting the cord on six years of self–deception.
If you’re gonna leave, don’t look back.
21:00
