I had just been discharged from the hospital after giving birth when my husband forced me to take the bus home, while he secretly drove the Maybach and treated his entire family to hotpot. Two hours later, he was bankrupt—and the truth about who I really was left his whole family terrified.

The line went dead before I could reply.

Moments later, I saw his black Maybach glide past the hospital doors. Through the tinted glass, his mother laughed, his sister filmed stories on her phone, and Daniel sat comfortably in the back seat. Not one of them even glanced in my direction.

Shaking, I pulled my coat tighter, held my baby closer, and slowly made my way to the bus stop. Every jolt of the ride felt like punishment. Some passengers stared with pity. A few offered their seats. Others whispered. I swallowed the humiliation without a word.

At home, I laid my daughter in her crib and finally let myself cry.

This wasn’t new. Ever since Daniel’s startup began turning a profit, he’d changed. Luxury cars. Expensive meals. Constant reminders that he was the reason for everything.
“Without me,” he liked to say, “you’d be nothing.”

What he never thought to ask was where his original funding had come from.

Two hours later, my phone exploded with calls and messages—from Daniel, his mother, his sister. Confused, I answered one.

“Emily!” Daniel’s voice was frantic. “Where are you? Something’s gone terribly wrong.”

Before I could speak, his mother grabbed the phone, shouting, “Tell me the truth right now—who are you really?”

At that exact moment, a breaking news alert appeared on my screen: Daniel Carter’s company files for bankruptcy after all major funding is suddenly withdrawn. Continue reading…