After wrapping up a book signing out of town, I received a message from a friend on the way home.

"This personal trainer is something else. He can do all kinds of things with an exercise ball."

He also sent me a Live Photo.

In the Live Photo, a woman was lying on an exercise ball, pinned down by a man. Her hair was covering her face.

In the Live Photo that was a second long, I heard a familiar moan.

I called my fiancée.

"Where are you?"

Her voice was a bit hoarse, "I'm training with an exercise ball at the neighborhood gym, babe. I have a big surprise waiting for you when you get home."

I snorted and said, real slow, "How about I give you a big surprise right now? Open the door!"

I heard noises in the gym. Soon, the automatic door slid open.

A man in sweatpants walked over. He grabbed the towel around his neck to wipe off the sweat from his workout, looking pissed off. "Who are you? The gym's closed today!"

I recognized him straight away. He was Chad Smith, a student athlete from a nearby college.

Ignoring him, I walked straight in.

He pushed me out with one hand, saying, "Get lost! A woman's changing inside!"

I slammed into a wall. The pain made my body curl up.

Through my blurry vision, I could see a woman scrambling to get dressed in the gym.

Not far off from her was that exercise ball I saw in the Live Photo. It was stained with some suspicious-looking white stuff.

"Wendy Zeller, get over here!"

I straightened up, my voice hoarse.

Wendy froze, then quickly grabbed a man's jacket and zipped it up to cover herself.

Chad threw an arm around Wendy after she sauntered over. He looked me up and down and sneered. "So you're Wendy's boyfriend? The one with a tiny wiener?"

He brushed some wet hair off her collar like he'd done it a million times before.

"What are you doing here? My personal training sessions are expensive, you know. You think a leech like you can afford it?"

"Personal training? What kind of personal training involves getting your lower bodies tangled up together?"

I whipped out my phone and shoved the Live Photo in their faces.

Wendy went white as a sheet.

Not because she felt guilty, but because she was enraged that she got caught.

She pushed Chad away and slapped me on the face.

"You shameless jerk! You sent someone to spy on me?!"

I grabbed her hand before she could do it again, my grip tightening in anger.

"Do I have to? I bet the whole bloody neighborhood knows what you two have been up to while I was away!"

Wendy's pupils constricted as she tried to wriggle free. "Let me go! How dare you treat me like this?! Who do you think you are?! You're just a worthless leech that I have to support!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

I handed over my entire salary to her, keeping only $200 a month for myself. How did I become the leech?

"I'm only getting in shape so that you'll feel good on our wedding day! And you? You don't trust me at all! You sent someone to spy on me! Chad's a thousand times the man that you are. He makes me happy every day. Can you do that?"

Wendy pulled a bank card out of her bag and threw it at my face.

"Stop bothering me. I'm way too good for a loser like you!"

Chad put his arm around Wendy's waist and looked at me like I was a clown.

"Hear that, tiny wiener? Wendy chose me."

He steered her back inside, and the door slid shut.

I clenched my fists and picked up the bank card.

A few seconds later, I could hear them both panting inside.

Chad made sure to raise his voice. "Babe, scream louder, let him know who makes you happier."

Wendy stopped suppressing her moans in response.

I squeezed the bank card so hard it snapped.

On the way back home, I passed by the garbage bins and saw the Lego castle I'd built for Wendy dumped next to the bins.

The cleaner told me she'd saved it because her granddaughter might like it. The rest of the Lego had already gone to the dump.

Inside the castle was actually a wedding ring designed by a famous jeweller. I was going to surprise Wendy when I got home, but now there was no point.

I clutched the ring tightly in my palm and walked home.

I punched in the passcode a few times, but it kept saying "incorrect". The lock then went into lockdown.

I just laughed to myself and called a locksmith.

But when I tried to pay, my balance showed insufficient funds. I checked, and all $400,000 I stored in the account had been drained from it.

No wonder she was so quick to chuck the card at me.

I paid with another card and pushed the door open.

The interior was so different I thought I'd gone to the wrong house.

The glass cabinet where I kept my Lego was now displaying expensive sneakers.

The place was messy, with male and female clothing all over the carpet and couch.

I opened the windows to try and get rid of the smell.

I went into the studio, but it had been totally transformed into a gaming room for two.

I searched everywhere for my manuscript, the one I was about to publish, but I couldn't find it.

Had Chad thrown that out as well?

I rushed out but was stopped by Chad and some security guards he brought.

"Look at that. A leech barging in here like he owns the place."

He stood in front of me, looking down his nose.

"Security, this guy broke into my house. You know what to do."

The head guard nodded, sucking up to him. "Of course."

I was perplexed. "This is my house! What do you think you're doing?!"

Chad laughed. "This is Wendy's house. She lets you stay here. You don't own the place."

The guard chimed in.

"Mr. Luther, I believe you've transferred the property's ownership to Ms. Wendy. Please leave immediately."

I was stunned. My parents gave me this house as a birthday present. Why would I sell it?

I then remembered the agreement Wendy had asked me to sign.

She said it was a prenuptial. She asked me to sign it to offer her more security after we get married.

I loved her and I trusted her, so I signed the document without even reading it to prove my love for her.

Was that when she transferred the property?

My face went white, then red, then white again, much to Chad's delight.

"Kick him out!"

The guards grabbed me.

"Let go, I'm a homeowner!"

"You don't even have the deed, so shut your trap. Give him a good beating. I'll take responsibility if anything happens."

The guards hesitated, but Chad reminded them, "Wendy's a big property owner in this neighborhood. Offending me means offending her. Think about your salary!"

The guards looked at each other and stopped hesitating.

They punched me to the floor, and I was powerless to fight back.

Chad stood over me, hands on his hips.

"I thought the incident at the gym would have made you realize the situation you're in, but apparently not."

Images flashed in my mind. So, Chad had done it on purpose.

I couldn't stand the humiliation any more. I lunged at him, but the guards held me back.

"Stop!"

Wendy screamed from the door.

My heart skipped a beat. Did she come to save me?

I watched her run past me, straight to Chad, checking him over to see if he was hurt.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

My hopes crumbled. I was a fool.

She had already made it perfectly clear, yet I still thought she came for me.

Chad hugged Wendy, acting all innocent. "Wendy, he broke into our home and tried to attack me."

The guards backed him up. "Yeah, thank goodness Mr. Smith called us over ahead of time or he'd be the one on the floor right now."

Wendy patted Chad on the back, comforting him.

She then turned to me, her eyes like ice.

"Ray Luther, what the hell is wrong with you? It's over for us. If you've got a problem, come to me!"

My chest tightened. Did our relationship of five years mean nothing to her?

I stared at her in disbelief. "Wendy, have you forgotten that we're about to get married? You said you loved me and that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me."

Wendy laughed like she'd heard the funniest joke ever.

"Love? Ray, you think I could ever love you? I was just playing with you because you're easy to fool. I can't believe you took it seriously."

Her words hit me like a hammer, and my face went ashen.

She pulled the property transfer agreement out of her bag and shoved it in my face.

In the bottom right corner was my signature, scrawled in a hurry because I didn't want to upset her.

"Take a good look. You signed this yourself. I only dated you for this house. Now that I've got it, I'm officially dumping you."

Her cruel words shattered the last of my hopes.

From the very beginning, it had all been a lie.

Chad was loving it.

He stepped on my face and ground his shoe into it as he spoke.

"Do you get it now?"

Seeing my frustrated face, he decided he hadn't punished me enough.

He kicked me hard in the stomach.

"Now get lost!"

My gut exploded with pain, and my vision went black. Then, a mouthful of blood came up.

The ring I was holding fell to the floor with a clang, mocking me. My love and my dignity crashed down with it.

The guards dragged me away roughly, each step causing my wounds to throb with pain.

When Chad spotted the ring, he told them to stop.