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.

He picked up the ring, inspected it, and snorted.

"Is this the wedding ring you bought for Wendy? Looks cheap. Even the diamond looks cheap."

The wedding ring I had flown to Italy to have custom-made by a master craftsman was thrown at my face like it was garbage.

"No wonder Wendy can't stand you. After sponging off her for so many years, you're not even willing to spend a bit of money on her."

The sharp ring cut my face, leaving a bloody mark.

As if he felt sorry for Wendy, Chad repeatedly kicked my back in a venting rage.

"Don't let me see you anywhere near her again! I know you like to draw comics to coax her into spending money on you. Let's see how you'll trick her now!"

He heavily stomped on the back of my right hand, grinding his shoe hard.

I screamed in agony, desperately clawing at his ankle with my other hand.

My weak resistance earned me a sinister grin from him, and he increased the pressure, almost pushing my hand into the floor.

This hand, which had recorded every sweet moment in my relationship with Wendy through drawings, was now trampled on by her new lover.

The commotion quickly attracted the neighbors' attention.

"Didn't he say he was a comic artist? Turns out he's just leeching off a woman."

"He takes shortcuts because he's good-looking. Now that he's dumped by his sugar mama, he's desperately trying to win her back."

"He even picked the cheapest diamond ring. No wonder the sugar mama chose a younger guy."

The ridicule pierced my heart like needles.

Wendy, the woman I had given everything to, was looking at me coldly, as if she were looking at a stranger.

She let them mock me, insult me.

Chad only stopped when he got tired. I lay on the ground like a half-dead dog, barely hanging on to consciousness.

Only then did Wendy slowly walk up to me.

After the previous two times my hopes were shattered, my heart was already numb.

Sure enough, she looked down at me, took out her phone and transferred money to me like she was giving money to a beggar.

"Take the money and stop bothering me!"

My phone received the transfer and automatically announced, "Beep, you received $10."

The surrounding crowd burst out in laughter.

I lay on the cold floor with nowhere to hide, and Wendy looked at me with the eyes of someone looking at trash.

I gritted my teeth and firmly burned this incredibly humiliating moment into my memory.

Just then, my phone rang.

Enduring the pain, I reached for my fallen phone, but Chad snatched it first.

"President?" Chad exclaimed dramatically, "Ray Luther, you actually hired someone to put on an act?"

From the other end of the phone, I heard my assistant's voice. "Who are you? Mr. Luther is the president of Cashing Corporation!"

"Cashing Corporation?"

Chad was stunned. Cashing Corporation was one of the biggest companies in the city.

If he offended the president of Cashing Corporation, wouldn't it be bad news for his father's company?!

He stared at me, eyes wide with an anxious mix of scrutiny and fear.

Wendy also looked shocked. She suddenly recalled something, and her face turned pale.

Amidst the silence, the elevator doors suddenly opened.

My assistant walked out in a suit, followed by bodyguards.

Realizing that I was not to be trifled with, the neighbors stopped watching and closed their doors.

The assistant spotted me lying injured on the floor and rushed over, pushing past Chad and Wendy.

"Mr. Luther!" he exclaimed in horror.