Phoebe shook the stack of receipts in her hand, her voice was as cold as ice.
“Everyone, take a good look—he maxed out five hundred thousand dollars in just three days, and it was all spent on luxury goods!”
“Even if I had mountains of gold, he’d burn through it all at this rate!”
As the future CEO and a stunning beauty, Phoebe had always been adored by her employees. Now that this scandal had surfaced, everyone naturally took her side.
The same colleagues who had been flattering me just minutes ago—only because I was her fiancé—were now staring at me with open contempt.
“Miss Wright, I bet he was pretending to be noble by not spending your money, just so you'd beg him to. That way, when things blew up, he’d have an excuse to turn around and play the victim.”
“Exactly! Classic manipulation!”
“I haven’t even spent five hundred thousand in the past three years. He burns through that in three days? And this is before marrying into wealth? If they’d really tied the knot, he’d have drained the entire family fortune!”
“Poor Miss Wright. What a gold-digging fiancé!”
“If you ask me, just call off the engagement already. These old-school arranged marriages are just outdated relics of feudal times.”
Phoebe’s assistant, Blake, gave me a disdainful glance before turning to her and shaking her arm as he tried to comfort her.
“Miss Wright, today’s young people really can’t handle any kind of test. Just consider five hundred thousand the price you paid to see his true colors. If you had married him, the company would probably be gone by now—and the rest of us will be out of jobs!”
Well, they certainly knew how to twist the knife. Every snide comment cut like a snakebite, slithering right into my ears.
I clenched the pen in my hand so tightly that my knuckles turned white.
Phoebe looked pleased by the crowd’s support. Right in front of me, she wrapped an arm around Blake’s shoulder and said coldly, “Gabriel, if you were short on money, you could’ve just told me. Why sneak around and max out my card? Now, you have two choices...”
She paused, eyes gleaming with disdain. “Either pay me back immediately, or we call off the engagement, and you pack up and get the hell out of my company.”
The entire office fell silent. Everyone was waiting for my reaction.
I stared straight into her eyes and let out a cold laugh.
“Don’t worry, the engagement is over—but I’m not paying you back a single cent.”
Gasps echoed around the room.
Blake, gleeful at the chaos, added fuel to the fire.
“Unbelievable! I've never met a man as shameless as you. Thank god Miss Wright caught your true face early. If she had married you, you would’ve sucked her dry like a bloodsucker!”
I ignored him.
Instead, I pulled out the receipt from my modest food delivery and said calmly, “I’ll say it one last time—I only spent 29.9 dollars on two meals. If you think you’re going to extort me for more, keep dreaming.”
“As for this crappy job, I never cared about it.”
“Phoebe, you’re fired. My half-month’s salary? Consider it a gift—might help you buy a few budget meals after your company goes belly-up.”
I took a screenshot of my meal order and threw it into the company group chat before leaving it entirely. Then, I picked up my bag and walked out without a second glance.
Phoebe, furious at being ignored, grabbed my wrist.
“Gabriel! Don’t think you can just walk away from this! Pay up, or this won’t be the end of it!”
I calmly pulled my hand back and said flatly, “Miss Wright, I’ve already sent you the receipts. Check the facts before you come barking at me again.”
With that, I turned and walked away.
I thought that would be the end of it.
But I was wrong.
Phoebe went online and made a public post about the entire incident—dragging not just me, but my university into it too.
Before long, my name was trending for all the wrong reasons.
#Top Graduate Exposed As Gold Digging Scumbag.
#Gold-Digging Scumbag Who Blew Five Hundred Thousand in Three Days—Who Would Dare Marry Him?
#Tragic CEO Beauty Turns Out to Be an ATM for Her Childhood Fiancé!
The comment section exploded with hate.
As soon as my personal information was exposed, my phone was flooded with insults and threats.
[How could your parents raise someone like you? Disgraceful! Do us all a favor and die—don’t tarnish the school’s reputation!]
[So it’s true—education doesn’t equal character. No woman would marry a guy like you, even if you paid her!]
Some even dug up my student ID and advisor’s name, demanding the university to “clean up.”
The next day, I got a call from my academic advisor.
“Gabriel, the school leadership is taking this incident seriously. I’m afraid your ‘Outstanding Graduate’ title might be revoked.”
I gripped my phone tightly, throat dry. “But, Sir, I didn’t spend that money.”
He sighed heavily. “I believe you, but the public doesn’t. The school’s image has already taken a hit, and there’s pressure from above.”
At that moment, I understood.
Phoebe’s company was on the verge of partnering with our university’s research lab. Once the deal went through, it would open job pipelines for graduates. This was peak recruitment season—one scandal couldn’t be allowed to ruin the future of hundreds.
I accepted the decision calmly.
Losing the “Outstanding Graduate” title didn’t affect me much. At least the school wouldn’t go so far as to cancel my diploma or degree.
But Phoebe still wasn't satisfied.
She activated her network in the industry and spread the word to blacklist me.
All the resumes I casually sent out went unanswered, and I didn't even get a chance to interview.
Meanwhile, she began flaunting her relationship with Blake, showing up at the business galas in high profile manner.
On social media, Blake posted a photo of himself wearing a brand-new luxury watch with the caption, [Thanks for the gift, boss~]
The background was an elite private members’ club.
Phoebe liked his post and commented.[You deserve the best.]
That same night, she sent me a text.
[Gabriel, if you still want to be a CEO’s husband, first repay the five hundred thousand, then sign a prenuptial agreement. After marriage, you’ll be a stay-at-home husband, taking care of the kids and living in luxury.]
[Obey me, and I’ll guarantee you a life of comfort and status.]
[If you refuse, you’ll never work in this industry again.]
I stared at the screen—and laughed.
She probably didn’t realize. For someone like me, she was the one marrying up.
Even if I never worked a day in my life, I’d still live well, better than most. I didn’t need her crumbs.
So I replied with a single word. [Get lost.]
But I didn’t expect her to go completely unhinged.
That very night, Phoebe showed up at my apartment with four bodyguards.
The doorbell rang like a siren. I opened the door slowly—and there she was, standing at my doorstep, her expression was gloomy.
Behind her, four men in black exuded quiet menace.
“Gabriel,” she sneered, “did you think hiding at home would protect you?”
Without waiting for an answer, she shoved past me and barged inside like a storm.
I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorframe, watching as she prowled through my living room like a thief looking for loot.
Her eyes swept over the elegant jade sculptures, antique porcelain, and calligraphy hanging on the walls. Her face darkened with every glance.
“Heh,” she scoffed. “So this is why you had the guts to blow through my card. You must have gotten real good at leeching off your sugar mamas.”
She jabbed a finger at the valuable items.
“How many people did you scam to fill this place up?”
I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
She stalked over to the coffee table, picked up a blue-and-white porcelain teacup, and scoffed.
“So it’s all for show, huh? A bunch of cheap knockoffs to make yourself look rich?”
“Well, I’ll give you this—it’s a pretty convincing replica. Shame about the glaze though, it's too new. A dead giveaway that it's fake.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Excellent eye, Miss Wright.”
Ironically, it was the only fake item in the house.
But Phoebe thought I was mocking her. Her expression turned even colder.
“Gabriel, I don’t have time to play games with you. Either you repay the five hundred thousand right now and sign these agreements, or the engagement is officially off.”
“If your dream of being a rich househusband shatters, don’t come crying.”
“Oh—and don’t expect me to take care of your parents either. With no retirement pension, I’m not funding their—”
She was abruptly cut off by one of the bodyguards, who leaned in and whispered, “Miss Wright, doesn’t that vase look like the centerpiece from the Sotheby’s auction last week?”
Phoebe froze and turned to where the man was pointing.
It was a Song Dynasty official kiln plum vase—an antique my father had bid on at a Sotheby’s charity auction just because I liked it. He bought it as a gift—for me to play with.
She stared at it for several seconds, her expression shifting from confused to incredulous before she scoffed.
“Really, Gabriel? A fake inspired by a Sotheby’s auction piece? You’ve got some nerve.”
Looking at this woman—three years older than me—I silently thanked the heavens I wasn’t yet legally of age to marry. If it weren’t for that loophole, by the terms of our family agreement, I’d already be her husband.
To be tied to someone like this—calculating, pretentious, cheap, and absolutely lacking in discernment—would’ve been the shame of my life.
I sighed and gestured toward the door.
“Phoebe, I don’t blame you for being blind, but if you’re going to come into my house and humiliate yourself, I won’t entertain it any longer.”
Her expression immediately darkened. “Oh, so now you think I need you?”
“Let me tell you—men like you, who rely on their bodies and sponge off others, are the worst! You’ve got a terrible reputation now. No decent woman would marry you! I was only tolerating you because of the elders’ arrangement!”
I didn’t bother arguing. Instead, I picked up the vase and slowly turned it over so she could see the base.
“Take a good look. It's Sotheby’s authentication serial number—one of a kind. The final bid is 120 million dollars.”
“You really think I’d stoop so low for your five hundred thousand?” I snickered.
“I could let it go out of respect for our families. But the funny thing is—I happen to despise gold-digging women who want something for nothing.”
“So here’s my offer: if you and your little goon squad leave my house immediately and never show your face to me again, I’ll forget the slander and online harassment.”
Phoebe froze.
The bodyguards all gasped, one of them whispering, “Miss Wright, he’s so confident. Maybe this is a misunderstanding. That vase looks real to me.”
Phoebe’s face turned an ugly shade of gray. She yanked the vase out of my hands and turned it over and over, her expression growing darker with each second.
Finally, she pulled out her phone and called Blake.
“Blake, your sister works at the Sotheby’s auction house, right? Ask her who won the final bid on that plum vase last time.”
“Oh, and bring the top-tier lawyer I hired over to Gabriel’s place.”
“He’s still denying he used my card. Today, I will make him admit it. I can’t let him think he can dominate me now and get even worse after marriage!”
Well, if she wanted to be humiliated, I didn’t mind waiting.
Ten minutes later, Blake arrived with the lawyer in tow, wearing a smug look on his face.
“Miss Wright, I checked. That plum vase was bought by the richest man in the city. He said it was a gift for his son to use as a flower vase.”
Upon hearing that, Phoebe’s face lit up with a certainty.
