Gabriella's POV

My phone buzzed, and a message from William popped up. "Go back with my assistant first. I'll explain later."

I stared at the short line of text, my chest tightening. In the end, I couldn't hold back. "Why did you lie to me?" I asked.

William replied coldly, "Just behave and go back first. Don't embarrass yourself in front of the company."

I remembered that every time I wanted to come to Frostmere, he would invent all sorts of excuses to stop me. It turned out he was afraid that I'd embarrass him.

As soon as I looked up, I saw his employees whispering and filming me with their phones.

"A mistress actually had the nerve to show up here. How shameless."

"She is so young; she could have done anything else, yet she chose to be a mistress."

I quickly raised my hand to cover my face, my voice breaking. "I'm not a mistress. William lied to me."

All I got in response was laughter.

William's assistant put my suitcase in the car and roughly shoved me inside. Half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of a villa.

William lived in a villa, yet he had told me that he stayed in a tiny rental. I used to worry that he was struggling in Frostmere, so I sent him half of my salary every month.

The assistant pushed me into the villa and locked the door from the outside. "Stay here and wait for Mr. Harrington to come back."

A faint scent of perfume lingered in the air. I had noticed that same scent on William a few months ago when he visited me in Lumora.

I turned around and instantly froze. On the living room wall hung an enormous wedding portrait. It showed William in a black suit, holding Alexandra in a white wedding gown.

The date in the lower right corner of the photo stabbed at my heart. The day they took their wedding photos happened to be my birthday.

That was the first time William didn't spend my birthday with me. He claimed that he was too swamped with work to get away.

I stormed into the bedroom in a frenzy.

Photos of William and Alexandra covered the walls. Inside the closet, sexy lace nightgowns hung next to his shirts. The vanity was cluttered with cosmetics from numerous luxury brands.

The last shred of hope I had was shattered completely at the sight of a nearly empty box of condoms on the nightstand. So that was what William had been so "busy" with—building a life with another woman.

I slumped onto the cold floor, buried my face in my hands, and broke down crying.

I came from a poor background. Both my parents were from a rural village. I had poured everything I had into my studies just to get into a school in a big city.

Whenever I didn't have classes, I worked part-time jobs off-campus. That was how I met William.

I was a struggling student from a small village; he was a young man from a wealthy family who had run away to escape an arranged future. With no support from either of our families, we had only each other to rely on.

A few months later, we started dating. My classmates joked that we were a "broke couple". After all, we really were broke back then.

But every birthday, William always managed to scrape together enough money to buy me gifts I liked. He would eat only two meals a day just to save up for a designer lipstick for me.

He said that I deserved everything the other girls had. He also told me that no matter how hard things get, he would never shortchange his girlfriend.

After graduation, I stayed in Lumora, while William left for Frostmere. I rented a room in Lumora at a discounted rate of 800 dollars per month.

William used to come back to Lumora every weekend. We tangled together through the nights, the old, worn-out bed creaking beneath us.

William kissed the tears from the corners of my eyes, his voice rough as he made me a promise. "Gaby, once things settle down at work, I'll marry you."

Determined to save enough for our marriage, I worked as hard as I could, often staying at the office until 2:00 am. Eventually, my body gave out, and I fainted at the office.

The moment William heard that I was sick, he took the day off and rushed to the hospital in Lumora. He was furious and scolded me for being foolish. But a moment later, he gripped my hand, his eyes filling with tears.

William asked his company for time off to stay in Lumora and look after me. His supervisor blasted him for it. That was the first time I had ever seen him speak to someone with such humility, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

I urged William to go back to work and not worry about me, but he said to me seriously, "Gabriella, nothing matters more to me than you."

At that moment, I believed with everything in me that William loved me. That belief carried me through seven long years of being apart from him.

Gabriella's POV

When William got home, he found me with eyes swollen from crying. He pulled me into his arms, his expression full of concern.

"Gaby, I'm sorry," he said. "My dad passed away from illness back then, so I had to return to Frostmere and take over the family business. Your social status is too low, so the elders in my family would never have allowed me to marry you."

I couldn't take another word. I shoved him away, tears streaming down my face. "So you married someone else? William, what did our seven years of long-distance relationship mean to you?"

William looked down at me, his expression settling into calm. "Gabriella, as the head of the Harrington family, I have obligations. Alexandra and I are of the same social standing, and our marriage benefits both our families.

"Lexi said that as long as you behave yourself, she'd turn a blind eye and let you stay by my side."

I looked up at him as tears rolled down my face.

William leaned down and brushed the tears from the corners of my eyes. "Gaby, we've been together for so many years; I won't treat you badly. If you want to stay in Frostmere, I can arrange a position for you at the company as my assistant."

I slapped him across the face. Under his stunned gaze, I grabbed my suitcase and quickly walked out of the front door.

As I rode away in a cab, William sent me a voice message. "Gabriella, don't be difficult. Not everyone can work for Harrington Group. I'll give you three days to think it over."

Then he transferred 100,000 dollars to my account. Back when he was pretending to be broke, he never sent me more than 1,000 dollars at a time. Now, he sent a hundred thousand without a second thought.

I didn't reply and returned all the money.

Once I had rented a place and settled in, I opened my phone to find that the situation between William and me had gone viral. Someone had posted a video of me outside his office building. In the footage, I looked completely disheveled, and my eyes were darting around.

The trending posts claimed William was having an affair and that his mistress had shown up uninvited. I was his real girlfriend, yet somehow I had become the homewrecker everyone despised.

I immediately posted the full story of our relationship along with our chat history. The timeline made it clear that William and I had been together long before he married Alexandra.

Public opinion flipped. The entire internet turned on William, calling him a scumbag.

William called me several times, but I hung up each time.

A few minutes later, Alexandra posted their marriage certificate on Instagram. She claimed their relationship was harmonious and accused me of staging the whole thing for attention.

Harrington Group's PR team insisted that the chat history I posted was fabricated and threatened to sue me for defamation. Paid accounts flooded the internet with rumors, branding me as a scheming mistress trying to ruin a marriage.

The comment section of my post was completely overrun with negative comments.

"The mistress tried to fight back and got hit with a legal warning instead. That's hilarious!"

"That's the real wife for you—shut down that arrogant homewrecker in just a few words."

"She destroys someone's marriage and then tries to use it for clout. Disgusting!"

My inbox was flooded with insults, and some even wished for my death.

Half an hour later, my post disappeared, and my account was banned. It was the first time I truly realized how powerless I was against people with immense influence.

My phone kept ringing, and every time I ignored it, the caller called again. With no other option, I finally picked up.

It wasn't William who called me, but Alexandra. Her laughter carried a hint of disdain. "Ms. Bennett, let's have a little chat."

Gabriella's POV

Early the next morning, Alexandra asked to meet me at a cafe. When she saw me again, there wasn't a trace of surprise in her eyes.

"Gabriella, I recognized you the moment I saw you at the office yesterday," she said.

I froze.

The next moment, she explained calmly, "I knew about you before I married William. In our social circle, it's normal for men to have mistresses. William is actually restrained by comparison; he only has you."

"I'm not a mistress!" I shot back immediately.

Alexandra sneered and rested her hand on her belly. "What you are doesn't matter. The Harrington family has an heir on the way, so we never intended to deal with you. But then you ended up on the trending page, so I had to step in."

She slid a non-disclosure agreement and a blank check across the table toward me. "Sign the agreement, record an apology video, and leave Frostmere within two days. Fill in any amount you want."

I pushed the documents back and stood up to leave, but Alexandra stopped me. "Gabriella, you won't last in Frostmere. If you change your mind, come find me anytime."

…

Alexandra was right.

Throughout the morning, I visited several companies to interview for positions. After reviewing my information, the HR managers all shook their heads and turned me away, saying my conduct was unbecoming and a liability to their company's reputation.

Someone even mocked me to my face. "Why is a mistress like you looking for a job? Why don't you just go find yourself another sugar daddy?"

Photos of me attending interviews were posted online. Someone even tagged William in the comment section.

A moment later, William called me. "Gabriella, how long are you going to keep embarrassing yourself? I offered you a job, you turned it down, and now you're out there making a spectacle of yourself. Can you stop this?"

"William, do you see me as your mistress too?" I asked.

The cold wind in Frostmere bit at my skin.

William instantly went quiet. After a long silence, he finally spoke. "Gaby, I—"

I didn't want to hear his explanation, so I hung up.

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed again. Mom's voice came through the phone, raw and broken by sobs. "Gabriella! How did I raise a daughter like you? You've been someone's mistress for seven years!"

"Your dad got so upset that he had a heart attack. The surgery will cost 500,000 dollars. Where are we supposed to get that kind of money?"

Just then, a snowball slammed into my head with a thud.

Two kids pointed at me and shouted, "Homewrecker! Hit the homewrecker!"

Snowballs came flying at me one after another. They ran off laughing, then turned back and made faces at me.

I sank to my knees in the snow, tears falling onto my phone screen. With shaking hands, I dialed Alexandra's number.

Alexandra's mocking laughter came through the receiver. "Made up your mind already?"

I replied in a hoarse voice, "I'll do it."