Be My Woman: A Billionaire's Redemption

The box in her hand was still warm.

Liora smiled at it like it held the world. Chocolate, fudge-filled extra cream cake, Troy’s favorite.

She had begged the baker to keep the shop open for a few extra minutes just to grab it.

It was past 7 p.m., and she had just gotten off her shift. It was his birthday.

She was in love and he told her he was home. She waited all day just to meet him. She couldn't take the day off so they couldn't go out and now she's going to make it up to him.

The apartment door wasn’t locked, which was strange. She stepped inside and stopped. The living room looked like a mess of interrupted lust—clothes strewn across the floor, a wine glass tipped over, plates broken near the dining area. Her smile slowly slipped.

“Troy?” she called, half-laughing, as if maybe he was planning some chaotic surprise. “What the hell happened here?”

No answer.

She followed the trail of chaos to the staircase, heart fluttering, arms tightening around the cake box like a shield. One step at a time, the air changed—laughter, moans, and then...

“Fuck! Harder!!”

“God, she’s so damn pathetic.” Troy groaned.

“Seriously,” came another voice, Cassidy. Her best friend. Her only friend.

“You should’ve heard her blushing foolishly over the phone this morning. ‘I can’t wait to surprise him tonight.’ I nearly choked. I don’t even feel bad.” Cassidy moaned in between her speeches.

A breathless chuckle followed.

“You think she’ll bring that stupid cake again?” Troy’s voice.

“She always does. Every year. Like it makes up for being boring as fuck.” Cassidy giggled, her voice thick with filth and mockery.

“She’s like a damn puppy who doesn’t know it’s being kicked.” Troy mocked with a groan.

"Yes baby!! Harder!!"

Liora stepped forward.

The bedroom door was wide open. She simply stood there, staring at the two bodies tangled in the bed, the sheets barely covering sweat and sin, their limbs wrapped like animals.

Cassidy was on top of him, her head tossed back in pleasure as Cassidy rode his dick like it was all that mattered in the world.

The box slipped from her hands.

The chocolate cake she had cradled like love hit the floor with a soft, final splat.

She blinked once.

Then she screamed. It felt raw, sharp, guttural. The sound of a heart snapping like a bone under pressure. Cassidy and Troy looked towards the door, unbothered by her presence.

Liora lunged forward.

Her fingers tangled in Cassidy's long, messy hair and yanked. Cassidy shrieked, slipping off Troy’s lap as Liora dragged her across the bed, fury blazing behind wet eyes.

“You disgusting bitch!” Liora shouted, her voice cracking, her hands clawing and slapping, scratching. “You were my best friend!”

Cassidy tried to fight back, nails flying, but Liora was stronger in her rage.

Years of loyalty. Years of trust. All of it burned in one scream.

Troy scrambled off the bed, blanket around his waist, and grabbed Liora by the arms.

“Enough!”

He shoved her hard.

Her back slammed against the wall with a crack that made the mirror above her rattle.

The wind left her lungs as her body slid down the wall and hit the floor.

The pain bloomed slowly.

She looked up at them, tears streaking her cheeks, hands trembling. “Why?”

“Why would you do this to me? I love you. I—” Her voice broke into pieces.

“Loved me?” Troy scoffed, laughing like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.

“You should’ve seen your face.” Cassidy sat up, fixing her hair with a smirk.

Troy stepped closer, towering over her like he hadn’t just shattered her world.

“You want to know why?” He leaned down, voice dripping venom.

“Because you’re boring, Liora. You’re a vanilla fuck. You act like sex is a chore, like it’s part of a to-do list. You think bringing me a cake and being loyal makes you a woman worth keeping?”

Her lips parted in disbelief.

“You’re old-fashioned, you’re uptight, and you’re so goddamn predictable. A pathetic loser with nothing going for her but scrubby day shifts and moral lectures. I was done with you ages ago.”

“You’re not even fun to gossip about anymore.” Cassidy cackled from the bed.

Liora blinked fast, pain and humiliation twisting in her chest.

She looked at them, both naked, grinning, cruel and something in her went quiet.

She stood slowly, on shaky legs.

Troy leaned against the bedpost, his eyes locked on her like she wasn’t even a person anymore.

“I love Cassidy,” He said flatly. “Not you.”

The words didn’t just hurt, they shattered her.

Three years. Three years of birthdays, of dinner plans, of staying up with him on call nights, of compromising, of trying were gone. Like she was disposable. Like she meant nothing.

Her gaze dropped to the ruined chocolate cake on the floor. Frosting smeared across the carpet. Her ribboned box was torn apart. The smell of cocoa still lingered like some cruel reminder of her effort. Of her love.

Slowly, with trembling hands, she bent down and scooped up the cake gooey and ruined and walked back into the room.

They both stared at her, confused.

Without a word, she hurled the mess at them.

The cake exploded on Troy’s chest and Cassidy’s shocked face, dripping down their bodies like revenge in sugar and cream.

“Go to hell.” Her voice didn’t shake. This time, it burned.

She turned and ran.

“Don’t forget to lock it on your way out, loser!!” Troy called out behind her with a laugh.