His Secret Empire, Her Shattered Heart

He'd slammed the door and left that night. We parted on the worst of terms.

But just now, scrolling through Freda's social media, I learned the truth. That same night, he'd been on a luxury yacht, throwing a party for her.

A single bottle of champagne from that party cost more than hundreds of discount coupons.

I suddenly felt like a joke.

Dirk had raised Freda like a hothouse flower while watching me grind myself down just to survive, and he had the nerve to call me shallow?

A violent cramp seized my stomach, and I doubled over, gagging.

Dirk panicked and grabbed me by the shoulders.

"Celeste, what's wrong?"

"Don't touch me!"

I shoved his hands away with every ounce of strength I had and forced myself to stand straight.

Tears trembled on the edge of falling.

"We're done. This is it."

"Just go. Don't come looking for me again."

Dirk stared at me, eyes full of hurt.

I turned away so I wouldn't have to see it.

A sigh came from behind me.

"Celeste, whatever you're thinking, I never wanted us to end."

"But if you insist on blowing this out of proportion, maybe we both need to cool down."

His voice had gone cold. I closed my eyes and let the tears slide down my face.

Only when I heard the door shut did my body give out, as though every last drop of strength had been wrung from me. The cramping in my abdomen became unbearable, and I crumpled to the floor.

In the dead of night, my phone rang.

I sighed, answered without looking at the screen.

"Don't call anymore. We're breaking—"

Freda's voice cut in, thick with tears.

"Celeste, I think my boyfriend is cheating on me. What do I do?"

"He just left out of nowhere tonight, and he still isn't back."

"What else could it be besides sneaking off to see some woman? He used to tell me everywhere he went!"

I didn't respond.

Or rather, I had no idea how to.

What was I supposed to say? That the man who spoiled her rotten was actually my boyfriend?

I listened to the sobbing on the other end of the line, then silently pressed the button to hang up.

I didn't sleep at all. The next morning, I dragged myself to work with dark circles under both eyes.

Exhausted, I made my way home, only to find Freda standing outside my apartment complex.

The moment she spotted me, she threw herself at me.

"Please, can I stay with you?"

I didn't dare let anything show. I played dumb.

"Doesn't your boyfriend have money? Did you two have a fight?"

Freda's eyes turned red instantly.

"He cheated on me. I refuse to spend a single cent of his!"

"I'm still in college. Besides you, none of my classmates even like me. I have nowhere else to go."

She cried so pitifully that I couldn't bring myself to refuse. I took her home.

Inside my cramped rental, the atmosphere was impossibly awkward.

Freda sniffled.

"Honestly, I don't really believe he cheated. I just feel insecure, you know? I wanted to throw a little tantrum so he'd care about me more."

"Dirk doesn't know you, so there's no way he'd think to look for me here."

There was a hint of smugness in her voice. I listened and had nothing to say.

Freda didn't notice my silence. She wandered around the apartment on her own little tour.

"So, things aren't that great between you and your boyfriend, huh?"

I froze. Freda was pointing at the box of ultra-thin condoms in my drawer, a sly grin spreading across her face.

"If things were good, why would the packaging still be sealed?"

A blush crept over her cheeks.

"My boyfriend is insatiable. Every time, he wears me out completely. We never run out of condoms at our place."

"Oh, funny coincidence. I like the lemon-flavored ones too. I always make him buy this exact brand!"