Maskfall

Not long after Josh Stewart proposed to me, the Stewart family went bankrupt. He took on three jobs, pouring everything he had into taking care of me. Every morning, he handed me the first cup of coffee, and the only fresh bagel on the table was always mine.

He would pull me into his arms and promise, softly but firmly, that once he had saved his first 100,000 dollars, he would marry me.

I believed every word.

Until the day I stepped into an exclusive private club and saw him with his childhood sweetheart, their fingers intertwined, as he ordered a bottle of Lafite without a second thought.

"If Yvette still hasn't realized in three days that Donald's been pretending to be you, then you win," she said with a smile.

"Her eyesight isn't great," Josh replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. "And Donald avoids women. She won't notice. If I win, you're coming abroad with me for the wedding."

I stood there, just out of sight, listening. A small smile tugged at my lips. Perhaps… it was time to find myself a different groom.

When Donald Brooks started messing with me, Josh Stewart was calmly cracking open an outrageously expensive lobster for Whitney Yates. Just one cost over 100,000 dollars.

Every time he broke a piece of shell, one of my cheap clothes was taken off.

In the shadowy booth, Donald Brooks slid up behind me and hooked an arm around my waist, pressing close.

I had no choice but to endure it, biting down on my lower lip. He was known for hating women, but in moments like that, he never held back. Low, reckless laughter leaked through his earpiece.

"Looks like Josh has this bet in the bag. Whitney had better get ready to be Mrs. Stewart."

"But if you marry Whitney, what about Yvette? If she finds out you've been lying to her, she won't let it go."

Josh took a casual sip of his drink. "Before her mom died, she told her to hold on tight to me. A gold digger like her… letting her suffer a little is already going easy on her. Besides, with her bad eyesight, she can't even tell Donald and me apart. What right does she have to be Mrs. Stewart?"

His friends laughed and agreed. Then, someone muttered under their breath, "Even if she hasn't noticed, she was willing to stick with you through hard times. That's got to mean something. If I were Donald, I'd have a hard time not falling for a girl that pretty."

The smug look on Josh's face froze, and his expression darkened. He shifted uncomfortably and tapped his earpiece.

"Donald, why the sudden silence?"

Behind me, the man moved faster. I could not stop a soft sound from slipping out.

Josh's tone sharpened instantly.

"Donald, who's with you?"

The man behind me cursed under his breath, pulled my clothes back over my shoulders, then grabbed his phone and hurried out into the hallway. He left in such a rush that one earbud slipped off and stayed behind.

A moment later, Donald's lazy, teasing voice came through. "Just an ad popping up on my phone."

Josh's voice relaxed. "If your thing with hating women wasn't still acting up, I'd think you actually touched Yvette."

Donald let out a short laugh. "You don't even like her. Why would you care if I did? Besides, in three days, you and Yvette are over for good."

Whitney leaned in close to Josh, her voice soft and teasing as she whispered into his ear, "Josh, you're not having second thoughts, are you?"

The man who had always treated me with indifference flushed at the tips of his ears. Even through the earpiece, I could hear his heartbeat pounding. A few breaths later, he turned his head away but did not push her off.

"Of course not. I just think she's… repulsive." He did not bother hiding the disgust in his voice.

Still, he could not help testing Donald again. "Yvette really hasn't suspected anything?"

It was not a strange question. Everyone knew I had been taken in by the Stewart family when I was 15. I spent eight years trailing behind Josh like a shadow.

After my mom died, I used to hide in corners and cry. Josh was the one who would bring me candy and coax me out.

At first, I took him as my brother. Then, I started crushing on him. When he realized how I felt, everything changed. He started picking at me, finding fault in everything.

He said my eyesight was bad, so I stopped wearing glasses in front of him. He said I was not pretty enough, so late at night, I begged the maid to help me with my skincare routine. These things kept happening, all just so I could turn myself into someone he would like.

He said I was not as worldly as Whitney, so I stayed up to study, pushing myself harder and harder until I fought my way into a top university.

However, even after I became prettier, after I became an honor student, he still mocked me.

I was just a nobody, dreaming of becoming somebody.

I knew he and Whitney had grown up together. Of course, he looked down on me.

Due to a careless promise my mom made before she died, he thought I was just another girl chasing money. However, I believed that if I gave him my whole heart, one day he would see me.

For him, I ate only one meal a day. I dropped from 110 pounds to 90. He liked white, so every piece of clothing in my closet lost its color.

Sometimes, just one offhand compliment from him could make me happy all day.

Back then, Whitney and he fought often because of me. After every fight, he would stare at me in a way he never had before. Then, Whitney left the country in anger. Josh did not go after her. Instead, he got engaged to me.

He looked me up and down again and again, then pulled me tight into his arms. "You've grown up. Time for you to get married."

At the time, I was secretly thrilled, imagining a future where I would become Mrs. Stewart. I thought he had finally seen my worth.

However, on the day of the engagement, Whitney suddenly came back.

"Josh, let's make a bet. If you win, I'll say yes."

She wanted to prove that my feelings for him were fake, that I only cared about wealth.

He did not hesitate for even a second. He stripped off my engagement dress and publicly announced that the Stewart family had gone bankrupt. He used me as the stake in a ridiculous game. Still acted like he was deeply in love.

"If you can't live a hard life with me, I won't blame you."

I smiled, determined to prove him wrong and that he was mistaken. I was not a gold digger! I was just a girl who had been in love with him for the past eight years.

"Josh, I'm willing!"

That day, I planned to tell him a secret I had kept for years. The truth was, there was nothing wrong with my eyes. However, when I saw him kiss Whitney and then push me toward Donald, the words caught in my throat and never came out.

Then, catching sight of Donald rushing around, looking for me in a panic, I curled my lips into a faint smile.

"Josh, where are you? I can't fasten my bra."