The Secret Wife’s Gambit

Instantly, the internet exploded. Thousands of fans flooded their posts with comments, all congratulating the perfect couple.

"OMG, my ship has finally sailed!"

"Just get married already!"

Fans started digging up old clips of Axel and Amber interacting at various events.

"They are total couple goals!"

"I agree! They need to get married, like, yesterday. They're so perfect together! My faith in love is restored!"

I sneered at the comments and dialed Axel's number.

The moment the call connected, I heard Amber's coy laugh and Axel's breathless whisper. It only lasted a few seconds before he abruptly hung up.

A wave of nausea and pure rage washed over me.

That night, I immediately posted a photo from our wedding day on my private account—a close-up of our hands, intertwined, wearing our wedding rings. The caption was simple: "Five years."

The next day, I booked the earliest flight to Los Angeles. I wanted to see just how long Axel could keep up this charade once I was back.

However, overnight, my X account was flooded with hate.

Suddenly, I was a headline, too. The number one trending topic read: "Shameless Woman Photoshops Herself into a Fake Marriage with GRC Champion Axel Vance."

Less than ten minutes later, Axel posted a response on X.

He admitted to dating me in college but claimed we had parted ways amicably a long time ago.

He claimed that the only person he was wholeheartedly pursuing now was Amber.

Thousands of fans commented under his new post. Most of them were tearing me apart.

"So shameless! They broke up ages ago, and she's photoshopping pics to fake a relationship! So thirsty!"

"She's hit a new low of shamelessness."

"Get lost and stay away from Axel! He deserves better!"

"Axel doesn't love you anymore, just leave him alone!"

The moment I stepped off the plane, a call came from Axel.

He told me to meet him at his mansion in Malibu.

But a work emergency demanded my immediate attention, so I had to handle it first.

I didn't get to the mansion until almost midnight, after I finally wrapped everything up.

I didn't expect him to wait. Surprisingly, he'd been holed up in the mansion all day.

I walked in to find him sitting on the living room sofa. The moment he saw me, he launched into a tirade. "It's midnight! Where the hell have you been?"

I was already exhausted from the sudden work crisis.

I had barely sunk into the sofa when he started laying into me.

His audacity made me laugh. "You're the one who cheated, and you're yelling at me? You should be grateful I even showed up."

He froze at the word "cheated." After a moment, he composed himself and softened his tone, trying to justify his actions. "I'm a two-time GRC world champion. You're not good enough for me anymore."

"Oh? Not good enough? What do you mean? I think I'm doing just fine."

"Ha!" Axel scoffed, looking at me with utter contempt.

"I'm a two-time GRC world champion. I have hundreds of millions in endorsements and a net worth in the billions. And you? You're just some freelance UX designer. We're in different worlds now, Eleanor."