I Supported My Bankrupt Boyfriend for Three Years, Then Met His Wife Chapter 02
I returned to my tiny studio apartment in the suburbs.
I tripped over a bouquet of flowers left on the floor the second I stepped inside.
I suddenly remembered yesterday was Valentine’s Day. I’d come home with flowers, only to find the house dead silent.
I dialed his number again and again, but all I got was a busy line.
I ran out without changing my house slippers and searched everywhere for him.
My eyes were swollen and strained from exhaustion after hours in the security monitoring booth. My slippers were soaked through after I wandered along the community lake park.
I feared he could not accept life in a wheelchair and might try to take his own life.
I stayed up the entire night, rushing from place to place.
I only had time for a quick splash of water on my face an hour before the organizing job.
I stared at my bloodshot eyes in the mirror and laughed bitterly at myself.
His fully healed legs and the fresh hickeys on his neck told me the whole truth.
I was nothing but a fool.
I spun around and started gathering all of his belongings.
There were matching loungewear sets, his old pillow and stacks of unsigned handwritten love letters.
Water spilled onto the papers as I moved in a rush. A line of handwriting surfaced instantly at the bottom of every letter.
It read: [To my dearest Seraphina.]
I thought back to the nights I watched him write those letters. I’d always teased him playfully.
“That’s so romantic. Is it for me?”
He would only smile quietly, and I’d foolishly taken that as a yes.
A tear dropped onto the back of my hand. I wiped it away harshly.
I stuffed every item that belonged to him into a cardboard box and dragged it out to the trash can.
He rushed over the second he spotted the discarded box.
“What on earth are you doing?”
He heard the impatience in his own voice and softened his tone right away.
“I can explain what happened this morning.”
I held back the sorrow swelling inside me.
“Fine. First tell me, when did you regain the ability to walk?”
His gaze flickered with unease.
“Three months ago.”
“I didn’t tell you because I was scared you’d kick me out.”
I’d fallen down the stairs the month before and sprained my ankle badly.
He had sat in his wheelchair, looking worried, but he never moved to help.
I’d been forced to crawl all the way home alone.
I’d dragged myself inside in total mess, yet I still comforted the anxious man beside me.
“How could I ever kick you out? You own a grand mansion, but you chose to live in this tiny apartment with me. I should feel honored.”
I spoke in a flat, indifferent tone, and Kael flinched like he’d received a sharp blow.
A mocking look crossed his face.
“You’ve changed completely. I liked you better when you were my kept companion, obedient and gentle.”
“I actually got my company back on its feet a long time ago. I kept it a secret to avoid scenes like this.”
“Did you really think a few years of living together meant you could walk all over me?”
Bitterness filled my throat.
Years back, my dad got locked up over a medical accident, stuck with a crippling compensation bill he couldn’t pay.
I had no way to pay it off, and I was desperate. That was when he came to me.
He paid off all my debts and took me in.
He called me his kept companion, but all I ever did was share meals with him.
I’d been grateful for his kindness, and that gratitude slowly turned into love.
I once thought I was not good enough for him and tried to leave.
It was not until the night I found Kael that a flicker of quiet joy slipped past my own notice.
I’d hoped we could finally be together honestly. It was all just an elaborate lie.
He saw the pain on my face and softened his voice once more.
“Seraphina is just a date I bring to business events. Don’t overthink this.”
“I see everything you’ve done for me these past two years. You mean a lot to me.”
His sweet words sounded lovely, but they could no longer touch my heart.
He pulled out a credit card and held it out to me. I reached out and took it.
“Consider this payment for your meals while you’re staying with me.”
“Kael, we’re even now.”
