Discarding the King I Made

For three years, I played the humble housewife to protect Gabriel’s ego, secretly using my power as the Pearl Group’s heiress to build his empire from the shadows.

But at his victory gala, the man I made a King crowns another Queen—the woman who abandoned him when he was broke.

"While others were just present," Gabriel sneers, his arm around his ex, "Anna was the fire behind my success."

He thinks my silence was weakness. He thinks his contract was earned by merit. He’s about to find out that the humble woman he sidelined owns the very stage he’s standing on.

I’m done being your sun, Gabriel. Enjoy the darkness—because by morning, I’m taking the light with me.

The day Gabriel received a million-dollar contract, he threw a lavish party and invited all his friends and business associates.

I entered the gala with an envelope and a bouquet of lilies and white roses—the same flowers Gabriel had used to propose to me three years ago.

Tonight wasn't just the celebration of the Richards Deal he had secured, it was the night the shadows between us would finally vanish.

"And finally," Gabriel’s voice boomed over the speakers, resonant and commanding. He stood on the stage, the golden boy of the tech world, looking every bit the empire-builder I had helped him become. "None of this—the success, the accolades, this company—would be possible without the woman who stood by me through the darkest nights. The woman whose vision gave me the strength to win."

I took a breath, stepping out from the velvet curtains of the VIP section. I adjusted my necklace, a rare diamond I’d finally dared to take out of the vault.

He’s doing it, I thought. He’s finally going to let the world see us.

"Please join me in welcoming my true inspiration," Gabriel shouted, his eyes glowing as he looked toward the wings. "The woman I owe everything to... Anna Frank!"

The applause hit me like a physical wall.

I froze. My lungs seized, the air in the room suddenly turning to ice. Anna. His first love. The woman who had walked out on him five years ago when his bank account hit zero.

She glided onto the stage in a shimmering crimson dress, her smile practiced and predatory. Gabriel didn't just greet her, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her with a raw, desperate passion—a hunger he had never once shown me in our three years of marriage.

"Anna believed in me when no one else did," Gabriel told the silent, captivated crowd, his hand resting possessively on her waist. "While others were just... present... she was the fire behind the Richards Deal."

‘While others were just present.’

The words felt like acid. I looked down at the lilies in my hand. Suddenly, I didn't see a romantic gesture, I saw a calculated distraction.

Every memory of the last three years began to sour. The nights I spent refining his business models until 4:00 AM?