The air in that office was so heavy it felt like I was breathing in lead, the smell of Morgan's expensive cologne was everywhere and it just made the betrayal feel even more suffocating. Before I could even wrap my head around the check sitting on the desk like a death warrant, Mrs. Lieu's hand moved like a snake into her designer bag and she pulled out her phone with this wicked look in her eyes that made my skin crawl.
"Oh I am actually glad I ran into you here" she said with a voice that was so fake and sweet it made me want to gag. "Since you're so fond of family why don't you talk to that delusional sick mother of yours because she's been calling me all morning probably looking for a pat on the back for this wedding."
My heart started hammering against my ribs like a bird trapped in a cage and I felt my breath hitch in my throat. "Don't" I whispered while my voice cracked and I felt like I was falling apart. "Don't bring my mother into this, she's fragile Morgan tell her to stop!"
I lunged forward trying to snatch the phone out of her hand because I couldn't let her hurt my mom like that. "Don't call her sick, we're over and that's fine but leave her out of this!" I screamed but she was way too fast for me and she pressed the speakerphone just as the call connected and the room filled with the sound of the one person I wanted to protect.
"Congratulations my girl!" my mother's voice rang out through the office and even though she sounded thin and weak there was a joy in her voice that I hadn't heard in years. "We are officially in-laws now! Oh Mrs. Lieu I'm so happy, tell me have the kids picked a date yet?"
I completely froze and I looked at Morgan desperately begging him with my eyes to be a man and say something but he just turned his head away and stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city skyline like I wasn't even there. His mother just stood there tapping her manicured nails against the phone case like she was enjoying every second of my pain.
"Mommy?" I managed to choke out even though my whole body was trembling.
"Oh! Lisa? Is that you my darling?" my mother asked and I could hear the excitement just bubbling over in her voice.
"Yes Mommy, how are you feeling? Are you... are you getting better today?" I tried so hard to keep my voice steady because I was praying she wouldn't hear the devastation that was vibrating through me.
"I'm doing wonderful thanks to you and Morgan, now don't keep me in suspense! When is the big day because I need to know how much time I have to get my strength up for the ceremony."
The silence that followed was so deafening it felt like my ears were ringing and I took a sharp jagged breath to try and find the words. "Mommy they won't...."
But Mrs. Lieu snatched the phone back and her face was a mask of cold triumph as she cut me off. "The wedding has been canceled Mrs. Park, instead my son will be marrying Maya Yugo the Mayor's daughter and I would appreciate if you can please stop calling because we have a reputation to maintain."
Click.
She ended the call just like that without a second thought and I knew my mother's world was collapsing in silence on the other end of that line. I turned to Morgan and my vision started blurring with hot angry tears that I couldn't hold back anymore.
"Morgan... is that true? You're marrying someone else?"
He finally looked at me but his eyes were completely empty like I was a stranger. "Yes Lisa, you have to understand... Maya has the connections I need, she has the influence and... and..."
"And what?" I screamed because the pain finally just exploded out of me. "Can't you even finish your sentence? You've been with me for seven years Morgan! You only met her a few months ago!"
"And she is pregnant with his child" Mrs. Lieu interrupted and her voice was as sharp as a blade. "That is what he's trying to say, a proper heir from a proper family."
Pregnant. The word hit me harder than a physical blow to the stomach and suddenly everything made sense. All those times he said he was out of the country for business and claimed there was no signal or no way to call... he wasn't working at all, he was with her the whole time.
I looked down at myself and I saw my lab-stained slacks and my scuffed sneakers and I just felt so small and tattered. For a second I actually wondered who would ever want to marry someone like me because Maya Yugo was the "It Girl" of the city and she was so polished and perfect.
"Seven years Morgan" I whispered as the weight of a decade of sacrifices started crushing me. "I gave you my youth and I even gave you my father's last savings."
"Morgan don't waste your breath" his mother snapped and she didn't even look at him. "Save your energy for the press conference and I'll handle this trash." She turned to me and her lip curled in total disgust. "Take the money and get out Lisa, did you really think your life would change just because you were sleeping with my son? You were just a placeholder and nothing more."
I didn't have the strength to fight her anymore because all the energy had drained out of me and was replaced by this hollow aching regret. My father had warned me before he passed away that Morgan wasn't the man I thought he was but I had begged him to lend Morgan that five million dollars anyway and I realized I had betrayed my father's trust for a man who was now paying me off like a debt.
"I don't want your money" I said and my voice sounded cold and dead to my own ears. I reached for my finger and yanked the engagement ring off and I didn't even bother putting it in his hand, I just dropped it on the cold floor and watched it bounce. "You want me gone? Fine I'm leaving."
As I turned to walk out Mrs. Lieu grabbed my arm and her grip was surprisingly strong for a woman her age. She reached into her bag and shoved a thick envelope and a small red ruby into my hand.
"Here is the five million you're so obsessed with, I don't want you going around telling people you're the reason he's successful so consider the debt paid and take this ruby as a parting gift. Now never step foot on this property again!" She raised her voice and her eyes flashed with anger. "Security! Get this woman out of here!"
"I can walk myself" I snapped as I shook her off.
But they didn't listen to me and as I stepped out of the office two massive security guards were already waiting there.
"Ma'am we have orders to escort you out" one of them said in a deep robotic voice.
"I said I can walk!"
They didn't care what I said and they grabbed me by the shoulders and lifted me right off my feet like I was a bag of trash. They marched me through the lobby past all the whispering employees and I saw the shocked face of Claris as they literally threw me out onto the sidewalk.
I hit the pavement hard and I felt my palms scrape against the rough concrete while a sharp sting flared in my knee. I just sat there for a moment with the humid city air sticking to my skin and I could feel the eyes of every person walking by on me. The "Bankrupt Heiress" was now the "Discarded Fiancée" and everyone was watching.
I looked at my hand and saw blood trickling from a raw graze on my palm so I blew on it softly to try and numb the pain while I forced myself to stand up because I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing me crawl.
Just as I started to walk a woman hurried past and her shoulder slammed into mine so hard it sent me stumbling back. She didn't even stop or look back to see if I was okay but I caught the scent of her perfume which smelled like expensive peonies and musk.
"Excuse me!" I called out while I clutched my throbbing arm. "You just hit me! You can't even apologize?"
The woman stopped but she didn't turn around to face me. She was tall with perfectly styled blonde hair and a designer coat that probably cost more than my entire college tuition. Two security guards immediately stepped between us and blocked my path.
"Stay back ma'am" they warned me.
"Stay back? She hit me!" I yelled because my frustration was finally boiling over and I couldn't take it anymore. "I want an apology!"
The blonde woman still wouldn't turn around and instead she reached into her luxury handbag and pulled out a wad of cash and flicked ten $100 bills over her shoulder. They fluttered through the air like dying birds and landed right in the dirt at my feet.
"For the mental damage" she said.
My heart stopped because I knew that voice instantly, it was the voice that was on every news channel and radio station in the city.
It was Maya Yugo, the Mayor's daughter and the woman who was carrying my fiancé's child.
I stared at the money sitting there in the dirt and my pride was screaming at me to leave it and walk away with my head held high but then I thought of my mother's hospital bill. I still had forty-five million left to pay and even with the five million Morgan's mother gave me it wasn't enough. This hundred dollars was just a drop in the bucket but it was a way home and a deposit for the nurses.
I knelt in the dirt and my fingers were trembling as I gathered the bills. As I tucked the money and that strange ruby into my bag my phone began to vibrate in my pocket.
I looked at the screen and the caller ID made my blood run cold.