My wife’s “personal financial advisor” had another meltdown. This time, he tried to slit his wrists because I spent fifteen dollars on an Uber for my wife’s medicine without reporting it to him. He felt disrespected. He resigned that night. To appease him, my wife Victoria told me to pack and leave with nothing, handing me new divorce papers. “Don’t worry, darling, it’s just for show,” she cooed. “You’re the only man I love. We’ll remarry once Scott calms down.” I looked at her calmly. “Are you sure? This will be the ninth time.” My seven-year-old daughter Mindy kicked my legs. “You pathetic kept man! You did wrong—you deserve this!” As they wanted, I signed. Again. That evening, Scott posted online: “Some people finally know their place. Here’s a little family portrait as a reward.~” Victoria sighed in relief and excitedly called my phone. “Darling, Scott forgave you! We can remarry!” But a woman’s soft, seductive voice answered: “Sorry, your husband was a bit rough with me in bed. He’s showering now…” 01 Victoria’s breath hitched. “Who is this? What are you doing?” Her voice was a low growl, a caged animal about to pounce. The woman on the other end just chuckled softly and hung up. Victoria went ballistic. She mobilized every resource at her disposal and, in just fifteen minutes, she was standing in front of me. “I’m so sorry, darling. It was all my fault.” She threw her arms around me, her eyes wide with a fear I hadn’t seen in years. “I know you’re jealous. You hired someone to act this out just to scare me, didn’t you?” “Don’t worry, I’ve learned my lesson! For real this time! Don’t you ever scare me like that again, you hear me?” “I wasn’t trying to scare you,” I said, gently pushing her away. I looked her straight in the eye. “We’re divorced.” Victoria paused, then her face melted into a practiced pout. “Oh, come on. My husband is the most forgiving man in the world. Don’t be angry. I know what you want… the official apology tour, right? I came prepared…” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the key to a Panamera. A car I used to dream about. “I really, really know I messed up,” she crooned, pressing the key into my hand. “You’ve already forgiven me nine times, and I still pushed my luck? I’m the worst!” “But I promise, honey, this is the absolute last time! For Mindy’s sake, can you just give me one more chance? Please?” Just then, Mindy ran over and gave me a huge hug. “Daddy, don’t go! I was wrong, I shouldn’t have said those things. Mommy already punished me for it.” “Please, just give me and Mommy one more chance.” My usually defiant daughter was looking at me with such pitiful eyes. Even a heart of stone would have started to soften. And it wasn’t just them. Suddenly, the room was filled with friends and family. Each of them held a velvet box, and inside each box was a key to a luxury car. There were also folders containing stock certificates, property deeds, and more. “Wow, Victoria, you’ve really outdone yourself! The line of supercars outside looks like an auto show!” “Forget the cars, look at that! Company shares! Do you know what that means?” “Say yes! Marry her again!” Seeing my hesitation, Victoria grew anxious. “David, I know you’ve always wanted to go to Provence. I’ve already booked the flights. Just say the word, and we can leave right now.” “Daddy, I want to go on a trip! Please, please say yes to Mommy!” Mother and daughter stared at me with identical, pleading puppy-dog eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but another voice cut through the air—a petulant, angry male voice from the doorway. 02 “Victoria! Why did you spend all this money without telling me? I’ve never gotten this many gifts from you! How could you just buy all this for him?” “I knew it! You were lying when you said you wanted me to manage the household finances… I’m done. I’m never helping you again!” Victoria’s face went pale. She spotted Scott in the crowd, immediately dropped my hand, and ran after him. “Scott, don’t be angry! Let me explain.” Someone in the crowd called out, “Hey, Victoria, what about the remarriage?” She shot back without a second glance, her voice dripping with irritation. “Remarry? Get your priorities straight.” She didn’t even spare me a look as she disappeared after him. The crowd quietly packed up their gift boxes, their expressions shifting to amusement. “Well, I guess Scott still comes first.” “The way Victoria was acting, I almost thought she was serious this time!” Mindy’s sweet demeanor vanished. She looked up at me with a smug grin. “Mommy only promised me a new dress if I came. That’s the only reason I bothered.” “I thought we might have to humor you for a few days, but I guess Uncle Scott is more important. You lose again, kept man!” “It’s all your fault Uncle Scott gets angry all the time. Maybe I should take all these gifts and give them to him to make him feel better.” Less than two hours later, a vlog titled “Billionaire Family Flex” was trending. The video showed a courtyard filled with luxury cars. Victoria was clinging to Scott’s arm, whining and pleading. Scott, looking aloof, finally cracked a smile as Mindy showered him with compliments, calling him “Daddy.” The comments poured in. [OMG! Are supercars on sale now? I can’t even afford the model versions!] [I counted. 101 cars. As in, ‘one in a hundred million’? I’m shipping this so hard!] In the past, a scene like this would have sent me into a spiral of panic and despair. Does Victoria still love me? Is my daughter being led astray? It always ended in endless arguments and emotional exhaustion. But now, watching this, I felt an unexpected calm. I liked Scott’s post, then I deleted every single one of their numbers from my phone. From now on, I was done with them. 03 Just then, Catherine, who had gone out to grab us a late-night snack, returned. “What happened? Don’t tell me you passed out from hunger again.” I shook my head, and she breathed a small sigh of relief. She handed me a container of warm soup and then mentioned, almost as an afterthought, “By the way, someone called your phone while you were asleep. She sounded pretty aggressive, so I just hung up. I hope it wasn’t anything important?” I knew exactly who she was talking about. “Just a spam call. I’ve already blocked the number.” I didn’t notice the slight upward curl of her lips as I finished the soup and began to pack. There wasn’t much to take. Ten years of marriage had boiled down to a few scattered pieces of clothing and personal items. I calmly booked a one-way flight out of the country, leaving in three days. This time, I wasn’t coming back. But there was one last thing I had to do. The next day, I went to an auction house. There was a time when my acting career was taking off. But Victoria didn’t want to be a housewife; she wanted a career of her own. So I retired, staying home to raise our daughter. Starting a business is hard, especially with no capital. When she was at her wit's end, I pawned the antique locket my father had left me. It was a family heirloom. By the time we could afford to buy it back, the pawn shop had closed, and the locket was gone. Until now. I’d recently heard it was up for auction. As I walked in, someone called my name. “David, what are you doing here?” It was Scott. Behind him stood a few of our old, mutual friends. “Isn’t it obvious?” one of them sneered. “He must have heard Victoria was going to be here and came chasing after her.” “Weren’t you putting on a big show about not remarrying yesterday? What an act.” “Come on, David,” another one said, trying to pull me over. “Just apologize to Scott and let’s move past this.” I yanked my arm away. “Apologize to her boy toy?” I let out a short, bitter laugh. “I took an Uber to bring my wife medicine. What exactly did I do wrong?” I sacrificed my career to be a stay-at-home father. Victoria swore she would never forget what I’d done for her. And now? Now I was treated worse than Scott’s dog. My spending was monitored, and I had to report every dime to a man who had no business in my marriage. For the sake of my family, I had endured it. But now, even my own daughter had turned against me. I was done with both of them. Ignoring them, I found my seat. The auction was about to begin. A few minutes later, I saw Scott pouting at Victoria, who had just returned from networking. “Victoria, where have you been? You promised you’d protect me! How can you let this man walk all over me, again and again?” Victoria’s heart practically melted. “I’m sorry I’m late, sweetie. What can I get you to make it up to you?” “I want that antique locket! If you don’t buy it for me, I’m never speaking to you again!” My eyes shot to the stage. The item currently being displayed was the very locket I had come for. I immediately raised my paddle. “One hundred thousand.” It was twenty thousand more than the previous bid. No one else was going to overpay for an outdated piece of jewelry. But then I saw Victoria raise her paddle without a second thought. I turned in my seat. “Victoria, I left with nothing. How much more are you going to take from me? When we had nothing, you promised you would get my father’s locket back for me! Look at it! This isn’t some toy for you to appease your lover!” Victoria froze, her hand hovering in the air. A flash of shock crossed her face. She wasn’t used to me speaking to her this way. But finally, she lowered her paddle. The auctioneer’s voice echoed in the hall. “One hundred thousand going once… One hundred thousand going twice…” Scott was frantic. “Victoria, bid! What are you doing? Is it him or me?” Tears welled in his eyes, ready to spill over at a moment’s notice. Victoria looked at me, then at Scott. Her expression hardened. I laughed to myself, a hollow, self-deprecating sound. Of course. How could I, the washed-up ex-husband, ever compare to her precious lover? I was about to get up and leave, but then I heard Victoria’s voice, firm and clear. “Let it go, Scott. Let him have it. We don’t want it.” 04 Scott’s eyes went wide. The auctioneer’s gavel came down with a sharp crack. “One hundred thousand, sold! Congratulations to the gentleman in row seven.” A spotlight hit me. Scott, unable to take it, stormed out of the room. “Fine, Victoria! If you’re going to side with him, then you can have him!” I never expected Victoria to choose me in that moment. But that was all it was. A moment. I felt no thrill, no gratitude. This was something she owed me. In all our years of marriage, I had never gained anything from her. In fact, I had poured my own money, my own inheritance, into her dream. And now? I’d been kicked out with nothing, and the hundred thousand dollars I’d just spent had been borrowed. If she could be this heartless, then she couldn’t blame me for what came next. As the auction moved to its final item, I noticed that Scott and Victoria had returned. He shot me a provocative glare. A knot of dread tightened in my stomach. The auctioneer’s voice boomed with excitement. “And now, for our final, exclusive item of the evening! A collection of ninety-nine provocative photos of the once-famous, award-winning actor, David Vance, with ninety-nine different unknown models!” The room erupted in gasps and whispers, but everyone craned their necks to get a better look at the explicit images displayed on the screen. “Holy hell, are we even allowed to see this?” “They call it a ‘photo collection,’ but these are just cheating pics, aren’t they?” “Whoa, look at that position… that’s wild! He was really getting around. No wonder Victoria kept taking him back even after divorcing him…” “Looking at this, maybe there was a good reason she kept divorcing him!” “A scumbag like that should be castrated!” Every word was a dagger in my ear. My hands clenched into fists, my face draining of all color. 05 To appease her lover, Victoria was willing to gamble away my reputation. I had told her I wanted to make a comeback. But if these photos got out, my career would be over before it even began. Victoria looked at Scott, her eyes soft. “A little apology gift for you, Scott. Do you like it?” A smirk played on his lips. “Of course I do. Well played, Victoria.” “Alright, I suppose I can be merciful and forgive you this time.” Victoria hugged him, cooing, “Thank you, sweetie. You’re so forgiving.” Scott turned his head away proudly and petulantly. “One thing at a time. He still hasn’t apologized to me.” Victoria understood instantly. She had her bodyguards drag me in front of Scott. “David. Apologize.” I bit my lip so hard I could taste blood, telling myself not to cry, that these people weren’t worth my tears. But my eyes burned anyway. “And if I say no?” Scott kicked me, hard. A blinding flash of pain erupted between my legs, and I collapsed, convulsing on the floor. “If you don’t apologize,” he sneered, “I’ll let all your old fans see how I deal with a piece of trash like you.” “With these photos, public opinion will be on my side.” He leaned in closer. “Or maybe… I should just have that thing of yours cut off. Then you wouldn’t dare try to compete with me again.” He took one of the printed photos and slapped it against my cheek. I laughed, a cold, ragged sound. Fighting through the agony, I forced myself up and kicked him back with all my might. “Aaargh!” he shrieked, a sound of pure agony and hatred. “The same goes for you!” I spat. “Let’s see who’s really competing for what rightfully belongs to someone else!” Victoria’s face contorted with rage. She lunged forward and kicked me in the stomach, the heel of her shoe digging into my flesh, leaving a mark. “That’s enough, David! My patience has its limits! I gave you a chance, and you threw it away. Don’t blame me for being cruel!” With a flick of her wrist, she sent the photos flying, scattering them across the auction hall like confetti. At the same time, her bodyguards approached me, surgical scalpels glinting in their hands. People scrambled to grab the photos. Within minutes, they were all over the internet. “A kept man and a cheater? Why haven’t they executed him already?” “I can’t believe he used to have so many fans. It’s so embarrassing to have ever supported him.” “Look how small it is. He’s got nothing going for him. What did those women even see in him?” The words were like swords, trying to cut me down. Victoria held Scott, looking down at me from her pedestal. “Still not going to apologize?” I laughed. Instead of apologizing, I struggled back to my feet. A flicker of confusion crossed Victoria’s face. She couldn’t understand why I was being so stubborn. In the past, a single look from her was enough to make me bow my head, whether I was wrong or not. Why was I fighting back so hard this time? Ignoring the whispers, I stood tall and straight, a cold smile on my face. “You know damn well who the real cheater is. My conscience is clear. I’m not afraid of what people say. So unless you’re going to kill me right now, I will spend the rest of my life proving my innocence.” “Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve? If not, I’m leaving.” The hall fell into another stunned silence. But this time, it wasn’t filled with mockery and scorn. It was filled with a grudging respect. Victoria, however, was panicking. She could sense that this time, I was serious. If she didn’t do something, I was really going to walk away. Forever. She took a step forward, about to speak, when a group of professional bodyguards stormed into the room and formed a protective circle around me. “I’m sorry I’m late, David.”
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