I came from a broken home—my parents divorced early and I grew up with my father, who had been bedridden since a car accident. He lived in a nursing home and I had to earn my own way through college by working part-time jobs, struggling just to make ends meet.

I always knew that I came from a humble background and that I couldn’t offer much compared to others. So, when Sharon came into my life, I did everything in my power to make her happy. I gave her the best of what I had, even when it meant sacrificing my own needs.

After graduation, we both landed jobs at Pearson Group. Sharon worked in the Finance Department and I joined Sales. The company had a strict no-dating policy between employees, so we kept our relationship under wraps, maintaining a secret, underground affair.

Many times, I thought about quitting, just so we could be together openly. I wanted to show the world that Sharon was mine. But every time I brought it up, she rejected the idea. She always told me she liked men with ambition, that I was most handsome and charming when I was working hard.

At the time, I took that as her way of supporting my drive. But now, after everything that’s happened, I realize what she truly meant—she found me appealing when I spent money on her, when I was useful.

Quitting my job meant losing a good salary and if I earned less, I wouldn’t be able to afford her lifestyle. And though the sales job was exhausting, it paid well enough for me to cover everything. Sharon, on the other hand, sent most of her earnings back to her family in the countryside, to support her younger brother. That left all of our shared expenses squarely on my shoulders.

I remembered her family’s reaction when they found out she was dating someone like me—a boy from a single-parent household, struggling financially. Her father had been so furious that he fell seriously ill. I had begged, pleaded with them, promising that I would work hard and make enough money to give Sharon the life she deserved.

Despite my assurances, her family had little faith in me. They even went behind our backs to arrange blind dates for her, hoping she’d leave me for someone wealthier. Now, it was clear I had been nothing but a convenient stepping stone for Sharon.

After working tirelessly for years, I finally saved enough money to buy a house. I had it all planned out—how I would propose to Sharon, give her the life she dreamed of. But before I could act, I received a call from her mother.

Her younger brother, Louis, had gotten himself into deep trouble. He had borrowed high-interest loans from loan sharks and the debt had grown into an astronomical sum due to the compounding interest. The threat wasn’t just legal anymore—these people were going to break one of his legs if he didn’t pay up.

Without a second thought, I used the money I had set aside for the house to pay off Louis’ loans. Every penny I had worked for, gone in an instant and everything I had planned fell apart. I was back to square one, forced to start over, scrapping for every dollar again.

Around that same time, Charles, a rich second-generation kid, parachuted into the company as a designer. He had no real experience, but his connections made up for that. I began to notice a change in Sharon—her eyes sparkled differently around him and she started spending more time with him.

The overtime at work increased and I saw Charles more often. A few times, I even caught him driving her home in one of his luxury cars after she’d been drinking. The jealousy I tried to suppress came out one night when I gently voiced my concerns. I didn’t accuse her of anything—just asked her why she was spending so much time with him. But instead of reassuring me, her slightly drunk face turned cold.

"Harvey, if you were more successful, do you think I’d have to work this hard?" she snapped, her words slurring. "I wasted five years of my youth on you and where has it gotten me? Other women have their own homes and I’m stuck renting with you."

Her voice was harsh, filled with resentment and it cut deep. Maybe she didn’t mean to say it, maybe the alcohol loosened her tongue, but it hurt all the same. I kept my eyes closed, refusing to engage. She didn’t know that I had spent the money for our future on bailing Louis out of his mess. I didn’t want to burden her with that knowledge, but her words made it feel like it was all my fault.

Sharon saw my silence as weakness and sneered. She took another drink, her voice rising. "You’re just my boyfriend, Harvey. You don’t have the right to control who I talk to or be jealous of Charles."

She laughed bitterly, then continued. "People want to move up in life. If you’re not making progress, do you expect me to stay down in the gutter with you?"

I knew Charles was the son of the chairman of Pearson Group. He came from a world I couldn’t compete with. But her ambition, her desire to "move up," had blinded her to the loyalty and sacrifices I had made.

I couldn’t help but think, just because I hadn’t given Sharon everything she wanted didn’t mean she had a right to betray me. Cheating was never excusable. I had been patient, I had been kind and I had sacrificed. But did she see me as nothing more than a doormat, someone she could manipulate and control with her cold-hearted words?

Did she really think I was a fool who would let her trample over me while she played her games? Did she see me as a mindless puppet, only was good for licking her boots while she enjoyed life with someone else?

I knew one thing for sure—this was the end of the line. I wouldn’t be used anymore.

I hired a private detective to dig into Charles’s life and what I uncovered didn’t surprise me, but it disgusted me all the same. Not only was he having an affair with Sharon, but he also had a wealthy girlfriend several years older than him. One man, two women—plus a full-time job. Charles really was a master of time management.

From what my colleagues said, Charles flaunted his privilege at work. His computer desktop was a family photo with the chairman, as if anyone needed reminding of his connections.

Armed with the pictures of Sharon's underwear and the hotel invoice I had collected, I headed to the hotel where Sharon had stayed during her so-called business trips. With a little digging and by matching the camera angles in the photos, I found a hidden camera in her hotel room.

I confronted the hotel manager with the evidence. At first, he denied everything, but when I threatened to call the police, he cracked. Turns out Sharon and Charles had used that hotel for their secret meetings multiple times. And to think, I had pitied her for all those "work trips," even handwashing her underwear like a fool.

The manager asked how much compensation I wanted. Compensation? I didn’t want their money. I had other plans.

I told him I had one condition: if Sharon and Charles ever came back to the hotel for another private rendezvous, I wanted to know immediately. And not only that, I demanded access to the surveillance system whenever I needed it. The manager, clearly unnerved by the situation, agreed without much resistance.

A perfect setup for the grand finale. Soon, I would catch them red-handed.

***

Not long after I got home, I was surprised to hear a knock at the door. It was Sharon’s parents, looking anxious and out of sorts. Her mother, Rosie, burst into tears as soon as she sat down on the sofa.

“Harvey, you have to save Louis,” she sobbed, her voice cracking under the weight of whatever new disaster had unfolded.

My heart sank. What now?

The last time Sharon's parents had reached out to me was during Louis’s loan shark fiasco and that was only because I bailed him out. Aside from that, they had never been particularly kind to me. I had a sinking feeling that this was going to be a repeat of the same old story.

Rosie’s fragmented explanation only confirmed my worst fears. After I had paid off Louis’s debt from his last gambling binge, he’d been on good behavior for a while. But recently, he’d fallen back into his old habits. While his family wasn’t paying attention, he took all the money he had saved and gambled it away, losing everything and racking up yet another mountain of debt.

Now, with nowhere else to turn, Sharon’s parents had come to me, hoping I’d step in once again and save Louis from his mess.

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly inside. Just a few months ago, these people were quick to dismiss me as a loser, not good enough for their daughter. Yet here they were, knocking on my door again when they needed something.

What a joke.

Sharon had justified her betrayal and the Gomez Family treated me like an endless source of money. It made me a fool, a doormat and a complainer. Inside, I sneered at how ridiculous it all was, but outwardly, I kept my face concerned and comforting.

"Auntie," I began, pretending to sound genuinely troubled, "I was actually planning to propose to Sharon in a few days. Once we’re married, her family will become my responsibility too and her brother’s problems will be mine."

The message was clear—until marriage, we weren’t really family.

Rosie, her eyes brimming with fresh tears, clutched my hand. "Harvey, I know you’re a good child. Our Louis is in your hands this time."

I put on a difficult expression. "But I don’t have that kind of money right now." I paused, as if calculating. "But don't worry, I just closed a big deal. The bonus and commission will come out to nearly a million, which should be more than enough to cover Louis’s debt."

Rosie’s face lit up for a moment, but just as quickly, worry returned. "But Louis can’t wait that long. They said if we don’t come up with the money in three days, they’ll break his legs!"

Break them, for all I care. A gambler like him didn’t need legs. That’s what I thought, but of course, I couldn’t say it out loud.

"How about this?" I offered, as though I'd just come up with the perfect solution. "You can mortgage your house and get a loan to pay off Louis’s gambling debts. When my bonus comes in, I’ll transfer the money right away. There’ll even be a few hundred thousand left and I can use that as a gift for my engagement to Sharon."

Rosie stopped crying instantly at the mention of my engagement and turned to Mark, Sharon’s father, for advice. He frowned, but eventually nodded in agreement.

"It seems like that’s the only option."

I told them not to mention any of this to Sharon. I didn't want her to feel burdened by it.

Rosie, ever the manipulator, squeezed my hand and praised me for being "so sensible."

And there I was, exhausted from keeping that fake smile plastered on my face the entire time.

Not long after seeing off Mark and Rosie, Sharon pulled up in Charles’s luxury car. They lingered downstairs for what felt like an eternity before finally heading up.

Perfect, I thought. Since her whole family has been playing me, it's time to settle both the old and new scores.

Sharon's birthday was approaching, so I bought her a gold necklace. Despite our ongoing cold war, she accepted the gift right away, then continued to treat me with the same cold indifference.

There was, however, a micro-eavesdropper hidden in the pendant of that necklace.

Every time Sharon and Charles met up and got too close, I would use a network-simulated number to send a message to Charles’s girlfriend, warning her to keep an eye on her cheating man. Their dates were interrupted more than once and Sharon and Charles would part ways with grim faces.

Charles’s girlfriend had become suspicious, so the private meetings between him and Sharon began to dwindle. Meanwhile, Sharon’s temper flared more often and she took every opportunity to lash out at me.

But this time, I didn’t let it slide. When she scolded me, I scolded her right back. She looked at me, bewildered, as if she couldn't believe the sudden shift in my attitude. She even had the audacity to say I had changed.

Huh? Who changed first? A cheating woman accusing me of changing—what a joke.

I had another surprise brewing. Charles, it seemed, had a particular fondness for one hotel room. Every time he went on a business trip to the next city, he stayed in the same room at the same hotel, but not with the same person. He made sure to have a great time, though.

I recorded it all. Every visit, every affair, stored and waiting for the right moment.

That moment came soon enough. Sharon, unable to resist, arranged to meet Charles in the next city under the guise of a business trip.

I grinned and picked up the phone, dialing Sharon's parents and brother.

"Hello, Uncle, Aunt," I said warmly. "Are you free tomorrow? I’m planning to propose to Sharon and I’d love for you to be there to witness the moment."

"And by the way," I added, "my bonus hits my account tomorrow, so after the proposal, let’s celebrate together."

Their responses were almost too eager.

"Okay, okay! We’ll be there!" they said, practically singing with excitement.

I knew they were thrilled. To them, my successful proposal meant they could finally get the money they needed to clear Louis’s gambling debts. And on top of that, they could collect hundreds of thousands in betrothal gifts. A sum like that would make them the envy of their village. It would be glorious for them—if only they knew what I had planned.

I had more than just Sharon’s family as part of my plan—I had something special prepared for both Sharon and Charles.

Watching the surveillance footage on my phone, I saw the moment they'd been waiting for—the two of them were about to get busy. That’s when I stormed into the room with a large crowd in tow. The hotel staff set off fireworks and when the smoke cleared, there they were—Charles and Sharon, lying naked in bed.

The room went dead silent.

Charles’s wealthy girlfriend burst in next, dragging two burly men behind her. Without wasting a second, she yanked Charles off the bed and started slapping him senseless.

"You traitor! I signed all those company contracts for you and this is how you repay me—by whoring behind my back!" she screamed.

Charles yelped, trying to jump off the bed and escape, but the two men pulled him back.

Meanwhile, Sharon was still wrapped in the quilt, dumbfounded. When she heard someone calling her a prostitute, she snapped back, "I’m not a whore, you are!"

But a colleague nearby sneered, "Really? The guy’s real girlfriend is here, so if you’re not a whore, what are you?"

Sharon’s face turned beet red. For once, she was speechless.

Just then, Louis barged in, confused, "Sharon, why are you in bed with this guy?"

He was recording everything on his phone. Originally, he had planned to capture my proposal to Sharon, hoping to gain my favor—the sucker who’d help him pay off his gambling debts. But instead, he ended up filming evidence of her affair.

It was the perfect moment. I rushed forward, pretending to be heartbroken and slapped Charles hard across the face. The blow left him stunned, unable to react right away.

I tossed the rose and engagement ring in front of Sharon, tears welling up. "Sharon, I was going to propose to you today, but you cheated on me. You’ve let me down."

I made sure everyone in the room heard me. "I forgave your past affair because I thought you would change, but clearly, you haven’t. Let’s break up."

Rosie was in shock. She immediately tried to cover for Sharon, "Harvey, Sharon must have her reasons. You can’t just break up after all these years."

She pulled Sharon off the bed, pushing her toward me. "Apologize to Harvey, Sharon. Quickly!"

Louis chimed in, desperately, "Yeah, Sharon, just apologize so I can pay off my debts! Harvey even said he’d give you hundreds of thousands as a betrothal gift when you marry him!"

But Sharon’s anger flared up. "Why should I apologize?"

"I won’t marry him! Why should I pay for Louis’s debt with my life? Are you marrying your daughter or selling her off?"

A sharp slap echoed through the room as Mark hit Sharon across the face.

"You ungrateful daughter! He’s your brother!"

Mark’s hand trembled as he raised it again, but Rosie stopped him just in time.

The scene had played out exactly as I’d hoped. I pretended to be devastated and stormed out, slamming the door behind me.