WTF! My Fiancé's Mistress Turned My Prize Horse into My Little Pony Right Before Kentucky Derby?！ - Chapter 84: Chapter 84

With everyone in the room staring at me, I introduced my new media studio and our latest farm-to-table influencer campaign.
Every single word—I'd rehearsed it in my head a thousand times.
Then I asked someone to bring out the leftover organic cranberries from my livestream.
I grabbed a handful and ate them right there, one after another.
Finally, I rolled up my soaked sleeve and showed everyone the ugly scar on my arm.
"That guy just said I'd do anything for money. He's not wrong."
"Two weeks ago, I pulled seven straight night shifts just to land a spot at that New York networking event."
"When my car caught fire after the crash, I used this arm to save the proposal."
"I'll do whatever it takes to hit my goals. No apologies."
When I finished, I saw Ryan in the crowd—he looked stunned.
But I wasn't done.
If people wanted drama, I'd give them drama.
We were going to make this studio famous—even if it meant using a damn wine fight to get there.
Once the conference wrapped up, I went home with a stack of business cards.
Ryan was waiting outside the banquet hall.
He took off his jacket and held it out to me.
I didn't take it.
His tone instantly turned cold.
"Your whole chest is soaked. Everyone's staring. You enjoying the attention?"
"Ryan!" Lauren stepped in front of me, teeth clenched.
"If you can't say anything useful, just shut the hell up and disappear!"
"What she does from now on has nothing to do with you!"
They were about to start yelling in public.
I was exhausted.
I grabbed Lauren's hand and got in the car we called.
In the car, she sighed and said I had the worst luck ever to end up with a guy like him.
I squeezed her hand.
"Not anymore. He doesn't get to take up a single second of my life again."
Time passed, slow but steady.
And I realized—life goes on without anyone.
A few months later, thanks to a friend's investment and the team's hard work,
Our little studio had built a solid name in the industry.
I was finally starting to let go of all the crap from before.
Until I saw Jessica again.
We were scouting locations for a shoot in East Meadow, and her company happened to be there for a team event.
From a distance, we saw her—people were egging her on, and she reached up and kissed some guy full-on.
Like, deep kiss. Right there. No shame.
Lauren didn't miss a beat—whipped out her phone, snapped a pic, and sent it.
"Done. Wonder how your ex-husband's gonna feel when he sees that."
I just kept setting up the gear.
"Don't care. Not my problem anymore."
A few days later, on my birthday, a giant bouquet of blue roses showed up at our office.
Everyone gasped.
Then I saw Ryan's name on the damn card.
Ridiculous.
I turned to the front desk girl.
"Throw them out."
Later that evening, in the parking garage, Ryan blocked my way.
"Why'd you toss the flowers? You didn't like them?"
I stepped back, face cold.
"That's not the point. The point is—I don't know what kind of stunt you think this is."
"You're in love with Jessica but still have time to send your ex-wife flowers? You get off on this twisted little game?"
He looked like he'd been punched in the gut.
Then, softly:
"All those years… you took such good care of Margaret."
'She asked me to check in on you today. For your birthday."
I cut him off cold.
"Well, now you've checked in. You can go back and report that.
But next time? Don't pull this pathetic stunt again."
I turned to leave, but he grabbed my wrist.
Then he took off his fancy new watch and slipped on this old, worn-out leather bracelet.
Noticed me staring? He smiled.
"You gave me this. It was your first gift to me after we got married."
"I actually loved it. I just never said so."
I stared at him like he'd lost his damn mind.
"What, is your company that slow lately? You need someone to dump your feelings on?"
"Emotional support isn't free, Ryan. I charge by the hour now."
He let out this hollow laugh.
"If you'd listen, I'd give you everything I have."
Oh great. He'd finally cracked.
Maybe Jessica cheated on him and now he was spiraling.
He kept going.
"I know now—Jessica never really loved me. She just liked the thrill of stealing me away."
"I was blind. I had the real thing right in front of me, and I chased after garbage."
I didn't say anything.
He pulled out a phone—my old phone—and handed it to me.
"You sent this to Jessica's place for repairs. The tech didn't know we were divorced. He saw me and gave it to me."
I snatched it out of his hand.
"You went through my phone?"
His voice shook.
"If I hadn't, I wouldn't have known you've loved me since you were eighteen."
"You wrote love letters that ended up in the trash. You kept notes on what foods helped my stomach.
You even found dirt on the guy who tried to sabotage me—"
"Enough!" I shouted.
"You're forgetting how you told me I wasn't good enough to compete with Jessica.
You thought she wrote those letters.
You said I was too stupid and plain to match her."
"All those homemade meals I sent to your office—ninety of them—you gave them to her."
"And when I got dirt on your rival, you said I was just being manipulative because she used to date him."
With every word, Ryan looked more and more like he was going to crack.
"My love was real. Raw. Pure.
It didn't need to be tested or compared to anyone else's."
And with that, I got in the car and hit the gas.
In the rearview mirror, I saw him standing there, shoulders slumped.
Alone. Defeated.
Exactly where he belonged.