He Lied to Me, I Left Him and Married Another Rich Man
My husband,Damon Blackwood,told me he had azoospermia.He said he couldn’t have children.I believed him until his childhood sweetheart,Tiffany Sinclair,showed up five months pregnant.
She invited him to a maternity photo shoot. In the pictures she posted online,Damon stood behind her,his hand gently resting on her swollen belly,his expression tender and proud.
When I saw the post,I screamed.But Damon?He looked annoyed.
“She’s going to be single for life,”he said flatly.“She just wanted a child.I let her use my seed.Don’t be so petty.”
Then he pinned the post to the top of his profile.His parents commented with hearts and praise.They even promised the woman a villa if she gave them a grandson.
Seeing that I was speechless,Damon scoffed,“Don’t be so unreasonable.My parents love children.They've watched Tiffany grow up,they just want to feel close to her.I don't have time for this.I'm hanging up.”
This man claimed that he was penniless,but asked me to split the bill with him.
Meanwhile,Tiffany sent me a voice message,smug and syrupy,“Elena doesn’t know I’m rich.I’m just pretending to be poor to test her.Who knows if she’s only after my money?”
“But you’re different,Tiffany.I’m not pretending to you.You can buy Hermès bags whenever you want.I will always buy it for you”
I stared at the photo of her closet,overflowing with Hermès bags and laughed bitterly.Then I turned to the one man who had always tried to steal me from Damon.His best friend,Leo Carter.
“If you can get him to sign the divorce papers,”I said calmly,
“I’ll go with you to register our marriage tomorrow.”
——
Leo got my message and came running literally.He blew through five red lights to get to me.
When he arrived,he grabbed my hand,breathless and glowing.“Are you serious?”Before I could answer,he hooked his pinky with mine.“Cross my heart.It’s settled,then.”
He was giddy,like a man who’d finally won the lottery.“All that time I spent prying him away and chasing after you,it was worth it.”
I handed him the divorce agreement.“If you can get Damon to sign this,I’ll marry you the next day.I’m not joking.”Leo grinned.“Leave it to me.Just have your ID ready I’ll handle the rest.”
That evening,I returned home.The moment I pushed open the door,I froze.My things had been packed up and dumped outside.
A designer pajama set I didn’t recognize hung neatly on my coat rack.My handbag?Tossed like trash,lying half-buried in the bin.Even my laptop was smeared with greasy crumbs and sticky stains.
“Is Elena Whitmore back?”Tiffany’s voice floated lazily from the living room.She was sprawled on the sofa,watching a short drama while stuffing her face with snacks.
When she noticed me,she gave a sweet,fake smile.“My house is being renovated,”she said innocently.“Damon said I could stay here for a while.You don’t mind,do you?”
I said nothing.Just took out some tissues and began wiping my laptop clean.My expression faltered.I pouted and sniffled.My eyes welling with tears.
“I’m sorry...I didn’t mean to mess up your laptop.The baby’s been making me really hungry lately.I just couldn’t help myself...”
She rubbed her swollen belly like it was some kind of trophy.But her gesture burned my eyes.
“You don’t need to apologize,”came a cold voice.
Damon walked in,frowning at me.“It’s just a little mess.You can clean it up later.”
He turned to me with a hint of annoyance.“Elena,your room gets the best sunlight.Let Tiffany stay there.She needs natural light for the baby.”
I looked at him in stunned disbelief.“Damon…do you even remember whose house this is?”
He sighed and rubbed his temples.“Of course I do.But Tiffany’s house is under renovation.She’s just staying here temporarily.What’s the big deal?”
“You’re not really going to argue with a pregnant woman over a room,are you?”
Chapter 2
I let out a cold laugh and stood up.“Damon,don’t forget,this is the house I bought.You didn’t contribute a single cent.Even if you're just staying here temporarily,it’s still my home.You need my permission.”
He raised an eyebrow,unbothered.“And haven’t I just asked for it?”
But when he saw my luggage stacked neatly by the door,clearly signaling I had no intention of surrendering my room,his face twisted in frustration.
“A shabby little apartment and you treat it like it’s some priceless treasure,”he muttered.“If I weren’t testing you,do you think I’d leave my villa just to live in this dump?”
I shot him a cold glare.He had finally dropped the act.The truth had come out in Tiffany’s voice message,deliberately sent to provoke me:
“Elena doesn’t know I’m a rich kid.Pretending to be poor is just a test to see if she’s after my money.”
“I’m not done playing yet.I don’t want to be tied down with a kid.Elena can stay as the backup plan.”
Only then did I realize,Damon had been pretending to be poor all these years.Even his supposed infertility was just a convenient excuse.He was afraid I’d get pregnant and trap him.The weight of it all suddenly hit me like a wave.
“Damon Blackwood!”I said,voice firm and steady.“Let’s get a divorce.”
He froze,visibly stunned.“Elena,what nonsense are you spouting now?”
Then came the mockery.“Is this some kind of early menopause?Is that why you act so crazy every day?I’ve already told you,Tiffany and I are just childhood friends.There’s nothing between us.Can you please stop overthinking everything?”
He smirked.His words dripped with sarcasm.“And don’t forget,you were the one who begged to marry me.And now you want to walk away?Just like that?Can you really let go?”
His tone was cold,his eyes filled with disdain.And yes,it was true.I had once pursued Damon.
I still remembered that day a thief had snatched my bag and he had appeared like a hero,chasing him down.He told me he was poor,but I didn’t care.
I gave up everything to be with him.To preserve his pride,I downplayed my own background.
I gave up my villa,moved into a modest city apartment and told him I bought it with years of savings.
He believed me.I thought it brought us closer.But then,one night at a bar,I overheard him in a private room with his friends.
“Elena used up half her savings just to buy a house and marry me,”he said,laughing.“Didn’t even ask for a dowry.Women like that are rare these days.”
One friend asked,“She seems to really love you.How long are you planning to string her along?”
Another chimed in,“A test is fine,but if you push too far,you might destroy something genuine.”
Damon just shrugged.“I’ll play around for another couple of years,then maybe stop.”
“I told her I have azoospermia and need treatment,so I can’t have kids yet.Truth is,I just don’t want to be tied down.”
Hearing those words made my whole body tremble with rage.This was the man who had vowed at our wedding to love me for life.Who had promised to build a home and have children with me.
Every word and every promise had been a lie.I came down from the study,holding the divorce agreement.
“Sign it,”I said coldly.Damon didn’t even look at it.Instead,he used the papers to support Tiffany,helping her to her feet.
“Tiffany,the floor’s cold.Don’t walk around barefoot.”
Tiffany had just finished whining about her stomachache and Damon had spent the entire day lounging in the living room with her,watching TV,massaging her belly,keeping her warm.
As if I were nothing but an intruder in my own home.
Chapter 3
He dared to call it a pure childhood friendship.Only a fool would believe that.Tiffany’s eyes were still red from her crocodile tears as she looked at me with feigned innocence.
“Sister,please don’t get a divorce because of me and Damon.That would make me feel like a homewrecker.”She sniffled and added softly,“If you really don’t want me here,I’ll move out today…”
She made a show of standing up,pretending to go pack her things.But before she could take more than two steps,Damon stopped her without hesitation.
“Tiffany,ignore her.Just stay and be comfortable here.”His voice was gentle,doting.
“You’re not married and there’s no one to look after you.What if you fall sick again like last time with morning sickness?”
The pity in his eyes wasn’t for her.It was for me.As if I were some pitiful,bitter joke.
I turned away,walked to the bathroom.And the moment I pushed open the door,splash!
A bucket of icy cold water drenched me from head to toe.
Laughter erupted outside.
“Haha!I knew Elena would fall for it!”Damon was bent over,laughing so hard he could barely stand.
“Elena,look at yourself—you’re so stupid!”
Only then did I realize someone had balanced a basin full of water on the bathroom door waiting for me.Tiffany,her red eyes still wet from her earlier tears,was now laughing so hard that new ones streamed down her cheeks.
“Sister,don’t be mad,”she giggled.“Damon noticed you’ve been in a bad mood lately,so he thought this would cheer you up.You’re not seriously going to get angry again over something so small,are you?”
I clenched my fists so tightly,my nails dug into my palms.The humiliation was unbearable shattering what little pride I had left.
Damon’s smile faltered when he saw my red-rimmed eyes.Realizing he’d gone too far,he approached me with a nervous expression.
“Elena,don’t cry.”He held out a tissue awkwardly.“You used to be able to take a joke.It’s just a bit of water.Go change your clothes.”
The more he spoke,the harder my tears fell.Panicked,Damon reached out to hug me.I stepped back,curling my lips coldly.
“Damon,don’t touch me.You disgust me.”
His face darkened.“What did you say?”Anger flickered in his eyes.
“Say that again?I’ve already told you,Tiffany and I are innocent!”
“She doesn’t even believe in marriage,”he added desperately,“She’s a non-marriage advocate!”
I let out a sharp,bitter laugh.“Innocent?”I spat.“If she’s so against marriage,why did she borrow your seed to have a baby instead of anyone else’s?Can you explain that,Damon?”
I’d had enough of his lies.“If you’re really innocent,then go tell her to abort the baby.Do that and I’ll believe you.”
His face turned ghostly pale.Rage and shame twisted his features.“Elena,stop being unreasonable!”
“I told you this child is Tiffany’s.It has nothing to do with me.I have no right to interfere in her decision!”
Suddenly,Tiffany dropped to her knees in front of me,her face a portrait of panic.
“Elena,I went through so much just to conceive this child.She’s my life.Please don’t be so cruel…”
Her shoulders trembled as she sobbed,looking utterly pitiful.To anyone watching,it would seem like I was the heartless villain.
“Enough!”
Damon lost patience and scooped her up in his arms.
“You just don’t want to give up the room,do you?Fine,we’ll leave.I’ll take Tiffany somewhere else.”
He shot me one last,icy glare before the door slammed shut behind him.
The sound of their retreating footsteps echoed through the silence.I stared at the disheveled room.
Then,as if all the strength drained from my body,I collapsed onto the floor.
When I finally pulled myself together,the first thing I did was take down our wedding photo from the wall.Without hesitation,I shredded it to pieces with a pair of scissors.
This relationship had been built on nothing but lies,betrayal and humiliation.It was time to let it burn.
Chapter 4
At midnight,Tiffany sent me a string of photos each more provocative than the last.
Every shot was carefully curated:the seaside villa,the candlelit dinner,her coy smile and Damon’s familiar figure beside her under warm golden lights.
They looked so close,so intimate,that anyone would assume they'd already slept together.I didn’t bother looking through them all.Instead,I forwarded the whole batch to Damon.
Two minutes later,he exploded in my inbox.
“I told you we’re just friends.Can’t friends have dinner together?”
“Elena,being married to you is suffocating!”
“Suffocating?Is it me who’s suffocating you,or are you just angry you got caught crossing the line?”
Right then,Leo messaged me:[Wait for me.I’ll complete the task within three days.]
I replied with a simple OK,my head spinning,heavy with fever and emotion.Sleep took me before I knew it.
The next morning,my phone buzzed nonstop.It was another message from Damon left sometime during the night:
[I was too harsh.Don’t take it to heart.]
[Tiffany is just a friend.You’re my wife.How could you even compare yourself to her?]
[Be good.Come back home.]
I didn’t bother replying.I deleted the messages and blocked his number without hesitation.I forced myself to eat some breakfast,but every bite tasted like ash.
When I took my temperature,the thermometer read 39°C,a high fever.I dragged myself to the hospital to get medicine.
As I was standing at the payment counter,a sudden commotion erupted nearby.
“Doctor,please!Save my girlfriend first,she’s pregnant!”
The voice struck me like a bolt of electricity.Familiar.Urgent.
I turned slowly and there he was.Damon,disheveled and wild-eyed,rushing into the ER with Tiffany in his arms.His shirt was half-open,hair a tangled mess like a bird’s nest.
He looked like a man in total panic.
The receptionist told me the payment system was down and asked me to wait.So I sat on a bench in the corridor and overheard the nurses gossiping nearby.
“Did you see that girl just now?”
“I heard she and her boyfriend stuck a lightbulb inside her…can you believe that?”
“These young people are insane,nothing is off-limits anymore!”
I felt nauseated literally.I clutched my stomach and almost vomited.When the staff finally told me I could check out,I paid as fast as I could.All I wanted was to get away.
But just as I turned to leave,our eyes met.Damon froze in place,his face draining of color.
“Elena?You…why are you here?”
I said nothing.I turned and kept walking.But he rushed after me and grabbed my wrist,his tone sharp and accusing.
“Did you follow me here just to humiliate me?”
“Have you been spying on me this whole time?”He even pulled out his phone to check it,muttering darkly.
“I knew it.You must’ve installed some kind of eavesdropping app…”
I yanked my hand free.“Stop flattering yourself.”
His movement knocked the medicine from my grasp.The bottle clattered to the ground and he glanced down—his expression shifting.
“Fever meds?”
“Elena…you have a fever?Why didn’t you tell me?”He reached out,trying to feel my forehead,but I pushed him away coldly.
“Aren’t you busy playing house with Tiffany?My health is none of your concern.”
Damon exhaled heavily,rubbing his temples.
“You’ve misunderstood.I told you,Tiffany and I are just...”
Before he could finish,a nurse called from the ER,“Who’s the family member of Tiffany?”Without thinking,Damon replied,“I am!”
That one sentence cut deeper than anything else.I smiled bitterly,a twisted sort of resignation curling at my lips.
Still trying to play both sides.As if to make things better,he shoved a small gift box into my hands.
“This is for you.I got it to apologize.Please take it…I’ll come find you once I’m done here.”
I stared down at the box,then at the man who used to be my husband.He was already turning away.
And I realized whatever was left of“us”had already crumbled.
Chapter 5
After saying those words,he disappeared.
I stood silently at the hospital entrance,the sun behind me casting a long shadow.Inside,I could still see Damon fussing around Tiffany’s bedside like a devoted lover.
I lowered my gaze and opened the gift box he had hurriedly thrust into my hands.Inside was a turquoise bracelet.Cheap.The kind of trinket you could buy at a roadside stall for a few dozen yuan.
Even now,he hadn’t changed.Still pretending.Still trying to placate me with meaningless things like I was someone easily dismissed.I shook my head,not in anger,but in quiet disappointment.
I tossed the box into the trash without a second glance and walked away from the hospital.Just as I stepped off the curb to hail a taxi,I heard two short honks behind me.
A sleek car pulled up and the window rolled down to reveal Leo’s effortlessly striking face.He smiled,the kind of smile that warmed the air around him.
“Get in,”he said simply.
Inside the car,he handed me a divorce agreement.Damon’s name was already signed.
Surprised,I asked,“How did you pull this off?”
Leo gave me a mischievous grin.“Take a guess.”
Then,seeing the disbelief in my eyes,he quickly added,“I slipped the divorce papers into a stack of work documents and told him it was a routine contract.He didn’t even read it before signing.”
He said it with caution,almost like he didn’t want to scare me off.Then he looked at me seriously.
“You said you'd marry me after this…does that still stand?”
I smiled.“Of course.”
I looked out the window,feeling a strange sense of peace.“After being so stubborn all these years…it’s time I went home.”
Years ago,I had a terrible falling out with my family over marrying Damon,a poor man with nothing to his name.I was young,reckless and thought love was enough.
But time changes people.My parents had aged.They had messaged me many times,begging me to visit.They even said they no longer cared about my marriage to Damon that I could bring him home if I wanted.
But before I ever got the chance to tell him I was the daughter of the Whitmore family,the wealthiest family in Chicago,he had already gotten Tiffany pregnant.There was no point in explaining anything anymore.
I sold the small apartment I had lived in for the past three years.
Leo helped me list it on a second-hand housing site,shaking his head in admiration.
“I can't believe Miss Whitmore managed to endure in a place this small for three years.”
I rolled my eyes and playfully smacked his arm.“Cut the sarcasm.Just sell it within two days,we’re going to Bali in three.”
Leo lit up with joy.After all,our wedding was going to be held in Bali.
He had already showered me with gifts,antique paintings,designer handbags,luxury items,calling them my“dowry.”
I was just about to have the driver take me back to my villa when suddenly,a black car sped toward me from behind.
I instinctively stepped aside,but Damon rushed over and shoved me out of the way just in time.He frowned deeply,his tone sharp.
“Elena,are you blind?Didn’t you see that car coming?If I’d been a second late,you would’ve been hit!”
I didn’t respond.I didn’t owe him anything anymore.
Then Tiffany came running over,her voice saccharine and full of fake guilt.
“Elena,I’m so sorry.I didn’t recognize you from behind.I didn’t mean to almost hit you…”She glanced over at the luxury car behind us and suddenly smirked.
“Elena,I know you’re jealous of me for having luxury goods.But honestly,even if you’re envious,there’s no need to buy fakes,right?”
Her eyes sparkled with malice.“Everyone knows you're broke.You can’t even afford a real designer bag,yet here you are,parading around with all these counterfeits...”
She covered her mouth and giggled and a few passersby cast mocking glances my way.I shot her a cold look.
“Not everyone depends on a man to afford nice things.Unlike you,I already had them.”
Damon scoffed beside her.“Elena,stop pretending.We were married for three years.I know exactly what kind of life you lived.You think I can’t tell a fake from the real thing?”
He reached out and casually picked up one of the antique vases in the car trunk,planning to make a point,but then he froze.
“This…this is real?”His tone shifted,disbelief creeping in.
I calmly pushed him aside and shut the trunk.He stared at me,suspicion growing in his eyes.
As if,for the first time,he was realizing,He had never really known who I was.
Chapter 6
"Elena,tell me the truth.Where did you steal all this from?"
I couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.Steal?
So that’s how low he thought of me.Just a poor,petty thief.I must’ve played the role too well.
“Damon,”I said,voice icy,“I was blind to ever fall for someone like you.”
Without another word,I turned and got into the car.He stood frozen for a second,then bolted after me,shouting with fury.
“Elena!Get back here and explain yourself!”
I didn’t look back.I told the driver to speed up,I had more important things to do.The wedding in Bali was tomorrow and I had no time to waste on a man like him.
The next day,Damon stormed into the neighborhood like a man possessed,pounding on the door with both fists.
“Elena!Come out!”
“What the hell did you do to me?Why does Tiffany break out in hives every time she touches me?!”
His shouts drew the attention of curious neighbors.Doors opened.Heads peeked out.
“Isn’t that Damon Blackwood?”one of them whispered.“Why is he back?Didn’t they already sell this place and move out?”
Damon turned pale.
“What do you mean…sold?”
The neighbor chuckled.“Elena was here yesterday.Said she was moving out.The new owner’s moving in tomorrow.”
Damon was stunned.
“That’s not possible.She told me this house was her base.Her home.Why would she sell it?”
The neighbor gave him a sympathetic,yet mocking glance.“Well,I didn’t expect a grown man like you to be so clueless.You didn’t even know she sold the house?Hmph.”
He turned and went back inside,leaving Damon standing there like a statue.
Back at his place,Damon frantically dialed my number,again and again.
(The number you’re trying to reach is currently busy.)
He sent a message:(Where are you?Elena,reply to me in five minutes.Do you hear me?)
Seconds later,a red exclamation mark appeared beside his message.
Blocked.
He cursed under his breath and hurled his phone to the floor in frustration.Desperate,he called my aunt.
“Auntie,I can’t reach Elena.Is she with you?”
There was a pause,then a sneer on the other end.
“Elena’s getting married.”
He froze.
“…Huh?”
Thinking it was a joke,he laughed nervously.“Come on,Auntie.Don’t mess with me.I’m her husband.She’s my wife.Married women don’t get married again.What are you talking about?”
But she said nothing more.
Click.
The line went dead.
He sat there,stunned,until his assistant walked in,looking hesitant.
“Mr.Damon…didn’t you know?Miss Elena already divorced you.”
