Chapter 3

3.

With my resignation finalized, I went straight to my best friend Olivia's firm.

In the legal world, clients follow the lawyer, not the law firm.

Olivia was so thrilled to have a Star Litigator like me join her team that she practically bowed down to me.

She offered me ten times the salary Adrian paid me and gave me a beautiful brownstone in Brooklyn Heights as a signing bonus.

I could finally move out of that rundown walk-up in the East Village.

To be honest, many clients were shocked when they found out where I lived.

A well-known lawyer in the city, living in a dilapidated fifth-floor apartment with no elevator.

I used to say I was a low-maintenance person who didn't care about material things.

The truth was, I willingly accepted a junior-level salary for the sake of Adrian's firm's growth.

At first, Adrian was grateful. But eventually, he started to take it for granted.

Once, when the heat broke in the middle of winter, I asked him for money to replace it.

He called me extravagant, said I had changed, that I was only after his money.

But when it came to Chloe, he bought her a mansion of several thousand square feet without a second thought.

Even Chloe's doghouse had heated floors.

On the day I was moving, I unexpectedly ran into Adrian and Chloe.

They were with his parents, the Vances. The four of them were having a cozy dinner at a high-end steakhouse.

I froze for a second, a memory flashing through my mind of the first time I'd visited Adrian's family.

I had brought carefully selected gifts, but the Vances only ordered me cheap takeout.

I had awkwardly suggested we all go out to eat instead.

They accused me of being a gold digger, of leeching off Adrian and developing expensive habits.

In the end, I was the one who had to cook for the entire family. After I had finally managed to put a full meal on the table...

Adrian's mother threw down her fork and complained that my food was too salty.

She said only uneducated people ate such heavily seasoned food, and that it was clear I was from some small town in the Midwest.

As for the gifts I brought them, they gave them all away to the doorman right after I left.

Comparing that to this, I felt like a complete clown.

Mrs. Vance was affectionately placing food on Chloe's plate.

"Chloe and our Adrian are just a match made in heaven. If Chloe hadn't been tricked by that other man all those years ago, you two would have never been apart. I think the timing is perfect now. You two should just get together," Mrs. Vance urged.

Mr. Vance chimed in, "Exactly. Chloe just joined the firm and has already landed several huge accounts for Adrian. She has a bright future. Not like that useless Amelia, who's only good for cooking and cleaning. Completely worthless."

My whole body started to tremble with rage.

I was the one who landed those accounts. Adrian just put Chloe's name on them.

The money I earned single-handedly supported the entire firm.

But Adrian never once praised me for it. Instead, he put me down every day.

He said the firm gave me the platform, that I wouldn't have any cases without him.

And now, listening to his parents' slander, he didn't even try to correct them.

He just sighed and said, "I just tolerate her. It's been so many years, after all."

My heart plummeted. All these years, to him, I was just something to be "tolerated."

Mrs. Vance was not satisfied with Adrian's answer. "Adrian, I'm telling you, that Amelia girl has a bad background, nothing to show for herself. Look at how her parents passed away so early, leaving her all alone. If you marry her, what will that do to our family's reputation?"

Adrian didn't respond, but I was already fighting back tears.

My parents lost everything because of the Vance family.

Years ago, when the Vance's startup was on the brink of bankruptcy, my parents, as their earliest angel investors, poured their entire retirement fund and a Home Equity Line of Credit from their only property into the company.

But just as the company was about to turn a profit, Adrian's father used a legal loophole to perform a malicious stock dilution and restructuring. He made my parents' shares worthless and kicked them out of the company completely.

My parents went bankrupt. The immense shock and stress took their toll, and within a few years, they passed away from a heart attack and depression, respectively.

The Vances showed some remorse afterward, promising they would make it up to me.

But in the end, there was no compensation. Instead, I became a worthless burden in their eyes, someone not good enough for their family.

I couldn't stand to listen to their nonsense anymore and turned to leave.