4
We were still seeing off the last of the guests when my best friend, Chloe, rushed over, her phone in her hand
and her eyes wide with shock.
“Stella, holy crap. You and Pedro were serious this time. You really broke up. Look, he and Lily just made it
official.”
I took out my phone and saw it: a new post from Pedro on his socials.
[Sometimes you have to go a long way around to find your way back home.]
The accompanying photo was of him and Lily, hand in hand, walking into a pediatric clinic. It seemed he was settling into his role as a doting father quite nicely.
Thanks to my investments, Pedro had become a moderately famous artist with a sizable online following. After his post, someone quickly dug up the story of him ditching our wedding to run off with his one true
love.
Chapter 1
Within minutes, the post went viral.
#PedroLynnDumps HeiressForChildhood Sweetheart
#TrueLovelsHavingABabyWithHer
#BillionaireHeiressCancelsWedding
Pedro’s comment section was a carnival of celebration.
19:08
[Now THAT’S a real man. He told a billionaire heiress to get lost. Money means nothing in the face of true love. To our king, Pedro, Stella Sterling is just a pathetic groupie who kneels on command.]
[Exactly, who cares if she’s rich? Remember his first painting? It sold for a million dollars. He can easily sup
port his real family without a cent of Stella Sterling’s dirty money.]
[Totally. Our king just needs to hold a few more exhibitions and he’ll be a billionaire himself. Who needs ar heiress when you can be the one on top?]
[Poor Stella Sterling. Licked his boots for seven years only to get dumped for the girl next door.]
[Saying she’s a bootlicker is a compliment. She has less dignity than a stray dog.] ·
[LMAO!]
I scrolled through the comments, a bitter laugh escaping me. Like artist, like fans-a complete lack of a moral compass. Pedro was the one in the wrong. What sane person proposes on his wedding day that his bride-to-be first adopt his child with another woman? Yet his fans praised it as the act of a “real man.”
Pathetic. A real man wouldn’t be so completely unhinged.
A few sane voices tried to inject some reason.
[Wait, wasn’t Pedro the one who messed up? The Sterlings are a huge deal. How could he humiliate Stella like that at their wedding, in front of everyone?]
[Yeah, it’s not like Stella Sterling is infertile.]
[Doesn’t this feel wrong to anyone else?]
His fans immediately pounced.
[What’s wrong about it? What century are you living in?]
[A man can have a baby with whoever he wants. A guy with genes as good as Pedro’s should have a dozen kids!]
[He was doing Stella a favor by letting her raise his kid.]
[She didn’t agree? Then she deserves to be kicked to the curb.]
ing up. A million doll
Another lone commenter added:
[Honestly, Pedro’s art is mediocre at best. My little brother in high school paints better. Do you really think he could sell a painting for a million without Stella Sterling’s influence?]
The fanbase went into a frenzy.
[F*** you. He doesn’t rely on Stella. Our king is a true talent. He doesn’t need some rich bitch throwing mon- ey at him.]
[Yeah, get lost. Stop trying to drag our king down.]
Pedro himself had liked both of those vicious replies.
I got to that point in the comments and just had to laugh. The artist and his fans were a perfect match: a pack of ungrateful wolves. Without my money paving the way, Pedro’s so-called art, which was worse than a child’s finger painting, wouldn’t have sold for a hundred dollars, let alone a million.
How very… talented of him.
If he was so self-sufficient, then he wouldn’t be needing my help anymore.
I picked up my phone and called my assistant.
“Cancel all funding for Pedro Lynn’s exhibition next month. Retract the deposit for the venue.”
“And inform the art professors from the institute that they no longer need to attend.”
“The Oscar-winning actor and Grammy-winning singer we booked to make an appearance? Cancel them
too.”
“Finally, send a memo to all our business partners. Let them know that Mr. Lynn and I are no longer associa- ted, and they are under no obligation to buy his… art… as a favor to me.”
“That should be all for now.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Finally, my assistant’s voice came through, laced with disbelief. “Ms. Sterling… are you serious?”
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “Perfectly serious.”
I heard a sharp intake of breath. “Are you absolutely, one-hundred-percent, positively sure?”
Was she kidding? “Yes!” I nearly laughed. “I am absolutely, one-hundred-percent, positively sure.”
A choked sob came through the phone. “Ms. Sterling… it’s so good to have you back. I’ll cancel everything right away. We will never let that scumbag take advantage of you again.”
After I hung up, my father, who had been listening nearby, looked at me with stunned disbelief. “If you change your mind later,” he warned, “you can’t blame your assistant.”
I let out a weary sigh. It seemed that because of the System, I had a long way to go to earn back everyone’s
trust.
But I would. This was just the beginning.
