She Ate My Mother’s Life Chapter 1

The day my mother received her critical condition notice, I knelt before Cathy, my girlfriend of seven years, begging her to save my mom.

Fifty dollars. It was barely the cost of one of Cathy’s fancy dinners.

But at that moment, it was my mother’s life.

After she refused, my forehead was bruised and bleeding from desperation.

“I’ll do anything, Cathy, please! My mother is all I have left!”

Cathy simply turned and walked away, not even sparing me a glance.

Yet that very night, she spent three thousand dollars, showering her childhood friend, Ethan, with a thousand online ‘carnival’ gifts on his live stream, fueling his dream of becoming an internet celebrity.

My mother passed away. I broke up with Cathy.

Five years later, we met again at the grand opening of an exclusive luxury apartment complex. She was clinging to Ethan’s arm, looking down at me with disdain.

“What? Five years later, have you fallen so far you’re selling real estate? Or are you deliberately waiting here, hoping to see me again?”

“Forget it. Even if you knelt and begged me to come back now, I wouldn’t even bother looking at you.”

But then my billionaire wife stood beside me, and Cathy exploded in a furious rant.

“Adrian Winters! It’s only been five years since we broke up! How could you get married to someone else!”

* * *

I saw Cathy again at the grand opening of the Grandview Residences.

Cathy was basking in the adoration of the crowd, clinging to Ethan Thorne’s arm.

“Ms. Sedgwick is here today? I assume you’re picking out a home for yourself and your fiancé?”

“Is this your fiancé, Ms. Sedgwick? He’s so handsome! I hear you two are childhood sweethearts. Truly a match made in heaven.”

“This is a top-tier development by the renowned Bright Group from Emerald City. Only a luxury home in such a prime location is fitting for Ms. Sedgwick and her fiancé.”

Cathy chuckled softly, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Thank you, everyone. Please do grace us with your presence at our wedding.”

I stood not far from them, observing the pair surrounded by the eager crowd with a cold gaze. The Grandview Residences was a development by my wife, Maya Bright.

Maya had returned to Emerald City for some business a few days ago, so I was here to oversee the grand opening for her.

Just then, my eyes met Cathy’s.

She hesitated for a moment, then let out a small laugh and walked towards me, still clinging to Ethan.

“I thought I’d mistaken you for someone else. But it really is you, Adrian Winters.”

“What? Five years on, you realize you still can’t forget me, so you came here specifically to wait for me?”

I was about to shake my head and deny it, but Cathy scoffed again.

“The cheapest apartment at Grandview Residences costs five million dollars. You’re not going to tell me you’re here to buy a place, are you?”

The sycophantic crowd that had been fawning over Cathy followed her, their expressions turning curious as they looked at me.

“Ms. Sedgwick, who is this gentleman?”

Cathy shot me a cold glance, then looked away without speaking.

But Ethan spoke up then.

“I don’t think you all know him, do you?”

He paused for dramatic effect. “This is Mr. Adrian Winters. He’s the son of Cathy’s family’s former housekeeper. No one important, really. Nothing to worry about.”

Cathy sneered.

“Why even bother introducing him to everyone? Is he even worth it?”

Cathy’s voice was icy, her disdain and revulsion undisguised. It was the exact same tone she’d used five years ago when she accused me of only wanting her money.

Five years ago, my mother lay on the operating table, clinging to life, waiting for money to save her. I knelt before Cathy, my forehead bruised and bleeding. Cathy had looked at me with that same contemptuous gaze.

“Ethan told me, and I didn’t believe it at first. But you really were with me just for my money.”

“Adrian Winters, Adrian Winters, to stoop so low for a measly fifty dollars, I really underestimated you.”

“Tell me, why are you so materialistic, so impatient? It disgusts me.”

My thoughts were interrupted by a middle-aged couple by the display models.

“Where’s the sales agent? Come tell us about this apartment.”

My mind snapped back to the present. I couldn’t be bothered with Cathy and Ethan anymore. I walked directly to the couple.

“Hello, do you have any questions about the property? I can answer them for you.”