The room felt like it was tilting. I set the papers down carefully, forcing myself to stay calm. “I understand,” I murmured, rubbing my temples.
Five years. Five humiliating, wasted years.
I had been blind. Foolish. Believing Sebastian was the man I thought he was. While I managed the business my late father left me, Sebastian had been living a life of indulgence, funded entirely by me, pretending to be a successful entrepreneur.
When his father gave him a small company to oversee, I thought it might give him purpose. But no. He mismanaged, gambled, lied. Each time the company lost money, he came home with the same excuse: “Investors pulled out, love. I just need a little help to keep things afloat.”
And each time, I gave it to him.
He claimed he wanted to make me proud. But all he did was spend my money to impress someone else.
Livia.
I remembered her constant bragging about a mysterious boyfriend. “He’s generous,” she’d say, showing off new handbags, perfumes, and accessories. I had laughed, sometimes envied her, never realizing my money had paid for every one of her luxuries.
How foolish I’d been.