Goodbye, Toxic Ex, I'm Actually A Billionaire's Daughter

I’ve been with Logan for five years. He always said that if I wanted to be his doormat, I had to act like one. For five years, that’s exactly what I did. One call from him, and I’d rush home in the middle of the night, even if I was a hundred miles away. Just because he suddenly felt like seeing me. But once, just because I didn’t wear the coat he picked out for me, he locked me out of the bedroom. I had to curl up on the freezing couch with no heating. For five years, Logan was my entire world. He always said a man should keep himself pure, and that he’d treat me right once we got married. I actually believed he was some honorable gentleman. That was until I saw him in our bed with my best friend, Ashley. "What are you looking at? She’s hot and has a great body. Posting videos with her gets tons of views on TikTok. You think anyone wants to watch a flat-chested board like you?" "Chloe, I want a strawberry tower cake right now! If you aren't home with it in thirty minutes, I'm moving out!" I was hiding in the office restroom just to take his call. My boss had made it crystal clear today: everyone had to work overtime until 10 PM. If I left early, my bonus for this month would be gone. But on the other end of the line, Logan was throwing a tantrum: "I don't care! Everyone on SnapChat is posting about the strawberry towers their girlfriends bought them. I’m not losing to them!" Helpless, I had to sneak downstairs, buy the damn strawberry tower cake, rush it home, and then race back to the office. If I was lucky, my boss wouldn't notice. Once I agreed, Logan finally cheered up. He even blew me a kiss through the phone. I ran to the mall and bought the strawberry tower. Riding my electric scooter home in the freezing wind, I held the towering cake upright. My hands went completely numb. I forgot my keys. I rang the doorbell for ages before Logan finally opened the door. Shaking, I handed him the cake. "Babe, I got it for you." The next second, Logan slapped the back of my hand. "It's tilted! How am I supposed to post this on SnapChat?!" The strawberry tower crashed to the ground. Those strawberries cost me half a day's salary. I rubbed my red, freezing nose. "Babe, I have to get back to the office. We're working overtime tonight. I sneaked out. Don't wait up for me." Logan glared at me with cold eyes. "Chloe, you really are pathetic. Born to be a corporate slave. Get lost!" I sighed, knelt to pick up the ruined cake, and tossed it into the trash can. But the moment I got back to the office, I realized the atmosphere was off. A colleague I was close with kept coughing and winking at me. By the time I walked over, it was too late. Everything on my desk had been swept onto the floor. My boss, Mr. Miller, turned around, furious. "Leaving during work hours? Chloe, it looks like you don't need this job. You're fired!" It felt like a dark cloud had settled over my head. I packed up my things and held out my hand. "Pay me my salary for this month." Mr. Miller's face contorted with rage. He poked my forehead with his finger. "Chloe, you're in your mid-twenties and still so pathetic. The people who started with you are all managers now. How do you have the face to ask for money? You're not getting a single dime!" I suppressed the bitterness in my chest. "You have to pay me. Otherwise, I’ll report you to the Labor Bureau. I have plenty of free time now anyway." Mr. Miller scoffed. He pulled a wad of bills from his wallet and threw them on the floor. "Pick it up then! People like you are born to be cheap labor!" My coworkers watched the whole thing. They looked angry and sympathetic, but to protect their own jobs, none of them dared to speak up for me.I left the company I had worked at for years. I had six hundred dollars in my pocket. On the way back, I bought another strawberry tower, hoping it would make Logan happy. "Babe, I bought another strawberry tower. It looks perfect. Come check it out, okay?" Ten minutes later, Logan opened the door. Seeing the pristine cake, he finally let me in. "Why are you holding a cardboard box?" I forced a bitter smile. "I got fired." Logan's face instantly hardened. "Then you better find a new job tomorrow. Otherwise, I'm breaking up with you. A woman without a job isn't a modern, independent woman. I despise parasites!" I nodded and smiled. "I know. I'll work hard to find a job." Logan happily took the strawberry tower to the dining table. He had set it up beautifully—it looked completely out of place in this cheap, cramped rental. "Get the camera out. Take some good photos of me." I had saved up for three months to buy that camera. Only because Logan said that brand took the best photos. As long as it was Logan's wish, I did everything to make it happen. Half an hour later, I handed the camera to Logan to check the photos. Logan’s face darkened instantly. In a fit of rage, he smashed the camera onto the floor. "What garbage is this?! I'm so handsome, but you made me look like a short, broke loser!" Looking at the shattered lens, my heart ached. Logan screamed. "You didn't even try! I told you to take photography classes, but you refused! Money, money, money—that's all you care about! You have no taste, no ambition!" I spoke up carefully. "Actually, you look great. You're just too hard on yourself." Logan pulled out his phone. "Look at this! Other people's photos look so high-class. How can I lose to them?" Logan had completely lost his mind. He pointed at the door. "Get out!" I opened my mouth, but before I could defend myself, Logan put on his slippers and walked toward the door. "If you won't leave, I will! I'll just freeze to death outside. I'm sick of you anyway!" I quickly grabbed him, picked up the broken camera, and stepped out. "Don't be mad. I'll watch some tutorials online tomorrow. I promise I'll do better." Logan slammed the door in my face. I was locked out of his world. It was the dead of winter. The temperature at night was below freezing. I was wearing only a light jacket, shivering uncontrollably. I opened my phone and went to Instagram. I saw Logan's latest post. It was a selfie of him posing with the strawberry tower. His caption read: "Even when you're alone, life still needs a little romance." I was used to it. Logan never posted about me. In his mind, I was someone he was embarrassed to show off. So, even though we had been together for five years, nobody knew.In the morning, the door behind me suddenly flew open. I had slept on the cold porch all night. Unprepared, I tumbled backward into the apartment. Logan yawned, looking down at me. "I want breakfast burritos. Hot ones. Go get them now." His voice was raspy, like he had just woken up. I quickly got up, wrapped my jacket tightly around myself, and walked to the diner down the street. Logan's temper came and went quickly. When I brought back the breakfast burritos, he turned back into a bright, cheerful boy. "Chloe, you're seriously the best person in the world to me. Even better than my own mom!" Moments like this were when I felt most fulfilled. As long as Logan was happy, I was happy. I stayed home for a day, and Logan was clearly annoyed. "Why aren't you out looking for a job? How are you going to support me?" The next morning, I went to the mall and got a job handing out flyers while wearing a heavy mascot suit. During my lunch break, my phone buzzed repeatedly with notifications. Logan had spent over three hundred dollars on our shared Apple Pay account. I stared at my phone in shock. My boss glared at me, so I quickly put my mascot head back on and went back to work. During my thirty-minute dinner break, my phone buzzed again. It was a notification for Logan buying condoms. My brain went completely blank. I rushed home, but hesitated at the front door. I kept telling myself it had to be a mistake. But the strange noises coming from inside made me open the door. In the bedroom, Logan was on top of another woman. My sudden entry interrupted them. The plush toy I had hand-sewn for our third anniversary was lying discarded on the floor. The woman rubbed her nose and slipped out from under Logan. "Who's this?" I stared at Logan, my voice flat. "Who is she?" Logan suddenly yelled, "Chloe, how dare you interrogate me! What right do you have to ask me that?" The woman giggled. "Logan, where did you find this girl? She looks like a total loser." Maybe because my gaze was too intense, Logan looked away first. "Why are you yelling? Nothing's happening. We're just shooting a video. This is my close friend, Ashley. We're filming a comedy skit." Ashley jumped off the bed, completely shirtless, and looked at me. She even offered her hand. "Hey there." I walked right past her, straight to Logan. "Why did you buy condoms? Didn't you say you didn't believe in sex before marriage?" Ashley burst out laughing, pointing at Logan. "What the hell? 'Don't believe in sex before marriage'? That is the funniest thing I've ever heard!" I glared at her, and her laughter died down. Logan crossed his arms, looking completely indifferent. "None of your business. I buy what I want. If you don't like it, unlink your Apple Pay. Plenty of girls want to spend money on me. I don't need yours." The tension in the room was suffocating. I was still wearing the bottom half of my mascot suit, holding the clumsy mascot head in my hands. I had just caught my boyfriend cheating with his "close friend," and yet, I felt completely powerless. I lowered my head and said softly, "Logan, let's break up." The bedroom fell dead silent. Even my breathing sounded loud. Then came the sound of Logan grabbing the bedside lamp and smashing it against my forehead. "Chloe, who do you think you are? When did I ever say you were my girlfriend? You aren't even my girlfriend! How do you have the nerve to say that?" Logan screamed at me, and my heart went completely cold. I let out a self-deprecating laugh. "How can someone change so completely in six years?" Logan frowned, looking annoyed. But none of that mattered anymore. The way I treated him over the last five years was more than enough to repay him for saving my life back then.Since we were breaking up, I wasn't the one who should leave. After all, I paid the rent for this place. In fact, since we got together, Logan hadn't spent a single penny of his own money. Before, I did it willingly. But now, I saw the truth. I could never warm Logan's cold heart. "You two need to leave," I said. Just then, a voice came from the living room. I turned around. It was my old boss, Mr. Miller. Behind him stood a wealthy-looking man and woman. When Mr. Miller saw me, he smiled warmly, as if I were his own daughter. "Mr. and Mrs. Vance, this is Chloe. Your biological daughter!" Mr. Miller put his arm around my shoulder and brought me to them. They were total strangers to me. I instinctively took a defensive step back. "Mr. Miller, what are you doing in my apartment? And who are they?" Mr. Miller laughed heartily. "Chloe, don't call me Mr. Miller anymore! Soon, you'll be running the Vance Group. My little company will depend on you!" Hearing the noise, Logan and Ashley walked out. Ashley gasped. "Oh my god! Is that the billionaire, Robert Vance?!" I frowned. "You have the wrong person. I'm not your daughter." The couple hadn't spoken since they entered, but their eyes were glued to me. Mr. Miller quickly explained, "No mistake, no mistake! They saw the gold locket you left on your desk. Mrs. Vance said she bought it herself at a cathedral. She remembers that scratch on the top right corner perfectly. She could never mistake it." Mr. Miller handed me the locket. I looked at the locket, then at the couple. I grew up in an orphanage. Parents were a foreign concept to me. Now, two incredibly wealthy people suddenly appeared, claiming to be my biological parents. I didn't know how to react. The man grabbed my shoulders. "There's no mistake. The moment I saw you, I knew. You are my daughter!" The woman beside him was already sobbing. Her eyes were red as she pulled me into a tight hug. "My sweet girl. My poor baby." Behind me, Logan and Ashley were whispering. But under the circumstances, I didn't have the energy to care about them. The next second, Logan walked over with a smile and put his arm around me. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Vance. I'm Chloe's boyfriend. We've been happily together for five years." Hearing this, the woman quickly wiped her tears and smiled warmly at Logan. "You two look so good together. When is the wedding? Let me organize it. I want to tell the whole world I found my daughter." I instinctively stepped back, keeping my distance. "We only have a locket. That doesn't prove anything." My cold questions didn't upset them. Instead, their eyes filled with tears. "Sweetheart, trust a parent's instinct. I knew you the moment I saw you." Logan looked around and smiled. "Chloe, listen to your mom. I think you guys look exactly alike!" I gave Logan a cold glare. Half an hour ago, he was screaming at me. Now, realizing I might be a billionaire's daughter, he immediately changed his face. I felt sick thinking about the five years I wasted on him. I was heartbroken to see how ugly he had become. Even though my gaze was icy, Logan didn't care at all.