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He Slept With Me, Then Put a Ring on My Maid
Novelix
Completed
For twenty years, I loved Preston Payne. I saved him. I bankrolled his empire. I gave him my virginity—and he called it "an accident, best friends forever, right?" Then he chose the maid's daughter over me. Watched her destroy my mother. Watched his men whip me bloody on my own living room floor. Watched me get drugged and left for dead. He thought I'd never come back. Three years later, I'm the Chairwoman of Bloom Bio, married to the richest heir in LA—and I'm here to bury Preston Payne, his golden girl, and every Gordon who ever called me a whore. Best friend, my ass.
Chapters (5)
第1章
For twenty years, I was Preston Payne's "best friend."
Even after we got drunk and lost our virginity to each other one messy night.
All I got the next morning?
"It was just a mistake, Shea. We'll still be best friends forever, right?"
I thought he was just clueless. A cold fish. Someone who didn't know how to handle emotions.
Turns out, he fell for the maid's daughter—the daughter of my father's mistress.
And me? The "best friend"? I became the joke of the whole damn city.
My mom couldn't take it. The gossip. The whispers. The shame.
One afternoon, she jumped from the penthouse rooftop.
Twenty years of my delusional little fairy tale—gone. Just like that.
Fine. I was done with him. Time to rebuild my life.
But Preston, honey—
We're just friends, remember? So why the hell are you losing it over me hiring a few male strippers?
---
Preston kicked the yacht door open just as I was dancing with a stripper in a red bikini.
The music was pumping. The lights were low.
My skin looked like fire—wild, blazing, stealing every gaze in the room.
Same untouchable face. Same ice-cold stare. But when his eyes swept over me? They went dark.
"Shea Gordon, are you finished making a spectacle of yourself?"
He stormed over, killed the music, and threw a heavy blanket over my shoulders.
I laughed and pulled the stripper closer, guiding his face toward my neck.
"Ignore him, baby. Keep going."
The guy smirked and pulled me tight, burying his face against my collarbone.
His breath hadn't even hit my skin—
Preston ripped me away so hard I almost hit the floor.
"Shea!" He was actually furious now. "Male strippers? Did you forget what day it is?!
"Oh, I remember."
I froze for a second.
Then I turned and slapped him clean across the face.
The crack echoed. My tears spilled anyway.
"Preston Payne, you don't get to lecture me. And don't you dare say my mother's name."
My mother treated Preston like her own son.
Because of me, she opened her wallet, pulled every string, and turned him from a bastard nobody cared about into the heir of the Payne empire.
And he fell for the maid's daughter instead.
For freaking Mia Jansen!
Today, I buried my mother.
And the one person in this world who had no right to scold me? Him.
Ian stepped forward, hesitant. "Actually, Shea, the funeral today was Pres—"
"Shea." Preston cut him off, his voice cold and cutting.
The face I'd been obsessed with for twenty years stared straight at me, cold as marble.
And then his words tore me apart.
"Did you forget? You're the one who barged into the Payne house and blew everything up. "
"You're the reason your mother is dead."
---
第2章
I went cold.
My swollen eyes locked onto his face.
Something inside my chest shattered—piece by piece—cutting deeper than any blade.
Couldn't breathe.
Yeah. He was right. I couldn't stomach him marrying Mia.
I was stupid.
I never realized it. The Paynes had already risen far above the Gordons.
Preston wasn't the bullied little bastard I used to protect anymore.
I was an idiot. I stormed into the Payne mansion waving that damning photo.
Screaming that Mia's mother was a shameless homewrecker.
And when Preston tried to shut me up? I lost it.
I threw it in his face that his mother had once been nothing more than a housekeeper.
So Preston Payne snapped.
He buried the story. Threw me out. Then came the payback.
He took that old intimate photo of us, cut his face out, and released it.
Only me. Half-naked. Broken. Exposed.
Just me. A spectacle for the entire city to feast on.
Twenty years of loving him? Turned into a punchline overnight.
The Gordon princess. Nothing but a cheap slut.
The mother lost to a maid. The daughter lost to a maid's daughter. Guess it's in their blood.
That's what people said.
That's why my mother—proud, sharp, radiant—walked to the edge of the penthouse roof and jumped. Splattered into a bloody flower on the pavement.
Right before she died, the depression lifted for one clear second. Her eyes went soft and sad. She grabbed my hand.
"Shea, baby… the way you chase after that boy? That's how I chased your father. Chasing so hard you can't even see yourself. It'll kill you, honey."
"Go find someone else. You'll see. Love ain't worth a damn thing."
So on the day of Mom's funeral, I skipped the service. Booked a yacht. Filled it with strippers.
And now I finally got to throw those words back in Preston's face:
"So what?"
I smiled wide. My nails cut into my palms.
"We're just friends, remember? Since when do you get a say in who I screw?"
---
第3章
Preston's eyes burned into me.
Something dangerous crackled in the air around him.
He went quiet for a beat. Then, softly:
"Mia's waiting for you."
My heart stopped.
I thought I was over it. Really thought so.
Twenty years of loving and hating this man—and one stupid name still brought me to my knees.
"Nice one, Preston." My voice cracked.
Nobody knew exactly where to hurt me better than my "best friend."
He had his guys drag me into the car. As they hauled me off, I caught one last look from the stripper—pale eyes with a strangely familiar look
Ian, our mutual friend, sat beside me.
He glanced at Preston across from us, eyes closed, cold as marble. Then he whispered:
"I know you're hurting. But it's your mom's funeral. You gotta be there."
He hesitated.
"Don't be mad at him. Preston ran the whole funeral himself. He…"
He trailed off. Couldn't finish.
Yeah. What was he gonna say? That Preston did it for me? Out of gratitude to Mom?
Neither one held up.
Whatever we used to be—Preston and me—it turned into a debt neither of us could ever settle the second Mom hit the pavement.
I leaned back and watched the little ceramic charm swinging from his rearview mirror.
Ian, Preston, and I had been inseparable since kindergarten.
But Preston only ever kept photos of him and me. Only I got the passenger seat.
I used to think that meant something. I chased that tiny sliver of "special" like a moth to a flame.
Now? Our photo had been replaced by a little charm Mia had molded herself. The passenger seat had a pink Cinnamoroll blanket balled up on it.
Mia's fingerprints. Everywhere.
Him running Mom's funeral?
I laughed softly. Bitterly. I tasted blood at the back of my throat.
Right. It was all an act for my father. He just wanted his blessing so he could rush into marrying Mia.
---
第4章
The car pulled up to the Gordon house. I shoved the door open and got out on my own.
Mom's funeral had just ended. But the living room? Already changed.
Our family photo—me, Mom, Dad—was gone. Swapped out for a fresh wedding photo of my dad grinning next to Linda, the housekeeper.
Mom's body wasn't even cold yet. And this bastard was already rushing to replace her.
"You ungrateful little bitch, where the hell have you been all day?!"
Dad slammed the table the second he saw me, his face red and bloated from too much whiskey and too many nights spent with Linda.
"You skipped your own mother's funeral! You don't give a damn about this family?!"
Right next to him sat Linda, dolled up like she was already the lady of the house, cooing at him like she owned the place. But her eyes flicked toward me. Cold. Smug.
"Honey, calm down. Shea's grieving. Give her a break."
"Yeah, Uncle Richard. My sister's hurting."Mia stood there in a white dress, looking pure as a saint. Playing angel again.
Dad settled back down next to Linda, snorted. "If she had half the grace Mia's got, her mama wouldn't be dead."
I looked up at the three of them. That cheap little sitcom they were putting on. And I laughed.
"Cut the act. If you two hadn't been screwing behind Mom's back, she wouldn't have jumped."
"Shea!" Dad barked.
Linda's face went pale. "Sweetheart, I'm truly sorry about your mother, but Richard and I... we're really in love—"
I didn't let her finish.
I lunged, grabbed a fistful of her hair, and slammed her face against the table beneath Mom's memorial portrait.
"You came begging Mom to take you in! Then you climbed straight into my dad's bed!"
"If you're so sorry, then go apologize to her yourself in hell!"
Dad roared at me to let go. Mia came running, tears everywhere, yanking at my arms.
"Let her go! You can't kill your mom yourself and then blame mine—"
I grabbed the riding crop off the wall and struck her right across those lying lips.
"You—you hit me?! Preston's gonna destroy you!"
Mia clutched her face, screaming. And her eyes? Pure venom.
I smiled. "There she is. The real Mia."
"Much prettier without the halo."
"You ungrateful—you're trying to put me in the grave too!" Dad clutched his chest. The maids swarmed.
"You think making a scene will bring her back?!You killed her! Nobody in this house wants you here!" Mia shrieked.
I raised the crop again—
And my wrist got yanked back so hard I thought my bones would snap.
"Shea! Who the hell said you could touch her?!"
Preston. Standing right behind me. Those black eyes burning.
But my hand around the crop shook, just for a second.
"You heard what she said. She deserves it."
"I heard." Preston let go. Voice flat. "So what?"
My heart stopped. Then something inside me detonated—slow, ugly, everywhere.
I stared at him.
He knew.
He'd known all along Mia was a two-faced snake. Knew she wanted me out of this house. Knew I'd been fighting for my life every single day here.
And he still picked her.
"Preston!" Mia flung herself into his arms, sobbing. "She hit my mom! She whipped me!"
Preston pulled her close. His eyes locked on mine. Ice.
"Yeah? How about I whip her a hundred times? Would that make you feel better, baby?"
"Preston, you wouldn't dare—"
I glared at him, eyes burning.
He held my stare. Long, cold second. Then he lifted his hand and told his security to pin me to the floor.
Right there. In front of my father. In front of Linda and Mia.
He whipped me until blood soaked through my dress.
Somewhere around the moment I started coughing up blood, I heard something inside me collapse. Loud. Final.
Twenty years. Every last scrap of us.
Gone.
I lost count of the blows. My body gave out. I hit the floor.
Then—arms. Familiar. That faint iris cologne.
"Shea! Get a doctor! NOW!"
I'd never heard Preston Payne panic in my life.
And of course. He waits till after he beats me half to death.
I used the last of my strength to roll out of his arms. I'd rather crack my skull on the marble than let him hold me.
"Preston, you make me sick."
---
第5章
Preston didn't answer. Just had me rushed to the hospital anyway. Paid for a private room. Best doctors in the city.
Real touching.
Next morning? My startup got reported to the SEC. Every file dumped straight onto my dad's desk.
Every investor I'd spent months courting? Ghosted me overnight.
The stripper photos from Mom's funeral? Splashed across every gossip blog in New York.
They were burying me. And Dad went on TV saying he was disowning me.
I had no choice. I swallowed my pride and started calling in favors from the trust-fund boys who used to trail after me like puppies.
Old Shea Gordon—queen of the scene—now sitting there with fresh whip scars, playing nice with the guys who used to beg for my number.
"Shea, sweetheart. It's not that we don't wanna help."
Chad Rowe led the pack. His face said *so sorry*. His eyes were crawling all over my collarbone, licking the healing welts.
"But you crossed Preston. Nobody wants that heat. You know how it is."
He slid a glass of whiskey across the table. That hungry look. I'd seen it before—on other girls.
"Now, if you wanted to party with us a little tonight… maybe we could work something out."
I knew what "party" meant.
Trading skin for favors. Oldest, dirtiest move in the book.
I'd watched other girls get chewed up by it and looked away. Now I was the meat on the plate.
"Chad, that is not why I'm here!"
Ian tried to shut it down. But his family was two tiers below theirs. They steamrolled him.
"C'mon, don't be stingy. You want us to stick our necks out for nothing?" one of them sneered. His eyes made my skin crawl.
"Besides—everybody knows Shea's a good time. Girl booked a whole yacht of strippers. What's a few more of us?"
They started closing in with their glasses. A slow, ugly circle. The hunt.
My face went white. My throat filled with something hot and sour.
Then—
"Wow. Nice party."
Preston's voice. Right behind me.
"How come nobody invited me?"
---
