Too Late, Ex-Fiancé，I'm Married With A Baby

The day after my family went bankrupt and my father jumped from the rooftop of our company building, Julian showed up at my front door with his lawyer to call off our engagement. We hadn't even had time to set up the memorial service yet. The house was in total chaos, with my mother and our grieving relatives sobbing in each other's arms. Julian stood at the doorway in an immaculate, custom-tailored suit, without a speck of dust on him. "Tessa, step outside for a minute." His voice was as cold and aloof as ever, devoid of any emotion. He pushed a three-million-dollar check toward me. "The debt your father left behind is too deep of a black hole. The Vance family cannot go down with you. My mother has already chosen a new fiancée for me." He paused, a rare flush creeping up behind his ears. "My future wife is Chloe." The fragile smile I had been forcing instantly shattered. Chloe—the girl Julian had desperately chased for three years during his college days, his untouchable dream girl. Later on, I handled my father's funeral all on my own, liquidated every single asset, and clawed my way back up from hell. When we met again, it was at his and Chloe's lavish wedding. With bloodshot eyes, he told me he regretted it all. He claimed that I was the only woman he had ever truly loved. I pulled my hand back with a faint smile and handed him the positive ultrasound report I had picked up just this morning. "Mr. Vance, I'm already married." I rested my hand gently over my stomach and smiled softly. "And my husband is waiting for me to come home and share the good news." After laying my father to rest, I began selling off whatever remained of our family's assets. The suburban villa, luxury sports cars, rare art pieces... everything that could be converted into cash was put up for sale. Even with Julian's three million dollars, it was barely a drop in the bucket against the suffocating debt my father had left behind. Overnight, I tumbled from a pampered heiress surrounded by admirers to a broke, debt-ridden outcast. The "friends" who used to swarm around me now treated me like the plague. My phone stayed dead silent, save for the debt collectors who called with vicious punctuality. One afternoon, carrying several limited-edition designer bags, I headed to the largest luxury consignment boutique downtown. The boutique owner, Clara, had been on good terms with my family, and I had brought her plenty of business in the past. The moment I walked through the doors, I saw several familiar faces. It was Julian's close circle of childhood buddies, Austin and Tyler. They were crowding around an elegant, slender woman, browsing the latest fine jewelry collection. I froze, a numbing cold washing through my limbs. That woman was Chloe. When Austin spotted me, a sneer instantly curled onto his face. "Well, well, isn't this Miss Tessa? What happened? Fallen so hard you're hawking used bags now?" Tyler chimed in with sharp sarcasm, "Come on, Austin, don't be so harsh. She’s being totally independent and self-reliant now. So inspiring, really. I just wonder if the millions Julian gave her was enough to cover her debts." I gripped the bags against my chest, my nails digging deep into my palms, though my face remained blank. I didn't bother wasting my breath on them. Walking straight past them to the counter, I set the bags down before Clara. Clara looked at me, her eyes filled with sorrow and sympathy. Lowering her voice, she murmured, "Tessa, sweetheart, why push yourself like this? If you need help, talk to me. Don't carry it all alone." I shook my head and forced a tight, bitter smile. "I'm fine, Clara. Just please appraise these and see what you can give me. I need the money urgently." Chloe overheard us. Clicking her high heels, she strolled over with practiced elegance. Her gaze drifted lazily over the bags on the counter, a faint, condescending smirk playing at the corner of her lips. "Miss Tessa, I never expected to run into you in a place like this." Her voice was sugary sweet, but laced with haughty pity. "Aren't these the birthday gifts Julian bought for you over the years? Rushing to sell them off so quickly... it seems you really are desperate for cash." Her words felt like needles pricking straight into my heart. Right then, the boutique door was pushed open, and Julian walked in. The moment his eyes landed on me, his expression darkened. His brow furrowed tight, radiating undisguised disgust. "Tessa, what are you doing here?" he demanded coldly. "Are you stalking me?" I was so infuriated that I couldn't even muster a sarcastic laugh. A shiver ran down my spine. I lifted my chin and looked at him calmly. "Julian, I'm just here to sell some personal items." My calm demeanor seemed to infuriate him even more. Chloe immediately linked her arm through Julian's, speaking in a gentle, soothing tone. "Julian, please don't be angry. Miss Tessa probably just happened to be in the area. Given her difficult situation, we should be a little more understanding." Her performative grace made me look even more like a pathetic, clingy ex. Austin poured fuel on the fire from the side. "Julian, she’s clearly still obsessed with you and trying to worm her way back into your life! You should stay as far away from this woman as possible!" Julian's face grew uglier. As if unwilling to waste another breath on me, he pulled a thick stack of cash from his designer wallet and slammed it onto the glass counter with a heavy thud. "I'm buying these bags." He glared at me, his eyes cold as ice. "Tessa, I told you, we're completely even. Take the money and never show your face in front of me again." That contemptuous tone and arrogant charity struck me like a resounding slap across the face. The stack of bills sat on the counter, glaring and sharp, mocking whatever pathetic shred of pride I had left. I looked at the money, then at Chloe beaming at his side, and finally at Austin and Tyler gloating behind them. Suddenly, it all felt utterly absurd. My hands trembled uncontrollably at my sides. After a few silent seconds, I took a deep breath, swallowing the bitter bile rising in my throat, and stepped forward. Under everyone's watchful eyes, I reached out and picked up the cash. Then, right in front of them, I counted the bills slowly, one by one. Looking up, I flashed Julian a stiff, polite smile. "Three thousand dollars in total. You're very generous, Mr. Vance. These bags were worth far more when they were bought, but since they're second-hand now, I suppose this will do." I slid the cash into my worn canvas tote bag, turned to Clara, and said softly, "Clara, keep the bags here. Mr. Vance has already covered the bill." Julian clearly hadn't expected me to react like this. A flicker of shock crossed his handsome face, followed by an even deeper, darker scowl. I didn't look at him again, nor did I look at anyone else. Straightening my spine, I turned around and walked out of the store, step by step. It wasn't until I cleared the glass doors and the biting afternoon wind hit my face that the tears finally spilled over. Clutching the worn tote holding that humiliating charity, I crouched on the bustling street corner and sobbed like a lost, broken child. It turned out that in the face of brutal reality, a person's pride could truly be ground into dust.To scrape together more cash as quickly as possible, I brought out a private collection of fine wines my father had kept before his death. Among them was a rare bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, worth a small fortune. I contacted the manager of an exclusive underground auction house, hoping it would fetch a high price. The auction was hosted inside a discreet private club—dimly lit, heavy with tension and opulence. Dressed in a plain T-shirt and washed-out jeans, I sat among the glittering, impeccably dressed elites, sticking out like a sore thumb. When my bottle of wine was brought onto the stage, my palms broke out in a cold sweat. This was likely the last high-value asset I could liquidate. Just then, a young man wearing an oversized hoodie, a baseball cap, and a black face mask slid into the seat right beside me. He kept his face largely hidden in the shadows, revealing only a pair of defiant, untamed eyes. He smelled faintly of expensive liquor and an earthy hint of tobacco. "Hey," he suddenly spoke up, his voice slightly raspy yet unmistakably youthful. "You here to sell stuff too?" I ignored him. He kept rambling on his own. "I just had a massive blowout with my family and walked out. They're dead set on forcing me to take over the family business. It’s suffocating. Tell me, why can't people just do what they actually love?" I remained silent. My own life was drowning in chaos; I had no energy to entertain the complaints of a spoiled, rebellious rich kid. He didn't seem to need a response anyway. He kept muttering under his breath, jumping from pro gaming tournaments to his tyrannical older brother, and then to his pet cat. He only stopped when the bidding on my wine began. The numbers climbed steadily, and my heart jumped into my throat with every bid. Eventually, the hammer fell on a number that exceeded my expectations. I let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief. The guy beside me suddenly scoffed, "Boring." With that, he stood up and strode away. By the time I finished the paperwork, collected the check, and exited the auction house, it was already late into the night. As soon as I reached the entrance, I saw the hooded guy swarmed by a pack of paparazzi and entertainment reporters. "Jax! Did you skip the championship finals today because of a feud with team management?" "Jax, there are rumors that you're announcing your retirement. Is that true?" "Jax, please comment—" Trapped in the middle, he waved his arms in irritation. "Stop flashing your cameras! Back off!" It was only then that I realized this loud, insolent boy was Jax—the legendary esports prodigy known across the country for both his god-tier gaming skills and his explosive temper. Suddenly, his eyes caught mine. His gaze lit up. Before I could react, he reached out, yanked me toward him, threw an arm over my shoulder, and declared loudly to the press, "Leave me alone! Can't you see I'm out on a date with my girlfriend?" I froze completely. A storm of camera flashes blinded us instantly. Jax leaned down, his lips brushing my ear as he whispered, "Do me a solid here. You're strapped for cash, right? I'll pay you handsomely for this." Before I could protest, he kept his arm clamped around me, shoved his way through the stunned reporters, and hauled me into a flashy sports car parked by the curb. The car roared into the night. Watching the bewildered crowd shrink in the rearview mirror, my mind went completely blank. "Thanks a million, gorgeous." Jax pulled off his mask, revealing an extraordinarily handsome face. His skin was fair, and the corners of his eyes tilted slightly upward, brimming with effortless, roguish charm. "What's your name? Let me get your SnapChat, I'll transfer the fee." "No need," I said coldly. "Pull over. I want out." He raised an eyebrow. "Feisty, aren't we? Fine, guess I owe you one." He pulled over to the curb. Without looking back, I pushed the door open and walked away into the dark. I thought it was just a bizarre, one-off encounter. Little did I know that by the very next morning, the headline "Esports God Jax's Secret Girlfriend" had blown up the internet, trending at number one across every platform.That trending topic brought me an avalanche of unwanted trouble. Not only did Jax's rabid fanbase hunt down my socials to shower me with hate, but the debt collection agencies also caught wind of the news. Assuming I had bagged a billionaire sugar daddy, their threatening calls and aggressive tactics escalated drastically. While I was drowning in stress, Jax showed up again, completely unfazed. God knows how he tracked down my phone number and address, but there he was, carrying a massive bag of snacks, standing brazenly outside the door of my cramped, rundown studio apartment. "Hey gorgeous, I'm here to settle my debt to you." He grinned like a cunning fox. "This place looks pretty rough. How about I rent you a luxury condo?" "I don't need your charity." I stood in the doorway, blocking his way in. "Come on, don't be a stranger." He slipped past me into the room, casually looking around like he owned the place. "I heard about your family going bankrupt. And your ex-fiancé is Julian from the Vance Corporation? What a colossal scumbag, dumping you when you hit rock bottom." He dumped the snacks onto the table and plopped down onto my creaky sofa. "Tell me, what do you need? As long as it's within my power, consider it done." Looking at his carefree, slacker attitude, irritation flared in my chest. "I need you to stay far away from me." "Can't do that." He held his hands up playfully. "I still owe you a favor. Or... how about I go beat the crap out of Julian for you?" I scoffed, exasperated. "Who do you think you are? You think you can assault someone without facing consequences?" "Sure I can," he said matter-of-factly. "My family has endless money to clean up my messes. My older brother's practically an expert at it." I realized trying to reason with this completely unhinged boy was an exercise in futility. Ignoring him, I sat down and continued sorting through the towering mountain of debt notices and legal documents. He stopped talking too. He just leaned back on the sofa, watching me quietly. The tiny room fell dead silent, broken only by the rustling of papers. After a long while, he spoke up again, his tone unusually subdued. "Hey... hurts like hell, doesn't it?" I didn't look up. "When my grandmother passed away, I acted just like you. Pretending to be tough, pretending nothing was wrong, while everything inside me was rotting to pieces." He paused. "You know, if you want to cry, just cry. It's really no big deal." My hands froze. Tears spilled without warning, splashing onto the documents and smudging the black ink. Ever since my father died, everyone had looked at me with pity, condescension, or disgust. Only him—a stranger I had known for barely two days—saw straight through my armor. I couldn't hold it back anymore. Burying my face in my arms, the sobs I had choked down for weeks tore out of my chest. Jax didn't come over to smother me with empty reassurances. He simply reached out and placed a pack of tissues quietly beside my elbow. When I finally cried myself out, he spoke softly. "Done? Good. Now let's figure out how to fix this mess. You can't carry this alone. Do you trust me?" I lifted my red, swollen eyes to look at him. He broke into a bright grin, showing off two sharp little canines. "From today on, I'm your guy. Not a boyfriend, but an ally. You do the scheming, and I'll be your muscle and your bankroll. Deal?" At that moment, the afternoon sun filtered through the small, dusty window, catching the warm light in his eyes. They sparkled like stars. Under a strange spell, I nodded.Jax truly became my ally. He never forced cash directly onto me, knowing my pride would reject it. Instead, he helped me in the most roundabout ways. He would claim he was in a foul mood after losing a match, dragging me to the highest-end restaurants, where he'd "accidentally" order an entire table of my favorite dishes. He would complain that his closet was overflowing, forcing bags of brand-new designer clothes onto me—clothes that mysteriously fit my exact measurements. He even showed up out of nowhere like a guardian angel when a group of debt collectors cornered me in an alley, taking down three burly thugs with swift, ruthless efficiency. Even though he ended up with a bruised cheek and split lip, he grinned wider than anyone. "Hey gorgeous, was I badass or what?" He tilted his chin up, looking like a puppy begging for a treat. Dabbing antiseptic onto his cut, I muttered in exasperation, "Yeah, badass. A totally reckless idiot." With his presence, a splash of color slowly returned to my bleak, gray existence. I even found the strength to start fighting back. Julian and Chloe's engagement party was set for a month later. The invitation arrived in my email via Austin, accompanied by a spiteful note: [You're cordially invited, Miss Tessa, to witness the happiness you could never deserve.] It was obviously Chloe's doing. She wanted to crush me under her heel in front of high society. I showed the invite to Jax. He slammed his phone onto the sofa. "The nerve of these people! Let's crash it! Let's make sure that damn wedding never happens!" "Crashing it is amateur," I said, shaking my head with a cold smirk. "I'm going to give them a real gift. A gift that will haunt the rest of their miserable lives." I began digging. Using what few connections my father had left behind, I ran a deep background check on Chloe. Soon enough, I unearthed a fascinating secret. The degree she boasted on her resume from abroad wasn't in finance at all—it was in art history. Her high-level executive position at the Vance Corporation was handed to her purely through her family's ties with Julian's parents. And the sole reason Julian had fallen for her intellect during his early startup days was because she had conveniently presented him with a groundbreaking core proposal that aligned perfectly with his vision. On paper, they looked like a match made in heaven. Except... that business proposal was written by me. Back in our junior year of college, Julian was building his first tech startup, practically living in the campus library. I stayed by his side through countless sleepless nights, drafting the market analyses and strategic blueprints for him. Later, he claimed the project was shelved, and the draft was forgotten. Looking back, he had simply taken my hard work and handed it over as a trophy to court his dream girl. On the evening of the engagement gala, I wore a sleek, elegant black cocktail dress Jax had picked out for me, with sharp, flawless makeup. Jax wore an immaculate white tuxedo, looking like a prince straight out of a fairy tale. Standing side by side, we looked undeniably striking. "Gorgeous, you look breathtaking tonight," he murmured, his eyes glowing with genuine awe. "A hundred times prettier than that Chloe chick." I took his arm, and together we stepped into the glittering, chandelier-lit grand ballroom. Our entrance instantly drew every eye in the room. Catching sight of me, Julian marched over with a livid face, his voice dropping into a harsh hiss. "Tessa, what are you doing here? I'm warning you, tonight is the most important night for Chloe and me. Don't you dare cause a scene!" Before I could reply, Jax stepped smoothly in front of me, flashing an insolent smile. "Watch your tone, Mr. Vance. My girlfriend is just here to offer her congratulations. How is that causing a scene?" "Your girlfriend?" Julian's gaze flickered rapidly between the two of us, filled with disbelief and a flicker of rage he couldn't quite conceal. Austin stormed over as well, pointing an accusatory finger at me. "Tessa, you shameless bitch! You barely broke up with Julian and you've already hooked up with this boy-toy?" I didn't waste a second arguing. I walked straight past them and took a seat in an inconspicuous corner near the stage. The ceremony commenced. Julian and Chloe stood together under the spotlight, looking every bit the golden couple. The host spoke passionately into the microphone, reciting their "epic love story." "...During the darkest, most grueling days of Mr. Julian Vance's startup journey, it was Miss Chloe Montgomery who crossed oceans to deliver a priceless strategic blueprint, laying the very cornerstone of his empire. She told him, 'Your dream is my dream.' What a divine, soulmate connection! Let us shower them with our warmest congratulations!" Thunderous applause erupted across the hall. Chloe gazed at Julian with adoring, tear-filled eyes. Moved, Julian pulled her into an emotional embrace, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. At that exact moment, I pulled out my phone and hit 'send,' delivering a comprehensive dossier to every mainstream financial journalist sitting in the press corner. Then, I stood up, walked over to Austin, and said in a calm, clear voice: "Austin, haven't you secretly been in love with Chloe for years? How about I give you a golden opportunity?"