Substitute Love: Her Boss Is Ex

Chapter 3

Emily woke up and found that William was no longer beside her. She blushed as she thought about what they did in bed last night. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that she would one day be in bed with such a handsome and talented man.

She got out of bed and walked with a spring in her step toward the bathroom to wash up. After washing up, she dressed up and then went into the study to see if William was inside. She looked around the study and then inadvertently saw a jewelry box on the desk. Curiosity got the better of her and she opened it while holding her breath. She gasped in surprise when she saw a large and dazzling diamond ring inside with an accompanying card that read: “To my dearest.”

William was going to propose to her?

Emily’s jaw hit the floor in total disbelief and shock. When she snapped back to reality, she felt a joyous feeling erupting within her. This was really happening. She could finally be happy and it all came so suddenly.

Just as she was savoring her newfound bliss, she heard the rattling of the front door handle. Emily was alerted and began to panic as she thought that it was a burglar. Just as she was about to call William for help, the door opened and a tall, beautiful, and sexy blonde lady sashayed followed by two men dressed in black business suits.

“William, I’m back,” she said cheerfully.

Her radiant smile immediately turned upside down when she saw Emily. She hesitated for a second and asked angrily, “Who are you? Why are you in William’s house?”

Emily frowned and asked in return, “You are?”

The blonde lady crossed her arms, looked at Emily from head to toe, and declared. “I’m William’s fiancée, Lucille.”

Emily froze.

Fiancée? What fiancée? William never mentioned that he had a fiancée!

“Miss Lucille, I’m afraid you’ve made a mistake. William never mentioned that he has a fiancée. William and I are very much in love, and he is about to propose to me. Now please leave immediately, or I will call the police.”

Emily pulled out her cell phone and before she could make the call, Lucille ordered one of her bodyguards to seize her phone.

“Marriage proposal?” Lucille scoffed and then said as she looked at Emily with disgust, “Hmph, looks like you’re just another pathetic fool. William and I have been in love for years. My job requires me to go travel very often and he frequently looks for gullible girls like you to satisfy his needs whenever I’m away. Now that I am back, there is no longer any need for you. Be sensible and leave by yourself.”

Emily tried to resist but was thrown out of the house by the two bodyguards and slapped twice in the process.

When Emily called William, she thought he would stand up for her and tell her that what she said was not true. She wanted so much to hear him say that she was his only woman.

However, William said calmly, “Emily, come to the office first, and I’ll make arrangements for you.”

“But why? William, that Lucille...”

“She’s right. She’s the woman I love. You’re just a stand-in during her absence.” William said unapologetically, “Emily, although I will never marry you, I like you very much because you are well-behaved. Stay with me and you’ll have a life of luxury. Come over to the office.”

Emily felt dazed momentarily.

It turned out that the diamond ring was not for her. It never was.

She thought their relationship was pure and her dedication toward him would soon be rewarded. However, little did she know that all these were lies and empty holes. She could only blame herself for being so stupid. How could a relationship have a fairy tale ending when it began as a transaction? How could a poor wretch like her, who no one ever wanted, turn from an ugly duckling into a swan?

Emily instantly came to her senses. She had to rely on herself to carve out a new life as no one would do that for her.

“I’m sorry, William. I don’t want to be a third party who ruins relationships. I hate you.”

William yelled furiously in return, “Emily, you can’t disobey my orders! No one disobeys me! Do you hear me?”

Emily threw the phone violently to the ground and it broke into pieces. She then left without looking back. Now, she had nowhere to go but to stay at the school for the time being. However, William’s men soon found her. She ran around and managed to evade the men as she was determined not to be used again. She found a secluded spot at the bus station and slept for the night. The next day she realized that in her haste to escape, she had not brought her handbag and was penniless. She had to get a job to make ends meet.

She applied to be a cashier at a few convenience stores but the hiring process required her to utilize her true identity which she was unwilling to, less William was able to track her down. Thus, she ended up at a shady pub that regularly hired illegals and ex-convicts.

“Boss, I’ll do a good job, please hire me... cough cough!” She begged the pub owner as the man blew smoke rings into her face, choking her to tears.

The boss of the pub looked at her sleazily and said, “One week. If you do a good job this week, I will consider keeping you here. But I can tell you in advance, we have premium services here. You’ll have to help out when it gets too busy.”

Emily did not clarify what he meant by “premium services” and readily agreed. “I’ll do my best. Thank you, boss.”

Emily was given her work attire and was led into the back kitchen by the bartender. She was responsible for serving food and drinks to the customers, as well as cleaning up the place.

Emily was relieved that she had found a place where she could make a living for the time being. At least she would have somewhere to stay and would not starve to death.

One day, Emily put on her work attire and went about her duties as she normally did. She was about to serve a customer a bottle of wine when the boss ordered her to change into another outfit to serve the high-end customers.

“Serving you all today is this little cutie pie. She’s new so do be gentle.” The boss bowed respectfully to the poker players, left the room, and locked the door.

Emily was stunned as she stood in her skimpy outfit that barely covered her breasts and buttocks. In the smoke-filled dimly lit room, she saw several burly men sitting at the poker table. They were dressed in suits, smoked cigars, and had a deathly aura. Somehow, she felt that the man sitting on the far left appeared familiar but she could not put a finger on where she had seen him.

“A newcomer? She looks young and must be must feel amazing.” The bald man in the middle stood up, grinned lewdly, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Honey, you smell so good.”

Emily, who had never been in such a situation, immediately turned pale with fear.

At this time the man on the far left stood up and said, “Take it easy, Mike, there are better ones later. Why don’t you see a few more before you decide?”

That voice...

Emily froze and looked over again in disbelief. Now she managed to see that the man was William!

The baldie was stunned and said frostily, “William, you’ve already taken a bit chunk of our profits. Now you still want to take this girl from me? Don’t forget that I was the one who brought you here.”

Emily had a glimmer of hope in her heart that William would save her. However, instead of being a knight who saved a damsel in distress, he grinned and said, “You misunderstood, Mike. I just wanted to say that she’s an amateur and does not know how to pleasure you. If you want her, then you have to teach her a thing or two. How could I take your girl after you’ve given me such a good deal?”

“Hahaha, that’s what I want to hear!” The bald man laughed and then violently grabbed Emily’s collar. “I love to teach amateurs. Just nice, today I’ll teach you how to pleasure men.”

His callous hands began to feel all over Emily’s body as she tried in vain to break free. In the end, she gave up and felt like a lamb led to the s*******r.

“Help me... help...” she whimpered as she was dragged by the baldie toward the room. As they approached, she could see all sorts of gut-wrenching s****l props and accessories. She began to cry and looked toward William in a feeble attempt to beg for his help.

William replied indifferently, “My dearest, remember to behave and don’t do anything unpleasant to upset Mike. I believe you should be able to understand what I am saying.”

Emily looked at his condescending smile and realized that she should never place any hope in him ever again. As the baldie dragged her past the table, she grabbed an empty beer bottle and then slammed it over his head.

The baldie was knocked out and collapsed onto the ground. Emily was finally free from his grasp and turned to run. During her escape, she accidentally tripped and fell heavily onto the ground. Just as she was trying to pick herself up from the floor, she heard sounds of footsteps approaching from behind her and then a large hand grasped her neck.

“Emily my Emily. It’s been a long time.”

William’s face gradually appeared next to her cheek and he pressed the lit end of his cigar onto her back.

“Ouch! It hurts!” Emily cried out in pain as her hands flailed wildly.

William squatted in front of her and patted her cheek condescendingly. “Have you learned your lesson? No one leaves unless I say so. Once you’re mine, you have no right to make your decisions. This better not happen again.”

Emily sobbed as tears trickled down her cheeks. She wanted to escape from there but now was dragged out of that pub by William.

Onlookers looked at her nonchalantly even as she was dragged against her will across the pub. Emily’s hopes for humanity were once again dashed. She closed her eyes in resignation until she was shoved into the car. She begged William to release her but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

The car started up and he drove them along a road that took them on a bridge that spanned a river.

Emily thought about the days when she was madly in love with him and how perfect everything was. She even began to think about being married to him and starting their own family. Who could have thought that her seemingly perfect relationship could crash so completely and throw her into such a dark and cold abyss?

“William, goodbye.” Emily smiled coldly at him and without waiting for William’s reaction, she grabbed the steering wheel and swerved. William fought her for control of the car but it began to spin and then slid toward the pillar.

Crash!

The airbags deployed and both of them were in a daze after the violent crash. Emily quickly came to her senses, struggled to open the car door, and then staggered away from the car.

“Damn it!” William covered his bleeding forehead and furiously kicked open the car door. He began to chase after her.

“Emily! You b***h! Stop where you are!”

Emily was so shocked by the situation that in her desperation to escape, she jumped over the guardrail and plunged into the cold dark raging river.