My substitute husband is a billionaire

Julia's POV As I twisted the key within the lock, the door came open without its usual clicking sound, which meant that it wasn't locked. Feeling under the weather, I'd left work earlier than usual to get some rest. My body froze the moment my gaze locked on the red pair of designer heels behind the door. I had no idea how long I stared at them while quietly taking mine off before tiptoeing to our bedroom. That was when I heard it— "You like that, don't you", came Theodore's raspy voice as the noise of bodies clapping filled my ears. "Mmhm", the woman's tone was close to a moan in response. "Ughh...fuck", Theodore groaned, "I can't wait to marry you". At those words, my mind went blank. Of course, we had problems here and there, but I couldn't fathom hearing my husband discuss his marriage plans with another woman. The grip on my bag loosened, letting it fall to the ground with a muffled thud and I rushed toward the front doors as fast as I could. I wanted to get away from it all—I needed to. Even after exiting the building, I kept running. I couldn't tell my eyes were watery until it became difficult to see through the blurring tears. It was already about two blocks away from my apartment when I crouched down by the sidewalk to gather my thoughts. The tears were flowing freely now, "Theo...why?", the words left my lips involuntarily as sobs followed after. The simple recollection of all I'd given up to be with him made my fingers curl up into fists. All the money we'd spent building our business together, all the promises we'd made to start a family together, and even the love he claimed to feel for me. "It was all a joke". My fingers dug into my pocket to find my phone. With shaking hands, I dialed the number of the only person who would cheer me up. "Monica!", she picked up after the first ring, and a lump formed at my throat. "Theo, he...he was with another woman!", my voice was a few octaves higher than usual, before cracking as I spoke. There was a short pause from the other end of the line and I expected a scolding. "Julia, where are you?". Her tone was low and worried. "Two blocks away from my place, I'm not sure", I sniffled. "I'm on my way". At those words, she hangs up without even a word of encouragement. Out of all the people who disliked Theodore, she was his biggest hater. Whenever I complained to her about his bad habits and inadequacies, she'd advise me to opt for a divorce. They both never saw eye to eye and hated each other's company so I stopped trying to force them to get along. A car pulled up beside me about ten minutes later. It was no surprise since Monica's apartment was a few blocks away from ours. "Julia?", she looked down at me from her sports car and I lifted my blurry eyes, squinting to make out her face. "Your face is all red, get in", she leaned sideways to push the passenger door open. When I didn't budge, her tone became more stern as she repeated the words, "Julia! Get in, now!". I climbed over the passenger seat to settle into the car's plush leather interior. Once seated, I closed my eyes again, leaning against the window. She turned on the AC and started driving, still in complete silence. I felt exhausted. My heart ached while everything else felt numb. Monica on the other hand was less talkative than usual, I could only assume it was because she wanted to give me space to clear my thoughts. But I needed her to say something, anything at all that would make me feel better. "He said he wanted to marry her", I trailed off, wiping my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt. "I always told you how bad Theodore was for you, but you never listened", she took a short breath, trying to lower her tone so I wouldn't feel more responsible. "Look Julia, I don't always want to be the bad cop, but divorcing that bastard is as easy as signing a paper". "I know", I tried to smile as I looked her way. "I'll do that now, this was the last straw.” I sniffled and tears rolled down my cheeks. “Yo, you need to stop letting community d**k Theo f**k up your life.” She finger-combed my hair. “You are too good for him, way too beautiful to be tied to him.” I bobbed my head and accepted the tissue she offered me. “I'm done with him this time around.” She exhaled in relief. "Good girl", she nodded, turning to look back to the road as she drove. "Now how about we have a little fun tonight to make up for it?". I nodded in response and she drove straight to her house. Inside, we had a long shower together followed by a manicure and pedicure before getting down to our makeup. I was a size bigger than her so her loose dress was the best choice for me. "Oh my word!", she exclaimed, eyeing my makeup carefully. "You look amazing!". "Thank you. So do you", I replied with a weak smile as she applied mascara and eyeliner around my eyes. We talked idly about what we planned to do with our hair as we both opted for a wavy look. The dress I wore was black with a corset fitting. It hung halfway up my thighs, making me feel a little too exposed. "Do you have black tights?", I asked with a red face and she nodded in approval. She wore a fitted leather dress. It hugged her slim figure well but I wondered how she could manage to move in it. We'd already wasted four hours at her place before leaving for a popular club. Monica was a party animal so she knew the best places to get wasted. I on the other hand struggled to adapt to the loud music which could be heard from outside the club. "Are you ready?". She seemed excited. "Yes!", I nodded, taking her hand as we walked in. The insides of the club were packed! I was relieved that we weren't alone, and most of the other guests were women, who seemed happy to dance with friends while having a good time. The whole place was illuminated by neon lights and the music made my ears ring. Monica pulled me towards the bar where a handsome man asked for what we'd be having. "The usual, Victor!", she raised her voice so he could hear her and he nodded in response before glancing my way. "She's with me". Monica pointed to me and he smiled in acknowledgement. I glanced around the room with unfocused eyes when I locked gazes with a man on the second floor. He was standing by the rails, dressed in a tux as if he'd come to have a business meeting at a bar. I averted my gaze quickly when the bartender returned to pour out our drinks. "On three!", Monica said as we both held our glasses. "One, two, three!". I gulped the hot liquid down my throat as quickly as I could. The aftertaste was a bit sweet, but the usual bitterness was stuck in my throat. "What is this?", I asked as the bartender poured our second shot. "One, two, three!". She yelled out again and I found myself gulping down its contents with more effort. I could feel the heat stuck in my throat flow down into my belly. "Vodka". "Vodka?!", I yelled out, wanting to confirm. I hadn't drunk in months and when it came to my alcohol tolerance, I was nowhere near her level. She laughed, "Yeah, like this, watch, it gets easier". A few minutes passed and I'd quit after my fourth glass when Monica pulled me to the dance floor. "This is my song!", she smiled as the Katy Perry track came on and I laughed at her words for some reason. I was a bad dancer, but who cared about that with the amount of people around? Like hell, anyone was going to see me breakdance to a pop song. I didn't know why I was laughing but I kept dancing till I looked down to find Monica's legs fitted into a red pair of heels similar to the one from my apartment. My body froze and my eyes shut briefly to clear my head, thinking that it was the alcohol, but when I reopened them, Monica was gone alongside her red pair of heels.