After He Betrayed Me, I Built A New Empire

Chapter 2

I had chased Dustin Hayes for four whole years, and on graduation day, he promised to build a future with me.

Since I held the rights to a highly popular game project, I partnered with him to found Scarlett-Hayes Tech.

I focused solely on the technical side, leaving the company's management entirely to him. Feeling sorry for how hard he worked, I even made him lunch every single day.

Later, under his persuasion, I resigned to become a food blogger, step by step completely losing all control over the company.

A year ago, Dustin told me he had poached a director from abroad with a high salary, and he even showed me her resume.

Staring at the vaguely familiar face, I couldn't help but ask, "Is this the senior who was two years ahead of us in college?"

Dustin nodded. "She studied abroad for five years. Her qualifications and skills are perfect for this role."

I hugged him and asked, "But I heard she was your first love."

Dustin looked up at me and laughed. "Silly girl, we're already engaged. Why are you getting jealous over nothing?"

"But we're not married yet."

"Just wait a bit longer," Dustin said. "I don't want the company we built with our own hands to go downhill because of me."

He spoke gently yet firmly, "Once the company gets through this rough patch, I'll definitely give you the wedding of your dreams."

For the past three years, he had said the exact same thing every single time.

And just like before, I compromised.

But I never expected that this compromise would cause me to lose my love completely.

Ever since Kally Miller joined the company, Dustin started working longer hours and grew increasingly cold toward me.

Rumors began circulating around the office. Some close colleagues even sent me messages, dropping subtle hints to warn me.

Thinking back to Dustin's solemn promises, I chose to trust him.

Soon after, the comments from the account named Kally started appearing under my videos.

In the beginning, I even interacted with her. Then one day, she posted a status update with a photo of the lunch I had delivered to Dustin.

The caption was: Thanks for the lovely lunch.

At that moment, my hands shook with anger. But when I went back to take a screenshot to show Dustin, she had already deleted it.

For the first time, I began to doubt their relationship.

And what happened next only confirmed my suspicions.

Dustin was a man who loved a sense of occasion. Aside from our birthdays, he always celebrated Valentine's Day.

He valued Valentine's Day above all.

Every Valentine's Day, he would bring home a cake and flowers to celebrate with me.

We would always blow out candles and make wishes together.

But on the first Valentine's Day after Kally Miller returned, Dustin went on a business trip.

That evening, I tried to video call him, but he declined, saying he was still in a meeting.

Right after that, I saw a comment from Kally in my comment section.

Kally: [The cake was delicious.]

I clicked on her profile, and sure enough, she had posted another update.

Thank you for spending my birthday with me. I hope we can be together year after year, just like you wished.

And the IP address of that post happened to match the city where Dustin was traveling for business.

Later, I confirmed with his assistant that the person traveling with Dustin was indeed Kally Miller.

Only then did I finally realize.

All those years we spent celebrating Valentine's Day together were actually Kally Miller's birthday.

I wondered if, during those few seconds when we closed our eyes to make a wish, he was wishing for our future together or wishing another woman a happy birthday.

After leaving the office, I stopped by the supermarket to pick up ingredients for dinner, and bought a bouquet of fresh flowers from a florist on my way.

I spent the entire afternoon at home cooking a lavish dinner and baking an eight-inch birthday cake.

That's right, today was my birthday.

I wanted to give Dustin and myself one last chance.

If he could just remember my birthday today, I was willing to start over with him.

At 5 o'clock, I started my livestream as usual.

It was my routine; many of my followers would prepare dinner along with me.

When they saw me whipping cream while simmering soup, they asked curiously,

A: [Is it someone's birthday? Why is Scarlett making a cake?

I smiled and interacted with them. "Yes, today is my birthday."

I knew Dustin never watched my updates, let alone my livestreams.

I had once jokingly asked him if he would be jealous since I had so many male followers.

Dustin had shaken his head. "Of course not. I want you to fulfill your own potential. My fiancée's cooking is the best in the world!"

He had laughed and added, "At worst, I'll just skip watching your streams and updates."

At exactly 7 o'clock, dinner and the cake were set on the table, alongside a bouquet of bright red roses.

I called Dustin and asked him what time he would be home.

"Sorry, Scarlett, I have an urgent meeting tonight. I'm not sure when I'll be back, so don't wait up for dinner."

Over the past year, this wasn't the first time this had happened.

In the past, I would always understand his busy schedule and gently tell him to take care of himself. But today, my mind was made up—if he didn't come home tonight, we were over. In a firm and deliberate tone, I said, "If you don't come home tonight, we're breaking up."

Impatiently, Dustin snapped, "Why are you throwing a tantrum today? I'll be back as early as I can, alright?" and hung up immediately.

I waited at home until 11 o'clock, but Dustin still hadn't returned, nor did he send a single message.

I logged onto my video account and, sure enough, saw another update Kally had posted three hours ago.

It was a photo of a sumptuous dinner in a luxury restaurant, complete with flowers and exquisite food.

On the table lay a limited-edition Patek Philippe men's watch, with a blue strap and a white dial.

It was the birthday gift I had bought for Dustin this year.