After I Died, He Married My Photo

Julienne Martin, a single billionaire, had been the talk of the town ever since her name popped up on the Forbes World's Billionaires list. Nobody could unearth a single thing about her past, and what she actually looked like was anyone's guess. Her only verified social media account had been a total ghost town for five whole years. Until today, when a brand-new post finally dropped: Going live everywhere in two hours. Right at ten o'clock, the camera flashed on. There she was, rocking a bold red lip and looking absolutely stunning. "Hey everyone, Julienne here. Quick question for my ex, though—are you tuning in?" ***** The internet instantly lost its collective mind. A: [Wait, what? Are we watching a rich girl's revenge plot? Who in their right mind would dump a gorgeous, loaded baddie?!] B: [I need to know if he's watching right now. Can't wait to see that jerk swimming in regret!] C: [Julienne, you're a billionaire at your age? Please drop the tutorial on how to get rich!] On screen, Julienne caught that comment. A smirk tugged at her lips as she tossed out, "By using men, obviously." Before anyone could even process that, she dropped another massive bombshell— "Oh, forgot to mention. My ex is actually the current richest guy around, Renald Magnier." The chat completely exploded. D: [Renald Magnier? Like, the Renald who became a massive tycoon in just five years?] E: [Wait, didn't the rumors say he hates women, and his sexuality is a question mark? How does he even have an ex?] F: [@MagnierGroup @RenaldMagnier, we need answers ASAP!] Julienne watched the comments fly by, her eyes completely calm. "He probably hates women because of me, to be honest. "Back when I tried to dump him, he literally offered me everything he owned just to hear me say, 'I love you.' "Too bad he didn't realize that, for me, cash always comes first. "I took his money, ghosted him for good, and skipped the country with a guy who was even richer." Hearing Julienne's casual explanation, the chat went absolutely feral. G: [Are you out of your mind? If you didn't even care about him, why take his money?] H: [Now that you see Renald has made it big again, you're just clout-chasing, aren't you?] I: [Your heart is wherever the money is. Julienne, do you regret it? Losing someone who loved you that much?] Julienne stared at the insults throwing shade her way and let out a soft laugh. "Love is the cheapest thing in the world. "If I hadn't seen how loaded Renald was back then, I wouldn't have given him the time of day in the first place. "So when I met someone with even deeper pockets later on, it was only natural for me to move on." The live stream had barely been up for ten minutes, but the viewer count was already in the tens of thousands. And Julienne's confession—so blunt it was practically shameless—sent the comment section into absolute meltdown. J: [Oh my god, this girl is unhinged!] K: [Nowadays, even a gold-digger can become a billionaire. My brain cannot process this.] L: [This is basically a scam! I feel so bad for Mr. Magnier, getting played for his money and his feelings.] M: [Renald is so tragic, being wrapped around a woman's finger like that.] N: [People who screw over real love deserve to end up miserable!] The stream's popularity skyrocketed, and the hashtag #TheRichestMansGoldDiggerEX shot straight to the top of the trending charts. Julienne stared at her stream—now comfortably at the top—and finally smiled in satisfaction. She reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear and said smoothly, "Alright, that's it for today. See you guys at the same time tomorrow." With that, she reached out and killed the feed. The second the screen went black, Julienne pressed a hand tightly against her chest and started coughing violently. Without the beauty filters blurring things out, she looked painfully pale and exhausted—a total contrast to the girl who had just been on screen. Her friend and assistant, Carmen, rushed over to support her, her eyes brimming with tears. "Julienne, you only left Renald back then because of your brain cancer diagnosis. Why do you have to make yourself look like the villain? "If Renald hears you talking about your past like this, he's going to absolutely despise you." Julienne froze, a sharp wave of pain hitting her right in the chest. She let out a bitter laugh. "I want him to hate me. "Renald is too sentimental. The more heartless I seem, the faster he'll be able to move on." Julienne looked at the dark camera, her smile calm and at peace. "Besides, I'm not losing out here. Even when I'm gone, the name Julienne is going to leave a permanent scar on his life." Carmen bit her lip and squeezed her hand, completely at a loss for words to change her mind. At ten o'clock the next morning, Julienne went live again. The second the camera flicked on, the chat exploded with straight-up hate. Even so, there were actually a few people who low-key respected her bluntness, and some even started throwing virtual gifts her way. Julienne locked eyes with the screen and smiled, saying, "Thanks for the love, guys..." Before she could even finish her sentence, the entire screen lit up with insane, flashing gift effects, sending the chat into absolute chaos. O: [100 Carnivals?! Who is dropping cash like that? That's three million dollars in one go!] P: [Are they out of their minds?! You're just giving Julienne exactly what she wants!] Right after that, a gold-trimmed banner message from the top donor started scrolling across the very top of the stream. Top Doner: [Julienne, you're just as repulsive as you were five years ago.] And the username on that account was just two words. Renald Magnier.