I Funded Him 10 Years, I Married His Boss

The second Jace got the offer from Spencer Corporation, his eyes burned bright with excitement. Right after that, his hands shaking so badly he could barely hold the phone, he tapped the screen and dialed. The line barely rang once before he blurted out, "Sadie, I finally got into the company you've always dreamed of working for!" Sadie Wilson... The girl Jace had kept locked away in the deepest corner of his heart ever since he was a broke college student scraping by on scholarships. The smile slipped right off my face. I was just about to turn and leave when Jace grabbed my arm hard. "I invited all the students you sponsor to a group dinner. It's also a way to say thank you for all the support you've given me over the years." I stared straight into his eyes. "Is Sadie Wilson coming?" He froze for a second, then nodded slowly. I huffed and wrenched my arm out of his grip. "You guys have fun. I'm not going." But Jace clamped down on my hand and wouldn't let go. "I... I'm dating Sadie now. She knows I have a female sponsor, and I don't want her to get the wrong idea..." "What?" My blood ran ice-cold in my veins. "I want to clear the air at this dinner... I don't want this whole thing to be a thorn in both our sides..." It felt like my heart had just been tossed into a frozen lake, ice creeping through every vein in my body. Ever since I started sponsoring him, I'd spoiled him rotten, bent over backward to give him everything he ever wanted. All because he once said he "didn't want to live off a woman's money." So I'd pulled every string I had and thrown my wealth and connections at him until I got him that position at Spencer Corporation, no questions asked. And all that work I put in? It just paved the way for him and his new girlfriend, and now my existence is the "thorn in their side" they're desperate to yank out. How utterly ridiculous. A warm drop landed on the back of my hand. I looked up, and Jace's eyes were puffy and red with unshed tears. "I really don't want her to misunderstand... Please." All these years, Jace had always acted so high and mighty around me. This was the first time I'd ever seen him cry. My gaze landed on that little beauty mark at the corner of his eye, the one that made him look so much like him, and a weird, hollow feeling twisted in my chest. No matter how much he looked like him, he's never going to be the real thing. What's even the point of hanging onto a cheap substitute that doesn't even measure up? Fine. This whole ridiculous farce could end right now.