Chapter 1The Billion-Dollar Breakup: Confessions of a Former Doormat

Carter Brooks was picking up girls at a bar, and he called me over to foot the bill.

For three years, I had spent a staggering $10 million on him.

He had never even bought me a single iced latte.

He thought I was his ultimate doormat. He believed I would do whatever he wanted, forever.

That was, until a mechanical voice echoed in my mind: "One billion dollars in cash has been distributed. Mission complete. Detaching from host."

I knew I could finally leave him.

Later, Carter chased after me relentlessly.

He demanded to know why I wasn't treating him as well as I used to.

I just laughed.

"People have to look forward, you know? As you said yourself, that was the past."

* * *

I was squatting outside the nightclub, sick of scrolling through my phone.

Through the neon lights and the haze of alcohol, a burst of laughter pierced my ears.

"Why is Harper so obedient? She actually waited three hours out there?"

"Jealous?"

"Hell yeah, I'm jealous. I wish she was my girlfriend."

"Oh, screw off. Have you looked in a mirror lately? She’d rather be my little doormat than be with a guy like you. She's never going to leave me."

My body trembled. A wave of nausea hit me.

A doormat...

I truly had been Carter Brooks's doormat for three years. And a pathetic one at that.

He flirted; I bought the roses.

He booked the hotel rooms; I paid the bill.

He broke up with them; I paid the "wasted youth" compensation fees.

Over the years, he’d gone through twenty or thirty girlfriends. Eventually, I couldn't even remember their names or their faces.

There were too many. It was too chaotic.

This time, Carter was picking up a girl at a club.

He texted me saying he was drunk and needed me to pick him up.

But after I waited outside for three hours, he walked out looking perfectly sober.

I knew exactly what he was doing. He was trampling on my dignity in front of others just to flex his superiority.

In his eyes, my pride was worthless.

I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood...

Not long after, Carter stumbled over.

His footsteps were heavy, his eyes hazy, and his arm was wrapped tightly around a girl's waist. He tossed an order at me like I was the valet.

"Harper, pay the tab!"

I stayed silent, obediently walking inside to swipe my card.

Behind me, the roar of "Carter is the man!" echoed through the crowd.

In that moment, I felt like a stray dog.

After paying the $1,000 bar tab, they were planning to hit a VIP karaoke lounge, and after that, a hotel.

I couldn't take it anymore.

I tried to reason with him.

"I have to work tomorrow. I'll leave you two grand. Just take an Uber home tonight, okay?"

Carter’s face darkened instantly.

"If you go home now, don't ever bother seeing me again."

My body shook uncontrollably. My face went pale.

Carter looked satisfied. He’d seen this expression on my face countless times.

It was the look that meant I was about to compromise.

And I really was terrified.

The phantom feeling of electricity surging through my veins had already triggered a trauma response.