Chapter 9
“Relax,” I said coolly. I have no interest in picking up someone else’s leftovers.”
Stella, on the other hand, clearly wasn’t listening. “You poor, pathetic housewives,” she scoffed, “Grasping for a shred of dignity when it’s already too late. If you can’t keep a man, just admit it. No need to make such a scene.“}
She twirled a lock of hair around her finger, her eyes dripping with smugness.
“Face it, you’ve lost your value,” she purred. “He loves someone more worthy now. Someone like me. You don’t measure up.
Looking at this young woman, I couldn’t help but see a reflection of myself from ten years ago: fearless, reckless, a little succubus with nothing to lose.
“You’re wrong,” I said calmly. “He doesn’t love you. If he did, you wouldn’t be here, throwing a tantrum at my
door
Something in her expression twitched. It seems my words had clearly struck a nerve. Stella’s composure cracked as her voice rose slightly.)
“That’s not true! He does love me! He promised he’s coming with me this weekend to meet my family”
I tilted my head, a hint of amusement playing at my lips. “Wanna bet on that? I bet he won’t go home with you“}
“Fine,” she snapped. “Let’s bet. If I lose, f’ll walk away–completely. Пl disappear from both your lives for good.”
Smiling, I calmly typed out a message on my phone. I tried reaching out to Zack who was likely still scrambling to catch “Ms. Hammond”
at the airport. I told him I was just signing a contract–and casually invited him to the seaside with me this weekend.
“There,” I said, slipping my phone back into my pocket. “You can call him now.”
“Stella eyed me with growing suspicion, then hesitantly dialed his number
“Hey, babe? My parents already booked the restaurant for this weekend. It’ll be the perfect chance for our families to-” “Baby, I’ve got a business deal this weekend.T
But you promised!” Stella’s voice cracked, tinged with a hint of hysteria.
“Come on, baby, you know I’m doing this for us Don’t make a scene, alright?”
With that, Zack hung up without another word.
I looked at Stella calmly. “A bet’s a bet.”
Defeat flickered in Stella’s eyes. She swayed slightly as she turned and walked out, silent. Just as she reached the door, she collapsed falling straight to the floor. Thankfully, after reclaiming my succubus powers, my reflexes had sharpened. I caught her in time and rushed her to the hospital.
Now, standing beside the hospital bed, I watched as her eyes slowly fluttered open
I let out a quiet sigh. “You’re… pregnant”
My gaze softened, a flicker of something unreadable crossing my face. Regret, was it? Pity? Even I wasn’t sure.
“Take care of yourself,” I said simply. “That’s all I’ll say Those were my final words before I left her alone.
Ah, another poor woman following in my footsteps, making the same mistakes I once did.
The moment I reclaimed my succubus identity, the contract lost its hold on me. Which meant one thing: my full power, my wealth, everything that came with it was mine to use again.
overy
The next time I saw Zack, that familiar look of awe returned to his eyes. This time, though, it was different. Every luxury I wore now, ev piece of jewelry, every designer thread was truly mine. Not borrowed. Not faked. Eamed.
“Ms. Hammond,” he said, slowly, unable to hide the admiration in his voice, “you’re far more powerful than I imagined.” He paused. Clearing his throat. “So… about those projects I mentioned last time, Zack said cautiously. “I was wondering if…”
I smiled, beckoning him over with a lazy wave of my hand. “Come on, Zack. Those little schemes of yours? Child’s play.”
Now that I had money, spinning up a few fake projects for him to sink his teeth into was laughably easy.
And he fell for it every time. Each time he invested, I returned triple the amount all from my own pocket. I made sure he got hooked. Let him feel lucky. Let him think he’d won.
By the third time, he came back eager, greedy, ready to pour in even more.
This time, I shook my head. “Zacky,” I said sweetly, “it’s not that I don’t love you, darling. You know, this puts me in a tough spot,” I said with a sympathetic sigh. “The deals I’m working with now start at one and a half million dollars, minimum.“}]
I had already done the math. Over the years, Zack had managed to scrape together exactly that much.
“The next buy–in? That’s your entry price of at least one and a half million.”W
I leaned in slightly, lowering my voice just enough to make it feel like a secret. “And trust me, this window’s closing fast. The market’s hot right now misses this wave and there won’t be any fish left to catch”
Just as I expected, he started to panic.
I gave him just enough rope to dangle hope in front of him.
In the end, he came up short.
