My Ex's "C" Was Never Me

Another wire transfer pinged.

It was another "apology payment" from Victoria Sterling, my girlfriend of five years.

This one was different: $500,000.

Far more than her usual fifty thousand, a sum that had already made me secretly rich.

I' d played the role of the devoted, slightly naive boyfriend perfectly for too long.

But this unprecedented amount felt less like an apology and more like a severance.

Then, a video message arrived from Dylan Price, from Vicky' s social circle.

It showed Vicky at a party, her arms wrapped around a young man, kissing him deeply.