Luxury Car Spree, Instant Divorce

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My wife's sponsored student used my credit card to buy luxury cars as gifts and even tried to outbid me for the model I wanted, mocking me publicly. I froze his card and had him thrown out. Victoria wasnt angrythat night, she was more affectionate than ever.

As a holiday gift, she surprised me with a limited-edition Lamborghini. Overjoyed, I spun her around, but her nail accidentally scratched the cars paint. She brushed it off, then hurried to the restroom, handing me her card to pay.

At the counter, the manager looked apologetic. Im sorry, Mr. Pierce, but this card has been declined.

"That's impossible," I said, my brow furrowing. "I just used it yesterday. Are you sure your machine is working?"

The manager, trying to be helpful, swiped it again. And again. Each time, the result was the same.

"You see, Mr. Pierce?" he said, his patience thinning. "It's definitely an issue with the card." He leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Now, do you have another way to pay? I should mention, a globally limited-edition model, especially one that's been damaged is non-refundable."

My hand tightened around the useless piece of plastic, the heat of embarrassment crawling up my neck. I could feel the smug, mocking stares of the men at a nearby table.

"Hah, look at this guy. Talk about all show and no go," one of them snickered. "Acts like he can buy a limited-edition Lambo on a whim. Turns out he's just here to make a fool of himself."

"Yeah, let him posture," another added. "Let's see how he gets out of this one."

I looked up at the manager, forcing a calm I didn't feel. "It's alright. My wife will be right out to pay. She's just in the restroom."

We waited. An hour crawled by. The dealership was getting ready to close, but there was still no sign of Victoria.

The managers attitude had soured, his initial warmth curdling into impatience, then into cold contempt. The way he looked at me now was laced with pure disdain.

A knot of dread tightened in my stomach. I hurried to the back of the showroom. "Victoria?" I called out, pushing open the women's restroom door without thinking. It was empty. She was gone.

I walked back into the main hall like a man in a trance. My eyes fell on the deep scratch marring the Lamborghini's perfect finish, a scar left by her fingernail. A terrible premonition began to form in my mind.

I tried calling her, over and over, but every call went straight to voicemail.

Slowly, I lowered my phone. I remembered her words this morning, insisting I not use my own cards. My darling husband should only ever use his wife's money, she'd cooed.

I'd believed her. I'd walked out of the house without a single card of my own, and now, I was trapped.

Just as I was about to call a friend for help, my phone died.

The manager was a seasoned vulture. He could smell desperation a mile away. Sensing I was broke, he subtly signaled a security guard to position himself by the main entrance, watching me like a hawk.

"Mr. Pierce," he said, his voice dripping with false politeness. "Do you have any other means of payment?" He paused, letting the silence hang in the air. "If not, then we have a problem."

He leaned closer, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. "You remember last week, don't you? That young man who tried to buy this very car? Scratched it just like you did, then his card was declined. You were the one who had him thrown in a holding cell to 'learn a lesson'."

His eyes glinted. "If you can't pay for this car tonight, it'll be your turn to be locked up."

Of course, I remembered. It was Cody, the scholarship kid Victoria sponsored. Hed come in here with my card, acting like a king, calling me a worthless freeloader who'd married into the Quinn family fortune.

And then it hit me, a thought so cold and sharp it stole my breath. Was this all a setup? Did Victoria orchestrate this entire charade, a mirror image of last week's events, just to get revenge for her little pet?

"Heh. That look on your face," a voice purred from behind me. "I think you've figured it out. This is for Cody. How does it feel?"

I whipped my head around. Victoria stood there, transformed. She'd changed into a tight, black dress that clung to her curves. Her neck, once flawless, was now a canvas of fresh, angry-purple hickeys. They looked like theyd been made just moments ago.

My fists clenched, the plastic of the credit card groaning under the pressure.

Standing beside her, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist, was Cody. He stared at me with an expression of pure, unadulterated hatred.

The showroom, which had quieted down, erupted in whispers.

"Whoa, is this for real? Is she cheating on him right in front of his face?"

"I don't get it. I thought the great Victoria Quinn adored her husband. What the hell is going on?"

"Dude, have you never heard about the scandals of the super-rich? Nothing is sacred."

"So-called love has an expiration date, you know? And let's be real, even a handsome guy gets old. Rich women always want the young, hot model on their arm."

"Serves him right, though. A good-for-nothing freeloader who married up. Relying on your looks to get into a rich family is a dead end."

The whispers were like knives, each one a fresh stab of humiliation. My gaze lifted, and I locked eyes with Victoria, my glare burning with rage.

The only reason I'd agreed to marry into the Quinn family wasn't for their damned money. It was because I loved her. And the power of my own family, a secret I'd kept from everyone, was more than enough to silence anyone who dared call me a freeloader.

But Victoria didn't know that. None of them did.

She smiled, a slow, cruel curve of her lips, and sauntered toward me, leaning on Cody's arm. The crowd parted for them like she was royalty.

"Don't worry, Cody," she said, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "However Alan Pierce shamed you that day, you and your friends can do the same to him tonight."

Cody's face lit up with malicious glee. Ignoring the gasps from the onlookers, and my own thunderous expression, he dipped his head and captured Victoria's lips in a long, passionate kiss.

"Really, Victoria?" he breathed, pulling back slightly. "But... I'm worried you'll be angry with me afterward."

"Never," she purred. "As long as you keep me happy in bed, anything is possible."

"Thank you, my queen."

After another lingering kiss, Cody signaled his friends. They surged forward, grabbing my arms and holding me fast. Then, he stepped up and slammed a fist into my face.

The onlookers gasped again. "Damn, that's bold. Making out with another man's wife in front of him, and then hitting him? This kid has no shame."

The mockery was just another layer of pain on my already bruised ego.

"Hahaha! What's the matter, Alan?" Cody taunted, his face inches from mine. "You're so high and mighty, aren't you? Thought you were better than me?" He spat on the floor near my feet. "You're nothing but a kept man, a piece of trash. What right did you have to cancel my card? I'm younger, better-looking, and Victoria loves me more. If I want, every car in this place is mine!"

To prove his point, he pulled out a pocketknife and dragged its blade across the hood of another expensive car nearby.

"Manager!" he barked. "Get over here and put this on my tab!"

The manager, now completely subservient, scurried over with a bow. "Yes, sir. Right away, sir."

Victoria lit a slender cigarette, her eyes glinting in the showroom lights. "Alan," she said, exhaling a plume of smoke. "The dealership closes in thirty minutes. Have you figured out how you're going to pay for that Lamborghini yet?"

I didn't answer, just stared at her with murder in my eyes.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," she chided, a playful smirk on her face. "You started this. Are we not allowed to finish it? That limited-edition Lamborghini is scratched. Whether you can afford it or not, you're buying it tonight."

As soon as she finished speaking, the room erupted in laughter.

"Hahaha! Like that freeloader has any money to buy it!"

"He probably can't even afford to fix the scratch, let alone pay for the whole car!"

"His whole life has been about leeching off others. All his wealth, all his status, it all came from Ms. Quinn."

"And now that she's kicked him to the curb, he's less than nothing."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Victoria cut me off, exhaling another cloud of smoke. Her voice, cold and commanding, swept across the room.

"Let me make one thing clear to everyone here," she announced. "Nobody is to help Alan Pierce. If you lend him a single dollar, you make an enemy of me. And you all know what happens to my enemies. Their endings are never pleasant."

Everyone in Crestview knew the power of the Quinn family. They were at the top of the food chain. No one in their right mind would dare cross them.

Across the room, I saw a few business partners I'd worked with on past projects. They had started to move toward me, ready to help, but froze in place at Victoria's threat. They exchanged nervous glances and melted back into the crowd.

"Did you hear that? She's dead serious about punishing him."

"Looks like Alan Pierce's luck has run out. She's clearly infatuated with that new boy toy of hers."

"We'd better just focus on sucking up to the new favorite."

"Man, it's crazy. They were the golden couple just a few years ago. Their wedding was the event of the century. Three years, and it's all turned to dust."

With Victoria's decree, any glimmer of hope I had for assistance vanished. Everyone actively avoided my gaze.

A surge of pure fury coursed through me. I broke free from my captors and lunged forward, grabbing Victoria by the arm and pulling her from her chair.

"Victoria, tell me," I snarled, my voice raw with pain. "Did you sleep with him? Are you really doing all of this, humiliating me like this, for him?"

Victoria just laughed, a cold, sharp sound. She ripped her arm from my grasp and slapped me hard across the face. An assistant immediately rushed forward with a bottle of water, pouring it over her hand to wash away the spot where I had touched her.

"Yes, I slept with him," she said, her voice dripping with venom. "In the hour I was gone from this showroom."

I stared at her, my heart shattering. I couldn't believe this was the same woman I knew.

When I first arrived in Crestview, I didn't know a soul. It was Victoria who took me under her wing, who showed me the city, who defended me from local thugs and even took a knife for me. At our wedding, she had sworn an oath, promising to be faithful forever, or else she would fall from grace into ruin.

"Hahahaha!"

A laugh, empty and broken, escaped my lips. Three short years. That was all it took for her to trample on everything we had.

But what she, and everyone else in this room, didn't know was that I wasn't some freeloader living off her charity. I was Alessandro Wright, the sole mixed-heritage heir to the powerful Moretti family from Italy, one of the wealthiest dynasties in the world.

Victoria settled back into her chair, a smirk playing on her lips. "Instead of wasting your breath yelling at me, Alan, you should be figuring out how to pay your bill." Her eyes darkened with a cruel glint. "Because if you can't, it's going to be a long night for you. I'll let Cody tear the clothes right off your back, and then we'll auction you off to the highest bidder among these old crows. You can be their new, spineless boy toy."

The room buzzed with a sick, excited energy. A group of wealthy older women stared at me with predatory hunger in their eyes.

"You heard her, girls! Ms. Quinn said it herself!"

"Let's just hope she doesn't get sentimental and change her mind!"

"What's so great about that young kid anyway? Look at Alan. That face, that aristocratic air and that body I bet hes incredible."

"Hahaha, the man slept with the queen of Crestview herself! I have to have him. I'll pay anything!"

A murderous rage, cold and absolute, washed over me. I had never been so humiliated in my entire life.

"Every single one of you," I said, my voice low and dangerous, "who laughed at me tonight, who dared to shame me... your end will be a painful one."