After He Cheated with the Maid, I Dumped Him

"Playing a fake groom—you're really paying me this much?"

The man pinched the check, verifying the amount repeatedly.

Judith Everhart's expression remained calm. The wedding ring on her finger glinted coldly under the café's warm lights. "Yes. Day after tomorrow, nine a.m. Don't be late."

After the man left, she slowly removed the ring.

It was from three years ago, when Elias Marlowe had brought it back from Italy specially for their engagement and slipped it onto her finger himself. He'd said, "Judith, you're the only one for me. Forever."

How ironic.

Now she was getting married, and she had to hire the groom.

A week ago, right after a late-night surgery, her friend Zoey Bennett had called. "Judy, come out for a drink. You need to unwind."

Judith had a thing about cleanliness and hated the chaos of bars, but Zoey's tone left no room for refusal. "Meet me at the usual place. If you don't show, I'm coming to your door."

She went.

Amid disorienting lights and deafening music, she saw Elias—who was supposed to be on a business trip in Switzerland.

In a dim booth, he wore the sapphire-blue suit she'd given him, his posture still commanding attention. Pressed against him was Sophie Green.

Sophie wore a modified maid outfit—neckline plunging low, skirt barely reaching mid-thigh. She practically draped herself over him. Her wide, dewy eyes kept darting to his face as she cooed, "Don't drink so much," all while failing to hide her delight as he intercepted glass after glass meant for her.

Elias's hand rested lazily on the back of the sofa behind Sophie—a possessive, protective gesture.

Zoey exploded on the spot, ready to storm over.

Judith used every ounce of strength to hold her back, nails digging into Zoey's arm.

"Judith, have you lost your mind?!" Dragged into the hallway outside the restroom, Zoey shook off her grip, eyes red with fury. "That's your fiancé! Cuddling with some little maid, and you're just going to pretend you didn't see it?!"

Judith leaned against the cold tile wall, forcing a bitter smile.

Sophie had been installed at the Marlowe Estate two years ago under the guise of being a "distant relative in financial difficulty." Elias had arranged for her to work as a maid caring for his grandmother.

Seven hundred nights had worn away any courage Judith had left to question him.

She was still standing here only because she couldn't let go. Couldn't let go of the Elias who, three years ago outside the operating room, had gripped her hand with red-rimmed eyes and said, "Thank you for saving my grandmother." Couldn't let go of the man who'd wrapped his coat around her under New Year's fireworks and said, "Judith, meeting you was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me."

"Zoey, stop." Judith's voice was dry.

"I won't stop!" Zoey's anger was barely contained, her words cutting like knives. "What the hell is Elias thinking? Lying about a business trip, then turning around and fooling around with the maid in Cloudville! You think I didn't see the marks on his neck? Judith, are you really going through with this wedding? Planning to endure this for the rest of your life while they flaunt it in your face?!"

Judith's breath caught. Before the alcohol even touched her lips, her eyes stung with heat. She gripped her glass so tightly her knuckles went white. "The wedding's in five days..."

"Wedding, wedding! You just can't let go of the spectacle!" Zoey slammed her glass down. It shattered.

The sharp crack drew stares.

Judith's heart jumped. Instinctively, she looked back toward the booth.

Elias was leaning down to listen to Sophie whispering in his ear, a lazy smile playing on his lips. His gaze never left Sophie. He didn't glance toward this shadowed corner once.

In that moment, she couldn't tell whether she felt disappointment or a pathetic relief.

She hadn't drunk much, but insisted on going home anyway.

At 3 a.m., the soft beep of the fingerprint lock sounded at the entrance.

Elias dragged his suitcase in, looking tired. He loosened his tie as he asked, "Still up?"

"Waiting for you." Judith sat on the living room sofa. She hadn't turned on the main lights—only a floor lamp cast a warm glow. She caught the smell of smoke and alcohol on him, saw the faint red marks beneath his collar. It felt like needles pricking her heart, one by one.

Still, she forced her lips into a smile.

"Flight was delayed. Ran into an old friend who insisted on drinks." Elias walked over and ruffled her hair habitually, his smile gentle. "Go to sleep. Don't you have surgery tomorrow?"

That gesture—ruffling her hair—had once been her exclusive tenderness.

Now it was just cold, perfunctory. He didn't even ask why she smelled like alcohol too.

Judith watched him head to the bedroom for fresh clothes. Just as he was about to close the bathroom door, she pressed her hand against it.

"What old friend requires bringing Sophie along?" Her voice was soft, trembling almost imperceptibly.

Elias froze. The gentleness drained from his face instantly, his gaze darkening. "You followed me?"

"No..."

"Then it was Zoey?" He let out a mocking laugh, tone dripping with sarcasm. "Your friend sure has a sharp nose."

"Elias," Judith looked up, meeting his eyes. "I just want to know—why did you lie to me?"

"What did I lie about?" Elias frowned, impatience creeping in. "Judith, I've told you a million times—Sophie's like a sister to me. She's taking care of Grandma at the estate. She's had it rough. What's wrong with me taking her out to see the world? Can you stop being so paranoid?"

"A sister?" Judith repeated, the absurdity overwhelming. "What kind of sister goes to a bar with you at night, and..." Her gaze fell to his collar.

Elias's expression turned icy. "Judith, enough. I'm tired. I don't have time for this fight."

The bathroom door slammed shut in her face.

Water rushed, sealing off two separate worlds.

Judith stood in the shadows outside, looking down at the fuzzy bunny ears on her slippers—a careless gift he'd picked up on a trip last year. Her vision blurred.

She'd known this would be the result.

But she'd asked anyway.

Not hoping for an answer. Just wanting to personally snuff out that last pitiful, unrealistic flicker of hope inside her.

When Elias came out of the shower, there was a glass of warm milk and a simple sandwich on the table.

Under the milk glass was a note in Judith's elegant handwriting: [The wedding dress waist needs altering. Tomorrow at 6 p.m., the designer will be waiting at the shop. Can you come with me?]

Elias picked up the note, glanced at it briefly, frowned slightly, and tossed it aside.

His phone rang. He answered on speaker while toweling his hair.

Sophie's syrupy, clinging voice immediately filled the silent living room. "Eli~ It's all your fault. You slept on my arm last night, and now I don't have any strength to massage Grandma today. My hand hurts so much... Can you rub it for me tonight?"

Judith stood just outside the bedroom doorway, hidden in the shadowed hallway.

She'd come out to see if he'd noticed the note, if he cared even a little about the wedding details.

Now, there was no need.

Elias's voice held a gentleness and patience she'd never heard. "Okay. I won't work late tonight. I'll come find you."

He hung up.

He picked up the note, glanced at it once more, then his bathrobe sleeve brushed it lightly. It floated into the nearby trash can.

Judith leaned against the cold wall and slowly closed her eyes.

The last faint glimmer of light went out completely.

The next day, Judith woke early.

She applied makeup carefully and pulled out a somewhat worn star-shaped bracelet from the very bottom of her jewelry box, fastening it around her slender wrist.

She'd never worn jewelry before—it was inconvenient during surgeries.

Elias had tried countless times to convince her to quit, to simply be Mrs. Marlowe. Every attempt came with a piece of jewelry. Eventually he stopped trying to convince her, but the jewelry kept coming—especially after every argument, every cold war.

How foolish she'd been, mistaking those cold, luxurious items for signs he still cared, for peace offerings.

The star bracelet was something she'd bought herself with her first paycheck. Cheap, but it carried her former independence and dreams.

Wearing it felt like piecing her shattered self back together, bit by bit.

On the drive to Cloudview Hospital, her phone rang. Elias.

His voice on the other end was unusually urgent, almost commanding. "Judith, get to Grandview Hotel, room 1201. Right now!"