After I Left, My Billions Crushed Him

My fiancé, Liam, is always telling me that all I care about is making money, that I don’t give a damn about family.

To keep him happy, I pulled myself out of endless meetings and put together this family trip.

But let’s be honest—the only one actually running the show is me.

Flights, hotels, ski instructors and lift passes, emergency weather plans, top-tier travel insurance, his mother’s backup medication, his father’s alcohol restrictions—all of it, I handled.

And paid for.

The rest of them only cared about choosing photo filters, posing for pictures, and arguing over which color ski jacket looked best.

Even Liam’s younger brother, Tyler, who said he wanted to try "real paragliding," got his wish because I made it happen.

Winter paragliding is about as risky as it gets.

I shelled out triple the usual rate to bring in Aspen’s most experienced mountain safety team.

I treat them like family, so I don’t mind working myself to the bone or spending the money.

After all, I’m the CEO of Vance Global, my year-end bonus is eight figures, and if I wanted to, I could buy up an entire ski valley.

Liam clings to the "Special Projects Director" title I gave him, barely scraping by at ten grand a month.

Strip away the fancy job, and he’s making maybe five thousand tops.

His parents are retired, living in our villa, and Tyler’s tuition has been on me since he was twelve.

Seeing how excited they were for this trip, I felt like all the effort was worth it.

But the night before we left, Liam dropped a bomb on me. "Oh, by the way, babe, Chloe’s always wanted to see Aspen, so I told her she could come along. She joined last minute, so there weren’t any first-class seats left. I called the airline and switched the passenger list so she could have your seat. I booked you a new one."

My heart sank when I saw the boarding info he sent.

The airport he picked was the one in last night’s news, the one with suspected terrorists sneaking in.

And the seat he booked for me was in coach.

I stopped what I was doing. "Why couldn’t Chloe just take this flight?"

"You’ve flown first class a million times, Linda. It’s all the same to you. Chloe’s never had the experience—I wanted her to try it."

"So you gave my first-class seat to Chloe and stuck me on a coach ticket at a sketchy airport?"

His patience was wearing thin. "Do you have to make everything sound so dramatic? Chloe and I grew up together. Of course I want her to feel comfortable."

"I thought this was a family vacation?"

"Chloe’s different."

"Last week my mom wanted to come, and you told her it was just for our family!"

"Your mom is your family, not mine. Chloe grew up with me. She knows everything about us. She’s basically family."

Before I could say anything, Liam’s mom, Margaret, came out to soothe me. "Linda, don’t worry about it. Chloe and Liam have been close since they were kids. It’s only right to look after Chloe."

Tyler piped up, grinning, "Chloe gets to fly first class with us? Awesome! Linda, you’re loaded—just let her have it, okay?"

I glanced at his brand-new ski gear and felt nothing but bitter irony.

"You’re my fiancée, can’t you be a little more generous?" Liam snapped.

And right on cue, the doorbell rang.

"It’s Chloe!"

Chloe strutted in wearing the latest ankle boots, dragging a huge suitcase behind her.

Tyler rushed over to grab her bag. "You’re finally here! I’ve been dying for this trip. If you hadn’t moved out, when you and Liam got married, you’d be my real sister-in-law!"

Margaret went over too, taking Chloe’s hands. "That’s right, I’ve always said you’re the real daughter-in-law of this family. No one compares to you."

They stood there, praising another woman right in front of me.

And in that moment, I felt something inside my chest go completely, irreversibly cold.