His Stand-In Ex-Girlfriend Is Done Playing Nice

When vile rumors ruined me in high school, Julian Sterling was the only one who spoke up for me. From that moment on, I treated him like my god. Until the day I overheard him laughing with his friends. "Why'd you stand up for Elena Vance back then? Because she looks like Victoria Ross?" Julian scoffed. "Her? She’s not even fit to be in Victoria’s shadow. I just thought you guys were too damn loud." "Whether she's sleeping around or not, what the hell does that have to do with me?" My god crumbled to dust in an instant. So when Victoria secretly slid a check across the table to me, I smiled. "It's a deal." She went abroad, and I willingly became her stand-in, keeping Julian on a leash for her. I played my part, fully aware that Julian was only looking through me to reminisce about her. So when Victoria came back and Julian threw a breakup check in my face, I wasn't surprised at all. "Take the money and never show your face in front of me again." I chuckled softly and took the check. "Mr. Sterling, we're even." Later, the whole city was buzzing with rumors that he had gone crazy trying to find me. Too late, Julian. My love for you expired a long time ago. My phone screen lit up the darkness as two notifications popped up in succession. The first was from Victoria Ross: [I'm flying back soon. The final payment has cleared. You have three days to break things off. Never appear in front of Julian again!] Right after came the bank alert: [Your account ending in 8979 has received a deposit of $1,000,000.00.] I smiled faintly and tapped out a practiced reply: [Received. Wishing you two a lifetime of happiness.] Yet after sending the text, the smile froze on my lips. Three years of knowingly playing another woman's proxy had finally come to an end with a million-dollar payout. I should be thrilled, shouldn't I? I had longed for this day. This money was enough to buy out my past—to buy out the broke, helpless Elena Vance who had let everyone walk all over her. I was finally leaving Julian Sterling. The man I had loved for so many years. When the thought surfaced, there was neither overwhelming joy nor crushing grief. Just a blend of bitterness, loss, and numbness. In the end, a slow smile crept across my face. Relief. Finally, I didn't have to live as someone else's shadow anymore. Before I could sort through my thoughts, my phone shrieked again—Julian's private ringtone. I frowned, getting up immediately to answer it. It was an ingrained habit built over three years of being on call twenty-four seven. After all, as a substitute girlfriend who had thrown herself at him, I had always been completely submissive, without an ounce of dignity. "Hey, Julian." Background noise roared on his end, his tone commanding and leaving no room for argument: "Get to the Grand Westmont Ballroom within an hour. Put your makeup on, and wear that third white evening gown in the closet." I glanced at the clock. It was one in the morning. I couldn't help a bitter chuckle. In the past, since I was getting paid, I would have dragged myself out of bed even at five in the morning just to keep Julian from getting sick of me. But remembering Victoria's text, a reckless surge of courage rushed through me. Since we were breaking up anyway, why make myself suffer? I heard myself reply with a defiance I had never shown before: "Sorry, it's too late. I'm exhausted, and I don't want to go." There was a pause on the other end, as if he couldn't believe I had just turned him down. Then came Julian's impatient voice, completely stripped of any polite concern: "Elena, I don't need a girlfriend who throws tantrums." "Hurry up." With that, without letting me say another word, he hung up. I held the phone against my ear, listening to the dial tone. The tiny spark of rebellion I had just mustered felt laughably pathetic. Who did I think I was? Julian didn't give a damn about what I wanted or how tired I was. All he needed was an obedient shadow of Victoria Ross to show up where she belonged, right on cue. Half an hour later, a rhythmic knock came from the front door. The assistant's polite voice called out: "Miss Vance, Mr. Sterling sent me to pick you up." I answered, my face calm and showing no trace of emotion. I walked straight to the closet, brushed past the pure white gown, and pulled out a sharp, rebellious black fishtail dress without a second thought. Why? Because I looked most like Victoria when I wore white. But when I wore black, I looked most like myself. Downstairs, the assistant stared at my outfit in shock. He hesitated, then warned: "Miss Vance, this dress... Mr. Sterling said..." I pulled open the car door, my voice cold: "I'm the one wearing it, and I'll deal with the consequences." "If you make us late, that'll be on you." The assistant didn't dare say another word and silently started the engine. Inside the ballroom, glasses clinked under glittering chandeliers. When Julian saw me in the black dress, the corners of his mouth dipped slightly. Yet he didn't call me out, treating it like a spoiled pet acting out. Beneath his notice.He expected me to stay by his side just like before, acting as a quiet piece of arm candy. But tonight, when a prominent investor was holding court about a new project, I quietly chimed in: "Mr. Miller, when calculating your WACC, did you factor in the skyrocketing cost of debt under the current interest rate hike cycle?" The table fell dead silent. Several guests turned to stare at me in surprise. Even Julian's hand holding the wine glass froze, shooting me a sharp, questioning glare. Mr. Miller looked as if lightning had struck him. He pondered for a second before his face lit up. "Exactly! Miss Vance, you're remarkably sharp." He then enthusiastically struck up a conversation with me. Julian's jaw tightened. In the end, he said nothing, tacitly allowing our conversation to continue. The air around him, however, grew suffocatingly cold. On the drive back, Julian sat with a stormy face and finally snapped: "Elena, I made it clear the day I let you stay by my side." "I want an obedient girlfriend, not a nuisance who oversteps her bounds and shows off." Disappointment dripped from his cold tone: "If you can't even handle your basic role..." "I think I need to reconsider our relationship." I sneered silently in my heart. Here it was again. Over the past three years, whenever my actions deviated slightly from what he wanted, he would threaten to "reconsider our relationship." He counted on my love for him. He counted on the fact that I couldn't bear to leave him. It was simple, efficient, and never failed. This time, though, I lifted my chin and cut right to the chase: "No need to reconsider." "Julian, let's break up." Julian whipped his head around, genuine shock catching him off guard for the first time. Quickly, rage replaced the shock. "Break up?" "Elena, who do you think you are? What gives you the right to say those words to me?" Julian let out a cold, mocking laugh, dripping with disbelief. "What, you're not desperate for me anymore? You're not chasing me across the globe? You actually think you can walk away from me?" "You think putting on a black dress and talking back changes anything? Cut the pathetic act before you burn through the last shred of my patience." "Everything you have, I gave you, and I can take it all back whenever I want. Including... whether your mother's private care facility gets next month's wire transfer. That all depends on my mood." I dug my fingernails deep into my palms. Money. It was always about money. All my life, I had endured endless humiliation just for money. The money Victoria gave me was more than enough to cover my mother's medical bills on my own. Except I couldn't use it openly right now. I couldn't explain where it came from. I had promised her absolute secrecy. If I breached our deal, she could demand the money back. Seeing me lower my head in silence, Julian assumed I had backed down. He leaned back against the seat, wearing that familiar, condescending arrogance: "Good to see you've come to your senses. Don't pull such embarrassing stunts ever again." "I won't give you a second chance."Maybe it was because the love had died. I slipped back into my quiet, gentle demeanor, becoming even more docile than before. Julian was deeply satisfied with this display of "knowing my place." Instead of icing me out like he usually did, he started dragging me to every business dinner, as if trying to prove a point. During one dinner, a corporate partner named Mr. Davis kept letting his greasy gaze linger all over me. Julian clearly noticed. Instead of shutting it down, he pinned my hand under the table when I tried to stand up. When Mr. Davis cast another lewd look my way, Julian leaned in and whispered into my ear: "Mr. Davis is crucial for my next merger. Go pour him a drink." My eyes widened in pure disbelief. "What are you saying?" Julian smiled, clearly pleased by the resistance in my eyes. "I'm saying, be good." "Consider it a little punishment for bringing up that breakup." I stared at Julian's handsome face. For the first time, I realized he looked no different from the bullies who had spread filthy rumors about me back in high school. After all these years together, I realized his insides were just as foul. My supposed "savior" had only stepped in because he thought they were "too damn loud." Elena Vance, you were never truly saved. A heavy, suffocating wave of exhaustion washed over me. "Mr. Sterling, I heard Victoria is coming back soon." "Isn't my breakup request just giving you two what you want? Why get so angry and go out of your way to humiliate me?" "After all, every time you got drunk, you'd hold me and call out Victoria's name. Wouldn't it be much better to pour your heart out to the real thing when she lands?" The mention of Victoria made Julian's expression turn instantly ugly. He glared at me impatiently: "Is that what this is? You're throwing petty tantrums because you're jealous?" I scoffed, finding the whole thing ridiculous. "You're overthinking it, Mr. Sterling. I know damn well I'm not fit to be compared to Victoria Ross." "'Her? She’s not even fit to be in Victoria’s shadow. I just thought you guys were too damn loud.” “Whether she's sleeping around or not, what the hell does that have to do with me?' I remember every single word you told your buddies back then." Julian froze. He never imagined I knew about that. I turned to the waiter beside us, gesturing for him to top off my wine glass. Self-deprecation laced my tone: "Julian, back then, you were the only person who ever stood up for me. That's why I fell so hard for you.” “I didn't care about throwing myself at you, and I didn't care about being treated like her stand-in. As long as I could stay by your side, nothing else mattered." "Now, though... it seems you really do see me as a cheap girl who sells herself." Julian looked into my hollow, lifeless eyes. His heart seized violently, and a sharp, unfamiliar wave of panic and regret washed over him. "I..." Julian instinctively tried to explain. I gave him no chance. Picking up the overflowing glass, I turned to walk toward Mr. Davis, who was grinning greedily at me. The second I stood up— Julian grabbed my wrist in an iron grip. With his other hand, he knocked the wine glass from my fingers, sending it crashing to the floor. "Excuse us. Something came up," he snapped. Julian dragged me out of the private room without looking back.Not until the car door slammed shut did Julian release my wrist, as if snapping out of a trance. A suffocating silence filled the car. Julian's eyes fell on the red marks on my wrist where he had gripped me. He opened his mouth several times, but ended up pressing his lips into a tight line. His arrogant pride was at war with unfamiliar emotions. He wanted to explain, but didn't know where to start. More than that, he couldn't bring himself to swallow his pride. A sudden urge to laugh bubbled up inside me. What was this supposed to be? I was no longer the naive teenage girl who would throw her entire life away just because a boy spoke up for her once. I broke the suffocating silence first. "I get it, Mr. Sterling. I've always known my place. A stand-in, a shadow, a toy to kill time with." "You defended me back then, and I flattered myself into thinking it meant something. I chased after you like an idiot.” “ For the past three years, thanks to your 'generosity,' I had food and shelter, and my mother was taken care of. I truly appreciate that." "Victoria is coming home any day now. We should end this cleanly." Julian couldn't believe that after he had just stepped in to save me, I was still ungratefully pushing for a breakup. His temper flared: "What are you still throwing a fit for?!" "Elena, do you really have to degrade yourself like this? Do you have to ruin what we have..." I cut him off with a mocking smile: "Mr. Sterling, you don't actually think there was love between us, do you? You never treated me like a partner. You treated me like a pet cat or dog. Did you ever show me an ounce of respect?" "I just don't want to be your dog anymore. Is that a crime?" My words were too sharp, too brutal. Julian snapped completely, his gaze turning terrifyingly dark. "Three years, and that's how you see me?" "Elena, I'm giving you one last chance. Take back what you just said!" "Step out of this car, and we are completely done!" Meeting his furious glare, I gave him a faint, gentle smile. "No need." "I wish you and Victoria a lifetime of happiness." Julian laughed out of sheer fury, nodding repeatedly: "Fine! Just fine! You're really something!" In a blind rage, Julian whipped out his checkbook, scribbled down a number, and threw the check violently against my chest. "Take this money and get the hell out!" Julian roared: "Never let me see your face again!" I quietly picked up the check from my lap and slid it into my pocket. Out of courtesy for the amount on it, I offered him a soft farewell: "Thank you, Mr. Sterling. We're even." With that, I pushed open the car door and walked into the night without looking back. The next morning, Julian sat in his penthouse office, his fingers tapping anxiously against the polished mahogany desk. He convinced himself that last night was just a temper tantrum. By this afternoon at the latest, I would call him crying, begging for his forgiveness. That was how it had always gone. Today, however, his phone remained dead silent. After hours of waiting, Julian couldn't take it anymore. He hit the intercom and barked at his assistant: "Call Elena Vance. Tell her she has twenty-four hours to pack up everything she left in the villa and get out." He paused, adding another humiliating order: "Go supervise her yourself. Not a single thing of hers is allowed to stay. She disgusts me."I listened to the assistant quietly. No arguments. Not even a frown. I packed my bags calmly and rolled my suitcase out the front door. When the assistant reported back, he mentioned that I hadn't looked back at the villa even once—the place where I had lived for three years. Julian's face darkened further. "Put some pressure on the care facility." Soon enough, the facility called me with a polite "reminder." I listened quietly, thanked them, and used the breakup check to transfer my mother to a top-tier private hospital. Throughout the entire process, I never reached out to Julian, nor did I utter a single complaint. Just as he was plotting his next move to force me to bend the knee, Victoria returned early. The assistant "accidentally" slipped this information to me. Coincidentally, the day I was scheduled to fly out was the exact day Victoria landed. Julian went to the airport with massive fanfare to welcome her. Yet the moment he stepped into the terminal, an inexplicable restlessness gripped him. Subconsciously, his eyes scanned the crowd. Suddenly, his gaze locked onto someone. He saw me! Just as I turned to avoid his eyes, a sharp voice cut through the air: "Elena Vance, stop right there!" Julian marched right up to me, that familiar condescending smirk plastered across his face. "What, you followed me all the way to the airport?" "Regretting it now? Finally realized you can't survive without me?" I raised my hand, casually flashing the boarding pass in my fingers: "Mr. Sterling, you've got it wrong. I don't regret anything, and I didn't come here looking for you." "My flight is boarding soon. I'm moving abroad." Julian froze for a split second, then scoffed out loud, completely dismissing my words. "Moving abroad?" "Moving out, moving your mother, and now this? Aren't you tired of playing hard to get?" Right then, the airport intercom chimed: "Flight UX189 from Zurich has arrived." Julian's smirk grew triumphant and smug. He pointed toward the international arrivals gate: "Hear that?" "Victoria is back. I came here specifically for her. When we get married, I'll make sure to send you an invite." He paused, his voice dripping with faux pity: "If you hadn't insisted on throwing a tantrum and breaking up, the spot beside me would still be yours." "What a shame... you ruined it all yourself." With that, he turned on his heel with absolute confidence. He was dead certain his words would break me, that I would scramble after him, crying and begging for his forgiveness just like every other time I had upset him. He had already pictured the pathetic look on my face. Pale, sobbing, drowning in regret. Julian deliberately slowed his pace, giving me time to catch up. The airport PA system crackled to life again. "Flight SQ307 to Amsterdam is now boarding at Gate 14..." I cast one last look at Julian's slow, retreating back. My mind drifted back to that dreary afternoon years ago. A terrified teenage girl, trapped by vile rumors, and a shining boy who had descended like an angel to clear the dark clouds away. Back then, Julian Sterling was a blinding light. So bright that he blinded me for years. In reality, the person I couldn't let go of wasn't the idealized Julian Sterling in my memory. It was my younger self, who naively believed she had finally been seen and saved. I pulled my gaze back, turned around, and walked toward the boarding gate in the exact opposite direction. Julian, I don't need saving anymore.