The CEO's Broken Vow: Finding My True Heiress

Tags: Resolute Male Lead, Cold-Blooded Female Lead, Cheating and Betrayal, Ingratitude, Face-Slapping Revenge, Karmic Justice The Shaw family went bankrupt, buried under crushing loan shark debts. Ignoring everyone’s objections, I insisted on marrying Evelyn Shaw. For six years, I worked five jobs every single day, toiling late into the night just to help Evelyn pay off every cent. Then one day, everything changed. While out delivering food, I saw Evelyn behind the wheel of a limited-edition supercar. That night, as usual, I went to rub her tense shoulders. She shoved my hands away with pure disgust: "You make me sick. Don’t touch me." News of the Shaw family’s miraculous comeback swept across every financial news outlet. Evelyn was officially named the CEO of Shaw Enterprises. She returned to the elite spotlight. And I finally understood the look in her eyes whenever she glanced at me. It was utter disgust. It was condescension. After all, the gulf between us now was heaven and earth. Our social statuses were separated by light-years. The man who truly matched Evelyn was Julian Vance, her wealthy childhood sweetheart. Evelyn flaunted her relationship with Julian in public without holding back. Under the media’s cameras, her eyes held nothing and no one except him. Paparazzi even caught them making out under a Ferris wheel and holding hands at a movie theater. Miami’s grandest fireworks show tonight was entirely Evelyn’s romantic gift for Julian. Meanwhile, I, her legal husband, looked like nothing more than a pathetic joke. Yet she never brought up getting a divorce. To say it didn’t hurt would be a lie. For six years, I had poured my heart and soul into this marriage. I had genuinely believed Evelyn felt the same. I never once complained about how brutal life was—simply because I wanted to give her a slightly better future. I sat on the couch, staring blankly into space. After Evelyn reclaimed her family legacy, she brought me to live in this mansion. She said our old rented place was cramped and filthy, unfit for human habitation. This house was spacious, bright, and luxurious. Yet it made me feel like an alien intruder. My phone rang, dragging me violently back to reality. The caller ID showed it was my mother. My father was on the line too. A call I hadn’t received in years. Back when I first mentioned wanting to marry Evelyn, they couldn't wait to cut all ties with me. They threatened that if I insisted on marrying her, I should never look for them again. They even demanded I pay back every penny they had spent raising me. The only reason they were calling now was because Evelyn was the CEO of Shaw Enterprises. Sure enough, my mother spoke first: "Woody, how are things with Evelyn lately? See, I always said you had great taste! Your father and I fully support your marriage!" My father chimed in over the speaker: "Don't go doing anything stupid like divorcing her now. Where else could you find a woman like that?" "She's rich. It’s normal for her to fool around a bit. You two have an official marriage certificate, remember!" "You need to step up your game, boy. Secure your place with her..." "Mom... we're not thinking about that right now," I replied, feeling intensely awkward. "Right, right," my mother paused, chuckling dismissively to brush the topic aside before launching into her real agenda: "This house I'm living in is so uncomfortable. Have Evelyn buy me a new mansion!" "She's the CEO of Shaw Enterprises now. Millions flow through her fingers every minute." "Honestly, after all you did slaving away to pay off her debts, asking for a few hundred million would be getting off light. She owes you that much anyway." "Besides, your father and I worked hard to raise you. Spending a little of her money is only natural." The more I listened, the deeper my scowl became. Just as I opened my mouth to push back, my father cut in with a louder bark: "Get me a new car! The latest luxury SUV under the Shaw brand. My old bones can't take rough rides anymore; I need a top-tier ride." He rattled off a grocery list of demands. Bitter irony churned in my gut. When the Shaws went bankrupt, my parents fled from her like she was the plague and disowned me on the spot. They even calculated the total cost of my upbringing down to the cent, forcing me to pay them back monthly with interest. Now that the Shaws were on top of the world again, they came groveling back with shameless grins. I opened my mouth to shut them down. Suddenly, a cold, dry chuckle cut through the room. I looked up. Evelyn stood there, tall, sharp, and poised. Clearly, she had heard the vile greed pouring from the speaker. The look in her eyes turned completely ice-cold, laced with deep disgust and mockery. "I wasn't planning on—" I started, but Evelyn cut me off with a scathing smirk: "Save your breath." "Rats of a feather flock together. Like parents, like son." "Isn't this the only reason you married me in the first place?" A tremor ran through me so hard I could barely stand. My chest seized with agonizing pain as I stared at her with bloodshot eyes. "Is that really who I am to you?" Did she never trust me for a single second? "You honestly believe I married you and endured all those years just to cash out today?" Evelyn responded with a dismissive snort. Her gaze asked a silent question: *Isn't that obvious?* It felt as if invisible hands were choking my throat. I couldn't squeeze out another word.Six years ago, bad calls from senior management triggered a liquidity crisis at Shaw Enterprises. Rival dynasties closed in like wolves, and the corporate empire crumbled. The rest of the Shaws vanished into thin air, leaving behind only Evelyn. The loan sharks came hunting for her. The once-untouchable heiress became a ruined, penniless girl on the street. She stood in the rain, begging me for a bowl of noodles. She told me she didn't want to live anymore. It was then that I caught sight of a distinctive birthmark on her shoulder. That single mark swept away all my caution. Defying the bewilderment and scorn of everyone around me, I insisted on making her my wife. After we married, come rain or shine, I worked tirelessly to clear her debts. Only when I saw her reclaim the CEO seat did the truth finally hit me. The Shaw family was never that foolish; they had orchestrated their disappearance from the start. During the years Evelyn spent dodging debt collectors, they were quietly moving massive assets behind the scenes. Evelyn had never truly fallen into the mud. It was all an elaborate scheme. I was simply an accidental intruder who blundered in, tangling my life with hers by mistake. Perhaps that was why Evelyn had always suspected me. After all, who would be unconditionally kind to a total stranger? Who would willingly take on a stranger buried under loan shark debt? Living with me in that tiny, cramped apartment for six years must have felt like pure misery to her. No wonder she had shoved my hand away so coldly that night: "You make me sick, Woody. Don't put your filthy hands on me! Do you have any idea how much this outfit costs?" I let out a self-deprecating laugh. Now I knew. I also knew that whatever we had was completely dead. She was no longer the wife who would gently wipe the sweat from my brow when I came home, softly telling me I had worked hard. She was no longer the woman who ached for the sleepless nights I endured, grinding through multiple shifts just to knock down another chunk of her debt. She was the almighty CEO of Shaw Enterprises now, managing billions every day. She was someone I couldn't even meet without an appointment. Of course. A queen like her could never be the girl I had spent my life searching for. It was time to wake up. I expected Evelyn to hand me divorce papers right away with her usual ruthlessness. Instead, she merely glanced up lazily: "Julian is moving in with us. Go get a guest room ready for him." A bitter laugh bubbled up in my chest. Bringing another man into our home right under my nose? What did she take me for? A dispensable servant? A living punchline? I quietly watched as she gave the staff endless instructions, having the maids prepare his favorite meals, buying only the highest-end luxury goods for his room, and planting his favorite flowers all across the garden... Such undisguised favoritism. It was as though they were the real married couple. Sometimes, Evelyn even ordered me to cook soup for Julian, knowing my cooking was decent. Every time, Julian would put on a delicate, bashful smile: "Woody, you're amazing." "Unlike me, I'm so clumsy with my hands. Evelyn has never let me step foot in the kitchen... You don't mind, do you?" "We're just childhood friends who grew up together. Please don't overthink it." Fortunately, I had already stopped caring. Nothing he said could pierce my armor anymore. ... "And you just swallowed that?!" "How the hell can you stomach this?!" Two voices roared in my ears simultaneously. I rubbed my ear and offered a faint smile. I was having drinks with my old college roommates, Lucas Vance and Felix Hayes. It had been far too long. Hearing what I had been through, they were absolutely floored. "What's next? If she tells you to wash that prick's socks, are you going to run over and scrub them with a smile?" Lucas snapped, looking like he wanted to throttle me out of sheer frustration. I shook my head, feeling a warm surge of gratitude for their genuine anger: "The Shaws aren't so broke that they can't afford laundry staff." "..." Felix stared at me and threw his hands up. "Bro, you're completely hopeless." "Back when Evelyn was drowning in debt, you were the only stubborn fool who threw away a six-figure job and a bright career to save her." "Now she's a high-and-mighty CEO, and what did you get? Endless insults! And that pretty-boy Julian is basically dancing on your head!" They fired off one complaint after another without pausing for breath, laying into me hard. "Woody, keep playing the saint, why don't you!" Then they asked again why I had been so reckless and sudden about marrying Evelyn back then. I just smiled. I had finally realized the truth. Evelyn and I were never from the same world. There was no point in wasting any more time on each other. As the night wore on, our conversation drifted to the future and careers. They looked at me with genuine worry: "What are your plans now?" I couldn't keep living like this, grinding through grueling odd jobs just to scrape by. And I certainly didn't intend to. I steered the topic toward their work, and the floodgates opened. Felix, in particular, groaned as he jokingly vented: "We have this new client, Miranda Moore. Total knockout, built an empire overseas. Can you believe she's only twenty-five? Life really isn't fair..." "The problem is, she's brutally strict and cold as ice. She treats everyone like an annoying bug. She's giving me gray hairs!" I listened quietly. Strangely, that name felt intensely familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before.After a great night with the guys, I was in high spirits on the drive back. I tidied up, washed my face, changed into fresh clothes, and got ready to turn in. But when I tried the bedroom handle, the door wouldn't budge. It was locked from the inside. Aside from Evelyn and me—and the occasional maid cleaning—no one else ever entered this room. There was zero reason to lock it. Just as confusion set in, a crisp click sounded. The door cracked open, and someone peered out. It was Julian. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of boxers. He looked at me with innocent, wide eyes: "Woody... it's you." "Could you do me a favor and run down to buy a pack of..." He silently mouthed the word: *condoms*. My gaze shifted past his shoulder through the gap. I could clearly see Evelyn sprawled across the bed. What they had been doing was painfully obvious. The flush of post-coital heat hadn't even faded from Julian's cheeks. It took zero imagination to piece together what just happened. All I felt was deep, suffocating awkwardness. Being confronted with such a blunt, brazen demand left me utterly paralyzed. I stood there, frozen for several seconds. When I first met Julian, I had also been deceived by his harmless, delicate face. He looked like a pure, sheltered young master. Those wide, clueless eyes naturally triggered an urge to protect him. Only later did I discover the truth. He was a vicious, venomous snake disguised as a lamb. Sure enough. Capitalizing on my brief hesitation, Julian lowered his head, his voice dropping into a timid whimper as he looked back toward Evelyn: "Does Woody not like me? I just... asked for a tiny favor. He seems really angry." "Maybe I shouldn't be here... After all, this is where you and Woody sleep. I was out of line..." He balled his fists, turning around as if to walk away in humiliation. Evelyn, who had been lying on the bed, sprang up instantly and stormed right over to me. Her brow furrowed furiously as she shielded Julian behind her back, her voice icy: "How dare you give Julian an attitude? He just asked you to run a simple errand! What is there to think about?" "Julian can stay wherever he damn well pleases! The one who shouldn't be here is someone else!" I noticed Evelyn was only wearing a sheer, gauzy nightgown. A single glance revealed an expanse of bare skin. "Who do you think you are?" Working herself into a rage, Evelyn lost her temper. *Slap!* Her hand struck my cheek with a sharp crack. "Woody didn't mean it, Evelyn, please don't be mad at him," Julian murmured, feigning distress. Evelyn took his hand, her face softening instantly into a tender smile: "Okay, I won't be mad. But he bullied you, so I had to put him in his place." Behind Evelyn's back, at an angle only I could see, Julian shot me a smirk dripping with triumph and malice. I was already numb to his games. Honestly, I didn't even feel that angry. I gave Evelyn a calm nod: "All right. I'll go buy them now." "I'm sorry for interrupting." "I won't come back at this hour in the future. I won't get in the way of your business." My face remained impassive, my voice entirely flat. Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked away. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt an intense, burning gaze locked onto my back the entire time. I remembered how, years ago, whenever someone tried to bully me, Evelyn was always the first to step forward and defend me. Whenever I was treated unfairly, she stood firmly by my side. I had foolishly believed that kind of fierce devotion was reserved only for me. How self-absorbed I had been. After running through several convenience stores, I finally bought what they asked for. When I returned to the mansion, muffled, intimate sounds echoed down the hallway. The rest of the house was completely empty. I wanted to drop the box and sprint away, but my limbs felt frozen in place. Trapped by the humiliation. About half an hour later, Julian emerged, carrying a flushed, satisfied Evelyn in his arms. He acted as though he had just noticed me, widening his eyes in mock surprise: "Oh, Woody! You're still here..." "I'm so sorry. Evelyn and I don't need them anymore. Maybe keep them for yourself?" I crushed the box of condoms in my fist. Something raged and burned inside my chest. After a long silence, I set the box gently on the console table and beat a hasty retreat. "It's fine. You can use them next time," I muttered. "Since I already bought them." Behind me, Julian's cheerful voice rang out: "We won't need them next time either!" Evelyn stayed silent. Her silence was her consent. She looked at me with the cold, haughty scrutiny of a superior, yet beneath it lay an unreadable, turbulent emotion. Both Julian and I were absorbed in our own games. Neither of us noticed that Evelyn had zoned out for a brief moment. ... Fleeing into the courtyard, I smashed my fist against a stone pillar. Thinking about how low I had sunk over the past few weeks, a wave of sickening irony hit me: "I really am pathetic."For the next few days, Julian was nowhere to be seen. Yet the news and social media trends were practically flooded with his name. Headlines like *CEO of Shaw Enterprises Rents Out Luxury Yacht Just to Make Her Pretty Boy Smile*, or *Evelyn Shaw Declares Her Love with a Helicopter Rose Drop*. The list went on and on. Every week, I scrolled past dozens of headlines documenting the extravagant ways Evelyn pampered Julian. And yet, we still weren't divorced. She hadn't even brought it up. It made zero sense. If she loathed me and looked down on me, the smartest move was to cut ties as fast as possible. That way, she could be with Julian out in the open, and I could return to my solitary life. A win-win for everyone. In the mansion, the housekeeper and maids still treated me as Evelyn's husband. At night, Evelyn still slept in the same bed with me. Unable to fathom her mind, I simply brought it up during dinner. She was in a decent mood today. For once, she didn't throw a tantrum, patiently listening to me speak. "Evelyn, when do you plan to sign the divorce papers?" The next second, Evelyn slammed her hand down onto my shoulder. "Woody, you want to divorce me?" "You and Mr. Vance are a perfect match. Your bond is deep, and your love is clear to everyone. Why would I lack the common sense to play the third wheel?" "Back then, we were just two struggling people getting by together. Now that you've found your true love, it's time for me to step aside." For some reason, the more I spoke, the uglier Evelyn's expression became. Her face was dark as a storm cloud. She glared straight into my eyes: "So you never took our marriage certificate seriously at all?" What kind of logic was that? She made it sound like I was the heartless bastard who abandoned her. When clearly, she was the one who had trampled our marriage into the dirt. While she was out kissing Julian and enjoying candlelit dinners with him, did she ever consider that I was back home, doing their dirty laundry in cold silence? I choked down my bitterness and forced my tone to stay calm and rational: "Our worldviews don't match, and I'm not worthy of you, Evelyn. Dragging this marriage out is just wasting both our lives." Perhaps her fury stemmed from the fact that *I* was the one asking for the divorce. A woman as proud as her couldn't stomach being dumped by someone who was below her in every conceivable way. Thinking I had found the right angle, I shifted my tone to keep flattering her way out. Evelyn only looked angrier. A fractured, wounded light flashed in her light-colored eyes as she raised a hand to touch my cheek. "Woody, you were the one who approached me first." In an instant, she leaned in so close our breaths mingled. "You were the one who swore to weather every storm with me, promising to follow me through hell and back... Are you breaking your promise now?" "You claimed you didn't approach me for money, that you actually loved me. And I believed you." "A divorce? Don't even dream about it!" Finally, she reached into her designer bag, pulled out a watch, and tossed it to me. The watch featured a minimalist, sleek design—luxurious and clearly worth a fortune. In six years of marriage, this was the very first gift she had ever given me. Without another word, she turned and left, offering me only her sharp, retreating back. My gaze drifted downward, settling on the worn, faded watch strap peeking out from under my sleeve. Memories surged forward like an incoming tide, dragging me back into the hazy past. The memories always began with a rainy day. Under the endless downpour, I held a young girl's hand, strolling slowly beside a lake. That watch strap was a birthday gift she had saved every penny to buy for me. Back then, my abusive parents had already planned out their retirement on my back. Before I was even ten, I was running errands in shady gray areas just to earn scraps of cash. I lived in sheer despair. Carefree fun and games like other kids my age were completely out of reach. That was when she appeared, warming my frozen world like a beam of sunlight. We clung to each other, finding warmth amidst our mutual misery. And then, she vanished without a trace. I never knew where she went. I only had a vague memory of men in black suits surrounding the orphanage. For all these years, I had been searching for that girl. When I first saw Evelyn, she was scavenging for scraps on the street, stubborn and fierce. She reminded me so much of that girl. If she were still alive, she would have grown into someone just like Evelyn. So, ignoring the stunned bewilderment of everyone around me, I took Evelyn into my home. Later, in an act of sheer madness, I married her. It was all for the sake of an obsession. Knowing that my departure was only a matter of time, I sent my resume to several companies. My chances weren't great since I had been away from my professional field for years. Still, I wanted to try. During the interviews, I felt the familiar nervous flutter from my school days when a teacher called my name. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. Murmurs from passing employees caught my ear: "Ms. Moore is returning from inspecting our overseas branches in three days. Nobody better slack off!" "To achieve so much at such a young age... Ms. Moore is a total role model. Gorgeous and ruthless. I wonder what kind of partner she'll end up with?" "Some people become CEOs at twenty-five, while I'm still a corporate slave at twenty-five." That comment hit home. I walked past quickly, a spark of curiosity flaring in my chest. When I returned to Evelyn's mansion, I deliberately timed it to avoid crossing paths with her and Julian. Yet, as if he had been lying in wait, Julian still caught me at the door. He was decked out head to toe in luxury labels, wearing rare designer accessories. He looked me up and down with utter contempt and scoffed: "Look at how broke you are. Aren't you embarrassed to stand next to Evelyn and drag her down?" "I heard Evelyn gave you a watch? What a coincidence—that was just a piece of trash I rejected. But I've changed my mind. Give it back to me." Within two sentences, he managed to demean me multiple times. I nodded calmly, pulled the watch box out of the drawer, and pushed it forward: "Here." "Take it." My tone was as casual as commenting on the weather. Julian's dark eyes darted around, and then he let out an innocent laugh: "I want that watch strap on your wrist, too." "It's just an old, beat-up rag anyway." "Throw it away and be done with it." Subconsciously, I pulled my wrist back into my sleeve, keeping my voice steady: "Mr. Vance, you only use the finest luxury items. A cheap strap like this is beneath you." To anyone else, it was just a worthless piece of junk. To me, it meant everything. It was the only physical connection left between me and her. "What if I insist?" Julian lunged forward, grabbing my wrist with both hands, trying to rip it off by force!