The Hidden Heir

The music was loud and the apartment was packed with people. Grey stood at the door, watching his girlfriend Nora dance with her friends. She had told him she would not celebrate her birthday this year. She had said she wanted to stay home and rest. But here she was, surrounded by people, having the time of her life.

Grey moved through the crowd and grabbed Nora's hand. When she turned and saw his face, her smile disappeared immediately.

"Why are you here?" Nora asked, pulling her hand away.

"You told me you wouldn't celebrate," Grey said, his voice calm but hurt. "Why did you lie to me?"

Nora rolled her eyes. "My friends wanted to do something for me. It was not planned. Anyway, you didn't have money to do anything for me, so what does it matter?"

Grey said nothing. He had been saving money for four months to buy her a nice gift. Working as a delivery man was hard. Some days he went hungry just to give her what she wanted. But hearing her say this broke something inside him.

The music stopped and Grey looked around the apartment. This was the apartment he had rented with his first salary. Everything looked different now. The walls were painted cream. There was a huge home theater system and a large television. New furniture replaced the old chairs. Grey did not remember buying any of these things.

Nora's friends stared at him. They all knew he was just a delivery man with no money. None of them even said hello.

"Look at him," a woman with heavy makeup said loudly. "Is this your boyfriend? He looks like he delivers food for a living."

Everyone laughed.

"I don't think he deserves someone as beautiful as you," another girl added, looking Nora up and down.

Nora felt a little awkward, but the truth was she agreed with them. She was a Harvard student now. Grey was just a delivery man. Yes, he had paid for all her school fees. Yes, he had worked hard to help her succeed. But none of that mattered to her anymore.

"OMG! Seth is here!" someone screamed.

Nora's head turned immediately toward the door. She looked excited in a way Grey had never seen before. A tall man in an expensive Armani suit walked in. Every girl in the room stared at him. Seth looked like he owned the world.

Seth saw Nora and walked straight to her. He took her hand and smiled. Nora did not pull away. She looked nervous because Grey was still there, but she did not refuse Seth's touch.

Grey felt something twist in his chest. Who was this man? Why was Nora holding his hand like that?

Then Grey remembered. Nora had started working at KK Corporation recently. And KK Corporation belonged to Seth. She had told Grey she needed to work to save money for school. But she had never mentioned how close she was to her boss.

Grey walked forward with the gift box in his hands. "Happy birthday, Nora," he said with a smile, trying to ignore everyone watching him.

Nora and Seth both turned to look at him. Seth's face showed nothing but disgust.

"You told me you broke up with this guy," Seth said to Nora, his voice sharp. "I said I did not want to see him here."

Grey looked at Nora, hoping she would say something. Surely this was a joke. Surely Nora would defend him. Surely she would tell Seth that Grey was her boyfriend and he had every right to be here.

Grey held out the box. "This is for you."

Nora looked at the box for just a moment. Then she snatched it from his hands and threw it across the room. It hit the wall and fell to the ground.

"Are you deaf?" Seth said to Grey, his voice cold. "She does not want you here."

The room went silent. Everyone was watching to see what Grey would do.

"He probably saved his salary for two months to buy that gift," a girl named Tracy said with a cruel smile. "Too bad she does not want it."

Seth laughed. "How could you stay with someone like this? This man cannot even take care of himself. How can he take care of you?"

"You are right," Nora said, not even looking at Grey. "I only stayed with him because I felt sorry for him. But I am tired of feeling sorry for him. I need someone who can really take care of me. Someone like you."

Tracy giggled. "The only thing he is good for is..."

Everyone laughed again. Grey felt his face burn with shame. He had done everything for this girl. He had sacrificed everything. And this was how she treated him.

Seth stepped closer to Grey. "I will help you, loser," he said with a fake smile. "If you can lick my shoe right now, I will give you a job as a security guard at my company. You can earn one thousand dollars a month. Have you ever made that much money?"

The whole room burst into laughter. Grey stood there, unable to move, unable to speak. His world was falling apart right in front of him.

"Come on, accept the offer," Tracy urged, laughing. "In ten years, maybe they will raise your salary to twelve hundred dollars. That would be great for someone like you, right?"

Everyone in the room laughed at him. Nora turned away, holding Seth's arm, acting like Grey did not even exist.