The Missing Beauty Mark

I was the tenth man Sierra Langston kept by her side, and I was the one who lasted the longest.

Everyone in Chicago whispered that the only reason she was with me was because of the beauty mark under my right eye.

It was in the exact same spot as the one her late lover had.

I didn't believe in fate, so I had the mark surgically removed.

That day, she flew into a blind rage and kicked me out of the Langston estate.

She even threw out a cold warning: "From now on, I never want to see Caspian Vance in this city again."

Heartbroken, I left Chicago on my own.

But later, she was the one kneeling, begging me to come home.

1.

On our fifth wedding anniversary, I finally had the beauty mark under my right eye removed.

I was holding a Lego set I had spent three months preparing, my heart racing with excitement.

The people around her always mocked me, saying, "Sierra doesn't love you. You're just a placeholder because that mark is identical to Gideon Cole's!"

I refused to believe them because Sierra treated me so well.

"You're finally back..."

The moment I pushed the door open, I heard Sierra's voice.

She was sitting on the sofa, but she stopped mid-sentence, her eyes locking onto the corner of my eye.

Before I could say a word, she rushed over and grabbed my jaw with a tight grip.

"Where is your beauty mark?"

Her eyes were burning with a terrifying fury.

My heart tightened. Was she really only with me because of that tiny spot?

No... that couldn't be true!

"I had it removed. I didn't think it looked goodD"

Before I could finish, a sharp sting exploded across my face as she slapped me.

The woman who hit me was Sierra, my wife of five years.

"How dare you remove that mark?"

She screamed, her face as dark as a thundercloud.

My chest ached with a dull, throbbing pain. I couldn't accept that she was only with me for a shadow of another man.

"Sierra, are you really only with me because of that mark?"

She grabbed my face again, her long nails nearly piercing my skin.

"Yes," she answered without a second of hesitation.

"If it weren't for that mark being exactly like Gideon's, I would have dumped you years ago!"

"Caspian Vance, you can get the hell out now. I have no use for you anymore."

It felt like the blood in my veins had turned to ice.

This was impossible to wrap my head around.

We had been so happy all these years.

She had learned to cook for me, made my favorite desserts, and always replied to my texts instantly.

If I didn't respond right away, she would rush home just to check on me because she was afraid something had happened.

I didn't want to believe that such a wonderful woman had only seen a ghost when she looked at me.

"Mr. Harrison, throw him out."

"I don't want to see his face ever again," Sierra added, her voice chillingly cold.

With a loud crash, the Lego set I had worked on for months hit the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces.

It felt like a metaphor for the end of our life together.

Only thirty minutes ago, she had sent me a text.

It said, "Cas, I cooked a whole feast myself and ordered your favorite cake. Hurry home so we can celebrate our five-year anniversary."

But now, she looked at me with nothing but disgust.

It was as if the woman from the text wasn't the same person standing in front of me.

Or rather, it was as if the woman I knew for the last five years was a complete lie.

The person I was seeing today was the real Sierra Langston.

2.

Mr. Harrison, the butler, shoved me out the door.

It was pouring rain outside, and I was ruthlessly pushed into the downpour.

Even Mr. Harrison, who had always been so respectful, was now as cold as Sierra.

"Mr. Vance, please leave immediately."

"You and Miss Langston never officially signed a marriage license, so there's no paperwork to handle."

"Don't ever show your face to her again, or you'll regret it."

He spoke quickly, as if he had memorized a script he'd used many times before.

I wondered if the nine men before me had gone through this exact same nightmare.

The thought made me shiver more than the cold rain.

I started thinking back to five years ago.

I had just graduated from college when my parents died in a freak accident.

The family business collapsed, leaving me buried under a mountain of debt.

Debt collectors were at my door every day, threatening to break my bones if I didn't pay.

Back then, I actually thought about ending it all.

Then, Sierra appeared out of nowhere.

It was a rainy day just like this one, and the collectors had cornered me in a dark alley.

She stood there holding a black umbrella, flanked by two rows of bodyguards.

She stared intensely into my eyes.

"Caspian Vance, are you willing to come with me?" she asked.

After I joined her, she treated me like royalty.

She gave me a high-paying job, cleared all my debts, and introduced me to powerful people to pave my way.

As time went on, I started hearing rumors.

I learned she had been through nine men before me, but none of them lasted long.

I was the only one who stayed, and a year into our relationship, she even gave me a massive wedding.

It was a lavish, high-society event.

The only catch was that we never went to the courthouse.

"I'm just not the type to sign a piece of paper," she had explained.

"I don't like being tied down, and I don't want the person I love to feel trapped either."

3.

I snapped back to reality as Mr. Harrison slammed the gate shut.

Rainwater ran down my face and soaked into my clothes.

But we had been together for five years. Five years of waking up next to each other.

Her smile and her kindness were burned into my heart. How could I just walk away?

I pulled out my phone and tried calling her over and over.

She had already blocked my number. I tried messaging her, but the results were the same.

I stood there frozen, feeling like something was squeezing the life out of my heart.

The grief was suffocating and agonizingly sharp.

I couldn't believe she could discard five years of history so easily.

Suddenly, a car belonging to one of Sierra's friends pulled up next to me.

Most of the rumors about Sierra not loving me had come from her.

But I had never believed them.

Two days ago, she had told me, "Why don't you go get that mole removed? Then you'll finally see the truth."

She rolled down the window and smirked at me. "Kicked out by Sierra already?"

"I told you so. you were just a stand-in."

"Gideon Cole is the only one who owns her heart."

"Are you still wondering how she could fake it for five years?"

"That's because you don't know the story between her and Gideon."

I had heard Gideon's name a thousand times from her circle over the years.

I only knew they were once the Golden Couple of Chicago.

Everyone assumed they would spend forever together.

But then Gideon died in a tragic accident. I never knew the details.

"Gideon died because he gave his own heart to Sierra so she could live," her friend said, staring at me.

"Do you really think anyone can compete with that?"

"Besides, he's dead. You can't beat a dead man."

"Sierra has been cycling through men for years just to find someone who looks like him."

"Take my advice and get lost. Sierra doesn't need you anymore."

So that was it. That was the truth.

No wonder she wouldn't sign a marriage license.

No wonder she threw me out over a tiny blemish.

My heart felt like it was being ripped out of my chest.

Sierra's friend didn't say another word and drove through the gates.

I saw Sierra open the front door to welcome her, never once glancing in my direction.

The rain didn't just soak my skin; it drenched my very soul.

4.

I knelt at the gates for a day and a night.

Even though I knew I was just a replacement, we had five years together.

I still wanted to believe we could make it work.

A horn honked behind me. I turned and saw it was Sierra's chauffeur.

He got out and respectfully opened the back door.

A young man stepped out. When I saw his face, I lost my breath for a few seconds.

He had a beauty mark under his right eye.

A sense of dread washed over me. I tried to stand up to ask the driver what was going on.

But because I had been kneeling for so long, my legs gave out, and I slammed onto the pavement.

The young man walked over and smiled at me. "You must be Caspian Vance. Hi, I'm Silas Sterling, Sierra's new boyfriend."

Sierra stepped out of the house at that moment, her eyes filled with a warmth and tenderness I hadn't seen in years.

"Silas, you're here. I made your favorites."

She took his arm, and as they walked past me, she didn't even acknowledge I existed.

Instead, she coldly told the driver, "Clear the trash away from the entrance."

In that moment, I finally understood.

She didn't love me. She never had.

Anyone who looked like Gideon Cole could be her boyfriend.

But no one could actually be Gideon Cole.

Including me.

The love I thought we had was just her twisted way of mourning a dead man.

My heart hit rock bottom, and I forced myself to crawl away.

5.

I had nowhere to go, so I checked into a cheap hotel.

I opened my phone, and my feed was flooded with articles about Sierra's new man.

#SierraLangston'sNewLover#

#LangstonHeirSeenAtTheCourthouse#

I froze. I rubbed my eyes several times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

Sierra had actually taken Silas Sterling to get a marriage license.

Once, she had canceled a billion-dollar merger just to attend our wedding ceremony.

She had told me at the altar, "Caspian, I love you so much."

She has these beautiful, flirtatious eyes that make you feel like you're the only person in the world.

I thought I was special. I thought she finally chose me.

Now I realized I was just the clown in her circus.

I clicked on another post and saw Sierra had officially announced her marriage to Silas on social media.

She posted a photo of them cuddling, holding up their marriage certificate.

The caption read: Starting today, we are husband and wife.

The comments were exploding. One user posted a side-by-side comparison.

Have to admit, the Boss's new husband looks exactly like her first love.

In the old photo, a teenage Sierra was wearing a private school uniform, smiling shyly at the camera next to a boy.

That boy had a beauty mark under his right eye. Silas looked almost like his twin.

So Sierra had finally committed because she found a better match.

Looking back at our five years, it felt like a fever dream.

And now, the dream was over.

6.

I went to the office the next day, hoping to bury my pain in work.

But my manager told me I was fired.

He looked at me with a complicated expression. "Cas, it's not my call. Orders came from the top, and I can't change them."

This company was a subsidiary of the Langston Group.

So, she was the one who pulled the plug.

Her friend was right. She really didn't need me anymore.

I walked out of the building like a ghost and accidentally ran into Sierra and Silas.

They were walking hand-in-hand, looking perfectly in love.

Silas smiled smugly. "We met the other day, didn't we?"

"Sierra, we're headed to lunch. Why don't we bring him along? He is your ex, after all."

Sierra didn't even look at me. She just said softly, "Sure, whatever you want, baby."

Her tone wasn't just gentle; it was doting.

She used to talk to me like that.

Actually, she was talking to me like that just two days ago.

Everything had vanished so fast.

I didn't want to go, but Silas insisted and practically dragged me along.

I had no choice but to sit through a miserable lunch.

Sierra kept putting food on Silas's plate, cutting his steak, and de-boning his fish with extreme care.

"Eat more," she said, her eyes never leaving his face.

My heart felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly. I couldn't swallow a single bite.

"Excuse me, I need the restroom."

In the bathroom, I saw my reflection. I looked like hell.

Even though I knew I was a replacement and the last five years were a lie, seeing her with someone else still hurt like a bitch.

When I walked out, Sierra was waiting for me.

Her expression was icy.

"Leave Chicago. I don't want to see you again."

Bitterness and resentment boiled over. I looked at her with pure anger.

"So you really did just use me as a puppet."

"And now that you're done, you're going to wipe me out?"

"Caspian, a smart man knows when to walk away," she said coldly.

"Did you ever love me? Even for a second?"

"My love belongs to only one person."

She turned and walked away without looking back.

I was left standing there, alone.

When I stepped outside, I saw her and Silas looking incredibly happy.

Maybe I really should just leave.

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