BILLIONAIRE'S PLUS-SIZE OBSESSION

CHARLOTTE'S POV

"You think you can hurt me?"

My own mother told me she regretted the day she conceived me. She wished I never appeared in her womb. She screamed those words at a five-year-old. "Mummy, I'm sorry", my little voice had whispered.

It wasn't something new to me. I don't remember the first time, but I'm sure I must have cried, terrified and confused. Yet, at the end of each outburst, she never had the heart to finish me off. I guess she wasn't a horrible mother... just a broken woman.

That day, she had come home drunk from a failed date. He had rejected her for being a single mother to a Black child. That wasn't the first time. Apparently, my father's race was an issue for them. My unknown father, whom my mother loved dearly and dated against her family's wishes, left the country when she was seven months pregnant. He never returned. He never called.

So, of course, I had to pay for his sins.

My mother was disowned by her family for "bringing disgrace" and "staining" the family name. And in return, she hated me for looking nothing like her but more like my father. I was told how ugly and fat I was since childhood. My own mother made sure I never forgot it. She reminded me every day-not just of my appearance, but of how deeply she hated me.

I can't say I loved her as a child, because truthfully... I didn't even know what love was. Not even the kind they call "motherly love."

Months after being rejected by her date, my mother regained her family's blessing and affection when she got engaged to a popular Hollywood filmmaker, a blue-eyed, blonde British charmer.

When I was six, my mother gave birth to my twin half-sisters. People said they were the most beautiful babies they had ever seen.

That was the moment I learned the difference between beauty and ugliness. Six-year-old me stood in front of the mirror and accepted that I was the image of "ugly"... and my sisters, "beauty."

I wasn't even sad. At that age, I didn't see it as cruel. I saw it as my reality. My fate.

After their birth, my sisters became local celebrities. They were signed to endorsement deals for baby modeling in China. Family and friends adored them. Our grandparents worshipped them.

And that's when I realized what love actually was. I couldn't feel it. But I could see it. And honestly? That was enough for me.

It was beautiful to see someone being loved. To see my mother glowing, not drunk, not cursing, not breaking things.

I was happy.

My favorite day was our family photoshoot for the twins' one-year birthday, with both sets of grandparents. My mother and my new stepfather were seated in the middle. Grandparents stood beside their children. I was told to sit on the floor beside my mother.

When the framed photos arrived and were hung in our living room, I was missing in every single one of them.

Maybe I was too fat to fit in. But I know I could've slayed that photoshoot, especially with my wide smile and a missing tooth while gazing up at my little sisters.

As I grew older, the hate turned into bullying, especially from kids in the neighborhood and classmates at school.

"Fat ugly girl!"

I understood it perfectly, because my own mother called me that often. But I always replied with confidence:

Yeah, I'm fat and ugly, but I've got beautiful sisters! You got beautiful sisters? Noooo!

Yeah, I was that proud of them.

I literally raised them when my mother was too busy with her work. I would bottle-feed them, and at a tender age, I learned to change diapers, sing lullabies, and put them to sleep.

I loved them dearly, but unfortunately, they grew up and joined my bullies. They told their friends I wasn't even related to them.

Easy to believe-we looked nothing alike.

However, I can't blame them for seeing me as more of a maid than a sister. They learned from our mother.

PRESENTLY----

"You want me to say it? Fine! You are too fat, you can never be a successful actress, Charlotte. What makes you think you will get a role in the audition? How many female actors of your size do you see in a drama getting major roles? And worse, you are mixed with black. Be realistic".

Those were the words of my boyfriend, Jun, after I told him about my upcoming audition for a movie.

I tried to keep my emotions in check.

"Why do you say it like being biracial is a bad thing? Besides, there are many plus-size female actors in Hollywood."

I replied.

"Oh, you want to go to America? You will surely make a good comedy show. Lo, ok, I don't mean to make you feel bad, but why not stick to the waitress job that I suggested and quit this idea of being an actor?"

I looked down sadly.

"I came because I wanted to seek your encouragement. I didn't know you would get this upset."

"Upset?"

Jun said with a humorless laugh.

"You think I'm just upset? That's my problem with you".

I looked up at him with glistening eyes.

"Acting has been my dream since I was a child. Why can't you support me in this?"

"Because it's silly!" he snapped back, his voice rising.

"I'm your boyfriend, Charlotte. You're supposed to respect me. If you cared about me, you wouldn't even be arguing about this. You will stick to the waitress job, as I told you to do."

"Jun, you know I love and do care about you. I've been loyal to you. Always. Why can't you, for once, support me? I am trying, I really am."

"Maybe, if you weren't this average and unnecessarily fat, it could be hopeful".

I was speechless at that statement.

He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Just look at yourself in the mirror, Charlotte. One wants to see all of you on their screen. You complain that you got bullied as a waitress. Well, news flash, you will get more hate as an actress on the screen. Do you want to be bullied online too?"

My throat tightened.

"I was 'unnecessarily fat' when you approached me. Why didn't you say you didn't like plus-size and go for slim women?" I asked with a frown. "I loved you with your flaws, too, you know that. Don't act like you're perfect."

Jun scoffed, offended.

He rolled his tongue and looked me up and down.

I looked at myself, too. I was wearing something close to a maternity gown. According to Jun, that's what suits me the most. Suits my body type, hedoest.

Since he was my boyfriend, I had accepted his dressing choice for myself.

"You're lucky I've put up with you for this long. I've been managing you. Be honest, how many men were there before me? None! It's hard to find a man when you look like a middle-aged, divorced single mother with kids. You are twenty-nine and unmarried. What does that tell you? You think you have options?"

Those words landed like a slap.

"Do you know how cruel those words are, Jun?"

I sobbed as tears rolled down my face.

"Don't get all sensitive, Charlotte. I'm just being honest. So if you want this relationship to work, you know what you need to do. I can't put up with the shame all the time. Family andfriends have been on my neck. You have no idea how much shame I have been fighting by having you by my side as my girlfriend?"

I looked down slowly.

"You are... shamed of me?"

"Ashamed is an understatement."

He scoffed.

I looked up at him, my tears rolling freely down my cheeks.

"I never forced you to love me, Jun. Why did you even date me if you are embarrassed to be seen with me or anything like that? You made me think you are the one...someone who finally understood me, and all of a sudden you are acting like a man with no atom of compassion and love for me".

"Now, I am the bad guy for dating a hopeless, fat, twenty-nine-year-old woman. Do you think someone out there will look at you twice?"

I was about to reply when a familiar sultry voice called from inside the apartment.

"Jun baby!"

That voice...

"Is that....?"

I paused and looked at him in both doubt and surprise.

Jun closed his eyes in regret and murmured,

"Fuck."

Suddenly, the door opened, and a blonde lady appeared, wearing nothing but Jun's oversized shirt, her unclad body on full display.

Her heavy, massive titts bouncing as she walked towards us.

Jun rubbed his neck.

"Chloe?"

I whispered in disbelief.

I stood there like a statue, staring at Chloe, my younger sister, half-sister.

My lips parted, but no sound came.

"Opps, hey Charlotte."

She said and turned back.

I shifted my gaze to Jun.

"You... You're... cheating on me, with my sister?"

I said, her voice trembling.

He ran his fingers through his hair, then turned to me with a frown and suddenly snapped.

"Half-sister"

"She is still my sister! You!...."

I couldn't finish my sentence and looked away, sobbing silently.

"And whose fault is that? You've been ignoring me lately. What did you expect? For me to just wait around while you chase after your stupid dreams? Besides, as I am a man, I need to have sex. You kept blabbering about keeping it until the wedding night. This is 2025. Who still makes such decisions? You are artwenty-ninene and a virgin...at this point, it's a shame. I can't keep waiting for you, Charlotte."

I stared at him, impulsively holding my hand to my chest. I felt a sudden sharp tightness in my chest.

"You made me feel small. Made me question my worth just to cover up the fact that you're a liar and a cheat. Just a few minutes ago, I was willing to give up my dream for you, and this is what I get?"

Uncontrollable hot tears rolled down my face, my heart was hurting sharply, stabbing so much, so much that I started panicking.

"What is happening to me?"

I cried loudly as I gripped my chest.

I gasped loudly and opened my wet, stinky eyelids.

Same dream again.

Ever since I caught my ex-boyfriend in bed with my sister, I've been having recurring dreams like this that won't stop until I wake up with tears streaming down my face.

Being hurt by the people you love the most-that's another level of pain.

I should've known better.

It's just... I thought he would be different.

I thought I had found the one because he was on the bigger side, and he convinced me that he had the same insecurities about his body. He said he could relate to my emotions and struggles.

I thought we were bonding through shared vulnerability.

Turns out, I was just bait-always the bait-for the main prize.

And he dared to do it on my birthday.

Now, all I feel is foolish.

I wiped under my eyes, got up from the bed, and then walked straight to my weight scale.

Seeing the numbers broke my heart.

"What, I gained more?!"

I snapped sadly as tears welled up in my eyes in frustration.

I looked at the table in the corner of my room, full of weight loss pills, appetite suppressants... and antidepressants.

My table looks like a damn local pharmacy.

"The drugs are not as effective as I was told. I was careful with my diet, preparing for the audition. How on earth did I gain more? Could it be stress?"

I muttered, disappointed.

Suddenly, I felt a pain in my chest. I took a deep breath,s trying to calm my heart.

I need to step up and prove Jun wrong.

Not just Jun.

My family.....

I have been dealing with this since I was a child. I can't let this heartbreak ruin my dream of becoming an actress.

I sighed and walked into the bathroom.

I turned on the shower and got lost in thought concerning the audition. Passing this audition is going to be a big breakthrough for me.

Jun's voice came back.

"Just look at yourself in the mirror, Charlotte. No one wants to see all that fat on their screen."

I stared at myself in the mirror, my hands trembling as I touched my tummy folds and my underarm fat.

"I do hope they look beyond your appearance, Charlot, te and consider your passion and talent. Please, God, I can't lose this time, I will lose my mind ."

I closed my eyes as tears rolled down freely from them.

A few minutes later, I stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around my chest, water dripping down my legs.

I dried my body and walked to my closet to pick my outfit.

A high-waisted pair of baggy jeans and a simple top.

Putting on the high-waist jeans was a struggle.

I collapsed onto the edge of my bed and yanked the zipper up with both hands.

I exhaled, tried again.

"Come on, come on."

I bounced slightly, tugging at the waistband, shimmying my way in like I was wrestling a python.

Eventually, the zipper gave in.

I sighed in relief, took my comb and brushed my curls, then put them up in a big bun.

"I guess I am good to go."

I muttered, checking myself out in the mirror.

My eyes went to the childhood sketches of myself, which I taped on my wall.

I had pictured future me being slim and shapely like my mother, except for the skin complexion.

My glance shifted to another sketch of myself on the television-the brown crayon painted as my skin, and the black crayon used for my curls.

I smiled sadly.

"I hope your dream comes true, Charlotte."

Just then, my alarm rang on my phone, giving me a jump start.

"Shit! I can't get there late!"

I rushed to the kitchen and forced down a bowl of steamed veggies.

Then back to the room and popped two appetite suppressants.

Picked up my bag and rushed outside.