Chapter 3

The next day, my dad was a bit surprised when he saw me come out of the bedroom.

"How come you're home? Not with your little boyfriend anymore?"

I rubbed my reddened eyes, feeling a bit upset. "We broke up."

To my surprise, my dad grinned from ear to ear and immediately started planning a celebration. "Breaking up is good! I've never liked that guy anyway."

Hearing about the breakup, my mom came out of the kitchen. "Breaking up is a good thing. Look at you, you've been with him for so many years, and you're looking worn out. Just stay home for a while, and let me take care of you."

At that moment, my eyes welled up. My voice was choked. "Okay."

Looking at my parents, who were already in their older years, I realized that no matter what I had done in the past, they always loved and supported me unconditionally. I thought, "How could I not love myself? Why should I let someone like James drain me?"

To my surprise, a few days later, James suddenly called me.

"Have you booked the private room?" he asked.

I froze, suddenly remembering he had mentioned inviting some senior students to dinner a few days ago.

"This is important for my future graduate studies. You can't mess this up.

"Don't forget to buy the cigarettes and alcohol when you come. Get the best quality. The senior girls will be there, so make sure you have a set of SK-II for each of them.

"Also, make sure the food in the private room isn't too cheap. The quality needs to be high so I don't lose face."

Listening to him rambling on the phone, I couldn't hold it in anymore. "What do I owe you?"

These things were going to cost tens of thousands of dollars at the very least, but since it wasn't his money, of course, he didn't care.

James nonchalantly responded, "Are you still mad? It's been a few days now, surely you're over it, right?

"You used to always encourage me to go to grad school, right? Don't just talk, it's time to put some action behind those words.

"Also, didn't your dad give you a million dollars? Can't you scrape together this small amount of money?"

His attitude was so entitled that it made my heart sink.

I had been planning to break up with him, but now I realized that would be too easy on him!

Not only did I want him to pay back all the money I had spent on him over the years, but I also wanted him to learn the consequences of messing with me.

Suppressing my disgust, I forced a smile and said to James, "No problem, I already booked the private room. Tomorrow, I won't disappoint you."

Hearing that, James couldn't hide his smug laughter on the other end of the line.

It was as if he was saying, "What's the big deal? No matter how much money you have, I can still control you with ease."

He added, "Since that's settled, tomorrow I'll bring my advisor along. You'll need to buy him some dietary supplements, at least 50 thousand dollars or more. Anything cheaper would be too low-end."

Hearing him push further and further, I casually agreed, replying, "Sure!"

Hearing me agree so easily, he didn't suspect a thing and actually felt a sense of superiority.

"Natalie, if you had listened like this earlier, it would've been much better."

I snorted in contempt, thinking, "Fool. He's digging his own grave."

The next day, I canceled all my plans and stayed home watching TV dramas.

At first, James sent me texts saying he had arrived at the private room, ordered the food, and asked when I would bring the gifts over.

I ignored all his messages.

Later, he couldn't reach me, started to panic, and bombarded me with calls.

I could barely tolerate the noise, so I finally answered.

"Natalie, where are you? The seniors have all arrived. Where are the gifts?"

I lay on the sofa, pretending to sound anxious. "I'm on my way, I'm stuck in traffic. You guys go ahead and eat."

Then, I hung up the phone and continued watching my drama.

I went ahead and ordered several expensive bottles of wine and various cosmetics and bags, but chose cash on delivery.

James waited in the private room, only to receive the payment order instead of me.