Chapter 2

After my visa was approved, I went home to pack. The moment I opened my closet door, Julian Sterling, my boyfriend, jumped out, startling me.

"Ava! I'm the hunter, and I've caught my prey!"

He was beaming, his cheeks flushed, laughing heartily.

I knew he'd been using a "business trip" as an excuse these past two days, but he was actually traveling with Seraphina Hayes to avoid me.

The old me would have greeted him with a smile, doting on him and asking how he was doing.

Now, I just shoved him aside and started rummaging for my clothes.

Julian stood there, looking a bit helpless.

After a moment, he said:

"Ava, what's wrong? Are you still mad about me not lending you money that day? I was trying to complete Seraphina's dare; we're friends, after all, and she was about to fail in fifteen minutes. I didn't have time to transfer money. Didn't I eventually relent and ask HR to approve your salary advance?"

I let out a self-deprecating laugh, fighting back the sting in my nose as I continued to stuff clothes into my suitcase.

That day, Mom had just arrived in the city when she saw her future son-in-law on a giant billboard, holding another woman's hand and making their relationship official. She collapsed on the spot.

I rushed to the scene, falling to my knees in front of Julian, begging him to return my savings for Mom's medical bills.

It would have taken less than three seconds to pull out my bank card from my bag.

But he shoved me away with an indifferent look, telling me to figure it out myself. Then, he drained my account and bought Seraphina a luxury car.

Later, when I went to HR for the advance, Brenda, the HR rep, rolled her eyes at me:

"Ava, you think you're Cinderella trying to snatch a prince? Seraphina and Julian Sterling are the perfect couple."

She deliberately dragged out the process.

I ran around the company, completing eighteen different procedures, spending three grueling hours just to get a $200 advance.

Brenda just shrugged, saying it was Julian's instruction and there was nothing they could do.

By the time I rushed to the hospital, Mom had already passed away.

Julian saw I wasn't speaking, snatched the clothes from my hands, and threw them onto the bed:

"So what if I spent some of your money? Do you have to get so angry and pack your bags?"

"That's what I hate about people from your background, so provincial. You hand over a few hundred thousand, and then you're constantly trying to claw it back. Honestly, buying Seraphina that sports car was to make sure you stop thinking my money is yours!"

My heart felt like it was squeezed hard. I took a deep breath.

I thought if I was just sincere enough, if I gave him all my salary, Julian would eventually let go of his suspicions.

But I never expected he'd still think I was a gold-digger.

Seraphina and he had an on-again, off-again relationship three times. Every single time, he'd win her back with luxury cars and mansions.

Why was it suddenly my fault for being "provincial" when it came to me?

I finished packing, grabbed my suitcase, and forced a sarcastic smile:

"You won't have to worry about that anymore. You can keep all your money for Seraphina."

Julian's eyes widened. He grabbed my arm.

Crash!

A storage box was knocked over, and countless slips of paper with messages of goodwill fluttered to the ground, like a sudden snowfall.

These were all the blessings I had begged endlessly for, stopping people on the street one by one.

He had told me he'd suffered too much heartbreak, and unless I collected 10,000 messages of goodwill from strangers to prove my sincerity, he wouldn't marry me.

The ten-thousandth blessing was from my mom. She'd asked a fellow passenger on the train coming to the city to write it. When she handed it to me, she wished Julian and me a long and happy marriage, filled with enduring love.

But Julian still went public with Seraphina just because of a single word from her.

All my boundaries, all my expectations, were a joke.

Julian picked up a slip of paper, his handsome eyebrows relaxing as he sighed:

"Alright, Ava, stop throwing a fit. I'll give you another three hundred. Take your mom to get some nice new clothes and buy some good food. Then I'll take her on a trip later, fulfill my filial duty as a son-in-law."

The old me would have gladly accepted his apology and praised him for being a good husband.

But now, my heart was heavy with resentment, and I couldn't swallow my anger.

I placed my hand over his payment transfer screen and said coldly:

"No need. You're not her son-in-law. We're breaking up."

My words were swallowed by the sound of a key turning in the lock.

"Julian, I'm here to pick you up. Weren't we going out to dinner to celebrate?"

Seraphina walked in and looked surprised:

"Ava, what are you doing at Julian's place?"

Julian coughed and pulled away from me:

"Ava's mom needed some money, so she just asked if she could get an advance on her salary."

We had been in a secret relationship for five years, and he always kept me at arm's length. I couldn't even post about him on Ins.

I thought he just disliked office romances.

Turns out, hiding it from everyone was just to hide it from one person.

Seraphina put on a righteous face and sharply scolded me:

"Ava, don't be so excessive! I didn't say anything when you caused a scene at the announcement, but you have hands and feet. Just because Julian is kind, you can't treat him like a cash cow and demand money!"

Julian frowned, about to speak.

I forced a smile.

"You're right, that's exactly what I think. So I'm leaving now."

With that, I picked up my suitcase and walked past Julian, heading downstairs.

He took a step as if to follow, glanced at Seraphina, then casually said:

"Be careful on your way."

As I stepped out of the building, Julian sent me a SnapChat message:

"Ava, don't worry. This is the last time I'm helping Seraphina out. In a couple of days, I'll make time to take your mom on that trip, and we can discuss our wedding plans and fast-track the ceremony."

I scoffed, opening the chat window with William, the HR from the overseas company:

"William, my visa is approved. Flight's tomorrow afternoon. See you then."