Chapter 3

When I arrived with the police, Celeste and Finn had just finished a toast.

Amidst the loud music and chatter, their spirits were unusually high.

"Sister Celeste, I can't believe you're still with Asher after all his reckless behavior."

"You have such patience. You've founded a company and have so many assets, you're a modern-day leading woman, yet you still humor him."

"Anyone else would have switched boyfriends long ago and avoided such trouble."

Finn was indignant on Celeste's behalf.

Celeste sighed, her tone somewhat helpless.

"I can't help it. He did contribute when the company was founded. If we break up now, everyone would think I'm ungrateful."

"Blame it on my poor judgment. I never thought he’d turn out like this."

"Once the time is right, I'll find a way to get rid of him."

Her words were clear to my ears, but I only found them amusing.

I had asked Celeste early on why she chose this path. At the time, I was a manager at a multinational company, earning a substantial salary, more than enough to support us. But starting a business came with many uncertainties and could be tough.

Back then, Celeste looked me in the eye and sincerely told me she didn’t want me to struggle alone. She wanted to stand by my side and walk further together.

I stepped out of my comfort zone to help her reach her current position.

She had indeed come a long way, but not only did she not want to be by my side, she felt she had every right to kick me aside.

Yet, I wasn't sad. Her words confirmed what I had suspected for a while.

The police gave me a sympathetic look.

To avoid causing a scene, they had the manager call her out.

After explaining the situation to Celeste, she looked at me, incredulous.

"Asher, what are you doing now? Reporting to the police over a little money, is it really necessary?"

Finn clutched his chest, coughing violently.

Celeste hurriedly soothed him, her eyes full of worry and anger, then glared at me: "Don’t you know Finn’s health is poor and can't handle stress? If something happens to him, how will you take responsibility?"

But I remember during our hardest winter, when I was feverish with a temperature of 104 degrees, she wasn't this concerned. Instead, she told me to endure it to boost my immunity.

I ended up with a chronic condition, struggling to breathe when the weather turned cold, and she never cared.

I couldn't help but snicker.

"You’re still laughing! Asher, you’re so cold-hearted!"

Celeste looked at me coldly: "If you’re making a fuss over this little money, I think you’re not fit to be my boyfriend. Let’s just break up."

"Fine, let’s break up."

I nodded.

Celeste looked at me, shocked, her eyes widening.

I knew she didn’t believe I would break up. In the past, whenever she mentioned breaking up, it was just a tactic to get her way, a means to threaten me.

We both knew that, but I always found a way to appease her, even apologizing and asking for forgiveness when I wasn’t at fault.

This was the first time I truly agreed to break up.

Celeste’s lips quivered, as if she wanted to say something.

Finn hastily chimed in: "Asher, I know you’re jealous, but Sister Celeste only said that out of anger. She doesn’t really want to break up with you, don’t agree to it."

He seemed to be pleading on my behalf, but I could still see the faint pride in his eyes.

Sure enough, Celeste snorted: "Finn, no need to explain for him. Let’s break up, just hope he doesn’t regret it later."

With that, she grabbed Finn’s hand and started to leave.

I raised my hand to stop them: "Since we’re breaking up, shouldn’t you return the money too?"

I gestured to the police.

When I made the report, I had already shown all the evidence, proving that Celeste had taken a large sum of my money without permission.

The police nodded, advising Celeste to return the money if the situation was true, to avoid escalating it to court.

Celeste didn’t respond, but Finn protested: "He used Sister Celeste’s card to buy dozens of cars before, yet she didn’t report it."

"If you want to report, go ahead. Now that we’ve broken up, you can settle our accounts too."

I looked at Celeste.

I knew she didn’t want to report because she was afraid.

If we really settled our accounts over the years, what Celeste owed me was far more than just four million.

Finn wanted to argue, but seeing Celeste’s pale face, he wisely kept silent.

Celeste gritted her teeth, glaring at me, then worked her phone for a while.

"I transferred it. Are you satisfied now?"

After saying that, she shot me a glare, grabbed Finn’s hand, and left.

I thanked the police, went back to file the report, and then headed home. Just as I walked in, a colleague from the finance department called.

"Asher, Ms. Celeste just withdrew over four million from the company’s funds."