Chapter 1
After my visa was approved, I went home to pack. The moment I opened my closet, Vivian popped out, startling me.
“Alex! I’m the hunter, and I’ve caught my prey!”
She was beaming, her cheeks flushed, laughing heartily.
I knew she’d used a “business trip” as an excuse these past two days, but she was really just traveling with Marcus to avoid me.
In the past, I would have greeted her with a warm smile, asking about her trip.
Now, I just pulled her aside and started rummaging for my clothes.
Vivian stood there, looking a bit lost. After a long moment, she poked my arm.
“Alex, what’s wrong? Are you still mad about me not lending you money that day? I was trying to complete Marcus’s dare. We’re friends, and he was about to lose in fifteen minutes. I didn’t have time to transfer money. Didn’t I soften up later and have the finance department give you an advance?”
I gave a bitter laugh, suppressing the sting in my nose, and kept stuffing clothes into my suitcase.
That day, Mom had just arrived from out of town when she saw her future daughter-in-law on a giant screen, holding another man’s hand and making their relationship official.
She collapsed on the spot.
I rushed to the scene, falling to my knees in front of Vivian, pleading with her to give me back my savings for Mom’s medical bills.
It would have taken less than three seconds to pull out her bank card from her bag.
But she just coldly kicked me aside, telling me to figure it out myself. Then, she used every last cent from my card to buy Marcus a luxury car.
Later, when I went to the finance department for an advance, the finance officer rolled her eyes at me.
“Alex, who do you think you are, dreaming about someone like her? Mr. Marcus and CEO Vivian are the golden couple.”
She deliberately dragged out the process.
I ran around the company, completing eighteen different procedures, which took three hours, just to get a $200 advance.
The finance officer said it was Vivian’s order, and they couldn’t do anything about it.
By the time I rushed to the hospital, Mom had already passed away.
Vivian saw I wasn’t speaking, snatched the clothes from my hands, and threw them onto the bed.
“That’s what I dislike about you small-town guys. You’re so petty. You hand over a few hundred thousand, and then you try every trick to get it back. Honestly, I bought Marcus that sports car just to cut off your idea of getting into my pockets!”
My heart felt like it was squeezed hard. I took a deep breath. I thought if I just poured my heart out and gave her all my earnings, Vivian would eventually let go of her suspicions.
But I never imagined she still thought I was after her money.
Marcus and she had broken up and gotten back together three times. Each time, it was her winning him back with luxury cars and lavish homes.
So why was it suddenly me who was being petty?
I finished packing, picked up my suitcase, and curled my lips into a sarcastic smile. “It won’t happen again. Keep your money for Marcus to spend.”
Vivian’s eyes widened. She grabbed me.
CRASH!
A storage box was knocked over, sending countless paper slips covered with blessings fluttering to the ground like snow.
These were all the blessing messages I had pleaded with anyone and everyone I met on the street to write for me.
She had said she’d had enough heartbreak. Unless I collected ten thousand blessings from strangers to prove my sincerity, she wouldn’t marry me.
The ten thousandth blessing was from a passenger sitting next to my mom on the train ride into the city.
When Mom handed it to me, she wished Vivian and me a long and happy life together.
But Vivian still announced her relationship with Marcus just because of one sentence from him.
All my boundaries, all my efforts, were a joke.
Vivian picked up a slip of paper. Her beautiful brows relaxed, and she sighed.
“Alright, Alex, stop sulking. I’ll give you another three hundred. Take your mom to get some nice clothes and good food. Later, I’ll take her on a trip. I’ll do my duty as a daughter-in-law.”
In the past, I would have taken the out and praised her as a good wife. But now, the bitterness in my heart wouldn’t let up. I just couldn’t swallow it.
I covered her transfer screen with my hand and said coldly, “No need. You’re not her daughter-in-law. We’re over.”
My words were swallowed by the sound of a key in the lock.
“Vivian, I’m here to pick you up! Didn’t we say we’d treat everyone to dinner to celebrate?”
Marcus walked in, looking surprised. “Assistant Alex, why are you at Vivian’s place?”
Vivian coughed, putting distance between us. “Alex’s mom needed money, he just asked if he could get an advance on his salary.”
We’d been in a secret relationship for five years.
She always kept me at arm’s length, and I couldn’t even post about her on Ins.
I thought it was because she didn’t want an office romance.
Turns out, keeping it from everyone was just about keeping it from him.
Marcus looked righteous and reprimanded me sharply.
“Assistant Alex, don’t go too far. I didn’t even say anything about you causing a scene at the announcement, but you have hands and feet. You can’t just take advantage of Vivian’s kindness and demand money from her!”
Vivian frowned, about to speak.
I curled my lips. “You’re right, that’s exactly what I think. So I’m leaving now.”
With that, I picked up my suitcase and walked past Vivian, heading downstairs.
She took a step as if to follow, glanced at Marcus, then calmly said, “Be careful on your way.”
As I walked out of the building, Vivian sent me a SnapChat message: “Alex, don’t worry. This is the last time I’ll help Marcus out. I’ll make time in a couple of days to take your aunt out, and we can discuss our wedding plans and get married soon.”
I scoffed. I just opened my chat with William, the HR from the overseas company. “William, my visa is done. Flight’s tomorrow afternoon. See you there.”