In college, I dumped the most popular heiress on campus. Three years later, my apartment flooded in the middle of the night. I went to crash at my buddy’s place, but accidentally crawled into her bed instead. She smirked coldly: “What, trying to rekindle our old flame?” I panicked and tried to leave, but she grabbed me. “Where do you think you’re going? You can’t just show up and leave like that.” In my dream, I was holding a soft, warm body. Just as I was about to really enjoy myself, a sharp pain in my ear jolted me awake. I opened my eyes to find myself staring into those mesmerizing almond-shaped eyes I’d been dreaming about. The owner of those eyes was speaking: “Beckett, it’s been so long and this is how you choose to see me again? What, trying to rekindle our old flame?” Terrified, I quickly freed my ear from her grasp and jumped out of the bed, my face flushing red and pale in turns. Lark. My ex-girlfriend. How did I end up in bed with her?! Her long hair was loose, and she was wearing only a sheer nightgown that left little to the imagination. I stuttered, “W-what are you doing here?” “I could ask you the same thing!” she retorted. At this point, I was so embarrassed I just wanted to run away. But she grabbed me before I could escape. “Where do you think you’re going? You can’t just show up and leave like that.” How could I have possibly guessed that after my apartment flooded, I’d sneak into my buddy’s place in the middle of the night only to end up in my ex-girlfriend’s bed? The commotion woke up the owner of the house. Gideon came over in his pajamas, his voice preceding him: “Cousin, what’s all the noise about?” When he saw me, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. “What the hell? What are you doing here?” I gave a bitter smile. “My apartment flooded. I had nowhere else to go but your place.” My buddy pulled me aside and winked at me suggestively. “She’s my cousin. Did you two sleep together?” I was so embarrassed I wanted to crawl into a hole. She was the last person I ever wanted to see again. This girl I had once cared for with all my heart – we just weren’t meant to be.
Back in college, she was the untouchable ice queen of our school. I fell for her at first sight when I saw her at a club meeting. Everyone said she was a wealthy heiress with impossibly high standards. Then one day, she sprained her ankle in the locker room. She limped out, her face pale with pain and covered in cold sweat. I happened to be passing by and immediately carried her to the infirmary on my back. After that, we became friends. I discovered that although she seemed cold on the surface, she was actually quite warm and friendly in private. She was also quite forgetful and always losing things. She would often message me asking for help buying this or fetching that. She said I was the most attentive man in the world, remembering all her likes and dislikes and providing the best emotional support. She teased that I must have a girlfriend to be so experienced. I laughed and said no, she was my first. Her eyes sparkled as she quietly took my hand. The more I got to know her, I realized she wasn’t called the campus goddess just for her beauty. She was also the cream of the crop among the wealthy elite. They had their own exclusive social circle that partied together. It was a completely different world from mine. But she told me she hated the fakeness and pretension of that circle. She said I was the most real. That made me happy. I introduced her to down-to-earth experiences of ordinary life. When I earned some money from helping my professor with research, I would treat her to a big meal. Sometimes she offered to pay, but I refused. I told her, “Paying is a man’s job.” I might not be able to give her a better life, but I would do my best with what I had. During that time, we were as close as could be. It was just an ordinary relationship, unable to withstand even a bit of wind and rain.
One day, a guy named Kieran from another department approached me. “I’m her fiancé. Please stay away from Lark.” I was shocked. “Lark never told me she had a fiancé.” “Our parents arranged it long ago. You can’t possibly be her boyfriend.” “What can you offer her besides dragging her down?” I didn’t believe him and argued back. He arched an eyebrow haughtily. “Let me show you her real life.” He had me disguise myself and took me to a fancy mansion. There I saw her with perfect makeup and an elegant updo, wearing a designer evening gown. She moved gracefully through the party, charming and poised. As the hostess, she worked the room effortlessly, completely in her element. Indeed, she and I seemed to be from different worlds. “See, she’s like a queen on high. And you? You’re just an ant on the ground. She doesn’t need some guy to take her to street food stalls. She needs someone who can build an empire with her.” I looked down at my sneakers and jeans, so out of place in this setting. I argued stubbornly, “But she likes me just the way I am.” Kieran laughed. “There are plenty more like you. Want proof? Check her phone contacts.” “She has her contacts sorted into groups. Our circle is in one group, while you and others like you are in a separate group.” The next day when I met Lark, I checked her phone while she was in the bathroom. Sure enough, my contact was saved under a code name and number. There were 7-8 others with similar names, all grouped together. When she came back, I asked her directly. “Do you find being with me boring?” She blinked coyly. “Not at all. I love being with you. You let me relax and not have to keep up appearances all the time.” “Are there others like that too?” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “A few, I suppose.” My heart sank. “Will I be part of your life in the future?” “Of course! We’ll work together at the company. There’s a trendy term now – ‘live-in son-in-law.’ What do you think?” She looked at me mischievously, as if she had just made a harmless little joke. My heart plummeted. This wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted an equal partnership. Finally one day, we had just finished watching a sad movie. The plot left me feeling suddenly disillusioned. “Let’s break up,” I said. She looked at me in shock, her temper flaring. “Fine, let’s break up then. Don’t come crying back to me later!” After that, when she messaged me, I blocked her. We had no contact for three years. I heard she went abroad.
Gideon’s jaw nearly hit the floor. “So that’s what happened between you and my cousin! No wonder she was so depressed for a while, locking herself in her room and refusing to talk to anyone.” I couldn’t imagine her being heartbroken over me. Those 7-8 guys in her phone contacts, each with their own code name. I was just one of many. “Getting dumped always hurts. It’s not that surprising,” I said. I had to go to work the next day and also needed to get my apartment fixed. I left early in the morning, not wanting any more interaction with her. I’m now a project manager at an IT company. Today we had a meeting with a big corporation about a new project. My team and I rushed to the company, only to find that our contact person was none other than Lark, who I had just awkwardly parted ways with. My scalp tingled, but there was no avoiding her. “This project has a tight timeline and heavy workload. The team will need to work overtime often, and many business requirements will need to be confirmed with me in person,” she said. I nodded. “Since we’ve won the bid, we’ll give it our all.” She pointed at me. “Beckett, please come to my office to discuss some details.” I followed her into her office. It had an austere, elegant style that didn’t quite match her soft beauty. What suited her best was the sharp business suit that accentuated her figure as she walked. I steadied myself. She first went over the project details, which I responded to one by one. Then she suddenly asked, “Our project schedule is very tight. Will your girlfriend mind you getting home late?” I shook my head. For some reason, I found myself asking, “You’ll be working late with us too, right? Will your boyfriend mind?” She answered languidly, “My boyfriend? He has quite a temper. Very willful.” I guessed she meant Kieran. My heart twisted with an indescribable sourness. “Then you shouldn’t stay so late with us. I can report any issues to you the next day.” She stared at me for a moment, then suddenly stood up and sat down next to me.
I stiffly shifted away. She suddenly grabbed my sleeve. “Why did you block me? Even if we couldn’t be lovers, couldn’t we at least be friends?” My heart ached. As if I had a choice in the matter? She leaned in close, her sweet-smelling breath on my face. “Beckett, I…” Before she could finish, there was a knock and Kieran walked in. “Lark, sorry, I didn’t know you had someone here.” He turned and saw me, freezing in surprise. “Well if it isn’t our campus heartthrob Beckett! Long time no see. I hear you’re a project manager now.” Seeing him brought back memories of before, filling me with bitterness. He walked over and put his arm around Lark’s waist intimately. “What do you want for dinner? I’ve made a reservation.” He looked at me. “Beckett, want to join us?” I suddenly stood up. “Sorry, I have plans. My girlfriend made a reservation too. I’ll be going now!” Lark looked stunned. I fled under Kieran’s mocking gaze. My heart, which had long been frozen over, shattered completely at the sight of them together. This time hurt even more than in college. Back then, I had cut things off myself. This time, I was the one being cast aside. My heart turned cold. Kieran was right about one thing. The games of the wealthy were not for ordinary people like me to play.
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