The day my mother received her critical condition notice, I knelt before Cathy, my girlfriend of seven years, begging her to save my mom. Fifty dollars. It was barely the cost of one of Cathy’s fancy dinners. But at that moment, it was my mother’s life. After she refused, my forehead was bruised and bleeding from desperation. “I’ll do anything, Cathy, please! My mother is all I have left!” Cathy simply turned and walked away, not even sparing me a glance. Yet that very night, she spent three thousand dollars, showering her childhood friend, Ethan, with a thousand online ‘carnival’ gifts on his live stream, fueling his dream of becoming an internet celebrity. My mother passed away. I broke up with Cathy. Five years later, we met again at the grand opening of an exclusive luxury apartment complex. She was clinging to Ethan’s arm, looking down at me with disdain. “What? Five years later, have you fallen so far you’re selling real estate? Or are you deliberately waiting here, hoping to see me again?” “Forget it. Even if you knelt and begged me to come back now, I wouldn’t even bother looking at you.” But then my billionaire wife stood beside me, and Cathy exploded in a furious rant. “Adrian Winters! It’s only been five years since we broke up! How could you get married to someone else!” 1. I saw Cathy again at the grand opening of the Grandview Residences. Cathy was basking in the adoration of the crowd, clinging to Ethan Thorne’s arm. “Ms. Sedgwick is here today? I assume you’re picking out a home for yourself and your fiancé?” “Is this your fiancé, Ms. Sedgwick? He’s so handsome! I hear you two are childhood sweethearts. Truly a match made in heaven.” “This is a top-tier development by the renowned Bright Group from Emerald City. Only a luxury home in such a prime location is fitting for Ms. Sedgwick and her fiancé.” Cathy chuckled softly, covering her mouth with her hand. “Thank you, everyone. Please do grace us with your presence at our wedding.” I stood not far from them, observing the pair surrounded by the eager crowd with a cold gaze. The Grandview Residences was a development by my wife, Maya Bright. Maya had returned to Emerald City for some business a few days ago, so I was here to oversee the grand opening for her. Just then, my eyes met Cathy’s. She hesitated for a moment, then let out a small laugh and walked towards me, still clinging to Ethan. “I thought I’d mistaken you for someone else. But it really is you, Adrian Winters.” “What? Five years on, you realize you still can’t forget me, so you came here specifically to wait for me?” I was about to shake my head and deny it, but Cathy scoffed again. “The cheapest apartment at Grandview Residences costs five million dollars. You’re not going to tell me you’re here to buy a place, are you?” The sycophantic crowd that had been fawning over Cathy followed her, their expressions turning curious as they looked at me. “Ms. Sedgwick, who is this gentleman?” Cathy shot me a cold glance, then looked away without speaking. But Ethan spoke up then. “I don’t think you all know him, do you?” He paused for dramatic effect. “This is Mr. Adrian Winters. He’s the son of Cathy’s family’s former housekeeper. No one important, really. Nothing to worry about.” Cathy sneered. “Why even bother introducing him to everyone? Is he even worth it?” Cathy’s voice was icy, her disdain and revulsion undisguised. It was the exact same tone she’d used five years ago when she accused me of only wanting her money. Five years ago, my mother lay on the operating table, clinging to life, waiting for money to save her. I knelt before Cathy, my forehead bruised and bleeding. Cathy had looked at me with that same contemptuous gaze. “Ethan told me, and I didn’t believe it at first. But you really were with me just for my money.” “Adrian Winters, Adrian Winters, to stoop so low for a measly fifty dollars, I really underestimated you.” “Tell me, why are you so materialistic, so impatient? It disgusts me.” My thoughts were interrupted by a middle-aged couple by the display models. “Where’s the sales agent? Come tell us about this apartment.” My mind snapped back to the present. I couldn’t be bothered with Cathy and Ethan anymore. I walked directly to the couple. “Hello, do you have any questions about the property? I can answer them for you.” 2. The Grandview Residences was the most exclusive and sought-after property in the city. Whether people were there to buy a home or simply to rub shoulders with Maya Bright, the sales hall was packed. The sales agents were overwhelmed, and some potential clients were inevitably overlooked. After I answered a few questions for the middle-aged couple, they nodded in satisfaction and moved on to look at other properties. Just then, Cathy’s cold sneer echoed in my ears again. “Adrian Winters, after all these years, you still haven’t amounted to anything. Have you really fallen so low that you’re selling houses?” “You were a top student at the Academy of Finance back then. What kind of career is selling real estate? Are you really so content to waste your potential?” I glanced at Cathy. “I’m not a sales agent. I’m…” Before I could finish, Ethan wrapped an arm around Cathy’s waist, a dazzling, mocking smile on his face, cutting me off. “Cathy, don’t you know Adrian? He’s much smarter than you or I. How could he simply be here to sell houses?” “Grandview Residences is prime real estate, a gold mine. Look at the people who are here today.” “Adrian, Adrian, I can’t believe after all these years, you’re still dreaming of being a kept man.” I was tired of their endless taunts. I looked at them with a cold, unyielding gaze. “Kindly put an end to your sordid speculations. I find them repulsive.” I turned to walk away, but Cathy blocked my path. “Running away because we hit a nerve? Adrian Winters, five years, and you’re still the same. Is money truly so important to you?” “Don’t you feel ridiculous, trying to worm your way in here like this?” Ethan walked up to me, smiling. “You didn’t happen to hear that Cathy was coming today, and decided to wait here for her, did you?” “It’s been five years. Are you still pining for Cathy? If your feelings for her were so deep, why did you break up with her over fifty dollars back then?” “Or have you not found anyone better than Cathy in these five years, and now you want her back? You’re not trying to make Cathy your backup, are you?” “It’s okay, Adrian. What happened back then is in the past. Cathy and I are getting married soon. We’ll invite you to the wedding.” Hearing Ethan’s words, Cathy’s face clouded with anger. Her voice was even sharper than before. “What? You broke up with me over fifty dollars, then went off living like a playboy for five years, and now you’ve realized I was the best for you?” “Adrian Winters, Adrian Winters, you truly never change. In your eyes, there’s nothing but money.” “Alright, now get lost! Don’t stand there and annoy us!” Cathy gestured to her assistant, who quickly handed her a bank card. Cathy flung it hard at my face. The card clattered to the floor with a sharp sound. “This card has two hundred dollars on it. It’s not a small sum for you, so you won’t leave empty-handed today.” “Now, take the money and scram. Stop wasting your energy on me.” “Ethan’s right. People like you, with nothing but money on their minds, we’re simply not on the same level.” 3. I stared at the bank card on the floor. Although I had long since lost all affection for Cathy, a wave of baseless sorrow washed over me. Five years ago, I was Cathy’s boyfriend of seven years. Ethan was her childhood friend. But when my mother was on her deathbed, Cathy wouldn’t even lend me fifty dollars. Fifty dollars wasn’t a small amount to me. But for Cathy Sedgwick, the only daughter of the powerful Sedgwick family, it was nothing more than the cost of a single bottle of wine. She refused to lend me fifty dollars, but that very night, she spent three thousand dollars, showering a thousand ‘carnival’ gifts on Ethan, who dreamed of becoming an internet celebrity. Five years later, Ethan wore a seven-figure watch and drove a ten-million-dollar sports car. And she, Cathy, tossed me two hundred dollars with a disdainful air of charity. How utterly ridiculous. I looked up, meeting Cathy’s eyes, and let out a cold laugh. “Do I look like I’m short on money?” Cathy glanced at me, her eyes sweeping over me as if I were a pile of trash. “Not short on money? If you’re not short on money, why are you selling houses? If you’re not short on money, why are you slumming it here today, trying to hook up with some old rich woman?” “Adrian Winters, Adrian Winters, you’re just as stubborn as you were five years ago. You claimed you weren’t after my money, yet you broke up with me over fifty dollars. It’s disgusting.” I couldn’t be bothered to argue with her any further. “Cathy, where do you get the confidence to think I’d still be pining for a woman like you?” “I’ve been married for three years. This is my wife’s development. I’m simply here to check on things today.” “You’re nothing but a clown. What right do you have to speak to me like this?” Maya was due back today. Calculating the time, she should be arriving soon. Given Maya’s jealous nature, if I continued to get tangled up with Cathy, I’d be in for a rough night. My words were blunt, and Cathy’s chest heaved with anger. The surrounding crowd, however, erupted in a loud burst of laughter. “Hahahaha, what is this lunatic talking about? His wife’s development? Does he even know who the developer of this property is?” “This is Ms. Bright’s development! Ms. Bright is a force to be reckoned with, a powerful figure in Emerald City! A single word from her could turn the city upside down. How dare he say such a thing?” “We’re here today buying houses precisely because we want to connect with Ms. Bright, aren’t we? For him to bluster like this, it’s truly laughable.” Ethan quickly patted Cathy’s back, trying to comfort her. “It’s okay, Cathy. I know you’re kind enough to offer Adrian money, but maybe Adrian is telling the truth. Perhaps he genuinely isn’t short on money now.” “Look at the clothes he’s wearing. There are no labels, but they clearly look like they’re made by a top Italian tailor. He must indeed be doing quite well for himself.” “You don’t always have to think about helping him. He probably has his own connections now. Don’t worry so much.” Hearing Ethan’s words, Cathy’s expression abruptly darkened, her voice even lower than before. “Adrian Winters, have you really latched onto an older woman? Ha, it seems your little tricks do work sometimes. You actually managed to snag a sugar mommy.” “Alright, I’ll let bygones be bygones. If you want to be a kept man, then be mine.” “Serving me would surely be a better choice than serving those old women, wouldn’t it?” Ethan’s face immediately turned grim. I was content to watch them tear each other apart. I cast a sidelong glance at Cathy. “Oh? What’s this, Ms. Sedgwick? Are you still pining for me?” “Well, I suppose it’s natural. We were together for several years, so it’s understandable that you’d still think of me.” The moment my words left my lips, a flicker of embarrassment crossed Cathy’s eyes. My heart gave a start. Had I hit the nail on the head? For a moment, I didn’t know how to react. Suddenly, my thoughts were pulled back twelve years, to when I was eighteen. On my eighteenth birthday, Cathy stood before me, her cheeks flushed with shyness. “Adrian, I like you.” “I promise I’ll always be good to you.” The young girl’s eyes were resolute, as if all the stars in the sky had fallen into them, shining with an almost terrifying intensity. In that instant, my heart softened completely. As if by some strange impulse, I nodded, and we began our relationship. Looking at the crowd before me, I felt a dizzying sense of overwhelm. “I need to use the restroom.” Ethan quickly chimed in. “Perfect, I need to go too. I’ll go with Adrian.” The restroom was public, so I couldn’t stop Ethan. I didn’t object. It was just a trip to the restroom; surely nothing would happen. Ethan left the restroom shortly after he arrived. I paid no mind, simply washed my hands and walked out. But as I reached the restroom door, the commotion outside caught my attention. “This Adrian Winters, how can he be so light-fingered? Mr. Thorne kindly invited him to the restroom, and he actually stole Mr. Thorne’s watch!”
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