5
The man carefully observed my expression and nervously asked: “Will you consider starting over with me?”
I turned my head, as if hearing a cold joke.
“How rude of you, I’m getting married next year.”
Before dawn, Noah smoked an entire box of cigarettes outside the car, then drove me back to the city.
I slept from dawn till noon, but Lucas still hadn’t returned.
It wasn’t until four o’clock that Lucas replied to my message.
10:59 AM
<
It wasn’t until four o’clock that Lucas replied to my message.
He couldn’t accompany me again today, he was off to the next party.
He had someone send over a package to express his apologies.
I video called him, pretending that I liked him more than the package.
Lucas wore earphones and sweet–talked with me for a long time, seemingly reluctant to end the call.
During this time, message notifications from “Noah the dog” kept popping up.
Last night, Noah had forcibly added me as a contact.
I was annoyed with him, so I changed his nickname to “Noah the dog” right in front of him.
He didn’t get angry, just said he was willing to be my dog.
The situation was completely opposite to years ago.
How ironic.
When you don’t care about a man, that’s when the man will care about you.
At 25, looking back on my relationship with Noah, I could no longer empathize with my 18–year–old self.
A
Perhaps due to my single–parent family background, Noah’s cold maturity and unapproachable aura as a top student had a fatal attraction for
- me.
I had a crush on him since sophomore year of high school, and only dared to confess when we got into the same university in freshman year.
Noah accepted my confession.
But not because he liked me, it was because his second brother liked me.
Noah was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family, living a life worse than normal people.
He was always bullied and humiliated by his half–brothers.
His second brother tormented him the most.
1
This love began with Noah’s young desire for revenge and ended with his inflated desires and ambitions.
When Zoe hooked up with Noah, he was in his senior year, already past the most difficult initial stage of his startup, able to frequently visit the luxury goods store where Zoe worked to select gifts for business partners.
It was like a match made in heaven, and the two had an affair behind my back for over half a year.
One day after my internship, I saw a familiar license plate on the roadside, the car body rocking up and down.
I was thunderstruck, crying and questioning.
Noah got out of the car, calmly smoking.
Ava, stop making a fuss, can’t you understand? I’m really tired, work pressure is high, I need to relax and decompress.”
Zoe’s stockings were torn, her lipstick smeared.
She demonstrated to me on the spot what it meant to “understand.”
She said her relationship with Noah was just a sugar arrangement, she didn’t mind Noah having a girlfriend, nor did she mind that Noah would have to marry that “rich girl who could help him climb higher” in the future.
So she boned L wouldn’t mind her ovi
10:59 AM
<
So, she hoped I wouldn’t mind her existence either.
It was the first time I heard about the arranged marriage.
Disappointment turned into despair.
Using me to get revenge on his second brother, using Zoe for physical pleasure, using Isabella as a stepping stone.
Noah was not only good at business but also played a good game in relationships.
So, before Noah “successfully married into wealth” and abandoned me, I turned away first.
Noah didn’t explain, nor did he try to win me back.
I finally admitted defeat; he had never loved me.
In our four years of dating, I was more like Noah’s lapdog than his girlfriend.
A
I had taken taxis in the middle of the night to deliver business plans to his private rooms, helped him translate English proposals during all–nighters, brought him food and made soup when he was hospitalized with a perforated ulcer, and never refused when his clients asked me to drink with them…
And from Noah, I always only got a “thank you.”
Cold and distant, always keeping his distance.
But his post–breakup syndrome completely exceeded my expectations.
That night, after I refused Noah’s reconciliation, his messages started bombarding me.
The content was all about “youthful beauty” “past memories,” “his immature self.”
I read but didn’t reply, instead posting photos of my date with Lucas on social media.
Urging certain people to face reality.
Noah immediately liked my post.
Knowing the situation but still acting up, how stubborn.
I directly deleted him.
From then on, Noah appeared in my horseback riding lessons, bartending classes, and even in the dance studio.
Like a virus, infiltrating everywhere.
I lost my phone once, and when it was returned to me, his contact was added again.
On weekends, my doorbell rang eight times.
Various takeouts, gourmet food, jewelry, bags…
Sugar–coated bullets, mental corruption, truly vicious.
I returned everything.
Once I accepted anything from Noah, it would be over between Lucas and me.
I’m not stupid.
Between a scumbag and a playboy, I’d choose the playboy a thousand times.
One afternoon, William called me, his voice stern and calm.
10:59 AM
Q
“Ella spilled the beans. She had always wanted to replace you. A woman gave her your dirt. That night, someone also notified Ella to go to the private room.”
I listened, gripping my phone tightly.
