Chapter 2

I stayed in the villa all night, cleaning it thoroughly.

The physical exertion did nothing to quiet my mind.

All the past memories whirred endlessly in my head.

I couldn't even recall when I had become so calm and self-possessed.

Perhaps, like my love for Chloe, it had subtly, silently, integrated itself into my life.

Chloe's assistant, Daisy, arrived very early.

Her baby face was, unusually, clouded with worry.

"Sir..."

The word 'Sir' lingered on her tongue, twisting and turning, before finally settling on: "Mr. Alex."

"Ms. Chloe asked me to give you these things. She said to sign them and forget everything from these past years. This is your compensation."

Daisy opened a box, neatly stacked with cash.

On top was a document.

Chloe had transferred the branch company I managed into my name.

"Ms. Chloe said to go to the branch company..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but I understood.

Chloe was telling me to make way for her fiancé, afraid that I, a calculating old hand, would bully her 'innocent' fiancé.

My fingertips traced over the documents, and I couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

Ten years of dedication, several times almost costing me my life.

And in the end, it was all worth so little. It turned out I was so cheap in Chloe's eyes.

"Take these things back. And please, tell Ms. Chloe for me: let's just pretend nothing ever happened all these years. I'm ready to settle down and stop playing games."

Chloe was right.

I was nineteen when I met her, and now I was twenty-nine.

The nineteen-year-old me would have been scared away by such intense love.

But the twenty-nine-year-old me suddenly wanted to go back and see if she was still waiting for me.

"Alex, no, I'm coming with you! You saved my life!"

Daisy's eyes suddenly reddened. "We all agreed; we only recognize you, not anyone else!"

"If Ms. Chloe ends up with someone else, we'll all collectively quit and follow you!"

I had indeed saved their lives. In our poorest year, they all called me 'Big Bro,' staring at me with hungry eyes, bowls in hand.

I dragged them out of various miserable situations and had them help Chloe.

I never expected them to remember it until now.

"Don't be so impulsive."

I still spoke in a gentle, slow voice, trying to persuade her.

But Daisy was sobbing uncontrollably.

It wasn't until Chloe walked in from outside. In front of outsiders, she rarely spoke much; just her gloomy, icy stare was enough to stop Daisy's crying.

Finally, her gaze landed on me.

It was as cold as if she were looking at an enemy.

"Alex, don't try to use these tactics to stay. Don't make me despise you. Whatever you want, I can give you."

I scoffed, raising an eyebrow at her. "I want my life. Can you give me that?"

We stared at each other, Chloe's face flushed.

I wondered if she remembered how I had knelt before the director, begging, just to get her a chance at surgery.

Her life? I gave it to her.

And now she was using that very life to betray me.

"I guess this is what they call demanding payment for past kindness, isn't it?"

Before the person even arrived, his arrogant and boisterous voice already allowed me to almost picture him.

He emerged from behind the door, in head-to-toe designer labels, dazzling brighter than the sun.

"I know about you, Alex. Someone as calculating as you, using ten years of companionship to secure a position – don't you think you're being unreasonable?"

He scrutinized me up and down, his eyes filled with disdain.

I looked at him too. He was so much like the nineteen-year-old me, looking as if every strand of his hair was studded with tiny diamonds.

Every inch of him exuded a polished refinement.

A fearless, devil-may-care vibe, but it came with a faint air of naive foolishness.

"Chloe, he probably doesn't even know whether to kiss your lips first or rip off your clothes and get in bed, does he? How can you even go for someone so young?"

Before I even finished, Chloe's eyes commanded me to shut up, and she pulled him behind her.

Her face darkened, and her voice became even colder: "He's not like you, not someone who's just been messing around. Before we're married, I won't cross any lines with him."

Chloe used to say I was different from others, too.

That kind of physical favoritism, the undeniable preference she used to show, it was once mine alone.

Now, it was a thorn piercing me.

I once didn't understand what it meant for your heart to turn to ashes in an instant.

But in that moment, I could feel all emotions extinguishing, leaving not even a ripple.

A dull ache spread from my heart, inch by inch, until every part of my body throbbed.

I stared at Chloe for a long moment, then adjusted my gold-rimmed glasses.

The habit of ten years, even in extreme pain, still made me manage a faint smile.

"Ms. Chloe, you're right. But I don't care for these things of yours."

"I arrived alone, and I can leave alone. I don't want anything. Let's just consider it all a game."

I pulled my suitcase, walking past her.

Chloe suddenly grabbed my hand: "Don't be petty with me."

Before I could speak, Leo, who had been standing there, let out a huff.

He turned away, pouting, without a word. The hand that had just been holding mine released me, little by little.

Chloe quickly started coaxing him, even disregarding her image in front of her subordinates.

My years of experience made me keenly aware that someone had investigated Chloe.

But I no longer had any reason to warn her.

Daisy ran after me, sending me off, grumbling and cursing Chloe under her breath.

It wasn't until two honks interrupted her voice.

"Young Master, I'm here to pick you up and take you home."

The suitcase was snatched from my hand, making it feel lighter.

She bowed deeply to me, then looked up, flashing a row of white teeth, smiling brightly.

Obedience and wildness clashed fiercely within her.

Beneath the restraint of her suit, there was a fierce, untamed energy, a raw power barely suppressed.

Her delicate, almost fierce face, which was usually so intense, melted into something warm and submissive when she looked at me.

And in her eyes, I saw hostility.

"Ms. Chloe, any further, and you'll be crossing the line."

She slowly straightened up, enveloping me in her shadow.

Following her gaze, I noticed Chloe, who had rushed out the door.

The two women stared at each other, as if, in the next second, they would be consumed by primal urges, tearing each other apart.