Chapter 4

The next day, Sam asked me,

“Why were you having dinner with Scarlett Hayes yesterday?”

Scarlett Hayes?

I asked him, “You know that beautiful woman from yesterday?”

“Are you kidding? In the entire city, who doesn’t know the Hayes Corporation heiress? Even the bottled water you’re drinking is her family’s business.”

Then he added mysteriously, “I heard Adam Cole’s high school crush was actually Ms. Hayes.”

I remembered now. I’d seen that name in the company’s financial reports before.

Scarlett Hayes’s project report took up an entire page, leaving Vivian Sterling an inconspicuous little corner.

How had Vivian Sterling described her back then?

Just a rich kid relying on her family, wouldn’t amount to much.

At the time, I believed her, trusted every word she said.

But now, I had a huge question mark hanging over everything Vivian Sterling had ever told me.

The innate grace and upbringing Scarlett Hayes possessed were undeniable.

Speaking of which, I suddenly remembered I was supposed to treat her to dinner.

And I’d accidentally skipped out on the bill.

I made myself a cup of honey water to sober up, and my phone rang.

It was Vivian Sterling.

“You were so drunk yesterday, are you okay? I’ve already called in sick for you at work today.”

Her tone was familiar and natural, just as caring as before.

I couldn’t help but remember the past, how strictly Vivian Sterling managed my drinking.

“You can only get drunk when I’m by your side.”

Unfortunately, all those promises were long null and void for me. Now, that sentiment belonged only to Vivian Sterling’s official boyfriend.

I scoffed. “Ms. Sterling is so busy, yet she spares time to care for an ex-boyfriend. I’m truly flattered.”

Vivian Sterling choked on her words, then after a moment of silence, said, “It’s just concern from an elder. I don’t want to see you fall into bad habits.”

The Vivian Sterling of my memories remembered all my hobbies, bought me the latest action figures without ever finding me childish, dropped everything to be with me when I was sick, and every six months, took me to explore a new city, taking countless photos.

Three years. I thought we loved each other deeply enough.

She played the role of a girlfriend too perfectly, which made it impossible for me to accept her broken character now.

But she had repeatedly stressed that we were merely elder and junior. If I continued to cling to her, I would lose all respect for myself.

I laughed and replied, “No need. You no longer have the right to care about me!”

Hung up, deleted, blocked—all in one swift motion.

My cloud drive held nearly ten gigabytes of photos, documenting the sweet moments Vivian Sterling and I shared over three years.

Even the most precious memories, once love became a thing of the past, would turn into torture.