Chapter 2

But those numbers didn't win in Drawing 381!

I quickly checked the lottery website for Drawing 381's winning numbers and realized the ticket Charlotte thought was a winner actually matched the numbers from the previous drawing.

She probably watched a replay on TV or got the drawing date wrong, mistakenly believing she'd won $30 million!

Now, this was getting interesting.

I couldn't wait to see if Charlotte would actually explode when she found out the truth.

03

Midway through my workday, just as I was about to slack off, I heard Derek Shaw, the sneaky guy from the office, telling a colleague, "My girlfriend lives at Cedar Creek Residences."

I froze. What a coincidence. My dad bought me a luxury penthouse apartment at Cedar Creek Residences, but I never actually stay there.

The office was close to that area, so I gave Charlotte a key, telling her it was a rental she could use when she worked late.

She moved in without a second thought, completely ignoring the fact that the rent there probably cost more than her monthly salary.

I was just thinking about when I should take the apartment back when I heard Derek again. "She says I'm her lucky boy. She won $30 million after we got together!"

Colleagues started murmuring enviously.

Wait a minute? Cedar Creek Residences, $30 million. Could it be?

With an uncertain tone, I asked, "Is your girlfriend's last name Hayes?"

Derek gave me a wary look.

"Do you know her? Let me tell you, don't even think about hitting on her just because she's rich. She wouldn't be interested in you!"

It really was her!

Charlotte! Was she hooking up with Derek while she was still with me?

Did she actually think Derek was part of the upper crust?

If my dad knew, he'd never stop teasing me.

Derek often wore a fake watch and an obviously knock-off suit. In Charlotte's eyes, where real and fake were indistinguishable, Derek was probably a rich, handsome, successful guy!

Honestly, they deserved each other. Two gold-diggers, a match made in... well, somewhere.

My blessings, may they be stuck together forever!

That evening, Derek posted on Ins, as if to stake his claim. It was a photo of him and Charlotte, with the caption: "No need for spring blossoms, the one I've been waiting for has arrived."

Five minutes later, Charlotte quickly posted a photo of them too, with the caption: "Us."

04

The manager of my usual luxury boutique sent me a message, saying they had a lot of new arrivals and I should come check them out.

I figured I had nothing better to do, so I went.

As soon as I walked in, I saw Charlotte and Derek were there too.

There was only one sales associate in the store. She glanced at me, completely ignored me, and continued smiling and serving them.

Indeed, Derek was wearing an overly logo-heavy suit today, even though it was completely out of style.

I, on the other hand, was just wearing a simple T-shirt and sneakers, so no wonder the sales associate was totally judging me by my clothes.

Derek noticed me too. "How does just anyone get into this store?"

Charlotte chimed in, "Ryan, what are you doing here? Can you even afford these clothes and watches?"

I smiled. "What, is this store owned by your family? Can't I just look around?"

The sales associate, sensing the animosity, immediately sided with them. "Excuse me, sir, our store's minimum price is $3,000. If you can't afford that, there's no need to come in."

I mentally scoffed at the sales associate for betting on the wrong horse.

After the sales associate showed off several new watches, I heard Derek whining to Charlotte, "Char, I want this watch, and the second one in that row."

The sales associate said with a beaming smile, "This gentleman is truly handsome, and these are our best-selling items. You have such great taste."

Derek, thrilled, immediately took a watch and put it on. He admired himself in the mirror, then noticed me.

"Ryan, you're a working professional now. Can you please stop wearing such cheap T-shirts? It's embarrassing."

I was just wearing a comfortable T-shirt today because I was planning on going to the grocery store afterward. Comfort is key, for everyone.

I said, "What's wrong with a T-shirt? Are you living on the beach, minding everyone's business?"

Derek stomped over to Charlotte, annoyed. "This one, that one, and that one over there, I want them all!"

Charlotte declared grandly, "Buy them! Buy them all!"

The sales associate's eyes disappeared in a wide smile.

I picked up a black wristwatch, wanting to examine it closely.

The sales associate walked over, her face dark.

"Excuse me, sir, this watch is our latest model. It costs $150,000, and it's only sold to our VVVIP clients. Please don't touch it, you might dirty it."

Derek immediately perked up. "Ryan, don't get your grubby hands all over that watch. You couldn't afford it even if you sold yourself."

Just as I was about to retort, a sharp female voice rang out from the entrance.

05

"Who said Mr. Sterling can't afford it?"

The sales associate immediately panicked. "Ma'am… Ms. Sarah, you're here."

Sarah, the manager, entered and immediately apologized to me.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Sterling, I was just getting your coffee. This is a new employee, a bit clueless."

Then she turned to the employee. "Mr. Sterling is our VVVIP client. All new arrivals are first presented to Mr. Sterling. Only if he declines them can we offer them to other customers."

The sales associate's face went white. She quickly started apologizing.

Charlotte's face turned pale. "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Ryan is just a regular office worker. How could he possibly afford this? Don't let him fool you!"

One of the requirements for being a VVVIP client at this store was spending over $10 million annually.

Sarah's expression turned frosty. She addressed Charlotte and Derek, "Excuse me, please leave. We need to close the store to provide exclusive service to Mr. Sterling."

Derek scoffed. "Pfft, I wouldn't even shop at this store anyway! My girlfriend is rich, she can buy any watch she wants! You're all so stupid, getting played by a poor guy!"

With that, he dragged Charlotte out.

I felt fantastic. I turned to Sarah and said, "I'll take all the watches in this row. Please wrap them up for me."

06

The next day at work, Derek came in wearing a new watch. He made sure to walk around the office several times so everyone would see it.

It wasn't cheap, probably around $5,000.

Turns out Charlotte wasn't completely cheap after all; I just wasn't worth her spending money on.

"Oh, my girlfriend just insisted on buying me this watch. I didn't even want it, but she made me take it."

Chloe, a colleague, said, "Derek, your girlfriend is so good to you! When will I find sweet love like that?"

Jake, another colleague, added, "Derek is handsome and well-dressed, so it makes sense his girlfriend is so amazing. It's all relative."

Hey, he got that right. A gold-digger and a kept man, a perfect match.

Derek then walked over to me. "A woman's love for a man is measured by how much she's willing to spend on him. Ryan, Char told me she barely spent any money on you when you were together! So pathetic!"

He was right. Back then, she'd give me a $9.99 shaving kit, and I'd have to pretend to be thrilled, then gift her a designer bag or jewelry in return, while trying to protect her ego by saying it wasn't expensive at all.

I replied, "Blame it on my youth. Couldn't tell the genuine people from the phonies. Good thing we broke up. I just tossed out some garbage, that's all.

"What brand of trash bag are you, carrying so much garbage?"

Derek's face immediately darkened. "You're just sour grapes, aren't you? Char said you weren't in our league, and she was right!"

07

That weekend, I called a cleaning company, planning to go to Cedar Creek Residences and throw out everything Charlotte had used.

Just thinking about her touching my stuff made my skin crawl.

But when I got to the entrance and tried to use facial recognition to open the door, it kept saying "facial recognition error" after I stood there for a long time.

Strange. Had I lost weight again these past few days? Is that why it couldn't recognize me?

Just as I was happily musing, I heard movement inside the apartment!