Chapter 1

My boyfriend chased after a rich girl, then turned around and dumped me.

Inside, I was celebrating. I was finally free of that monster.

I could understand them showing up to rub it in my face.

But could someone tell me why the rich girl, who looked all arrogant on the surface, was actually looking at me with a gaze full of... pity?

My boyfriend, Renly Wilton, was chasing after a rich girl while stringing me along and refusing to break up.

He called it: "keeping his options open."

I waited and waited, and finally, he succeeded in winning her over. He dumped me, clean and quick.

I was out celebrating that very thing when Renly walked into the same restaurant, holding hands with his new girlfriend.

When he saw me, his face fell.

"Baby, this is such terrible luck. We ran into my ex."

"She can't even compare to a single strand of your hair. Just treat her like she's air. Don't let her ruin your appetite."

My stomach churned violently.

The rich girl's name was Trisha Cunning. She looked down at me and snorted coldly, unimpressed.

Then she dragged Renly off to a corner.

My perfectly good meal instantly turned to sawdust in my mouth.

I asked the server to pack up my food and went to the restroom.

Trisha was standing at the sink. I froze for a second, then pretended I hadn't seen her.

But after I finished in the stall, she was still there.

As I washed my hands, I secretly sized her up.

One glance, and my heart jumped. Why was she looking at me with that pitying expression?

After hesitating a moment, I spoke up: "Renly Wilton is scum. A total psychopath. Don't let him fool you."

Trisha's lips moved, but before she could say a word, Renly's voice cut in sharply from the doorway: "Trisha, what's taking you so long in there? Is Molly bullying you?"

She looked away from me, cleared her throat, and walked toward him. "We ran into each other, yeah. But does she look like she's got the guts to bully me?"

Her voice took on a coquettish tone: "Renly, my mood's totally ruined now. Let's just go eat somewhere else."

"Baby, wherever you want to eat, we'll go. Seeing you upset makes my heart ache and throb." Just from the sound of his voice, I could picture Renly's sycophantic, greasy smile.

But honestly? Suited me just fine.

I put my to-go box back in my bag and sat down to enjoy my breakup dinner in comfort.

Still, why had Trisha looked at me like that? Was I seeing things?

I met Renly Wilton at work.

Less than a week after I started, Renly launched an all-out offensive.

He chased me for three whole months.

I'd never been in a single relationship my whole life, and I thought, why not give it a shot?

Who knew that taking that one little chance would throw me straight into hell on earth?

Somewhere along the way, he'd heard a rumor that I got my job through connections, that I had ties to upper management.

I said that wasn't true. My parents were ordinary farmers. Not a single relative or family friend held any kind of powerful position.

I got into the company on my own merit, not through the backdoor everyone was gossiping about.

Renly's face went ashen the moment he heard that. He slapped me, hard, across the face. His tone did a complete one-eighty: "You worthless bitch. I wasted all that time and effort chasing you, and your family's nothing but a bunch of broke farmers!"

I clutched my stinging cheek, stumbling backwards in shock. I pointed at him in disbelief: "Renly, you... you hit me! Are you saying the only reason you chased me was to exploit my connections? To climb the corporate ladder through upper management?"

The man in front of me raged like a wild animal, completely unhinged, a total opposite of his usual gentle and cultured facade.

Terrified, I scrambled back toward the door, my only thought to get away from this unhinged monster.

"Molly, I swear to God I'm going to beat you to death! Do you know how much money I spent chasing you!"

My hand had just touched the doorknob. Inches away.

Then my whole body was yanked back violently. Before I could react, I was shoved with brutal force.

Renly slammed me against the wall without the slightest bit of mercy, like I wasn't even a person, just a doll he could take his rage out on.

I heard the sickening crack of bone. Pain exploded through my entire body, like I'd been split into a dozen pieces.

Everything spun. The cold dread in my heart was nothing compared to the primal need to survive. I tried to threaten him with the last of my strength:

"Renly, I never thought you were this kind of man! Do you want me to call the police?"

Renly's lips curled into a mocking smile. His voice suddenly dropped, soft and gentle, as if he was back to normal:

"Molly, what evidence could you possibly have to show the police?"

As he spoke, his hands wrapped around my throat, squeezing tighter and tighter. His face loomed closer and closer, twisted and menacing.

My hands beat uselessly against this freak of a man.

It did nothing.

Just as I was about to pass out, he finally let go, looking almost disappointed.

After that day, Renly still didn't let me go.

He refused to break up. He kept picking me up and dropping me off at work, and showed up right on time every day to crash at my apartment.

"Breaking up this soon? I'd be getting the short end of the stick. Once I win over Trisha Cunning, then I'll let you go!"

Trisha Cunning was the new hire who'd appeared out of nowhere. Rumor was she was the CEO's daughter.

With the sheer difference in physical strength between a man and a woman, every time Renly laid his hands on me, my attempts to fight back ended in failure.

It wasn't that I hadn't tried calling the police... it's just... a long, complicated story.