Chapter 2

The next morning, my apartment doorbell was rung aggressively.

I opened the door to find Carter standing there.

He was wearing a white linen shirt, his hair styled to look messy, and his eyes were slightly pink as if he had cried all night.

Behind him stood Hudson and Logan, looking like two hired goons.

The moment the door opened, Hudson charged forward like a rabid dog protecting its owner.

"Vivian! Do you even have a heart? Carter was in tears until dawn, and you didn't even call him once? You didn't even text back? Do you want him to die?!"

Logan added with a cold sneer, "Vivian, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have some cash. Love isn't a commodity! Your attitude at the dealership yesterday severely crushed Carter’s dignity!"

Carter didn't say a word. He just bit his lip, staring at me with a sullen, wounded expression.

If this were the past, seeing him like this would have made me crumble instantly.

I would have rushed over, grabbed his hands, apologized repeatedly, and promised to buy him whatever luxury watch or designer toy he wanted just to see him smile.

But today, I just stood there, watching their little show.

"And?" My voice was flat, without a single ripple of emotion.

My calmness caught the three of them off guard.

Hudson's eyes widened, looking at me like I was some kind of alien. "And? You're asking us 'and'? Vivian, are you a sociopath? As his girlfriend, shouldn't you be reflecting on your toxic behavior?"

"Reflecting on what?" I looked at Carter. "Reflecting on whether I shouldn't have bought you a Porsche?"

Carter flinched, tears instantly welling up in his eyes.

"Vivian! You still don't get it, do you?!" he yelled, his voice cracking. "I don't want a Porsche! I don't want those tacky luxury brands! I just want effort! I want romance that comes from the heart! Why is that so hard for you to understand?!"

"Yeah, Vivian," Logan chimed in sarcastically. "Look at the girls on TikTok. They stay up all night making DIY scrapbooks and setting up fairy lights for their guys. What about you? Besides wire transfers and credit cards, what else do you know how to do? Your lazy attitude is literally a disrespect to love!"

I stared at Logan.

I remembered vividly that for Logan's birthday last month, Carter had used my credit card to buy him a $10,000 limited-edition pair of sneakers. Logan had posted it all over his Instagram, calling Carter his "brother for life."

And now, here he was, preaching to me about disrespecting love.

"I see," I said, nodding slowly.

"You see what?" Hudson looked at me suspiciously. "Don't think you can just brush us off with some half-assed apology. I’m telling you, Carter is seriously heartbroken this time. If you don't do something big to make it up to him, this is over!"

"Something big?" I let out a soft laugh. "Like what?"

Hudson answered immediately, as if he had rehearsed this. "Next month is Carter’s birthday. This is your last chance to redeem yourself! If you dare to insult him with another tacky sports car, we’ll make sure he dumps you for good!"

"Exactly!" Logan added. "For this birthday, you are not allowed to buy your way out. You have to hand-make everything. Got it?"

Carter stood behind them. Though he remained silent, his eyes were full of smug expectation.

He was waiting for me to beg, to crawl, to rack my brain to create some "meaningful" DIY romance for him.

Looking at their arrogant faces, I felt an unprecedented sense of relief.

"Okay," I smiled warmly. "I promise."

Carter's eyes lit up, a flash of victory passing through them.

"Vivian..." He stepped forward, gently taking my hand, his voice softening. "I didn't mean to make things public on TikTok. I was just... I was just so desperate for you to understand me. You're not mad at me, right?"

"Of course not," I looked into his eyes. "You want pure, cost-free, heartfelt romance, right?"

"Yes!" Carter nodded eagerly, looking like an idealistic boy.

"For your birthday next month, I will prepare a romance that you will never, ever forget."

I smiled and gently straightened his collar.

"I promise, not a single penny of dirty money will ruin it."

Carter let out a long sigh of relief and patted my shoulder.

Hudson and Logan exchanged a look, both smiling in satisfaction.

In their minds, I was still the rich, gullible Vivian who would do anything to keep her man.

They thought they would see me act like a clown next month, trying to please them with pathetic DIY crafts.

Oh, they had no idea.

The game had just begun.