Chapter 1

Whenever I brought up getting married during our five years together, my boyfriend always refused.

"It’s not the right time yet. Wait until I’ve saved enough for a down payment."

I didn’t understand his obsession and tried to reassure him. "I don’t care if you own a house or not."

"Well, your parents do!"

He cut me off sharply, then reached over to stroke my hair, softening his voice. "Be good and just wait a little longer. I don't want you to struggle."

I believed him.

I spent years convincing my parents to give him a chance, living frugally right alongside him.

The day he finally hit his down payment goal, I went to the luxury sales gallery alone to check out condos, planning to give him a surprise.

Through the glass wall of a model unit, I saw him with his arm wrapped around a woman.

The woman was pouting playfully. "The natural lighting here is amazing, but the balcony is a bit small."

He turned his head, about to soothe her, when his eyes met mine. He froze instantly.

I didn't even look at him. Smiling, I turned to the sales agent.

"I’ll take this place. All cash."

The agent froze, nearly dropping the floor plan in his hands.

"Ma'am... did you say all cash?"

"Yes." I smiled, pulling an unlimited black card from my purse. "All cash. I can sign the purchase agreement today."

Behind the glass, Ethan finally snapped out of his trance. He dropped his arm from the woman's waist and rushed over.

"Chloe, let me explain—"

I glanced down at my watch. "You have thirty seconds."

His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, his eyes darting back toward the woman.

She, on the other hand, was completely unbothered. Strutting over in her high heels, she looped her arm through his and tilted her head to size me up.

"You're Chloe?"

She smiled, the beauty mark by the corner of her lip curling upward. "Ethan mentioned you. He said you're capable, just a little too aggressive."

I ignored her and kept my eyes on Ethan. "Fifteen seconds left."

"Chloe, this is Tiffany. She’s... she’s just an old college friend. We bumped into each other today, and I was just helping her look at apartments—"

"Helping her look?" I shook my phone. "So having your arm wrapped around her waist was just you checking her pulse?"

Tiffany let out a soft laugh. "Chloe, don't get the wrong idea. Ethan and I dated throughout college. We only broke up for a while because of our careers. Didn't he tell you?"

My grip tightened around the strap of my purse, my fingernails digging into my palm.

Five years.

In five years, he had mentioned having a college girlfriend, but swore they lost touch ages ago.

Instead of denying it, Ethan sighed heavily, as if I were the one throwing an unreasonable tantrum.

"Chloe, Tiffany just speaks her mind. Don't take it personally. Today really was just a coincidence..."

I stared at him as if looking at a complete stranger.

"A coincidence?" I cut him off coldly. "You told me you had to work late three times a month, always on Thursdays. Today is Thursday. So your special overtime project was apartment hunting with your ex?"

Ethan’s face shifted—not with guilt, but with the irritation of being exposed in public. "Do you really have to make everything sound so ugly?"

I chuckled.

I didn't have the time or energy to waste bickering with them here.

"Fine," I said, putting my card away. "Ethan, we'll settle our score later. As for this place—"

I turned back to the agent. "I'll take it. All cash. Let's sign right now."

"Chloe!" Ethan panicked and grabbed my wrist. "Stop making a scene! I saw this place first!"

"You saw it first?" I yanked my hand back. "Did you sign a contract? Did you put down a deposit? Did you wire the funds?"

He fell silent.

Tiffany sneered from the side. "Chloe, isn't this pathetic? You're just throwing a fit. Buying a penthouse isn't like buying groceries. All cash? Can you even afford it?"

I pulled out my card again and flashed it right in front of her eyes. "Want me to swipe the deposit right now so you can watch?"

The smirk wiped clean off Tiffany’s face.

The agent was quick on his feet. He immediately guided me toward the VIP lounge. "Ms. Vance, right this way, please. Let me walk you through the final price and exclusive discounts."

I followed him, leaving Ethan and Tiffany standing awkwardly in the model room.

As I turned the corner, I heard Tiffany whispering behind me, "Who is she trying to fool? When her card declines, she won't even get her deposit back."

Ethan replied in a hushed tone, "Leave her alone. Let her throw her fit. She's the one who'll come crawling back crying anyway."

I didn't look back.

Sitting down in the private lounge, the agent poured me a glass of water and laid out the blueprints and pricing sheet.

"Ms. Vance, this unit is 1,800 square feet with panoramic views. The total comes to $3.76 million. Since you're paying in full, we can offer a cash discount, bringing it down to roughly $3.64 million."

Looking at the numbers, I felt nothing.

Ethan knew my parents ran a business and were well-off, but he never knew the scale of it.

Over the years, I had spent so much breath trying to convince my parents to accept him, only to realize I was completely blind.

Glancing over the paperwork, I realized my parents would probably tease me for buying a condo from our own family's development project just to pad the sales quota.

Still, compared to the sting of getting cheated on, this money was pocket change.

I shook my head with a wry smile. "Let's sign."