Chapter 4

I stared at her blankly.

Forgave me?

Forgave me for using that megaphone to expose her manipulative voice messages?

Or forgave me for daring to date Christian in the first place?

My mind went completely blank.

Christian's temper suddenly flared.

"Yvonne has forgiven you, but shouldn't you have the decency to apologize?"

A dagger to the heart could not have hurt more.

I clenched my fists, fighting back the tears.

The three words rolled on my tongue. I bit down on my lips until they bled, the metallic taste coating my mouth, before I finally choked them out:

"I'm... I'm sorry..."

Christian looked away from me, pulled a black titanium card from his wallet, and placed it into Yvonne's palm.

"There's forty million dollars in here. You decide whether she gets it."

Hope flared violently in my chest.

With this money, the company was saved. My parents were saved!

I looked at Yvonne with raw desperation, only to watch her fingers slowly tighten around the card.

She pouted petulantly.

"Chloe forced me to study abroad and kept me separated from you for three whole years, Chris. I don't want to just hand it over like that."

Christian chuckled, his index finger affectionately tapping the tip of her nose.

"Whatever you want."

Panic ripped through me like wildfire.

My family needed this money to survive. Our house and cars had already been auctioned off.

We were living in a cramped, rotting two-bedroom rental, terrorized daily by aggressive debt collectors banging on the door.

Mom had a failing heart. Under the constant terror, her health had deteriorated to a shadow of her former self.

Dad had run across the entire city, calling in every favor from his old business network, but with Christian's shadow hanging over us, not a single person dared lend a cent.

My final shred of hope was dangling right in front of me. I begged:

"Yvonne, I was wrong. I'm sorry. Punish me however you want, just please, help my family."

Yvonne tapped her chin thoughtfully, a playful, cruel spark lighting up her eyes.

"How about this? Get down on your knees and apologize to me. Then I'll give you the card. Deal?"

Her sweet, sing-song voice carried the weight of an executioner's blade.

"Forty million dollars for three little words. That's a pretty sweet deal, isn't it?"

Christian said nothing.

He stood tall beside Yvonne, an unyielding wall supporting every cruel whim she had.

"Guess you don't want it..." Yvonne sighed with mock regret, moving to slip the card back into her designer clutch.

Terrified, I lost all sense of dignity.

"I'll do it!"

At that, a dazzling smile spread across her face.

Her eyes curved into crescents, her chin raised slightly, waiting for my performance.

I glanced at Christian, who remained stone-faced, and slowly bent my knees.

It was just an apology on the ground, yet it felt as if my soul were being shredded into a million pieces.

"Thud."

My knees hit the icy concrete.

I collapsed there, my fingernails digging deep into my palms until my hands shook with violent tremors.

"I'm sorry..."

Yvonne let out a delighted giggle, then stomped her heel lightly.

"Oh, Chloe, I was just teasing! Did you really kneel down?"

I didn't move. I remained on the ground before them, hollowed out.

"Well..." Yvonne sighed, flicking the black titanium card onto the pavement in front of me.

I reached out and picked it up, heavy tears splashing against the cold, gold-embossed surface.

My family was saved.

Christian... I will never dare to love you again.

I staggered to my feet and whispered:

"Thank you."

Christian's face darkened instantly, like storm clouds rolling over an ocean. He brushed Yvonne's hand off his arm and turned back toward the club.

"Chris...?"

She called after him, but he didn't look back.

Annoyed, Yvonne glared at me. "Still standing here? Get lost!"

I clutched the card and hurried away into the night.

Behind me, Yvonne stood fuming until a female classmate from her study abroad days walked out, gasping in excitement:

"Yvonne! So you really are Christian Hayes's girlfriend! His family basically runs this entire state!"

Her frustration vanished instantly.

Yvonne lifted her chin with smug pride. "Told you, didn't I?"

The girl squealed, but then hesitated, looking puzzled.

"That girl just now clearly had some history with him. You really just gave her forty million dollars like that? Isn't that letting her off too easy?"

Yvonne's eyes darkened, a vicious grin curling her lips.

"Who said it was free? I already had someone send a video to her dad."

"What video?"

Yvonne chuckled softly.

"Nothing much. Just a little home video of Chloe... putting on a show at Chris's penthouse today."

I left the club, desperate to get home as fast as possible.

The crisis was averted. I wanted to run straight to Dad, tell him the good news, and tell him he didn't have to carry this crushing weight anymore.

Once all the debts were cleared, I would take Mom and Dad to a new city, far away, and start our lives over.

As for Christian... we were completely, undeniably finished.