Chapter 3

He spotted me, clicked his tongue impatiently, and carelessly tossed his bag at me.

Mr. Henderson immediately spoke to Mason.

"If you terminate your lease early, the deposit isn't refundable," he said. "You'll also need to pay these two months' rent. I know you two aren't short on cash. Don't make this difficult for me."

After Mr. Henderson finished speaking, Mason shot me a cold glare.

"You didn't pay the rent?" he said. "Waiting for me to bail you out, huh? Mia, do you really have to stoop so low? Your schemes are practically hitting me in the face. Is it really worth it for a little cash?"

I replied almost instinctively, "Yes, it is."

My mom's half-million dollars, saved over a lifetime, was nothing but pocket change to him.

Yet that money, or the lack thereof, had literally dragged her to her grave.

He scoffed, pulled a wad of cash from his bag, and slapped it hard against my face.

"Here, how much do you want?" he said. "I'll give it to you!"

Bills fluttered to the floor.

Days ago, I would've swallowed my pride and scrambled to pick them up.

But now they meant nothing to me.

I counted out two months' rent, handed it to Mr. Henderson, and opened the door to go inside.

Mason and I had lived in this apartment for two years; every corner held traces of our life together.

My gaze fell on a photo on the wall--two slightly awkward figures, leaning close, smiling radiantly.

It was the first photo we'd taken when we first got together.

After graduation, in the breakroom of my internship company, he told me he was an intern in another department.

I still remembered how his eyes crinkled when he smiled, bright and innocent, claiming he knew nothing and needed my guidance.

I couldn't forget his youthful innocence.

He sought me out, and I couldn't help but fall for him.

I truly wanted a good future with him, so I worked desperately, striving for a full-time position, trying to make a stable life for myself in this city.

For two years, we supported each other, comforted each other, slowly building our story in this apartment.

But now everything had dissolved into thin air.

All my hopes for the future were just a rich kid's elaborate game.

A ridiculous feeling spread through my heart.

Mason didn't notice anything different about me and simply sat on the couch.

"Satisfied, Mia?" he said. "Finally got your money, feeling good about yourself? Your greed is disgusting. How did you become like this? You used to have some integrity. Think about it, how many times have you asked me for money these past few months? All for a Mercedes, and you completely showed your true colors. Were all your talks about working hard and our future just empty words?"

I looked at him.

He was different now, dressed in a sharp, tailored suit, his hair meticulously styled.

He clearly wasn't going to keep up the act anymore.

The disappointment and helplessness in his eyes pricked at me.

I didn't respond to his accusations, just said faintly, "Let's get a divorce, Mason."

A strange silence stretched for a long time before Mason suddenly laughed.

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" he said. "To get me to pay that half-million, you'd even lie about your mom having cancer? You know I hate being lied to! Two years wasted. I was clearly blind. If anyone's getting a divorce, it's me calling it."

His voice was filled with anger.

He pulled a paper from his bag and signed it directly.

"Get over here, sign it, and let's get this done," he said. "I don't have time to waste on you."

So he'd been prepared all along.