Chapter 3

Whitney anonymously submitted the whole incident to the campus confession page.

The post drew hundreds of comments.

Based on her description, our classmates quickly identified me as the target.

Everyone in the class knew what I was like, so they all looked down on Whitney’s behavior.

During class, the students looked at Whitney with contempt.

Whenever that happened, Whitney would perform her signature act: biting her lip, lowering her eyes, pretending to speak but not saying anything, and reddening the corners of her eyes.

She looked as if she were the most wronged person in the entire world.

No one cared.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true.

Someone did care.

Alex reappeared after disappearing for a week.

Whenever Alex disappeared, it was because he was saving money to buy me a gift.

This time was no exception.

Alex handed me a gift box.

Inside was a bracelet.

The diamond-studded bracelet glittered beneath the sunlight.

Alex carefully fastened it around my wrist, as docile as a lamb.

When he saw my expression soften, Alex relaxed without realizing it, and even his voice became calm and unhurried.

"Could you…" Alex softened his tone. "Could you let Whitney off the hook?"

For a moment, my mind went blank.

After sorting through everything that had happened, I looked at him coldly.

"Is that why you came?"

The wind began to blow.

The winter wind was nothing like the gentle breeze of spring.

It was more like a knife scraping across my face and leaving behind bloody scars.

I scoffed.

"Do you think I led the entire class to ostracize her?"

Alex parted his lips, but swallowed every word.

His meaning was obvious.

I tore the bracelet from my wrist and threw it at him.

The silver bracelet hit the ground and broke in half.

He slowly crouched down and carefully picked it up.

"Break up."

I gathered my hair and uttered those two words indifferently before turning and walking away.

Alex gradually came back to his senses.

He slowly stood up and remained frozen in place.

He couldn’t believe I would break up with him over this.

He seemed to call my name.

But his weak voice vanished into the howling wind.

As expected, that was the last time we saw each other.

I was leaving the country.

The next time I saw Alex was six years later.

It was during the signing of a contract between our companies.

Alex, dressed in a custom-tailored suit, kept glancing in my direction.

Confusion and subtle amusement flickered through his eyes.

I lowered my head and looked at my clothes.

I was wearing the company’s most basic business attire.

No wonder.

No wonder he had that look in his eyes.

I stood there quietly, mocking him in my heart.

Alex probably thought the heiress had fallen into poverty.

The manager noticed him repeatedly glancing over and prepared to introduce me properly.

I stopped him discreetly.

The manager understood immediately and merely mentioned my name.

His indifferent attitude further confirmed what Alex had assumed.

Alex lowered his gaze, his tone relaxed but loaded with meaning.

"Could you have her explain the details to me?"

He raised his hand and pointed at me.

As the client, he had the right to make such a request.

The manager’s pupils shook violently.

He stared at Alex in disbelief.

"Chairwoman… Wren?"

Under my stare, the manager’s tone twisted awkwardly.

Alex was focused entirely on me and failed to notice the brief exchange.

He nodded without hesitation, but still asked politely, "Would that be convenient?"

The manager hesitated and kept looking at me.

I gave him a meaningful glance.

After receiving my signal, the manager decisively left and quietly closed the door.

The moment the door shut, every sound from outside was cut off.

In the enormous conference room, only our breathing could be heard.

Alex stood up and walked over to me.

A faint trace of concern flashed through his dark eyes.

"Miss Heiress."

His voice was low and slightly hoarse.

It sounded like an emotion he had been unable to let go of for six years.

Or perhaps it was the unbearable tension of our reunion.

I sniffed.

Alex had once loved calling me "Miss Heiress," but after I corrected him once, he had never used it again.

I hadn’t expected to hear that familiar title again after seven years.

"What do you want?"

I glanced at him.

He was more mature than before and no longer timid and submissive.

Alex bent slightly and leaned close to my ear.

"I’ve missed you so much."

His masculine scent made me uncomfortable, so I shifted slightly to the side.

But Alex suddenly pulled me into his arms.

"All these years, I’ve been thinking about you."

"Did you… ever think about me?"

His voice trembled faintly with a choked sob.

I remained unmoved and whispered two words beside his ear.

"No."

Alex froze, then laughed bitterly before letting me go.

"Do you regret it?" he asked.

Did I regret leaving him?

I didn’t know where he got the nerve to ask that.

Was it because of the small company he had founded?

Or did he think that I had fallen into poverty and that he could finally mock me?

Alex stared at me, refusing to miss even the slightest change in my eyes as he tried desperately to find a flaw in my expression.

Unfortunately for him, I had never regretted it.

If I had never truly invested my feelings, what was there to regret?

Even if I had once wavered, those feelings had already been completely drained away.

I had gone abroad for six years to further my education, not to hide from him out of spite for six years!

Unfortunately, Alex had never understood any of this.