Part 2Loving You Was a Dead End

When I first met Leo, I had no idea who he was. He rolled up to me in a beat-up old van, and my younger brother, mistaking him for a kidnapper, gave him a good beating. Later, I found out his luxury car had been scratched by a farm vehicle, and he was given the van to drive while his car was being repaired, which was how he ended up in our village.

He stayed at our house to recover, occasionally plucking wildflowers by the roadside to give to me. One day, as I was picking corn in the fields, he leaned in, smiling. "You look beautiful picking corn. Go out with me, and you won't have to do this kind of work anymore." I thought he was joking and casually agreed. It wasn't until he recovered and came to pick me up in his luxury car that I realized he was a rich young heir.

Mia put down her chopsticks. "So why the sudden breakup?"

"He always drives his fancy car to school to block me. Students gather around, whispering about me being a 'gold-digger.' He hears it but never explains, even joking with his friends, 'She's the one who threw herself at me.'" I pursed my lips, lowering my gaze, my nose tingling again. "Last time, I saved two months' salary to buy a dress, spent two hours doing my makeup to meet him, and he didn't even glance at it. When he pulled me towards his hotel, the dress snagged on his watch, and he tore it right off, annoyed."

"He always does this. Afterwards, he buys me a plush toy or a necklace as compensation." I looked down at the cooling soup in my bowl. "This time, he called my name at the school gate again, and everyone was staring. I suddenly woke up. Eight years. I don't want to coddle him anymore."

Mia sighed, not pressing further. After dinner, she dragged me to a karaoke bar. I sang until my throat was hoarse, but at least I didn't cry any more. In the private room, I had two beers, and my head started to feel heavy. Mia, seeing my state, didn't stay long, dropping me off at the dorm around ten. The hallway lights were off. I fumbled in the dark, pushing open the door. Seeing Grace's bed empty, my heart sank.

Thankfully, I was too exhausted to think much else. I took off my coat and collapsed into bed. I wasn't woken until noon the next day by my phone ringing. I answered without checking the caller ID. On the other end, it sounded like one of Leo’s friends, his voice frantic. "Hailey, get to Leo’s house now! He drank so much last night, saying he didn't want to live without you. He's really bad!"

My mind reeled, my heart pounding. I hung up, didn't comb my hair or change my clothes, and jumped on my scooter, rushing to Leo’s house. On the way, I was so flustered I took a wrong turn, and a truck almost hit me. I didn't catch what the driver yelled, but I gripped the handlebars and sped on.

Finally, I arrived at Leo’s apartment building, breathless from running, wanting only to be faster. But the moment I pushed open the door, I froze. A room full of people surrounded the sofa, laughing. Leo was lounging in the middle, and Grace sat on his lap, feeding him grapes. He naturally opened his mouth to take them. He used to always say he didn't like grapes, preferring me to peel mangoes for him. But when I’d cut and brought them to him, he wouldn’t eat them, just ruffle my hair and say, "So obedient."

Leo saw me, raised an eyebrow, and turned to his friends, chuckling. "I told you she'd come. I won won the bet."