Part 2She Dumped Me for Being Poor, Then Begged Me Back

“Click.”

The glass door locked behind me.

I turned back. Cora stood inside, tossing an electronic key in her hand.

She stared at me through the glass, a cold smirk playing on her lips.

“Lucas, I told you, you’re not going anywhere without my say-so.”

I pounded on the glass door. “Open up! You’re truly ruthless.”

“Ruthless? I’m merely teaching you to face reality.” Cora walked back to the sofa and sat down, elegantly crossing her legs.

Kaden leaned in, resting his head on Cora’s shoulder, and flashed me a provocative smile. “Come on, Lucas. Don’t bother. It’s about to rain, and I bet you don’t even have money for a cab.”

Cora pulled out her phone and, right in front of me, dialed her assistant.

“Cancel all subsidiary cards under Lucas’s name. Revoke his apartment access. Inform all car services and ride-sharing platforms in New York City: anyone who dares pick up Lucas will be going against the Crawford Group.”

She hung up and tapped the glass with her knuckle.

“Lucas, a man’s pride means nothing compared to money. Without me, you won’t even find a place to sleep in this city. I’m giving you two hours to reflect. When you’ve thought it through, you can kneel outside and beg me.”

Night fell quickly, followed by a torrential downpour.

The rain soaked me to the bone.

I pulled out my phone, and a dozen messages popped up on the screen.

[Dear customer, your subsidiary card has been frozen by the primary cardholder…]

[Apologies, Mr. Lucas, your ride-share order has been forcibly canceled by the system…]

Cora wasn’t kidding. She was using her financial power to block my every move.

She wanted to drive me to despair, to make me crawl back and beg her like a dog.

I wiped the rain from my face and called David, an old friend who was now a director at the Crawford Group.

“David, can you pick me up? I’m on Champs-Élysées Avenue…”

On the other end, David’s voice was awkward. “Lucas… I’m so sorry. Cora just announced in the company group chat that anyone who helps you will be fired tomorrow. My mortgage and car payments are huge… Lucas, you’re just a kept man, why not just humble yourself to Cora? What’s the point?”

“Beep, beep, beep…” The call ended.

My heart sank, then a flicker of bitter amusement sparked within me.

For Cora, I had hidden my identity for five years.

I had built a shell company into a multi-billion-dollar empire; I had placed mediocre people like David into executive positions.

And now, they had all betrayed me.

Through the rain-blurred glass, I saw Cora, wine glass in hand, comfortably enjoying my misery in the downpour.

Kaden knelt at her feet, massaging her legs.

I took a deep breath, shoved my numb hands into my pockets, and turned to walk into the rain.

Even if I had to walk, I would return to my own world on foot.

“Bang!”

Before I’d taken two steps, a black Mercedes G-Wagen screeched to a halt in front of me, its tires splashing muddy water all over my trousers.

The window rolled down, and Cora’s male assistant stepped out from under an umbrella, tossing a garment bag directly at my feet.