Part 1Three Years for a Lifetime

At a high school reunion, my ex-boyfriend held his fiancée and announced their engagement.

I snapped a photo and texted it to his mother. “They look like a perfect match. Congratulations on getting exactly what you wanted.”

Just as I was about to hit send, my wrist was gripped viciously.

“Oh? Still keeping in touch with my mother?” He glared at me, his face dark and menacing. “What, haven't squeezed enough money out of her yet?”

The room went dead silent. I looked up at him, my face draining of color.

I didn't even notice when the music stopped.

I had become the center of everyone's attention.

* * *

Everyone knew I had dumped Caleb Thorne for money.

During the year he loved me the most, I accepted two million dollars from his mother, Evelyn Thorne.

And then I walked out of his life without a backward glance.

Furious with his mother's interference, he went on a hunger strike, starving himself until he was barely recognizable.

His friends, unable to watch him destroy himself, swallowed their disgust for me and showed up at my door, begging on his behalf.

I refused to see a single one of them.

Later, when he was on the brink of death, his mother, "out of options," called and begged me to be a "mediator."

When I appeared in his hospital room, he clung to me like a drowning man and refused to let go.

Even though he was emaciated, the sheer force of his grip made my bones ache.

“Maya, you came. You still love me, don't you? I knew it—”

The joy in his voice was unmistakable.

I pushed him away coldly. I played an audio clip for him and showed him a text message.

The audio was a recording of me demanding three hundred thousand dollars from his mother in exchange for visiting him.

The text was the bank notification confirming the transfer.

He stared at me, his eyes wide and blank. When it finally registered, he shoved me away violently.

But because he used too much force, he fell out of bed, coughing until it sounded like his lungs would tear.

“Maya, get the hell out of here!”

He lay pathetically on the floor, grinding out each word through clenched teeth.

I did exactly as he asked. I walked out cleanly, without ever looking back.

I don't know whose mouth leaked the story.

From that day on, I became a massive joke in New York high society.

Anyone who knew the story said that my greed was only matched by my cruelty.

Others claimed I never loved Caleb to begin with; I was only with him for the money.

As for the truth? No one cared...

Later, when Caleb recovered, he agreed to a corporate marriage with Serena Vance, the treasured daughter of the Vance Group’s CEO.

I received over a dozen invitations to his engagement party.

Sent by none other than his loyal friends.

Honoring my "agreement" with his mother, I completely vanished from his world.

But over the years, I knew his every move like the back of my hand.

I knew he and Serena went to the US for grad school, living together the whole time.

I knew that in just two years, he completed a grueling JD/MBA joint program at Harvard.

I knew that the moment he entered his family's company, he ruthlessly handled several massive crises, forcing the veteran executives who doubted him to bow in respect.

I knew that even though he and Serena hadn't officially held a wedding, they were already calling each other's parents "Mom and Dad"...

It wasn't that I was intentionally seeking this information; his friends were practically tripping over themselves to report back to me.

A good ex should be as quiet as the dead, but they constantly wanted to dig me up and parade my "corpse."

It was as if proving how exceptional Caleb was somehow proved how incredibly stupid I had been.

Today was our high school reunion. It was the first time I had seen Caleb in three years.

Tomorrow, I would be leaving for a completely different life.

From then on, he would remain high up in the clouds, enjoying his wealth and power.

And I would be down in the dirt, enduring the harsh realities of the world.

Before coming here, I had called his mother with a request.

“You can go, but remember what you shouldn't say and what you shouldn't do.” That was her exact phrasing.

I agreed.

And my official reason for being here was simply to accompany an old friend, Julian.

My actual reason was to find an old classmate who specialized in nephrology, to verify some medical records.

There were things I had to know before I could finally let go...

I had anticipated Caleb's humiliation and coldness. I had anticipated the mockery and bullying from my old classmates.

What I hadn't anticipated was that Caleb would turn this reunion into a pre-wedding celebration.

As the undisputed center of attention, he navigated the drinking games with Serena with effortless grace, putting on a sickening display of affection.

The atmosphere was electric. No one was tactless enough to bring up the past.

I also got the answers I needed from my old classmate.

Because Julian got tied up chatting, I ended up staying a bit longer.

I never expected that in the brief moment it took to snap a photo and type out a text, Caleb would materialize in front of me like a ghost.

Dragging me out to be scrutinized by everyone.