Chapter 1:

I bought a men's jacket as a birthday gift for my dad, and I didn't notice I used my ex-boyfriend's secondary card to pay.

Unexpectedly, the next second, he appeared behind me.

"What, using my money to support another man?"

I puffed out my chest, speaking boldly without a solid reason.

"Ex-boyfriend's money, if I don't spend it, it's wasted."

1

On the third anniversary of my relationship with Lucas Grant, I proposed breaking up with him.

This wasn't the first time I told him about breaking up, but it was the final time.

It seems whenever we break up, I'm always the unreasonable one, while he remains forever calm and collected.

That time, as always, he looked at me with a composed and indifferent face, then slowly took off his gold-rimmed glasses, revealing his dark and profound eyes to me, and said the two words that drained my spirit instantly.

"Suit yourself."

It was like a punch to cotton; all my emotions seemed futile to him.

But this time, I genuinely wanted to end things with him.

The reason was that for this anniversary, I specially booked a ticket to Bali Island, planning to spend a romantic milestone with Lucas Grant there.

Lucas Grant was focused on work in the study, wearing a pair of ascetic-style gold-rim glasses. Upon hearing my words, he didn't even glance at me and replied flatly.

"Suit yourself."

"Alright, then let's settle Bali Island, but which hotel should we book for the trip? This one looks nice, but the rating seems low... How about this one? What do you think?"

I shifted my gaze to his face, eagerly waiting for his answer. Upon meeting my eyes, he finally stopped his work, glanced at the tablet briefly, then quickly looked away.

"Anything's fine, you choose."

I paused with the tablet in my hand.

"And the restaurant? Is there anything special you'd like to eat? I selected a few with decent ratings; pick one, and we can check it out together."

"Anything's fine, you choose."

He gave me a slight smile before continuing his work, and my excitement for the trip vanished without a trace.

His words silently conveyed a fact: I wasn't nearly as important as his work in his heart.

A huge sense of failure overwhelmed me. I closed the tablet and calmly stood up to leave.

Just as I was about to step out of the room, I made a decision.

"Lucas Grant."

My hand tightened around the doorknob, feeling my breath pause.

"Let's break up."

The moment I spoke, time seemed to halt, and the air was so still that I could hear his breathing.

His hand on the keyboard froze, his eyes, still behind the gold-rimmed glasses, focused solely on work, finally lifted to seriously look at my back.

"Are you sure?"

I knew he would say that because, whenever I was angry in the past, breaking up was always on my tongue, so he had long been immune to my words.

But this time, deep down, I felt utterly calm.

"Yes, I'm sure."

I turned to face him with resolute eyes as I spoke.

"Lucas Grant, we initially met through a blind date, without much emotional basis. Over time, I've gradually realized that perhaps our personalities don't match."

"Since neither of us is the right person for the other, let's stop wasting time."

Lucas Grant leaned back slightly, resting against the chair, and took off his glasses placing them on the table. He was always like this, capable of hiding any emotion so well that no one could ever figure out what he was thinking.

Even making me doubt whether I've ever truly reached his heart.

The silence deepened, time ticked by, and he looked up at me, uttering two words.

"Suit yourself."

It was like a punch to cotton again; my senseless antics wouldn't stir much in his world.

Honestly, Lucas Grant was really the most indulgent boyfriend I've ever had.

Lucas Grant was a match my mom forced me into. Before the date, my mom told me to dress well, saying it doesn't matter if one is ugly as long as you dress decently.

She also mentioned that this date was with a first-generation wealthy man, a few years older than me, earning amounts beyond my lifetime imagination.

I figured I probably wasn't her biological child because who would belittle their daughter like that?

I imagined what Lucas Grant, praised as a god-like figure by my mom, might look like.

Yet, upon meeting him, I realized my mom was right; Lucas Grant's looks indeed withstand scrutiny.

Not only handsome but also polite, he's practically my dream guy.

However, when I date, I have a bad habit of always mentioning breakups. My previous boyfriend couldn't tolerate this and left me.

So this time, before things progressed, I made sure to inform him clearly.

"That's alright."

He smiled at me, his eyes calm.

"I'm a bit lazy, not fond of chores."

"That's fine, my apartment has a robot vacuum and an automatic dishwasher."

"I don't enjoy cooking, and my culinary skills aren't great."

"It's fine; I can cook. My culinary skills are okay, and if I'm busy, I'll order good delivery for you."

No matter what I say, Lucas Grant always seems calm and indifferent.

It seems there's some truth to the saying that handsome guys have good tempers.

That's how it started—we exchanged WeChat after our matchmaking meeting and began dating.

But after being with Lucas Grant, I gradually realized that he seemed uninterested in any of my topics.

Whether it's the daily date plans or travel plans, the one who's excited is always me, while he never puts much thought into this kind of thing.

His mind is entirely focused on work.

Even during this final breakup, he just looked at me calmly and then saw me off.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

I gripped my bag tightly and then glared at him fiercely.

"No need!"

2

I drove straight to my best friend's house.

I moved all my luggage into her guest room, and she looked at me bewildered, obviously not understanding what I meant.

Not until I grabbed a bottle of red wine from her wine cabinet and poured it straight into my stomach.

"What, did you two break up again?"

"This time is real."

I put down the wine in my hand and stared blankly ahead.

"Emily Woods, I feel like Lucas Grant doesn't really like me. The thing he loves is his work, not me."

My eyes felt slightly sour, and I raised my head, trying to hold back my tears.

From the moment my mom met Lucas Grant, she's always liked him. Lucas Grant makes money, looks good, and is especially loyal in relationships. So many years, and he's never had an ex-girlfriend.

In my mom's heart, Lucas Grant has already become her default son-in-law.

After dating him, I truly felt his warmth, like when he moved his apartment closer to my workplace just to make commuting easier for me and soundproofed a room to help me sleep better.

Not only that, he gave me a secondary card, allowing me unlimited spending, handing over various aspects of life to me to manage.

Yet, I never felt any deep affection from him for me.

"He always tells me to make decisions as I see fit, but he's my boyfriend. What I want is for him to give me some response and affirmation, rather than just one-sided enthusiasm from me."

"I worked so hard planning our anniversary to make it a significant day for both of us, but his mind is always on his work."

"If that's the case, then he should just fall in love with his work, wasting my emotions, my time, my effort!"

The more I talked, the angrier I got, as I raised my head to gulp down another drink.

Emily Woods sat to the side, munching on chips as she listened to me vent.

"So, have you really decided to let go of him?"

Her words deflated my frustrated mood instantly.

I glared at Emily Woods and then walked into the bedroom to bury myself under the covers, forcing myself not to think about him.

After breaking up with Lucas Grant, life remained bland as usual, but the void inside left me struggling to adjust.

But deep down, I knew we probably couldn't go back to how we were, since after that day, he never came looking for me anyway.

Half a month later, my dad's birthday came around, so after work, I went to the mall to buy him a birthday gift.

I went into a men's clothing store, picked out a coat for my dad, and was about to pay.

During the process, a message popped up in my work group chat; I didn't see it clearly and accidentally handed the secondary card Lucas Grant gave me to the sales lady.

It wasn't until the card returned to my hand that I realized what happened.

Yet, the very next second, a cold voice came from behind me.

"What's this? Using my money to support another man?"

I mechanically turned my head and saw Lucas Grant standing behind me, holding a men's shirt.

His gaze was firmly fixed on the shopping bag in my hand at the service counter.

This was our first encounter after the breakup, and I couldn't afford to lose my composure.

In front of him, I put the card back into my wallet.

Then, with a bravado I didn't truly feel, I looked at him and said.

"A former boyfriend's money? I'd be a fool not to spend it."

He pursed his lips and squinted at me. It was rare—this was the first time I felt a suppressed emotion coming from him.

Not only suppressed, it seemed... perhaps a bit angry.

Could it be that seeing me buy clothes for another man made him angry? Does this mean he actually might not dislike me?

I was about to explain when a soft woman's voice came from behind him.

"Lucas Grant, have you picked your birthday gift? Are you ready?"

3

The woman wore a white dress that unintentionally matched Lucas Grant's white shirt, making a very coordinated couple's outfit.

She walked up to Lucas Grant, gave me a gentle smile, and then turned her gaze to him.

"Have you decided? Let me pay for it."

As she spoke, she reached for the shirt hanging off Lucas Grant's arm.

I felt my mind go blank.