4
The more I saw of Damian’s true colors, the more I wondered how I could have been so blind for seven long years.
People around us started to whisper and point. When Damian did nothing to stop them, their voices grew louder.
“Mr. Thorne hid his identity because he didn’t want Sophia to feel insecure. He asked us all to keep it a secret. That just shows how much he cares about her.”
“She’s living off his money, in a house he pays for, and she still throws tantrums at him.”
“She wants to marry into wealth, but she doesn’t have what it takes. Without Mr. Thorne, she’s nothing.”
The more people gossiped, the more smug Damian looked. Chloe kept fanning the flames, piling on baseless accusations.
“Sophia, didn’t you even lie about your mother dying just to get two thousand dollars from Damian? You’re a gold digger who wants to play the victim. You can’t
have it both ways.”
Chapter 1
08:14
Her words were like cold water on hot oil. The office erupted. Everyone looked at me with contempt, their insults flying.
I looked at Damian. He still had that nonchalant expression, as if Chloe was just voicing his own unspoken grievances.
I curled my lips into a hollow smile. Just as I was about to speak, Damian grabbed my arm, playing the magnanimous peacemaker.
“Alright, alright, what’s past is past. It’s not like I’m short on cash. If you want money in the future, just ask me directly. No need to make up excuses.”
His words only fueled the office’s indignation. Everyone seemed to think I was ungrateful.
“Exactly! Mr. Thorne is so rich. If you want money, just ask.”
“Cursing your own mother for money… that’s just inhuman.”
“I can’t believe Sophia is that kind of person. I used to see how frugai she was and even brought her food sometimes.”
“Someone like her… Mr. Thorne should just dump her and make sure she can’t survive in this city.”
I saw the colleagues I had once been close to joining in, trampling on me. I thought about everything Damian had done.
Suddenly, it all felt so meaningless.
Even if I threw the pay stubs in his face right now, he and Chloe would just twist it into something else, and everyone would continue to humiliate me.
quietly put the pay stubs back in my pocket. I looked up at Damian and smiled.
“We’ve been together for seven years. Why don’t you calculate exactly how much of your money I’ve spent? And if you can’t name a single cent that was spent on me, then perhaps you should pay back the hundreds of thousands you owe me. Otherwise, you, and this company, can expect to be sued.”
A relationship supposedly free of money, yet constantly steeped in it. The billionaire heir, so generous in the eyes of others, had been living off the money I was saving for my mother’s life.
Damian’s mind raced, and a flash of panic crossed his eyes. Of course, he couldn’t think of anything he had spent on me. This was a man who insisted we go Dutch on condoms. I had always thought it was just rich people being stingy, but now I realized it was because I wasn’t worth a single penny to him.
He probably wanted to argue, but I didn’t want to hear it. As I turned to leave, Chloe suddenly pushed me. I lost my balance and fell to the floor.
“Sophia, stop trying to change the subject. How could Damian possibly owe you money? If you dare to spread rumors, we’ll call the police and have you arrested. If you go to jail, who will take care of your mother, lying in a hospital bed waiting for you to earn money for her? You should apologize to Damian right now!”
Chloe thought she could threaten me. But I had nothing left to lose.
Just then, my supervisor, who had been passing by, saw Damian and squeezed through the crowd. She was holding an application form.
“Mr. Thorne, Sophia’s mother passed away a few days ago. You still haven’t approved the employee bereavement fund payment. Also, I’ve withdrawn Sophia’s appli- cation for a two–thousand–dollar salary advance, as you instructed. It’s such a shame. I heard her mother was just two thousand dollars short of her surgery fee.”
