The Shrimp Test My Girlfriends RegretChapter 1

On our third anniversary, a single phone call from her "best friend" was all it took.

My girlfriend didn't just cancel our plans—she dragged me straight to a bar and ordered me to peel three thousand crayfish for said best friend.

"Are you blind? Can't you see Kevin and the others are waiting to eat?"

Elisa Fox leaned into Kevin Gilbert's embrace, her gaze slicing over me like frosted glass.

"Kevin has delicate hands. He's not built for rough work." She flicked her wrist toward me. "You, on the other hand, have plenty of experience. Hurry up and peel them."

She wasn't finished.

"An orphan like you should be grateful. If Kevin's in a good mood later, he might toss you a red packet worth a year of your salary."

Kevin surveyed the cluster of wealthy heirs he'd summoned, his expression oozing servility.

"Gentlemen, I know you're used to being served." He swept his arm toward me like a ringmaster presenting a trained bear. "This is my good sister's boyfriend. He was born to serve. If you need anything—just bark."

They had no idea.

I am the sole heir of the Mason family. The lost son of the capital's most powerful dynasty.

Staying with Elisa served one purpose only: repaying her mother—the woman who pulled me from the orphanage and reunited me with my biological family.

Protecting Elisa for three years had been her mother's dying wish.

And that wish would be fulfilled in exactly two hours.

1.

"If you don't want to peel, then break up and get lost." Elisa's voice sliced through the din. "And stop looking at everyone with those dead, listless eyes. It's bad luck."

Her lip curled. "Honestly, I don't know how someone as shameless as you has managed to cling to me this long."

The mountain of crayfish shells before me stood nearly half a meter high.

I said nothing. My hands moved on autopilot.

*Pinch off the head. Twist away the tail. Strip the vein. Drop the glistening white meat onto the plate.*

Elisa's patience frayed. Her stiletto cracked against my shin.

"Adam Mason, why are you dawdling? Can't you see Kevin's plate is empty?"

Elisa Fox. The "Iceberg Beauty" of the capital's elite circle. My girlfriend in name only.

For three years, an unknown orphan had shadowed her every step. In the words of her inner circle: *"Elisa really found herself a good dog. Obedient to a fault."*