As I was talking business with a client in a hotel, I saw Henry Wilson, the man I had supported for eight years, kissing a beautiful woman intimately in front of the elevator.
Henry came home and became furious when I confronted him about it.
"Evelyn, I have wasted eight years on you, and you are ordinary and stupid. How can you compete with a woman like Janet?"
I immediately slapped Henry. "It's none of your business. Get out!"
Unexpectedly, I had worked diligently for eight years for Henry to study and draw, but he just thought I was ordinary and stupid in the end.
I laughed out of anger.
I wanted to see if Henry would still be so elegant if I stopped providing for him.
"Evelyn, how dare you follow me?"
My client was also in the hotel, so I didn't catch Henry red-handed.
However, when we got home, he instantly roared like a cat whose tail had been stepped on in the face of my questioning.
I sat down on the sofa, feeling physically and mentally exhausted.
I had provided for Henry for eight years, and it never occurred to me that he would cheat on me.
He loved reading, painting, and all things elegant, except work.
In order to fulfill his elegant life, I worked desperately for eight years to go from a part-time job to starting my own business, and I got plenty of assets now.
Henry was an emotional person, so I had to fulfill both his materialistic desires and emotional value for him for eight years.
Even though I was so busy, I didn't forget to spend any of the holiday anniversaries with him.
I cared for and soothed him as carefully as if I were raising a child, not even bothering to say anything out loud to him.
Like every mother who wouldn't believe her child could hate themselves, I never believed Henry would cheat on me.
I had now witnessed his cheating, so how could I not be upset?
Not only that, but when I asked him about it, he neither felt guilty nor comforted or begged me. On the contrary, he was directly annoyed.
I sighed deeply, still gently explaining, "I didn't follow you, and I just went over there to meet a client and happened to see you."
Henry sneered, clearly not believing me.
"What a coincidence. You were meeting a client at the hotel, so it was a male client, wasn't it?"
I felt shocked. "You're blaming me instead."
He turned around and snorted, "I'm not as boring as you are."
I was stunned and didn't feel right explaining this to him, so I asked the question that concerned me the most.
"When did you start dating?"
Henry turned around, a hint of an unnatural expression on his face.
"It has nothing to do with you. Anyway, I don't love you anymore, so what's the point of asking this?"
I was going to tell Henry that I deliberately returned to take a look after sending off the client, and I happened to see the girl getting into another man's car.
However, seeing Henry's attitude, there was no way he would believe me even if I said so.
I sighed.
The man I had raised for eight years was finally taken by another woman.
Henry didn't know why I sighed. He thought I was reluctant to let go, so he hesitated for a moment and said, "Evelyn, you probably haven't been in that situation. My face blushes and my heart races when I see that girl. I'm happy doing anything with her and feel like I want to be with her for the rest of my life."
I smiled helplessly.
Why didn't I meet one? How could I have kept him for eight years without a second thought if this weren't how I felt when I met him?
But he didn't feel that way about me.
Henry didn't seem to care if I answered or not, as he was lost in his own world and continued to say what he wanted to say.
"You don't know that as soon as I see her, I feel endless inspiration, strength and courage. Even if one mountain stood in front of me, I could move it.
"You are so different. You can only see money in your eyes, while she can see the mountains and the sea, the stars and the universe, and the birds and the flowers.
"She is bright and kind, while you are ordinary and stupid. How can I say it? It's like she's a rose and you're just a wildflower in the mountains."
I looked at him in surprise.
I remembered clearly when we fell in love, he said I was a tulip, innocent and kind.
However, after eight years, the white tulip would turn into a nameless wildflower.
I suddenly realized what was going on.
I spoiled Henry so much that I left him with no self-awareness.
That was why he had the audacity to make cheating sound so justified.
I interrupted him to continue talking to himself, "Stop. It's just a breakup, and I've agreed to it. You can leave now."
A hint of surprise momentarily appeared on Henry's face. "I didn't say we were breaking up. Evelyn, can't you just be more generous?"
I thought I was going to drop my jaw in shock.
What did it mean that we wouldn't break up? Did he want to keep enjoying my love?
How could he even think that?
"How would you like me to be generous?"
Seeing that I hesitated, Henry sat down next to me, completely ignoring my furrowed brow.
"Don't worry, I won't leave you. Even though you're nothing compared to Janet, I won't forget how good you've been to me.
"As long as you don't mess around, I'll take five days out of my month to come back and stay with you, but you can't ask me about things like going out with Janet. And you can't be stingy when I spend your money."
I laughed.
Because I was angry.
Did he think I was stupid?
Even though I used to be foolish, at least I thought my future husband would be faithful to me.
For now...
I slapped him across the face, spitting at him in the process.
"Are you daydreaming? Get out!"
Chapter 2Even though I beat Henry and broke up with him quickly, I was still crying in despair at midnight.
It wasn't that I didn't want to leave Henry, but I just felt like I had wasted eight years. I wanted to have a funeral for my past, so I cried to honor it.
Just when I thought the relationship had come to a happy ending, Henry stood in front of my house with Janet.
I felt unfortunate when I saw them hugging each other as soon as I went out the door.
It was even more unfortunate that Janet was so outgoing. She jumped in front of me and smiled, "Evelyn, let's talk about your breakup with Henry, okay?"
"Well, what do you want to talk about?"
I wrapped my arms around my chest with interest and glanced at her from head to toe.
Based on my experience of seeing a lot of people, I felt that Janet was not simple.
She looked pretty, and her eyes were full of shrewdness and cunning. She wore all the designer labels, but she didn't look like she came from a noble family with dignified manners. I was more than aware that Janet's materialistic desires were probably on par with Henry's.
We had only met once, and I knew Henry was going to be in trouble.
That was why I was in the mood to talk to Janet more.
"Evelyn, with the rules of our circle, and with your earnings, Henry's been with you for eight years, so you should give him a breakup fee."
What were the rules of the circle?
I raised my eyebrows slightly and thought, "Which circle is it? Is it the circle of nobility?"
I suppressed my laughter. "Oh, how much do you want?"
Janet gestured three fingers at me. "At least so much."
I was confused.
"Three million dollars?"
Janet rolled her eyes at me, as if mocking me for being stingy.
"Thirty million dollars. Won't you be afraid of being laughed at in our circle if you give him three million dollars?"
"Well."
I really couldn't hold back my laughter this time.
Who did she think Henry was? Would he get thirty million dollars for breaking up?
I looked at Henry helplessly, "Do you think so?"
Henry said without hesitation, "Of course, Janet was right. Also, except for the breakup fee, there's also the fee for wasting eight years of mine.
"In addition, you beat me up yesterday, so you should also pay me for the moral damages.
"I almost forgot that as for the money I paid for when we hung out and ate together, you should pay me back as well."
I nodded.
I didn't want to settle some scores with Henry, but he came to me for money. If I didn't put up a fight, they would definitely think I would be a lamb to the slaughter.
I took a business card out of my bag and handed it to Henry.
"Fine, I won't take your breakup fee. After all, you can't afford it. But about that gallery and the money I've spent on you these past eight years, my lawyer will contact you.
"As for whether you want to go through with the trial or settle it privately, you can discuss that with my lawyer as well."
Henry didn't seem to react, and he was stunned as he took my card.
Janet, however, stepped in front of me with a huff as I was about to leave.
"Evelyn, what do you mean?"
I replied, "Exactly what I said. Janet, you've already delayed me from going to work. If you keep blocking me, I'm going to call the police."
Janet smiled furiously and nodded at me, gritting her teeth.
"Okay. Evelyn, you're going to regret your decision today."
As she finished speaking, she took Henry's hand. "Let's go."
Henry had been stumbled by her before he could react.
I drove the car to the front gate of the neighborhood and told the security guard to delete Henry's portrait and fingerprints.
Henry was able to bring Janet in because I forgot to notify the property yesterday.
That look from Janet just now warned me that I should prioritize safety.
Even though I had practiced Taekwondo for a few years, I only had an advantage in single combat.
Chapter 3At night, after I got out of the shower, I picked up my phone and saw a message from Henry.
Henry: [Evelyn, we've been in love for at least eight years. Don't push me over the brink, okay?]
Henry: [You gave me this gallery, but how can you take back what you gave me?]
Henry: [Evelyn, you're disgusting. You've wasted eight years of my life. No wonder your parents didn't want you, because you're cold-blooded and selfish.]
When I saw the third message, I couldn't help but directly put Henry on my blacklist.
I regretted uncontrollably that I hadn't blacklisted Henry sooner, giving him the opportunity to hurt me again.
My parents were my eternal pain and hatred.
When I was 5 years old, my parents got divorced, but neither of them wanted me, so I was eventually awarded to my father.
When my mother left, she didn't care about me anymore, and she just disappeared.
My father, on the other hand, disappeared on the excuse of going out to work and leaving me with my grandmother.
My elderly grandmother and I lived until I was ten years old with government assistance, and my grandmother died after a fall.
Later, I was sent to an orphanage.
In the orphanage, I was bullied many times because I was small and weak.
I didn't have a happy childhood, and Henry knew it.
Since the beginning of our relationship, I had told Henry everything.
Unexpectedly, my honesty had now become a bayonet in Henry's hand, stabbing me unmercifully.
Henry kept saying that I wasted eight years of his life, that I was cold-blooded and ruthless.
But I was obviously the one who paid for those eight years.
I paid for Henry's expenses during his three years of college. While others were working and studying half-time, he was already living a good life without worrying about food or clothing with my support. He used an expensive laptop, wore celebrity clothes and designer watches.
After graduation, Henry didn't want to work and focused on his painting skills. Although he had no talent, as long as he liked it, I always helped him with money.
For the past eight years, Henry hadn't earned a cent, and even when he invited me to dinner and bought me gifts, he used the pocket money I gave him.
If it meant he wasted eight years, I would have wasted my whole life.
I didn't intend to settle with Henry, and I did give him a gallery. It wasn't that I couldn't afford to give him, but he didn't appreciate it and insisted on bringing Janet to see me.
It was obviously all about him messing around, but he said I was ruthless in the end when I just asked for my stuff back.
That was it.
As I dried my tears, I slapped myself.
I was disappointed in myself for crying for a man like Henry.
As I threw away my cell phone, I lay down in my soft bed and drifted off to sleep.
I seemed to feel someone knocking on the window at midnight, which woke me up.
I lived on the third floor, but why was there a sound of knocking on the window? Could it be a bird?
I got up, went to the window, and opened the curtains. A face with hair hanging down appeared in front of me.
"Ah!"
The scream resounded through the building as I slammed the curtains shut and fell to the ground.
I was still in shock when the police arrived.
There was long since nothing outside the window. The police officers responsibly checked my entire house, and they finally got a clue from the surveillance.
That night, someone had used a drone to dangle something that flew outside my window and hovered there for a long time.
As the police asked me who I had offended recently, Henry and Janet were the first people I could think of.
By the time they were taken into the police station, Henry was bewildered, but Janet was quite calm and even raised her eyebrows at me.
I almost immediately concluded that it was her.
But when the police questioned Janet, she denied it entirely and had an alibi.
As Janet was leaving, she gestured at me in a provocative manner.
The police reassured me that they would continue to investigate and would let me know if there was any news.
On the way back, I called my assistant and asked her to find someone to help me investigate Janet.
Janet dared to provoke me in public at the police station, so I didn't think she would let it go. I believed that I could protect myself better if I knew my enemy and myself.
The assistant quickly found out the result. She sent the information to me just as I arrived home.
Sure enough, Janet socialized a lot, so she dated men on all occasions.
Janet wasn't a nice person, and almost all of her boyfriends were rich guys. She would ask them for money, and when they broke up, she wouldn't forget to ask for a breakup fee.
No wonder she would bring Henry to me for the breakup fee, so it turned out she was a repeat offender.
I thought I should repay Janet. She had already treated me so badly, so I couldn't make her life too comfortable.
So I sent a message to everyone as the information surveyed.
After a while, my cell phone was ringing off the hook.
I didn't have time to read the message on my phone for a while as I hurriedly packed some clothes and drove to the hotel.
When I got to the hotel, I asked the waitress to get me a bag of chips. I sat cross-legged on the bed and started adding the WhatsApp accounts of these ex-boyfriends of Janet's.
Janet was awesome. She had dated at least five boyfriends a year, and there were already over twenty men in the chat group.
No sooner had I said something than some of the men in the chat group introduced themselves or started discussing the timeline of their relationships.
I was just watching the fun.
There were still two men, Alan and Kevin, who were dating Janet.
I was stunned. With Henry included, wouldn't Janet be dating three men?
It was already quite lively in the chat group, and everyone was planning how to get back at Janet.
A man said angrily: [Why should the rich man like us end up being fooled by a poor woman? Let's kill her.]
I had to say something: [Men, I asked you to come here to reveal Janet's true nature and to prevent anyone else from falling for her scam. Don't get anyone killed or hurt me.]
They calmed down a lot after I finished speaking.
Alan and Kevin were deciding to make time for a date with Janet. Then, they were going to show up together to catch Janet in the act and see what else Janet would say.
The other men had discussed suing Janet together to get their breakup money back, and they also wanted to see what the two men would do to her.
I read the messages in the group from the beginning to the end and realized that there was one man who had never said a word.
However, I soon put that doubt behind me. Because the two men couldn't hold back for a moment, and they immediately went into action.
Of course I wouldn't miss such an exciting thing.