I pressed my lips together before I managed to speak calmly, "Mark, we are broke. We don't have any money left."

"How much can some sashimi cost," he replied while rubbing off the paint from his fingers. "I know. I'll eat less today."

Huh! Is that really the real issue here? Young Master Hanson, the problem is everything you eat is too expensive!

Before I could say anything, Mark suddenly grabbed my hand. "This is the last time, okay? I’ve been staying up late and working diligently on my paintings. Things have been hard for me."

I looked down at my hand, trapped in his grip and against my better judgment, I relented. "Alright."

After a moment, I added, "However, I need you to be careful with the money from now on. Things aren't like they used to be. We are broke and you should remember that rent money can't be used. It’s unnegotiable."

"Okay … okay. I know. You don't have to nag me about it." After he said that, he turned and walked away.

I talked again, "Mark, my part-time job can't cover our expenses any longer. Maybe we should …."

Mark suddenly turned around and cut out my words, "No! Absolutely not! Don't ever think about it! I'm not going back!" 

I was stunned. All I wanted to do was to suggest that he should not be so picky with his painting's buyers and maybe sell some of his paintings at a lower price.

Perhaps realizing that he had been too harsh to me, Mark softened his tone, "I'm asking you to be patient a little bit longer. We can't give up now. When I find the right buyer, things will turn around for us."

"I refuse to believe that I, Mark Hanson, can't make a name without the Hanson Family."

I just murmured my half-hearted agreement, while sighing inwardly.

Young Master Hanson might be out of being out of touch with reality and he might be living off my hard work, but the landlord was wrong about one thing though, Mark was not my boyfriend.

Although I had done so much and through so much struggle in this relationship, I could not give it any title.

I quickly ordered the sashimi to forget those depressing thought.

As I was about to change, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Probably because I had to work nonstop, I looked so exhausted and worn out.

Unable to hold back any longer, I blurted out, "Mark, why did you help me back then?"

We were not related in any way, yet he paid off nearly three hundred thousand in high-interest loans that I owed the loan shark without batting an eye.

At the time, he had casually said, "That amount of money isn’t even enough for me to last for three days. Don’t worry about it."

Mark paused for a moment as if he was trying to remember that incident. Then he answered with a casual tone, "Well, at that time, you looked like a pitiful stray dog."

A pang of sourness gripped my heart. He was so heartless. Even now, he even bothered to comfort me with a flattering lie.

As if I wanted to punish myself, I asked the question that had been lingering in my mind for so long, "So, what does this make us now?

Mark placed his hand on my shoulder and lowered his head slightly, "Listen. You know that I’m not in the right place to be thinking about relationships right now. You’re different from everyone else, but our relationship .... Ugh, can we talk about this later on? The most important thing right now is to hold onto our dreams."

Our dream? No! More like, yours!  I grumbled in my heart.

However, at this time, I finally realized.

Young Master Hanson might be clueless about the hardship of life, but when it came to the matter of heart, he was not stupid.

The fact that he could answer me like this meant that he had realized my pathetic feelings.

I shook off Mark's hand, stumbled back to my room and locked the door.

I ignored his question "What are you going to eat?" and stayed inside.

At that moment, I felt truly exhausted.

On the day I paid the rent, I had a high fever.

When I came back home in a daze, the first thing that I heard was Mark's excited voice, "Someone who knows what they’re talking about came by to ask about my paintings today. I think this one might actually sell …. Hold on! Why is your face so red?”

He quickly came over to feel my forehead. “You’ve got a fever! Come on, we’re going to the hospital right now!”

As he spoke, he grabbed my arm and started dragging me out the door.

I could not break free from his grip, so I forced myself to speak through the pain in my throat. “I just paid the rent. We don’t have money for the hospital. It's just a sore throat. I'll be fine.”

Mark stopped walking for a long time and turned around to face me.

For the first time, I saw a fleeting guilt in his eyes. I could not help but find this situation a bit funny.

Mark gently squeezed my wrist with a voice that was softer than I heard before he asked, "Then … do we have any money to buy you some medicine? I'll go and buy fever-reducing medicine for you."

I pulled out the last of my emergency cash from my wallet and handed it to him.

Mark took it without a word and headed out the door. Halfway to the door, he suddenly stopped, turned around and rushed back to hug me tightly. “Just hold on a little longer. We can’t give up now. Things will get better, I promise!”

“Okay.” Maybe it was because I was sick, I became a bit fragile and my eyes started to sting with tears.

Mark had never taken any initiative to take care of anyone before.

During those two days, I was bedridden with a fever, he clumsily made a porridge and fed me some medicine. This act of his made me have an illusion that I meant something to him.

It felt so real that I even had a bit of hope that I should not have.

After I recovered, I dragged my weak body to the kitchen and prepared Mark's favorite foods.

I planned to have a serious conversation with him about our future.

However, before I could say a word, Mark's phone chimed with an incoming message.

He checked it and after a few seconds, he slammed his fork onto the table.

“What’s wrong?” I asked quickly.

He did not answer but kept frowning as he scrolled through his phone.

By the time he finished reading, Mark stood up in a fury and threw his phone onto the table. “What a trashy company!”

The phone slid across the table, but it was close enough that I could see the main character in the article.

The article said that Sandra Lewis, the well-known idol, had returned to the country.

She was also Mark's childhood sweetheart. The girl that he loved but could never have.

The article reported how Sandra had been losing her resources to another rising star in the same field and her agency did nothing to help her.

I said dryly. "The entertainment news isn't always accurate. You shouldn't get too worked up over it."

“How can I not be upset?! Sandra isn’t like you. She’s never faced hardships like this. Why should she be bullied by this kind of person now?” he said sharply.

Hearing his statement, my head buzzed. Suddenly, I felt drained. I knew I was as much of a joke as the meal that I had prepared.

"No. It's not …. I wasn't talking about you. Don't take it personally." Mark reached out his hand across the table and grabbed my hand.

I forced myself to smile and drew back my hand. " Got it. Okay, I'm full. You can keep eating." 

I should have known I should not hold on to an impossible dream.

I had thought that was the end of it, but I never expected that the joke was not over yet.

The next morning, I turned off the alarm and did not get up early to make breakfast. By the time I woke from a second round of sleep, it was already ten o'clock.

I was surprised that Mark had not knocked on my door in anger, wanting me to make his breakfast. Then I saw a note on the dining table.

[To Tessa Steward. Tessa, I have to go so I can take care of something. Wait for me to come back.]

Where did he go? What was he dealing with? When would he be back? All these questions entered my mind. Unfortunately, he did not explain all of these in his note.

I picked up my phone and tried to write a message to him. However, after deleting several of the messages I had written, I did not send him anything.

A few hours later, I received a short message from Mr. Hanson.

“Young lady, knowing when to cut your losses is crucial in any investment.”

I had no idea what he meant, but soon, when I saw the flood of news reports, I understood his message.

[Han Corporation's Heir Pays an Astronomical Penalty to Boost New Idol's Career]

[Mark Hanson and Sandra Lewis: Childhood Sweetheart]

[The Crown Prince of the Hanson Family Spends Extravagant Amounts of Money to Protect First Love. A Romance Worth to Celebrate]

Numbly, I read article after article.

Then I put down my phone.

So, Mark had gone back home to play the role of a prince in a shining armor for Sandra and he had paid an astronomical penalty fee so he could sign Sandra to his family’s company.

It turned out, his commitment to his dream was not as unshakeable as I had thought. I suddenly realized that for some people they did not have to endure any hardships and injustices in their lives.

I did not know how long I sat there, but when I felt something cold on my cheeks, I startled and touched my face, then I realized it was wet with my tears.

Why am I crying?

I got up, washed my face, put myself together, went back to bed and slept through the afternoon. After all, I had been so tired lately.

The next day, I messaged the landlord to let him know I was moving out.

I quickly started packing. I threw out what needed to be thrown out and packed up what needed to be filled. After I arranged to stay with a friend for a few days, I called a moving truck.

As I sat in the back of the moving van, I saw a luxury car drive by from the opposite direction. I didn’t catch the license plate, but the model looked like the one Mark used to drive. I turned my gaze away and said to the driver, “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

We hadn’t driven for more than a few minutes when my phone rang.

It was Mark.