On New Year’s Eve, I humbled myself and called everyone I could think of, begging to get a loan. However, every call ended with them either rejecting the call outright or scolding me for bringing bad luck during the holiday. Amid the endless sound of the fireworks, my grandma closed her eyes, and just like that, I was the only one left.

At the thought of her pale face, my heart felt like it was being sliced apart. My eyes reddened instantly.

I didn’t take the box of caviar he had brought. Instead, I said, “Hudson, we–”

I wanted to call for a break-up, but before those words could leave my mouth, Hudson cut me off.

“Alright, enough. You spent the New Year with your grandma. You probably don’t have much money left, don’t you?”

With a flick of his finger, he transferred me two hundred dollars.

“Take this as the money I spent buying caviar for your grandma. No need to write an IOU.”

Thinking about it, I found it rather amusing. He was afraid I was a gold digger, so he made me hand over my salary to him. If I needed spending money, I had to wait for his approval, and every time he transferred money to me, he would make me write an IOU. After seven years of dating, I somehow ended up deeply in debt to Hudson.

Back then, I simply thought that his sensitivity to money was because his family ran a company. So, I indulged him and agreed to all his requests. However, his frugality was only ever directed at me. When it came to Lara, he could spend lavishly, buying her diamond necklaces worth a fortune or even purchasing villas for her. Every gesture made headlines. Well, as they said, where the money went was where the love was.

Snapping back to reality, I immediately transferred the two hundred dollars back to him and said, “No need. I don’t want it.”

Only then did Hudson finally look at me seriously. As if realizing something, he sighed helplessly.

“Is that too little? Fine. I’ll agree to have a wedding with you, alright? That’ll make your vain grandma proud, too, wouldn’t it? Honestly, you’re all the same…”

His words pierced my ears. Yet, I had endured it for seven years. All I had ever wanted was a normal relationship—exchanging gifts and going shopping together like any other couple. However, he always accused me of being vain and comparing myself to others. He claimed I was after his family’s money.

“There’s no need for a wedding. We’re not real husband and wife anyway.”

Hudson’s handsome face darkened, revealing the familiar expression of irritation I knew all too well. Just then, someone knocked on the door. He shot me an annoyed glance before turning to open it.

The next second, his voice suddenly rose in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

I turned my head. Standing at the doorway was Lara, wearing a matching couple’s down jacket, the same style as Hudson’s.

She lightly punched his chest and laughed brightly. “My prince, my girlfriends are visiting today. They’d like to see what my husband looks like. Come spend another day with me.”

Then, she looked past Hudson at me, blinking her large innocent eyes in open provocation.

“Sophie, you won’t be angry about it, will you? You weren’t angry the other day either. Hudson and I are just best friends. You know that.”

As she spoke, she deliberately shivered, as if to complain it was cold, and intertwined her fingers with Hudson’s. The pair of matching wedding rings on their hands was impossible to miss.

Hudson looked at her with affection and, with practiced ease, slipped her hand into his pocket to warm it.

“What would she be angry about? Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you look good in front of your girlfriends.”

As he spoke, Hudson grabbed his car keys and turned to leave. After taking two steps, he seemed to remember me. He released Lara’s hand, walked over, cupped my face, and kissed the corner of my lips.

“Don’t worry. This will be the last time. After this, I’ll spend every day with you.”

Unfortunately, for Hudson, there would be no “after this” for us anymore.

I wiped my lips hard, watching as the two of them laughed and walked away together. Then, I turned around and picked up the resignation letter that had been prepared on the table.

…

As it was a week since the New Year, my coworkers had returned to work. When I arrived late, they all covered their mouths and laughed knowingly.

“How dare Sophie show herself at the company? She must be crazy for money. She caused a scene on the day Mr. Hudson got married. She even begged him for money. She has no shame at all!”

“She usually comes across as rather stuck-up, acting all high and mighty just because she's been with Mr. Hudson for seven years, but she's more obsequious when demanding money than my dog is when begging for food. Serves her right!”

I ignored the mockery and walked into the HR office, my expression the same.

The HR manager smirked and said, “Your application has been submitted. Once Mr. Hudson approves it, you can pack up and leave. In your situation, the company won’t be giving you any compensation.”

I nodded, said nothing, and turned to leave the company.

The sun was setting, and the streets were full of couples or families of three. I, on the other hand, was alone. Loneliness weighed on my chest. The only family I had left, the career I had fought for all these years, and the man I loved… all of them were gone.

As I walked along the road I had taken for seven years, the road between my home and the company, memories began to flood my mind. My parents died in a car accident when I was seven years old. The compensation money was divided up by cruel relatives, leaving only my grandma and me to rely on each other.

Later, by sheer coincidence, my grandma saved Hudson, who had fallen off a cliff while traveling in a mountain village, and cared for him as if he were her own grandson. That was how I first crossed paths with him.

At the time, I was just a university student, working several part-time jobs every day just to survive. As such, Hudson volunteered to visit my grandma for me and would often send me updates about her. Whenever I felt like I couldn’t go on anymore, he would hold me while I broke down and softly comfort me, promising that he would always stay by my side and never abandon me.

Back then, he really loved me, so much so that he wanted to be with me every day. Even though I dressed simply, he would lace his fingers through mine and proudly introduce me to everyone.

“This is my girlfriend. Isn’t she beautiful? She’s the best girlfriend in the world!”

Gradually, however, he started looking at me with suspicion, afraid I was after his family’s wealth. That was when he demanded that I hand over all of my salary so he could manage it. After that, his need for control only grew stronger. Even when I asked for five dollars to buy a cup of coffee, he would become suspicious and question me endlessly.

Then, three months ago, on the very day Lara returned to the country, he happily bought her a priceless gemstone ring. He even spent a fortune to display a message on giant screens across the city. It read, “Welcome home, Lara!”

That night was the first time he didn’t come home.

When I brought the police to look for him, he was drunk, his eyes red as he grabbed Lara’s arm and demanded hoarsely, “When we were five years old, you said you were the princess and I was the prince. You said you would marry me. So why did you leave without a word?”

A chill ran down my spine.

After he sobered up, we had a huge fight. I asked him who exactly had his heart, but he said I was overthinking things. He told me I knew the answer, that if Lara had never left back then, I would never have had the chance to cross paths with him at all.

It wasn’t until the day Lara posted on social media saying she wanted to get married that Hudson finally ended our fight by going down on one knee and asking if I would marry him. Ridiculously, I was overjoyed. I thought that in the end, he had chosen me. So, with tears in my eyes, I said yes, and now, this absurd relationship was finally coming to an end.

When I came back to my senses, I realized I had walked much farther than I intended. Suddenly, loud voices reached my ears.

“Hudson! You can’t back out of Truth or Dare! Lara is getting impatient!”

At the entrance of a nearby karaoke bar, Hudson was surrounded by a group of people. He was gripping Lara’s hand tightly as he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Lara is the only person I love!”

He shouted it three times, each time louder than the last and more certain than before. Soon, passersby all along the street had stopped to watch.

The tip of the ears of that usually arrogant man suddenly turned red. Lara naturally slipped her arm through his and smiled sweetly.

The crowd immediately began to cheer.

“Come on, the mood is perfect now! Why don’t you two kiss?”

Hudson froze for a moment, and Lara quickly tried to smooth things over.

“Let’s not take things too far. Hudson here is a little shy–”

Before she could finish speaking, Hudson suddenly cupped her face and lowered his head, giving her a deep, affectionate kiss. It was brief—just a touch before they parted.

Hudson hadn’t even closed his eyes. He stared at Lara the entire time, trying to carve that moment into his memories. He looked so happy and content, as if that one kiss alone was enough for him.

The next second, worried that Lara might misunderstand, his ears flushed red. He forced himself to sound calm.

“I… I lost my balance.” Before Lara could say anything, he hurriedly added, “It’s late. We should head home. If I’m any later, my dad will start talking about family rules again.”

In this world, there was nothing rarer than the small bit of sincerity from a former playboy. Love was a touch and yet not a touch.

He and I were only a dozen meters apart. The cold wind whipped against my body, grinding the heart that had shattered into pieces into even finer dust. Hudson was walking with his head down when he suddenly bumped straight into me. The moment he looked up and saw my face, his eyes widened.

“Sorry, I–”

I cut him off. “It’s fine.”

Then, I turned and walked away, pulling out my phone to open a ride-hailing app.

Behind me, I heard confused voices from the crowd.

“Hey, she looks familiar. Hudson, isn’t that the gold digger who begged you for money during your engagement party?”

“Did she just try to steal something from you? You should check your wallet!”

Hudson said nothing to refute their slander.

By the time I got home, I pulled out my phone and paid for the ride. Just then, a notification popped up.

“Your booking for the international flight from Ocean City to Hosten has been confirmed. The departure time will be 3:00 p.m. tomorrow.”

I took a screenshot and sent it to the HR representative from the overseas company who had been coordinating with me.

Before I could say anything, the HR representative replied excitedly, “Sophie, I’ve been looking forward to this! We’ll be ready to welcome you tomorrow!”

My expression softened. If I couldn’t have love, then I could at least pursue my career.

After that, I picked up the suitcase I had packed and headed for the door. I didn’t want to stay in this house for even a second longer. However, just as I opened the door, I ran straight into Hudson.

He frowned and slammed the door shut with a loud bang. In a low voice, he asked, “Sophie, where are you going?”

Lara, who was following behind him, spoke in a falsely concerned tone. “Sophie, please don’t misunderstand. Hudson and I are just good friends. He only did it so as not to embarrass me tonight. Please don’t fight because of me… and don’t run away.”

I couldn’t be bothered to listen any longer. Calmly, I said, “Hudson, let’s break up.”

Hudson had been about to scold me for being jealous, but my words froze him for a second. Then, his eyes widened in shock.

“Break up? Just because Lara and I put on a little show together, you want to break up with me? Sophie, do you want a wedding or not?” he said, all choked up.

In his mind, he probably still believed I was madly in love with him, and that was why he was using the wedding to threaten me. In the past, I would have lowered myself for him because of that and begged him to stay with me forever. Now, I simply sneered.

“Hudson, you and I have nothing to do with each other anymore. What wedding would we be having?”

“Nothing to do with each other?” A layer of frost spread across Hudson’s face, and he said in a low voice, “That’s not what you said a month ago when you accepted my proposal. You said your dream was to marry me. And the ring you’re wearing–”

As he spoke, he frowned and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets, clearly trying to find the ring so he could throw it in my face.