1: 1

On my thirtieth birthday, my boyfriend's mother invited me over for dinner, to talk about the wedding while we were at it.

But the moment I sat down, she put me in my place.

"You turn thirty today, and you know as well as I do that a woman's worth nose-dives once she passes thirty."

"If you want to marry my son, the dowry had better be eight hundred thousand dollars at the very least. Otherwise the Fox family has no use for an old woman like you."

I could hardly believe my ears.

"Isn't your son thirty too?"

"You demand eight hundred thousand in dowry the second you open your mouth. So how much bride price are you planning to give me?"

My boyfriend's father couldn't hold back either. He brought his palm down hard on the table.

"Are men and women the same thing? A man gets more valuable the older he gets. A woman gets less wanted!"

"And you've got the nerve to ask us for a bride price? A piece of trash my son's been sleeping with for twelve years! Even if you threw in eight hundred thousand yourself, I'd still have to think it over."

The boyfriend I'd loved for twelve years sat across from me, saying nothing.

I stood up with a cold laugh.

"Yes, I am thirty. But my life is only just beginning, and no one has the right to define my worth by my age."

"I won't be eating at this trap of a dinner. And I won't be walking through the Fox family's door either."

1

The moment I said it, Merlin Fox, who hadn't made a sound until now, spoke right up.

"What are you doing? My mom worked herself to the bone cooking this whole table of food, and this is how you treat her?"

"All right, we're just discussing things. Whatever it is, let's talk it out properly."

Seeing that I still hadn't moved, Merlin got up and leaned close to my ear.

"Sit down first. Don't make an ugly scene out of this."

Merlin and I got together at eighteen. Twelve years now.

From our student days, through the years when we had nothing and were building the company, to now, when you could say he'd made it.

We'd walked through countless important moments of each other's lives.

Honestly, I still had hopes for him.

Hearing Merlin's words, I forced my anger down and sat back down.

The instant I did, Victoria Fox let out a scornful little snort.

"Big talk a second ago, and here you are, can't bring yourself to leave after all."

"Don't go thinking we're picking on you. My son is the boss of a company now. You have no idea how many young girls out there are dying to throw themselves at him."

"You'd better take what I told you to heart, or you'll never find a man as good as our Merlin again."

My hands curled into fists as I choked back the fury inside me.

"I built that company together with Merlin. It isn't his achievement alone."

"In this relationship, he and I are equals. I've never felt I was marrying above myself."

Geoffrey Fox slammed his chopsticks down on the table with a crack.

"Talking back before you've even joined this family. Is that the kind of upbringing you had?!"

"You're the woman. Supporting your man's career is exactly what you're supposed to do. Go ask anyone on the street whether you're even worthy of Merlin!"

I didn't argue anymore. I turned my eyes to Merlin.

"Is that what you think too?"

Merlin stammered.

"Lulu, my parents are getting old, and some of their ideas are a little old-fashioned. Bear with them."

"But what they're saying isn't wrong either. They mean well for us. Don't be angry, just eat first."

I closed my eyes in disappointment, my heart sinking and sinking.

Six years ago, Merlin's company was at a crucial stage of restructuring, and back then I worked late at the office with him every single day.

One rainy night, my parents took an umbrella and went out to walk me home, and at an intersection they were hit by an overloaded truck.

They both died on the spot. They never even got the chance to be rushed to a hospital.

At their funeral, I cried so hard I nearly fainted.

"Merlin, I don't have a mom and dad anymore. I don't have a home now."

Merlin held me in his arms, his face full of pain for me.

"Lulu, believe me, we'll have a home. I'll give you a home."

"From now on you have me. No one is ever allowed to bully you."

Seeing that I stayed silent, the scorn in Victoria's eyes only deepened.

"Ha, look at that. She's clammed up again. Who does she think she's making that sour face for?"

"Your father's right. An orphan with no parents, that's what comes of no upbringing. If her parents were alive, she'd never dare to—"

Before Victoria could finish, my eyes snapped open and I stood up again.

"I know exactly what this dinner is about today. It all comes down to the fact that I have no family behind me, and you want to use that to squeeze me."

"But I am Joyce Summers. No matter how old I am, no matter whether I have parents or not, I am my own person."

"My parents aren't here today. But even if they were, they would never stand by and watch me swallow this kind of humiliation."

"The Fox family's door. I, Joyce Summers, will not walk through it."

2: 2

2

With that, I didn't spare the three of them another glance. I turned and walked straight out the door.

I hadn't even cleared the complex before Merlin caught up.

He grabbed my wrist, desperate to explain.

"Lulu, don't be angry. My parents are simple people from the country, they never had much education. What they said came out ugly, but they didn't really mean it that way."

"Trust me, I'll have a good talk with them later. Just don't be angry."

I pulled my wrist free.

"Didn't mean it that way? Then tell me. What did they mean?"

"And if you wanted to have a good talk with them, why didn't you say a word back there at the table? Now that you see me leaving, suddenly you know how to speak up?"

That seemed to anger Merlin.

"Even if my parents said some things wrong, you had no business giving them that look."

"It's your birthday. My mom worked hard to make a whole table of food, and you just walk out like that. You're telling me you did nothing wrong?"

Hearing that, I almost laughed from sheer fury.

"You don't blame them for how ugly their words were. You don't blame them for tearing me down with every single sentence. Instead you blame me for giving them a look?"

"Merlin, be honest. You think the same way your parents do, don't you?"

I looked straight into his eyes. He glanced away, a little cornered.

"Lulu, don't read too much into it, but my parents aren't wrong either."

"I'm only thirty. I've made something of myself, I have my own company. If I wanted to look, there are plenty of young girls out there for me to pick from."

"You're already thirty, and I'm still willing to be with you. Doesn't that prove how I feel about you?"

I didn't say anything. I just stood there and looked at him.

The more Merlin talked, the more he convinced himself he was right.

"I could find a young girl anytime I wanted. There are plenty of beautiful women who'd want to marry me."

"But you? You're already thirty. Find someone your own age and can he be as successful as me? Find someone successful and can he be as young as me?"

"Lulu, accept it. Thirty means something different for men than it does for women."

I didn't say a word. I just suddenly laughed.

Merlin and I met in college. We dated for four years there.

The year I was twenty-two, Merlin graduated and wanted to start his own business, so I went along with him.

We lived together in a basement that leaked. We ate instant noodles with no seasoning together.

When the company was just starting out, Merlin didn't like the drinking and the clinking of glasses with clients, so I carried the whole thing on my shoulders.

Not only did I draw the design work for the company's flagship products, at night I sat at the table and smiled for every client over drinks.

That was how I brought in the orders, one by one.

To this day I still remember drinking until my stomach bled for a single six-figure order.

Lying in that hospital bed, Merlin's eyes were red from crying.

"For the rest of my life, all I'll ever need is Joyce."

From that day on, the man who hated schmoozing forced himself to go out and do it, forced himself to build relationships with every client, so that I only had to focus on my designs.

On the strength of his charm and my designs, his company finally found solid ground in the industry.

It was clearly the two of us working together that got us here.

But now Merlin claimed all the credit for himself.

How laughable.

Seeing me stay quiet, Merlin thought I'd softened.

"All right, my parents are still waiting at home. Let's head back first."

"Go back and apologize to them properly. They're your elders, they won't hold it against you."

I took a step back, opening the distance between us.

"So the past twelve years I might as well have thrown to the dogs."

"Merlin, you and me, we're done."

I didn't wait for his answer. I turned and walked straight toward the gate of the complex.

Merlin's voice rose behind me, seething.

"Joyce, you don't know a good thing when you see it!"

"You're thirty, who's going to want you? I'm telling you, don't come crying with regrets!"

3: 3

3

Early the next morning, I went in to the office as usual, ready to pack up my things.

I'd made up my mind to end it, and I didn't want it dragging out.

I'd barely stepped into my office when Merlin came in right behind me.

"Well, well. Weren't you the one with all the backbone? What are you doing back here, looking so eager?"

"Enough. I already had a good talk with my parents last night. When you get off work, come home with me and apologize to them properly."

I didn't even bother to look at him. I just kept packing.

"You've got it wrong. I'm not here to work. I'm here to clear out my things."

"And while I'm at it, I'm letting you know I'm resigning."

The smugness dropped off his face in an instant. He strode over and slammed a hand down on the files I was sorting.

"Joyce, do you really have to take this so far?"

"I'm already backing down here. Can't you see that?"

I pulled the files out from under his hand.

"Nobody's taking anything too far. This is just a clean split after a breakup. Don't write yourself extra scenes."

"As for that lofty head of yours, don't bother lowering it. You might snap your own neck."

Along with the ordinary office files, I deleted every design in the computers.

Back when Merlin first started the company, he had no one at his side.

To get the business on its feet faster, I carried the whole design department alone, entering competition after competition with my own work.

Every award I won breathed new life into his company.

I still remember it, even now.

The day after I won my first national award, Merlin, who had been barely holding on, finally landed the company's first seven-figure contract.

He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug, thrilled.

"Lulu, you're my lucky star. You're the reason this whole company works!"

"Being with you is the best thing I've ever done in my life!"

In all the years since, his company got where it is on my designs. Little by little, it found solid ground in the industry.

It wasn't as if bigger, more established firms hadn't tried to poach me. They had. Every time, I turned them down.

I loved that man for twelve years. I wanted to stand beside him.

To be there while he built it all from nothing, there while he made his name.

I really did think, once, that he would give me a home.

Once everything was wiped, I picked up the box and turned to leave.

Behind me, Merlin's voice came again, low and mean.

"Joyce, are you really going to take this all the way?"

I stopped. But I didn't answer him.

"By the way. Your company's main earnings all these years came from my designs, and I've never received a single royalty payment or copyright contract from you."

"We no longer have any working relationship, so I'm asking your company to stop profiting from my designs, effective immediately."

"If your company keeps using my designs after this, I reserve the right to sue to protect my rights."

With that, I walked straight out of the building without looking back.

I thought that was the end of things between Merlin and me.

But that night, my home got an uninvited guest.

I'd just finished dinner and was about to take the dog downstairs for a walk when someone started pounding on my door.

I opened it to find Victoria standing there.

The moment she saw me, she jabbed a finger in my face and started screaming.

"You little tramp, are you trying to ruin my son on purpose?"

"Let me tell you, you hurt my son, and I'm not letting you off that easy! You're nothing but a vicious witch!"

I couldn't be bothered to trade words with her. I just dialed 911.

"Hello, I need to report a break-in. Someone's trying to force their way into my home."