"Be more careful next time," Steven simply said before turning his attention back to his phone.

I knew exactly what he was doing.

Aside from live-streaming, Steven's account had thousands of videos uploaded.

There were clips of me being forced to scrub the floor after getting doused in beer by customers. There were also clips of me gathering my belongings, which were thrown into the trash can when I couldn't make rent, in humiliation.

All of it had become Steven's content without exception.

Looking at his back, I finally worked up the courage to speak. "I don't want to sell beer anymore…"

Steven paused, then turned around to coax me. "Don't fuss over something so trivial, Mel. Besides, aren't you already used to this kind of thing?"

His words felt like cold water down my back.

Of course, getting groped by drunk men while working at a dive bar was nothing unusual. Steven would just brush it off and tell me to put up with it every time I told him about it.

It turned out that my fear and humiliation had been nothing more than content for him.

The bulb above us flickered a few times before it went out, plunging the basement into complete darkness.

Steven cursed under his breath before grabbing his jacket without looking back. "I'm going to work overtime in the office."

The door slammed shut.

I habitually pulled out a flashlight, reached under the bed, and took out a cookie tin. At the very bottom lay an acceptance letter from Karnell University.

It wrote, "Dear Ms. Reid, we would like to inform you that this position will remain available to you for a period of three years. We truly hope you will reconsider your decision."

Three years of poverty flashed before my eyes.

I took a deep breath and typed out an email to the listed address. "I've made my decision, Professor Donovan."

…

Late at night, while lying on the damp floor, I tapped into Steven's live stream without even realizing it. On the screen, he was lazily lounging on a designer couch, with a glass of red wine in his hand.

"Guys, I made it out!" Steven laughed into the camera. "That basement is unlivable. Mold on the walls, a leaking toilet, and cockroaches all over the floor… But that's the only way to prove she really loves me."

My body started trembling uncontrollably as I watched the smug curve of his mouth.

The live stream comments flew by.

"Mad respect, Mr. Delaney! Bet your broke girlfriend's crying by candlelight right now."

"The show's getting boring lately, Mr. Delaney. Isn't it time to spice things up and mess with her again?"

A familiar sneer tugged at Steven's lips as he swirled his wine. "Sure. Honestly, I'm getting a little bored, too."

"Get her to sell her blood!"

"Pretend you're terminally ill and see if she'll donate an organ!"

"Didn't she save up a million dollars for your startup fund? Hire someone to rob her."

My heart plummeted, my fingers involuntarily clenching tight at the blanket.

For the past three years, I had lived on as little as possible, saving every dollar I earned and putting it into the bank as Steven's startup fund.

He knew exactly how hard I'd earned that money.

They came from the tears I swallowed when customers harassed me at the dive bar. They were gathered from my cracked, bleeding skin from washing piled-up beer glasses in the dead of winter. They were also scavenged from the meals I skipped daily, eating only once just to save a little more.

"That's a great idea!" Steven suddenly shot up straight, eyes lit up. "I'll gather a few guys together to put on a show tomorrow!"

Tears spilled onto my phone uncontrollably the moment the screen went dark.

I recalled how I'd taken three jobs at once last winter, just to make more money.

One night, as I got off work at 3:00 am, I slipped on an icy road and ended up smashing my knee open. But that was also the day my bank balance finally crossed six figures.

Suppressing my tears, I forced a smile, took a photo, and sent it to Steven.

He'd praised me for doing a good job, then turned around and posted a screenshot of my stupid grin in the group chat.

Steven wrote, "A hundred thousand dollars is nothing. The necklace I bought Selena today cost ten times that."

…

The next morning, the door was kicked open just as I finished getting ready for work.

A man with a slash scar across his face dragged Steven in, throwing him at my feet. "I heard you're the one willing to pay off the Delaneys' debts. Perfect. He still owes me 100 thousand dollars. Hurry and pay up now!"

Steven's face was badly bruised. He collapsed to the floor and started playing his part. "Please, give me a few more days!"

"A few more days, my foot!" Scarface swung his baton and smashed the breakfast I just made. "If you can't pay up, I'll take one of your legs instead!"

Trembling, Steven turned his helpless gaze toward me.

It was just like three years ago.

I started shaking. Not out of fear, but because of how shocked I was at the show Steven had put on.

He'd really put in the work when it came to lying to me.

Just as Scarface and his crew were about to start trashing the apartment, I suddenly pulled out a bank card. "There's 100 thousand dollars on this. Is that enough?"

Steven froze, even forgetting to keep up his act. "Have you gone mad, Mel? This is the startup fund you saved for me. You can't give it to them!"

He lunged at me, grabbing my wrist like he'd lost his mind.

However, I tossed the card onto the floor, near Scarface's feet. I even added on, "The PIN is 888888."

The room fell completely silent.

Steven's expression went rigid. He stared at me in disbelief, completely forgetting to keep up his act by now. "So, you're just giving it away like that? Have you lost your mind, Melanie? You're just handing money away when someone asks you for it?

"That's the money you worked your ass off for! Why didn't you just go on your knees and beg them? It'd be done with as long as you humble yourself and beg for forgiveness!"

Steven grabbed my head and slammed it down toward the floor.

Digging my fingers into my palms, I suppressed my tears and said, "I'm calling the police if you don't leave right now."

The thugs exchanged glances. Eventually, Scarface picked up the bank card and walked out.

The moment the door slammed shut, Steven kicked over a chair in rage. "Are you stupid? That's 100 thousand dollars! You should've begged them not to take it at the very least!"

I slowly looked up and reached out to touch the bruise on his face, but he jerked away sharply.

"Money will never matter more than you to me," I replied.

It was as if something had caught in Steven's throat. He froze, then turned and stormed out without another word.

I let out a bitter laugh as I watched his retreating back. I knew that his live stream comments had to be blowing up right now.

The whole performance was staged just so they could watch me humiliate myself, begging on the ground just to hold onto the startup fund even if it meant losing my dignity.

But now, I have ruined their show.

I opened the live stream. Sure enough, Steven was complaining.

"This woman must have gone mad today. She actually handed the money over just like that! But this also proves she really loves me, or she wouldn't have given the money so easily. Don't worry, guys. I've still got ways to test her," he said.

Steven ended the live stream.

I didn't know what he meant, but it was time to end this farce. I returned to the basement and started packing.

My belongings weren't much, with only two sets of clothes, my acceptance letter, and the only family portrait I'd always kept with me. That was the only thing my parents left behind after the car accident.

The door was pushed open just as I finished packing up.

Seven or eight well-dressed men and women followed Steven in, holding cakes and gift boxes in their hands. The looks they gave me were openly mocking.

"Happy birthday, Mel! I even brought a few colleagues over to celebrate with you," Steven said.

A woman dressed in a Chanel dress covered her mouth, her eyes flicking over my unwashed hair and the pilled sweater I was wearing. "So you're Steven's girlfriend? You're… really something."

The others stifled their laughter, but my eyes remained fixed on the woman.

I knew who she was.

Selena Smith was the Delaney family's intended match for Steven's marriage. She was also the same woman he'd been holding in his arms in the live stream.

I caught a whiff of her expensive perfume. It clashed violently with the beer smell clinging to me and with the damp, moldy odor that came from living in the basement for too long.

They wandered around the basement as if they were touring the zoo, snapping photos of the moldy walls and leaking ceiling.

"Why is this mattress so hard? You're really cruel to yourself, Steven," someone commented.

Out of my line of sight, Steven slipped an arm around Selena's waist. "She doesn't mind it hard. She clings to me every night."

The room erupted in hoots and teasing. They started egging him on to spill more details.

But this wasn't their luxury home but a dilapidated basement. Every word carried clearly into my ears even with a wall between us.

Humiliated, I fled and locked myself in the bathroom.

Even so, their mocking laughs kept drifting in nonstop.

"When was the last time she washed her hair? She smells like barbecue."

"You really put in the work, Mr. Delaney. You'd even kiss a woman like that just to live-stream it for all of us!"

"I'll bet 100 thousand dollars that everything she owns, including her underwear, doesn't add up to 50 dollars!"

They were getting out of hand. Finally, Steven spoke up to stop them, yet the smugness in his tone was unmistakable. "Enough. She gave up Karnell for me, you know."

I slowly lifted my head and looked at myself in the mirror. My dark circles were heavy under my eyes, and my hair looked greasy from years of working at a dive bar.

Was this really the same person who'd once been a top student standing on stage?

"What are you hiding in the bathroom for, Melanie?" The door flew open, and Steven dragged me back out roughly.

"Everyone came out of their way to celebrate your birthday. Is this how you treat guests?" He shoved a cake knife into my hands.

Selena was lighting the candles. She then tilted her head and glanced at me. "I heard you haven't celebrated your birthday in three years. That's so sad."

Ignoring the mockery in her eyes, I bent down to cut the cake.

However, Selena suddenly bumped into me from the side, causing me to stumble forward and crash into the cake. Frosting smeared all over my face.

Surprised gasps erupted around us.

Selena spoke in an aggrieved tone, "We even took time off work to celebrate your girlfriend's birthday, Steven. And this is how she's repaying our kindness?"

Steven's expression darkened as he yanked me upright. The frosting was dripping messily onto the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Melanie? Do you know how expensive this cake is? Even if you sold beer for a whole month, you still couldn't afford it!"

Glancing at the identical disgust on their faces, I suddenly laughed.

It turned out that this was just another of Steven's tests.

He shook my hand off and left with the group.

I wiped the frosting off my face and opened the live stream, just in time to see Steven slide a diamond ring onto Selena's finger.

It was a ring worth 270 thousand dollars. The diamond caught the light and made my eyes ache.

I looked down, finding myself disheveled and unkempt.

Suddenly, I recalled how Steven had knelt in this same basement three years ago. He was holding up a can tab as a ring. "When I make it big again, I'll buy you the biggest diamond there is."

Now, he had bought one, but it wasn't for me.

…

Steven came back very late that night.

Before I could say a word, he wrapped his arms around me. "I've got good news, Mel. I found investors for my accounts. We'll be out of this dump soon!"

I froze, then slowly forced a smile. "That's great."

Late that night, I woke up choking on thick smoke. The basement was almost swallowed by flames by the time I opened my eyes.

I instinctively looked for Steven, only to hear his weak cries. "The cabinet fell on me, Mel…"

I stumbled toward his voice and saw half of his body pinned beneath a toppled cabinet.

The fire was spreading fast. I tried my hardest to pull him out, and we finally crawled out through a ventilation opening.

Once out of danger, I picked up my phone. Sure enough, Steven went live on his account.

"Damn, Mr. Delaney really outdid himself this time! That woman still has no idea the whole building belongs to the Delaneys. An 'accidental' fire, and she's the one stuck with the damages!"

"The part where he was pinned under the cabinet was truly marvelous!"

"The fire almost got out of hand. Good thing the beer lady risked her life to save Mr. Delaney. Shouldn't you give her a chance?"

Just then, I heard the commotion behind me.

Steven suddenly went down on one knee and pulled out a diamond ring. His gaze was filled with gratitude as he looked at me. "Thank you for staying by my side for the past three years, Mel. Will you marry me?"

Amid the loud cheers to marry him, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

Steven's head snapped to the side, the look of devotion still frozen on his face.

"Did I pass your test, Mr. Delaney?" I asked.