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.