I nodded. “Okay.”

Jasper’s surprise was evident. He hadn’t expected me to be so quiet, so obedient, but then again, he believed that’s how I should be since I loved him. I never argued, never raised my voice. I was always quiet and well-behaved.

As if to reward me for my silence, Jasper pulled out a black card and tossed it to me. His voice softened just a little.

“Don’t take the red envelope thing to heart. I did wrong you today.”

I accepted the card and turned to walk to the guest room.

Behind me, Nora’s voice floated over, laced with dissatisfaction.

“Brother Jasper, do you think Hallie loves money more, or you?”

Jasper’s indifferent voice followed.

“She doesn’t love money.”

After seven years together, he did know me.

I didn’t love money.

But he didn’t know that I didn’t want to love him anymore either.

The next morning, as I came downstairs, Nora, wearing a white camisole, grabbed my hand and cheerfully pulled me toward the dining table.

A large patch of red, ambiguous marks covered her chest.

“Hallie, I’m so jealous of you. You get to eat Jasper’s cooking every day. I was abroad for seven years, and all I had were cold hamburgers every day.”

Jasper happened to walk out of the kitchen just then. At the sound of Nora’s words, the pain in his eyes was almost overwhelming.

He picked up the cereal from the table, gently blowing on it before feeding it to Nora spoon by spoon.

“If you like it, I’ll cook for you every day from now on.”

In the seven years I’d been with Jasper, I’d never once seen him enter a kitchen. There had been a time when I couldn’t get out of bed due to period cramps, and I’d begged him to boil some water for me. He’d coldly told me he never stepped into the kitchen.

Looking at the delicious, fragrant breakfast spread before me, I understood that Jasper only cooked for those he loved. I didn’t qualify.

Only then did he seem to notice my presence. He casually picked up a shrimp cake and dropped it into my bowl, but his eyes didn’t linger on me for even a second.

The sharp smell of shrimp twisted my stomach. I frowned slightly.

Nora suddenly gasped and sweetly scolded him.

“Brother Jasper, how could you forget? Hallie’s allergic to seafood. She can’t eat any of this.”

“Hallie, don’t be upset. I’ll give you my sandwich instead.”

The half-eaten sandwich, smeared with lipstick, was a sorry sight. The meat and egg had been hollowed out, leaving only two limp pieces of lettuce behind. The leftover sauce, mixed with a clear fluid, made my stomach churn.

Before I could say anything, Nora’s eyes already shimmered with unshed tears.

“Hallie, are you disgusted by me? I guess someone like me, from a poor background, could never be as noble as you. Of course, you’d think I’m dirty…”

Jasper’s face darkened immediately. He stood up, snatched the sandwich from Nora’s hands, and forcefully shoved it into my mouth.

The food lodged in my throat, and tears welled up from the discomfort.

Jasper’s cold voice echoed in the air above me.

“Swallow it.”

“Nora might come from a poor family, but I won’t stand for you insulting her. Don’t ever do this again.”

I pushed him away with all my strength and rushed to the bathroom, where I vomited until my body shook with cold sweat.

People from poor families weren’t just Nora.

I, too, had come from a rural village.

How could I ever look down on her?

But Jasper would never think about any of that.

All he saw were the tears sparkling in Nora’s eyes.

As I opened the bathroom door, a slap landed across my face, burning hot and sharp with pain.

I turned and found myself face-to-face with Nora’s delicate features, now twisted into something dark and malicious.

She towered over me, her eyes blazing with hostility.

“Hallie, you’re shameless. You’ve clung to Jasper for seven years and still won’t let go. It’s pathetic. Did you honestly think this would make him fall in love with you? What a joke. From the moment he first saw me, the only woman he’s ever loved is me. Nora.”

My body felt weak, and I didn’t want to engage with her. Clutching my stomach, I brushed past Nora.

“This must be your token of love, right?”

Suddenly, Nora yanked the red string bracelet off my wrist and tossed it into the toilet.

“No!”

I lunged forward to stop her, but it was already too late. The red string disappeared into the swirling water.

The moment it vanished, it felt like a knife had stabbed straight through my heart.

It was the last keepsake my mother had left me. I’d worn it since birth.

Tears blurred my vision as I glared at Nora. I couldn’t control myself, my hand rising to slap her.

But before I could, a man rushed in and shoved me hard to the ground.

“What are you doing?”

Jasper pulled Nora tightly into his arms, his voice seething with rage as he shouted at me.

“Hallie, who gave you the right to hurt Nora?”

I looked up at him, his icy eyes sending a chill down my spine, my voice trembling as I cried, “I didn’t even touch her! She destroyed my red string!”

It was the first time I had seen him this shaken; his heart seemed to tremble. He knew how much that red string meant to me as though it were family.

A flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes. Without thinking, he crouched down and reached out to stroke my head.

“Ah!” Nora screamed, clutching her arm as tears streamed down her face.

Jasper’s gaze snapped to her, and he froze, his eyes widening at the sight of blood dripping from Nora’s arm.

Normally composed, he was now in a panic, frantically trying to stop the bleeding.

“Brother Jasper, please don’t blame Hallie. It’s not her fault; it was just my clumsiness.”

Jasper’s eyes darkened, a wave of disappointment washing over his features. His voice, when it came, was cold and detached.

“Hallie, I didn’t expect this from you. You’ve shown your true colors. Starting today, you need to move out. You’ll only be allowed back when Nora forgives you.”

I watched as he walked away, Nora clutched in his arms, vanishing through the door.

Tears poured from my eyes like a burst spring. I had known for a long time that he didn’t love me. I had even prepared myself to leave, yet the sorrow still consumed me.

I wiped my eyes, forcing myself to move. I entered the master bedroom, packing my few belongings into a suitcase. There was hardly anything to pack, only a couple of outfits.

Jasper had always liked his rooms to be minimalist and bare. So, aside from the two outfits, I never dared to leave more behind.

But now, after just one night, the room was already cluttered with Nora’s trinkets.

Photos of her and Jasper filled the walls.

His carefree smile in those pictures cut through me like a knife.

In seven years, Jasper and I had never taken a single photo together.

Every time I tried, he would frown and complain about hating pictures.

So, my photo album was filled only with pictures of his back, and his phone never had a single image of me.

Just like his heart, there had never been a place for me in it.

Being by his side for seven years had been nothing more than a fleeting gift, a repayment for that one-night stand, the desperate plea I’d made for a relationship.

Now, it was time to let go.

I placed the black card on the nightstand, grabbed my suitcase, and walked out without a single glance back. I went to the small apartment I had bought for myself, the one I could call my own.

My phone buzzed, and Jasper’s message flashed on the screen.

[Nora has a kind heart. She forgives you. You don’t need to move out anymore, but from now on, stay away from her in the villa.]

[Make her some chicken soup and bring it to her.]

A bitter laugh escaped me as I turned off my phone and took a taxi to the office.

The moment I walked through the door, the hushed whispers of my coworkers greeted me.

“How about that? Didn’t I tell you President Camden and Hallie weren’t that kind of couple? I saw President Camden’s girlfriend at the hospital yesterday; he was feeding her soup, mouth to mouth.”

“President Camden even reserved an entire floor of the hospital for his girlfriend. You can’t even begin to describe how much he adores her.”

“But Hallie’s really pitiful. She chased after President Camden for so long. I heard she even gave up the chance to study abroad just to become his special assistant.”

My thoughts drifted back to what my professor had said to me years ago; his voice filled with disappointment.

“You’re my brightest student, but you gave up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity abroad for a man who doesn’t even love you. One day, you’ll regret this.”

Back then, I had stubbornly shaken my head, swearing I would never regret it.

But now, the weight of those words crashed down on me, and I realized just how foolish it had been to sacrifice my future for a man.

The gossip around the office buzzed relentlessly.

“They say that woman is President Camden’s childhood sweetheart. She’s been abroad for seven years, and he’s never stopped thinking about her. No wonder there hasn’t been a single woman around him all these years except Hallie.”

I had been with Jasper for seven years, but we had never made our relationship public.

He never once acknowledged my existence in front of others.

When I asked him why, he simply said it was to avoid trouble.

So, despite living together and working in the same company, we had never arrived or left work together.

To my coworkers, I was just the assistant clinging to the president, shamelessly lingering in his shadow.

I submitted my resignation to HR, but they awkwardly informed me that it required Jasper’s signature.

Reluctantly, I bought a container of chicken soup and made my way to the hospital with the file in hand.

Outside the hospital room, I could hear Josie Camden, his mother, shouting in a fury.

“She’s a drama queen who thrives on pity! Today, she dares to hurt Nora with a knife; tomorrow, she might just kill me with one! When Nora was abroad, I didn’t care if you messed around with her, but if you actually married a woman like that, I’d never agree! Break up with her right now, and set a wedding date with Nora as soon as possible!”

Through the glass, I could barely make out the expression in Jasper’s lowered eyes. Nora looked at him with expectation, but Jasper remained silent.

Josie’s anger grew fiercer. “What are you waiting for? Haven’t you been pining for Nora’s return all these years? Now that she’s finally back, why are you still holding on to that woman?”

“But I promised Hallie I’d marry her.”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut; how laughable.

So, Jasper actually remembered.

He turned to Nora, his gaze soft but laced with conflict, though his words were tender.

“Nora, give me just a little more time, okay? I’m afraid Hallie won’t be able to accept it right away. We can start planning our wedding; just wait a bit before we tell her.”

A flicker of malice flashed in Nora’s eyes, but she nodded with a submissive smile.

“Okay, I’ll do whatever Brother Jasper says.”

As footsteps echoed in the hallway, I turned silently and brushed past Josie.

Just as I was about to knock, Nora caught sight of me. Her eyes locked onto mine, and her lips curled into a faint, almost taunting smile.

She tilted her head back and pressed her lips to Jasper’s, her hands sliding up into his sleeves.

His body stiffened, but he didn’t push her away.

As his breath deepened, Nora suddenly gasped, feigning surprise.

“Sister Hallie, what brings you here?”

I stood motionless, unaffected by the scene unfolding before me. With a quiet push, I opened the door and placed the thermos on the table, my expression blank.

Jasper stood up quickly, a flash of discomfort crossing his face. He glanced at me casually, his voice cold and distant.

“What are you doing here?”

I handed him the folder, keeping my tone strictly professional.

“There’s a contract that needs your urgent signature.”

Jasper studied me, his gaze lingering as if trying to gauge whether I’d seen what had just transpired. But my face gave nothing away.

He couldn’t find a trace of emotion, and for a moment, he exhaled in relief. But then, even if I had seen it, what did it matter? After all, I loved him more than anything.

Yet, there was a flicker of disappointment in Jasper’s eyes, as if he’d hoped for a reaction from me.

His frustration grew, and with a quick motion, he snatched up the pen and signed the document without a second thought.

“You can go now.”

Just as I reached the door, I heard him call out after me.

“Hallie, I’ll be home tonight.”

I didn’t pause. What he didn’t know was I wouldn’t be going home.

I left the hospital and hailed a cab, heading straight for the airport.

Little did I know, the last thing Jasper ever said to me was just another lie.

His phone rang the moment he stepped out of the shower, ready to head back to the company to find me. He rehearsed in his mind how to explain why he hadn’t come home the night before.

On the other end of the line, his assistant spoke with quiet respect.

“President Camden, who should take over Hallie’s position now that she’s resigned?”

Jasper’s face darkened instantly as he stood before the mirror, shaking off a hand that had slipped around his chest.

“What did you say?”