That night, I pretty much just moved right into Leander's place, no shame at all.

I mean, I had to leave the Wrights' place. I was flat out of options!

Just a few days ago, I tried renting an apartment. But I got scammed by a freakin' shady landlord and ended up losing both my money and a place to stay!

Almost ended up sleeping on the street!

At least I've got a roof over my head now. That's one big headache gone!

Finally, I can breathe a little.

When I turned on my phone, the group chat was already on fire.

Absolute madness!

[Hillary actually moved out of Colton's place?!]

[LOL. You can't be serious!]

[Not just that—I heard she even blocked Colton!]

[Oh snap. Looks like Hillary's really serious this time!]

[Dude, stop! Hillary blocked the youngest Wright? Nah, I don't buy it.]

[For real, dude! Everyone knows how Hillary's been head-over-heels for Colton for like forever!]

[Hey, @Colton! WRU? Get in here and set the record straight, bro.]

Finally, Colton dropped a message in the group chat: [Don't mention her in here again. My fiancée wouldn't like it if she sees this.]

Oh well.

I snapped a quick pic of Leander's back while he's cooking and sent it to the chat.

I typed out in Colton's exact tone: [Not into him anymore. Don't want anyone getting jealous.]

As soon as I sent it, the group chat exploded all over again.

But I just turned off my phone and grabbed my iPad to keep looking for a job.

Didn't even need to check the chat to know those bastards were going nuts.

Love? Sure, that can come and go. But money? Without that, my life's really over.

Money matters more now!

In that group chat, his old buddies actually dared to keep mentioning me.

[Now it all makes sense why @Hillary moved out. She's got herself a new man, huh?]

[NGL, she's got a damn good eye. Just that back view alone can kill most guys out there!]

[Facts, bro!!!]

[Hold on, since when did she start seeing anyone else?]

[You think she just hired a dude for the day? Just to stir up some drama? LMAO!]

[Well, Colton's getting married soon. We'll see if she crashes the wedding. Now that's what I call entertainment.]

Colton: [Immature.]

[Come on, bro, tell us what you think!]

[Hey, Hillary's still got that pretty face. Back in college, lots of guys would've jumped at the chance, remember?]

[Yeah, if she hadn't been tailing Colton 24/7, TBH I'd have given it a shot! LOL!]

Colton: [You've got a bad eye then.]

For a moment, the group chat went silent.

[Alright, bro, I've got a question for you—what's it like seeing your #1 ex-admirer having lunch with some other dude?]

Colton: [Just cheap tricks.]

He glared at the screen of his phone—at that pic of me with "some random dude."

Anyone looking could probably see the fury in his eyes.

He closed the pic, clicked on an old contact, and hit dial.

"Hillary. Get your ass back to my place. Now."

Colton didn't wait for me to respond—just ended the call right after he said what he wanted.

How ridiculous.

Like I'd actually listen to him?!

I scoffed and just like that, I blocked him on Telegram too.

In Colton's end, my last seen status would say [Last seen a long time ago].

Every 15 minutes, I could imagine his expression getting darker.

When he tried calling again, he'd realize I blocked him again. I bet he'd be so angry he'd want to kill someone.

Hillary, you've got some nerve!

Ignoring my calls, blocking me on Telegram?!

And still hanging out with some random dude?

What a trash!

Fine. If you want to mess around like this, then don't even think about coming back to me begging!

I'd been looking for a job for almost two weeks now, and I wasn't getting anywhere.

Either they wanted people with experience, or they only hired recent grads.

After college, I spent all my time chasing after Colton and didn't get any work experience whatsoever.

Finally, I found one position, but it only paid $390 a month.

They wanted someone who could do graphics design, copywriting, and negotiations. Basically, they wanted a slave.

But when I thought about the fact that I was living in Leander's place rent-free, I just gritted my teeth and applied for the job.

Sure, the pay was lousy, but it would help me to get a place of my own.

I threw on a bit of makeup, hopped on my little green bike, and headed out.

I followed the GPS, twisting and turning down streets, until I finally stopped in front of this dingy, three-story office building.

Looking at that dark entrance, I got a bad feeling.

Was this place even legit?

"Here for the interview?"

A girl in her 20s came slowly down the stairs.

I looked at her a few times and nodded a little.

She looked suspiciously behind me before grabbing my arm.

"Come on up!"

Right then, my instincts started screaming.

I shoved her away and ran away.

She was stunned for a second but quickly yelled down the stairs, "Hurry up! Go get her!"

I ran like hell, not even caring where I was going.

I dialed 911 as I sprinted.

I'm just a small girl—there's no way I can outrun those big bastards!

And sure enough, they caught up to me.

Suddenly, I was surrounded.

Fuck, I was starting to panic!

"Stay back! I've already called the cops, so if you touch me, you're committing a crime!"

I tried to glare at them, hoping I sounded braver than I felt.

"Miss, I think you misund—"

The chubby guy hadn't even finished his sentence when someone came out of nowhere and kicked him to the ground.

The rest of them started to shout.

But when they saw how many men were coming at them, they backed down immediately.

"Hillary, are you okay?"

Leander came over, parting the crowd, and stood next to me protectively.

I shook my head, still in a daze.

I looked at him, confused.

"What are you doing here?"

"Business meeting. I saw the commotion and thought I'd help out—didn't realize it was you."

He said this while checking me over for any injuries. "What happened?"

He shot a cold look at the men who'd been chasing me.

The one who'd been beaten scrambled to explain, "T-This is all a misunderstanding!"

"Yeah, yeah, a total misunderstanding!"

"We didn't mean anything…"

Leander just gave a sarcastic laugh while rolling up his sleeves. And then, he strode and punched the guy again, mocking them. "Oh yeah? Is this a misunderstanding too?"

I gasped, totally startled.

And then, I quickly grabbed his arm. "Leander! The cops are almost here!"

As soon as they heard that, the whole group started scrambling, trying to get away.

But there was no way Leander was letting them off that easily.

Seeing the dark look on his face, his guys got the message right away.

They stepped up and held the whole group down.

Soon, the cops finally showed up and took our statements.

Turns out, it really was just a huge misunderstanding.

They thought I was reporting a scam influencer, and I thought they were human traffickers.

They tried to stop me from explaining, but I was clutching my phone, running like my life depended on it.

So that's how it turned into me running, with them chasing me.

"I'm just glad you're okay."

Leander pulled me into a big, tight hug.

It was like he was talking to me but also kind of to himself.

Passersby were starting to stare.

Blushing, I gently pushed Leander off and whispered, "We're right in front of the police station… try to keep it together."

"I don't care about my image. Hillary, you're way more important."

After what happened last time, I still get a little freaked out just thinking about it.

I decided I should just start my own business instead.

"Hillary, I know you're going to be a famous designer!"

Leander helped me set up an online shop called "Becoming a Butterfly."

The idea was about transforming into something beautiful.

The day my shop launched was also Colton's wedding day.

His wedding was the talk of the town.

I didn't have time to go, not like I wanted to, so I just had Colleen give a cash gift on my behalf.

I heard the ceremony was over the top.

But honestly, I didn't care.

My shop officially opened.

And it got its very first client—Leander.

"Can you design me a one-of-a-kind ring?"

I froze for a second when I heard his request.

There's this weird pang in my chest.

Was he… also getting married?

Noticing my reaction, Leander quickly explained, "Valentine's Day is coming up next month, and the company's planning a special event. I want a unique ring to be the highlight."

"Sure!"

I felt strangely happy and couldn't resist joking.

"Guess you're giving me free advertising, huh?"

"Yeah. Who knows? Maybe your shop will blow up overnight."

I thought he was just joking, but holy cow—after his company promoted the ring, my small shop actually became popular!

Orders came flooding in, one after the other.

Every day, all I did was eat, sleep, and hunch over my tablet, working on designs.

My savings started stacking up fast!

It was exhausting but kind of exhilarating.

When Colleen's birthday came around, I splurged on a loose diamond and used it in a custom necklace design for her.

I planned to have someone deliver it.

But she insisted I come to the party, so I put work on hold and went.

The venue was filled mostly with familiar faces.

When I spotted Colton and his wife, I made sure to avoid them and found a seat at another table.

"Hillary! Sit over here!" Colleen called, patting the empty seat beside her.

It looked like she'd saved the spot for me.

What choice did I have other than to go over?

"Happy birthday! Here's a gift for you."

I handed her the present I carefully prepared. Right after that, I was about to make up an excuse to leave but...

"Buying stuff with the Wrights's money—do you even call that a gift?"

A sarcastic voice said that.

The room quickly fell silent, the air thick with awkward tension.

I looked blankly at the person who said that. She was giving me a look of pure disdain, taunting me.

It was Colton's wife.

And right next to her, Colton sat with a look like he couldn't care less.