How Can Love Be Compromised

That morning, while shopping with my best friend, we unexpectedly ran into Harvey Collins, cool and ever-composed, at the Chanel counter. 

He was buying the haute couture dress I had painstakingly ordered weeks ago. 

By evening, that same dress made its debut on Harvey's female secretary. 

I chose not to make a scene, merely smiling with a playful air. 

After all, I could single handedly buy out every Chanel store in the city if I wished. I had no need for him to buy me anything, not even once.

That night, my best friend, ever loyal, drafted a divorce agreement for me. 

I had wealth, beauty and charm, the last thing I needed was a man. 

***

At the company’s annual gala, I held a glass of red wine, laughing effortlessly as I mingled with the CEOs of the group's branches, radiating confidence and elegance. 

As the music started, the dance floor gradually became lively.

Harvey arrived late with his female secretary.

I saw with my own eyes that he was helping Stephanie Dalton adjust the position of her beautiful breasts at the door.

The corners of his lips curled up slightly, his eyes were full of doting and he was very satisfied with his work.

Harvey had always had a unique vision. After his adjustments, the refinement of Stephanie's face was instantly raised to a higher level.

It barely matched her couture Chanel outfit.

At that moment, all my fantasies were shattered.

When I saw Harvey walking out of the counter in the morning, I thought he was picking up the dress for me and my heart was filled with happiness.

I even had my makeup artist do a look to match the dress.

Until the last moment before the annual meeting started, he did not send the dress home.

I called him specifically and asked him in a tentative tone if he had anything to give me.

He said a few perfunctorily that he was busy with work, but I still caught a sweet female voice in his words.

“Mr. Collins, will Mrs. Collins be unhappy if she finds out?”

“Don't worry about that Stephanie.”

I suddenly realized that my man was no longer so pure.

Stephanie tilted her face up and smiled sweetly at me. Her sweet dimples looked particularly familiar.

“Hello, Mrs. Collins. You look so beautiful tonight.”

In response to her compliment, my eyes turned a little colder and I looked her up and down with a scrutinizing gaze.

“Your dress is nice. It's the same style as the one I ordered.”

As a college student who had just graduated in less than a year, she could not afford high-end clothing worth nearly 30,000 dollars.

So, Stephanie felt very uncomfortable when I looked at her. She pursed her lips, twisted her hands nervously and kept looking at Harvey.

Harvey met my gaze, his face as calm as usual.

“Claudine, don't get me wrong. Stephanie said she has never attended such a grand annual meeting, nor has she ever worn a high-end dress. Since she works hard and is ambitious, I bought her a set.”

I raised my eyebrows and nodded, then winked at the assistant beside me.

The next second, a row of thirteen Chanel salesmen dressed in well-tailored work clothes appeared.

They walked into the hall holding a dress of the same style and came in front of Harvey.

Harvey looked at me puzzledly.

I folded my arms, leaned against a carved pillar beside me and a playful smile appeared on the corner of my mouth,

“Pay the bill, please. All thirteen CEOs present here have their own secretaries and they are all very hardworking and motivated. CEO Collins won't be partial to one and only favor his own secretary, right?”

Stephanie knew that I was trying to embarrass her in front of others and the color drained away from her face in an instant, even her voice sounded like crying.

"Mrs. Collins, please don't make things difficult for Miss Collins. It's all my fault. I'll return the clothes right away."  

Her words dripped with an air of self-righteousness, painting me as the unreasonable villain tearing apart a pair of star-crossed lovers.