Lawrence was delightfully surprised by the call.

"You've finally thought it through, Tessa! Don't worry. I know your difficulties. I'll apply for financial aid for you with the university. I'll help you figure out a way to pay for your boyfriend's treatment too. If there's a need, we'll just hold a donation campaign on campus—"

"It's fine, Mr. Werner."

Tessa rejected Lawrence's offer softly. "I can pay for my university fees. Let's leave the financial aid to someone who needs it more than I do. As for payment for his treatment… We don't need it any longer."

Lawrence did not think much of it. He was sincerely happy for her when he found out Tessa had the means to pay for her studies.

"That's good. You can focus on studying overseas now. There's still half a month before classes begin. Use the time to settle everything you need at home before you leave."

"Thanks, Mr. Werner."

Tessa did not say anything further. She hung up and hugged the bag in her arms even tighter.

She did not waste any time as she turned to leave the hospital. She put all the money in her bag into her bank account and used it to pay her university fees. She also bought plane tickets for half a month later. Only two thousand dollars was left.

Tessa pressed on her abdomen, which was still burning with pain. She looked at the remaining amount in her account and smiled miserably.

She was lucky.

She was lucky enough to find out the truth before she handed her hard-earned money over to Henry.

When she returned to the entrance of the ward, Henry was alone, lying on the bed.

Tessa bit her lip and decided to push down on the door's handle.

Henry hid the nonchalant look on his face, reverting to her considerate and wonderful boyfriend. "Why are you late today, Tessa?"

Tessa clenched her fingers and looked down. "I had something to settle in class."

Henry did not suspect a thing. He held Tessa's hand with a look of excitement in his eyes. "I have good news for you."

Tessa gave a pause but still asked the question, "What is it?"

"The doctor just told me that my cancer was a misdiagnosis. I'm fine!"

It was just as Tessa expected. She closed her eyes. She was reminded of the time his phone, which had been beside her, lit up with a message and she accidentally glimpsed at the content. How ironic it had been.

The name 'Serene' had popped up. She had sent a message to a group chat.

[Henry, tell that penniless woman that your cancer was a misdiagnosis. I'd like to see her reaction when she finds out she forked out every single penny she had for nothing. That'd be fun.]

Everyone else in the group supported the idea and even thought it was a great one. Some in the group even started to bet on whether Tessa would lose her temper at Henry.

The last message stopped at Henry's reply.

[Your wish is my command, my lady.]

Henry did everything Tessa asked of him, and this made her think that she had the best boyfriend in the world. Never did Tessa expect that it was all just an act built on the foundation of Serene's orders. Tessa was nothing but a toy to them.

Smiling, she replied to him sincerely, "It's great that you're fine."

Henry did not expect such a calm reaction from her. He hesitated momentarily before continuing to blame himself for everything. "I should've visited more than one hospital for a diagnosis. That way, you wouldn't have ended up using all your hard-earned money for nothing."

Tessa shook her head. "It's worth using the money on you."

She decided to treat that money as buying out the last two years she had with Henry.

Sixty thousand dollars for two years with the heir of Jennings Corporation… They had spent every day together. No matter how Tessa looked at it, it was considered a gain for a penniless student like her who had nothing.

Her reply was like a hammer that slammed down hard on Henry's heart.

As the heir to Jennings Corporation, Henry had always been surrounded by people who fawned over him and pretended to care for him. He had become immune to such situations.

However, Tessa was different. She had no idea who he really was. Every word from her came from the bottom of her heart. She was even willing to use up the savings she had squirreled away for four years on him.

Even when the money had been spent for nothing, she did not say a bad word to him.

Henry was overcome with mixed emotions. He pulled Tessa into his arms. "Thanks, Tessa."

She lowered her eyes to hide the irony in them.

…

When they returned to their rented apartment in the suburbs, Henry sighed as he lay down on their three-foot-long bed. "Our bed is the best."

Tessa spoke up softly. "It's been hard on you."

Henry was a rich heir who was supposed to live in a villa and sleep on a six-foot-long bed, but he gave up those luxuries to squeeze on a small bed with Tessa for two years.

There was no need to dwell on it. Soon, both Tessa and Henry would gain freedom.

Henry thought Tessa was just feeling sad about him having to be hospitalized. He got up and hugged her around the waist, burying his head in her neck. "It's my greatest fortune to have met you, Tessa."

Tessa didn't wear perfume. She smelled like the fresh scent of her shampoo. Henry loved the smell of her, and his breathing got increasingly heavier. His hand tightened around her waist.

Tessa's wound from the surgery in the morning was still fresh. Her face turned pale, and she took a sharp breath when his hand suddenly tightened around her waist.

Henry quickly released her, looking at her anxiously.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so pale?"

Tessa forced a smile. "It's nothing. It's just that time of the month. My tummy doesn't feel that well."

He placed his warm palm on her lower abdomen while pulling her into his arms with his other hand.

"I'll help you warm up."

She did not push him away. She closed her eyes. That slight warmth could no longer warm up her heart, which had been chilled to its max.

Meeting Henry was her greatest misfortune.

…

Tessa woke up early the next day.

The rustling noises she made woke Henry up from his sleep. He opened his eyes in a daze and saw Tessa packing all her clothes in the wardrobe into a suitcase. He jerked awake instantly. There was panic deep in his eyes.

"Why are you packing your clothes? Are you going somewhere?"

"I'm going back to the orphanage to see the director. I'm donating my old clothes to them." Tessa continued packing without looking up.

Henry would probably leave behind all her cheap clothing after she left in half a month. After all, he was a rich heir whose one pair of shoes was probably more expensive than everything put together in their rented house. It was better to donate her things to the orphanage than throw them out.

Henry quietly sighed with relief. He knew that Tessa had always been grateful to the orphanage and would bring stuff over every month.

"I'll accompany you there."

Ever since they got together, Henry would often visit the orphanage with Tessa.

However, she wasn't planning on going there with him today. This was the last time she would see the director and the children before she left the country. She wanted to have a proper goodbye with them.

Before she could reject him, Henry's phone suddenly rang. He looked at the name that popped up on the screen and quickly clenched it in his hand. He was a little nervous when he spoke. "My boss wants to talk to me. I'll pick up the call first."

He quickly got out of bed and went into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him.

This house was only about 110 square feet. It did not have a great soundproofing system. Tessa could hear the sickly-sweet voice of a woman from the other end of the call. "Come shopping with me, Henry. I feel down today. You have to accompany me."

Henry agreed without hesitation. He had the familiar apologetic look on his face when he walked out of the bathroom. "I'm so sorry, Tessa. I was away from work too long when I got hospitalized, and my boss wants me to start working today. I can't go to the orphanage with you."

Tessa did not expose his lie and nodded calmly. "Alright. You should go do your thing."

Henry quickly changed his clothes and left the house.

She watched him leave and was reminded of how he would always leave hurriedly in the past two years, especially late at night or when they were finally on a date. He would always use his boss needing him to work as an excuse.

She had once worried over him for working too hard and even tried to talk him into changing jobs.

He would always respond by hugging her from behind and leaning his chin on the top of her head. His tone would be filled with helplessness. "I'm not afraid of hard work. I'm just worried I won't have enough money to marry you. I don't want you to live a poor life with me."

Henry's loving words had touched her so much. After that, she took up chores at the university, in addition to her three part-time jobs, just to earn as much as possible—even if the amount was not that much.

Henry was working hard for their future, so she could not let him down.

Now that Tessa thought about it, she realized how stupid she was.

The last time she visited the orphanage, she promised to bring the children snacks. After packing up all her clothes, she headed to the supermarket.

She did not have much left in her account, but it was enough to bring smiles to the children's faces.

Tessa bought two huge bags of snacks. She carried them with great difficulty toward the subway.

When she walked past a cosmetics store, she heard a familiar voice. "Just buy everything. It's so much trouble to try them one by one."

Tessa looked in the direction of the voice. Henry was smiling fondly as his eyes focused on the woman in front of him.

Despite saying it was a lot of trouble, he obediently reached his arm out for the woman to try swatch lipstick colors on it.

Even though Tessa's memory from two years ago was a blur, it was not difficult to guess that this woman, who looked exquisite from head to toe, was Serene. It seemed like every time he used his boss as an excuse, he was really accompanying Serene.

Serene pouted while saying unhappily, "You're always with that working-class woman. Are you so reluctant to come shopping with me instead?"

Henry rubbed her head. There was adoration in his eyes. "Why would you think that? Aren't I doing this to get back at her for you? I'll get all of these for you. I'll continue shopping for clothes with you. I promise I'll be with you the entire day."

He waved his hand for the staff to pack up a full set of lipsticks.

The staff clearly knew them. She packed up their items expertly and took Henry's black card for payment. "That will be a hundred thousand dollars, Mr. Jennings. Thank you, and please come again."

A hundred thousand dollars.

Tessa nearly fell when she heard the amount.

In their past two years together, Tessa only had gotten some cheap gifts from Henry. The most expensive one was a silver bracelet that was about 15 dollars.

Tessa could not bear to wear it when she got the bracelet. She even kept it carefully inside a box.

However, she was now watching Henry cheer Serene up with a hundred thousand dollars, and it seemed to be something he did regularly.

This was the real Henry. He was someone who paid for things without looking at the price.

Tessa could no longer watch the rich couple being lovey-dovey, and she turned to leave. That was when her bags broke and all of her snacks fell everywhere on the ground.

The loud crash caught Henry's attention. When they met each other's eyes, Tessa could see Henry's eyes widen. There was panic in his eyes. He was at a loss for what to do.

"Tessa, didn't… Didn't you go to the orphanage?"

She pointed at the snacks on the ground. "I came here to buy something for the children."

Henry wanted to hide the shopping bags, but it was pointless. His hands were filled with them. "I… I'm here to accompany my boss' daughter to do some shopping. He has work today, so he got me to come shopping with her. I didn't buy any of these."

The more he explained, the more guilty he felt. His last words were the most unconvincing.

Tessa looked at the glaring brand logos on the shopping bags. Even though she did not recognize any of them, it was not difficult to guess how expensive they were when a mere set of lipsticks was worth a hundred thousand dollars.

"I didn't realize your boss was so rich."

Henry did not reply for fear of saying something wrong. He put the shopping bags down to help Tessa pick up all the snacks.

Serene smiled as she walked over. She placed her long, slender, and fair fingers on Henry's shoulder to stop him.

"Tessa, he shouldn't help you even if he's your boyfriend. He still needs to shop with me. That's his job today."

That was when Henry paused in his steps and looked hesitantly at Tessa. "My boss gave me the orders, Tessa. I…"

"I understand. I'll handle this on my own. You should continue shopping." Tessa stopped him from saying more.

What did she do to deserve an heir and heiress putting on a show for her? All she wanted was for them to leave.

Tessa crouched to the ground and started picking up the snacks.

Henry's fingers twitched, but Serene dragged him off in the end.

…

Every child in the orphanage was happy to see the snacks. They chattered while surrounding Tessa. She looked at the pure smiles on their faces and finally felt a tinge of warmth in her heart.

The director was curious to see her alone. "Where's Henry? Why isn't he here with you?"

Tessa pursed her lips. She had no idea what to answer.

The director thought they had gotten into an argument when she saw Tessa's reaction. She patted Tessa's shoulder and tried to advise her. "I watched you grow up, Tessa. I know you've always wanted a family of your own.

"Henry works three jobs a day just to save enough money to marry you. He stands up for you in the face of danger and always has fun with the children whenever he drops by the orphanage. You can tell from all of these that he's a good man. He's worth living your life with.

"Don't make any rash decisions out of anger. You should sit down with him and talk things through if there are any problems between you."

Tessa was filled with bitterness. She did not tell the director about Henry's cancer misdiagnosis. The director had no idea that Tessa even sold a kidney to 'save' him, only to find out everything was a lie.

The couple had spent every night and day together for two years. Tessa knew very well how good Henry was to her. However, she had given him her heart too. That was why her heart was filled with so much pain when she found out the truth. It shattered her.

When Tessa got home, Henry had prepared a table full of food for her.

"It was my job to accompany my boss' daughter as she shopped today, Tessa. I had no choice but to leave you there alone. I promise never to leave you behind like that again once I earn enough money."

He sounded apologetic and reproachful of himself.

Tessa had heard many similar lies from him. She no longer felt anything. All she did was grunt a reply and sat down to eat.

It could be because of their awkward encounter earlier, but they had their meal in silence.

Henry put down the cutlery and took out a box, handing it to her.

"It must've been hard on you to take care of me at the hospital, Tessa. My boss' daughter was in a good mood today, and she gave me a tip. I bought this present specially for you. Open it up and have a look."

Tessa took the box from Henry as he looked expectantly at her. She opened the box and saw that it was lipstick. The logo on the box looked exactly like the one on the set of lipsticks he bought for Serene earlier that day.

However…

Tessa felt the sticky bottom of the box and smiled sarcastically. The label must have been freshly peeled off. She did not have much knowledge of high-end brands, but she knew that only complimentary gifts would have labels stuck on them.

Henry had given her a free gift but bought Serene a set of lipsticks worth a hundred thousand dollars.

Tessa was probably just an orphan to Henry, and that was why she only deserved free gifts like this.

Henry was surprised by the lack of emotions on Tessa's face. She used to treat his gifts like treasures, but she did not react to his gift today.

"What's wrong? You don't like the shade? I don't understand cosmetics, so I got the staff to pick the shade for me."

Tessa put the box aside and shook her head. "There's no need to spend anything on me."

They were about to break up, after all. She did not want to be financially entangled with him in any way.

Henry sighed with relief. 'It seemed like she didn't want me to waste money like this.' He thought.

A familiar, adoring smile appeared on his face. "It's only right for me to spend money on my girlfriend. Besides, you spent your life savings on me. I should be spending on you too."

Tessa pursed her lips slightly but said nothing. She was exhausted from all the traveling today. She took a bath and went to bed early.

She was still sleeping the next morning when she was woken up by a call. She was still in a daze when Lawrence's anxious voice was heard on the other end of the call.

"Someone reported that your graduation thesis utilized fake data. The university wants to investigate your work."