Sasha Barlow receives a call from Aidan Gallagher when she leaves the hospital after getting an abortion.

He says, "Get ready. Mr. Conley is coming tonight, so bring five bottles of whiskey and three bottles of red wine."

Sasha subconsciously clenches her hand around her phone. "Can I skip tonight?"

Aidan pauses. "I know you're angry about yesterday, Sasha. Natalie hit you yesterday, but I reprimanded you instead of helping.

"You need to remember that she's my girlfriend, though. She comes from a good family, and her parents have always treated her like a princess. She's bound to be a little willful and spoiled. You're older than her, so cut her some slack."

Sasha Barlow had just finished her abortion surgery when she received a call from Aidan Gallagher.

"Get ready. Mr. Conley is coming tonight. Make sure to bring five bottles of whiskey and three bottles of red wine. Also, reach out to Mina and have her arrange for some pretty girls to be there."

Sasha tightened her grip on the phone instinctively. "If I arrange everything for you, can I not be there tonight?"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. "Sasha, I know you're angry because I didn't help you out and instead scolded you when Natalie hit you yesterday.

"But you have to understand. Natalie is my girlfriend. She comes from a wealthy family and has been spoiled since she was young, so she's a bit indulged. You're older, so just put up with her a bit."

With that, Aidan hastily hung up.

As Sasha listened to the beeping sound on the other end, a bitter smile formed at the corner of her mouth.

Just then, her ride arrived. Sasha ignored the faint pain as she quickly covered her belly and got into the car.

As soon as she sat down, the driver couldn't help but glance at her a few times.

Sasha understood that gaze. She had always been stunning, often wearing dresses with deep V-necks and high slits.

In the past, whenever she entered a room full of men, flirtatious glances would naturally fall on her.

She used to see it as a tool for her job.

As long as it helped Aidan land a deal, she was willing to flirt a little.

But that all changed when she overheard a conversation between Aidan and his friends.

"When am I ever going to marry Sasha? She's just an expensive PR girl I hired. You don't seriously think we're in a relationship, do you?

"I may not be a big shot, but I have standards. A girl like Sasha, from a nightclub PR background, is fine to play around with, but I could never have real feelings for her. The woman I marry will be someone innocent, with a simple background."

That was when Sasha finally realized.

She had believed she and Aidan were in this together, sharing both the struggles and the successes.

But in Aidan's eyes, she was merely a tool to secure deals.

When Sasha got home, she didn't have time to wallow in her feelings. She quickly grabbed a black velvet hat from her closet and put it on.

Over the past few years, she had worked herself into health problems for Aidan, including gastric bleeding, fatty liver, and even mild anemia.

She wasn't about to catch postpartum sickness because of him.

But the next second, she received a message.

"Sasha, you were late eight times last month. According to company policy, your salary will be halved this month."

Sasha, who was initially numb, felt a surge of anger.

Her fixed salary was meant to be a show for her colleagues. She barely cared about it. What really mattered was the bonus Aidan sent her privately.

But Natalie Harrison's message was insulting.

Sasha took several deep breaths to calm the anger rising in her heart.

Before she could fully collect herself, another message from Natalie popped up.

"Why aren't you replying, Sasha? Don't forget. I'm not only the company's CFO, but I'm also Aidan's girlfriend, which means that I'm basically the boss.

"Don't think I don't know about the extra money Aidan gives you on the side. A woman like you, who's just going to stay in PR forever, doesn't deserve that kind of allowance."

Sasha sneered at Natalie's condescending tone.

This was the innocent woman with a good family Aidan had in mind.

Sasha was so fed up with Natalie that she decided to simply turn off her phone. She had never done that due to the nature of her work.

When Sasha woke up again, the night had already settled in.

The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Aidan standing at the foot of her bed.

She jumped in shock. "What are you doing? You scared the life out of me."

With a loud snap, the lights in the room suddenly blazed on.

"Why didn't you answer your phone? I told you. Mr. Conley is coming tonight."

As Aidan spoke, he angrily yanked his tie off and kicked the foot of the bed.

Seeing the fury on his face, Sasha cautiously asked, "Did something go wrong tonight? That can't be. I arranged everything with Heidi. She's more than capable. There's no way anything went wrong."

She sat up quickly, reaching for her phone.

In the moment she was searching for it, Aidan's expression darkened even further.

"Did something go wrong? You have the nerve to ask me that? Do you have any idea that because of your tantrum and your refusal to show up, I've offended Mr. Conley tonight? He canceled the 20-million-dollar deal."

Sasha, who had found her phone, froze at his words.

In a panic, she dialed her assistant, Heidi Moore's number and rushed out of the room.

The moment the call connected, Heidi's angry voice exploded from the other end.

"OMG! Finally! You have no idea what a disaster tonight was. Mr. Gallagher tried to reach you all night. When he couldn't get through, Natalie insisted he take her to Mr. Conley's party.

"Fine, she can go, but she's such an idiot. Mr. Conley tries to toast her, and she refuses to drink. Then, when he talks to her, she just shuts up and doesn't say a word.

"Okay, she doesn't want to socialize. That's fine. But when Mr. Conley went to toast Mr. Gallagher, she grabbed his drink and took it away.

"And then, she had the nerve to say to Mr. Conley, 'Can you stop pressuring my boyfriend to drink? I hate filthy men like you who corrupt my boyfriend!'"

After a sigh, Heidi continued, "Mr. Conley's face darkened, but since Natalie's young, he let it slide. Finally, when the party ended, Natalie heard Mr. Conley mention going to the club, and she flipped out. She called him a shameless man and told him to get lost, saying he was ruining her boyfriend.

"Mr. Conley got furious and stood up like he was about to slap her. Mr. Gallagher didn't even try to calm him down. Instead, he jumped in and started fighting with him. Now, Mr. Conley's in the hospital, and our 20 million deal is completely dead."

Heidi's furious voice made Sasha's anger flare up.

The Brian Conley deal was one she and her team had worked hard on for six months. If they had closed it, their team would have earned millions in bonuses.

To have it all fall apart at the last moment was infuriating.

But before Sasha could catch her breath, Aidan's angry voice echoed from behind her.

"Now you finally know what happened. I'm giving you two days, Sasha. I don't care if you have to beg or spend a few days with Mr. Conley, but you're going to fix this deal."

Already upset, Sasha grew even more furious at his words.

"You ruined the deal with your 'heroic rescue,' so why should I clean up your mess?"

Aidan froze for a second.

"Why? Because I'm your boss, Sasha. Don't forget. If it weren't for me promoting you and bringing you into my company, you'd still be out there working in a club and flirting for tips."

Sasha's lips twisted into a bitter smile.

Aidan seemed to realize he'd gone too far with his words.

"Sorry, I-I didn't mean it like that. Just forget what I said. I'm just panicking because we lost Mr. Conley's deal. You know how serious this is. I've already placed the orders with the factory. If Mr. Conley pulls out now, the whole company is screwed."

Aidan walked over and grabbed Sasha's hand.

"Sasha, I know you have connections. You need to figure something out. Whatever you do, you need to handle that shipment first."

Looking at Aidan's pleading face, Sasha finally agreed. However, it was not because of Aidan but because of the employees under her.

Even though she was planning to leave Aidan, the company, and the city in three days, she didn't want to leave them with a ticking time bomb.

Seeing Sasha agree, Aidan immediately rushed over to hug her tightly.

Feeling the warmth of his body through their clothes, Sasha shuddered slightly.

In the past, whenever Aidan landed a big deal, he'd come running to hug her excitedly, just like now.

"You're my lucky star, Sasha.

"How did I get so lucky to find someone like you, Sasha?

"You're never leaving me, Sasha, never."

Thinking back to those happy moments, Sasha instinctively wanted to hug him back. But before her hands could reach his back, Aidan's phone rang.

When he saw the word "babe" on the screen, he immediately pushed her away, as if he'd been struck by lightning.

Sasha, caught off guard, was pushed to the ground. Her back slammed hard against the floor. The sharp pain made her break out in cold sweat.

But Aidan didn't seem to notice the agony on her face. He hurriedly motioned for her to be quiet.

When the phone finally connected, Natalie's crying voice came through.

"I'm so sorry, Aidan. It's my fault. I lost control and messed up the deal with Mr. Conley. You know I'm not like Sasha. I have self-respect. I just can't bring myself to drink with men.

"Besides, you're my boyfriend, Aidan. When I heard you were going to that kind of place, I just got jealous."

Aidan didn't even glance at Sasha as he rushed to comfort Natalie.

"Don't say that, babe. This is not your fault. If anyone's to blame, it's Sasha. If she hadn't stood me up, you wouldn't have been stuck at the party with me. You're pure-hearted, and you're not used to this business stuff. It's normal for things to go wrong sometimes."

Listening to their affectionate words, Sasha stayed silent. She bit back the pain in her back as she struggled to get up from the floor. With a limp, she made her way back to her room.

But when she lay down under the blankets, the tears flowed freely, like a string of pearls falling from her eyes.

Aidan left about an hour later.

He glanced at her shaking figure hidden under the covers but didn't ask if she was okay. He only told her that she needed to handle the shipment, no matter what.

As Sasha watched his back fade away, her already red, swollen eyes filled with more tears.

Aidan's indifference to her had always been so obvious.

She'd just refused to see it for the past seven years.

Sasha and Aidan had met at an upscale nightclub.

At that time, her mother, Ella Barlow, was battling uremia. She required dialysis every week and was in desperate need of a kidney transplant.

To make quick money, Sasha worked as a PR officer at the club, using her looks to interact with wealthy customers.

Aidan was like a desperate sycophant back then, flattering and serving a group of people. He poured drinks and lit cigarettes for them, hoping they would throw some business his way.

At first, Sasha and Aidan's relationship was nothing more than occasional greetings.

That changed one day when Sasha was set up by another PR officer at the club. She was tricked into serving a rich heir who had a disease.

In an attempt to make sure she got infected, the PR officer had even drugged her, knowing she never left the club with customers.

Just as she was about to be assaulted by the heir, Aidan came to her rescue.

On that day, Aidan lost a deal worth millions, and the heir crushed his hand as they fought.

Maybe it was from that moment on that Sasha had fallen for Aidan.

After that, whether out of gratitude for Aidan saving her or the lingering, subtle feelings that had taken root, she used her connections from the club and her position to help him close several big deals.

Aidan, sensing her abilities, hired her the following year. He brought her into his company as a PR manager.

From then on, they became the perfect team. He dealt with the socializing, and she handled the drinking duties. He brought in resources, and she secured deals with key decision-makers.

A year into her job at Aidan's company, the two of them ended up in bed together.

Sasha had always known that Aidan didn't truly care about her.

Even the first time they were intimate, Aidan made a crude remark. "By the way, where did you get that tightening procedure done? The results are impressive. Ladies from your club always know where to find the best places."

That was the first time she felt humiliated by Aidan.

In truth, that night with him was her first time.

She wanted to tell Aidan the truth, but she knew he wouldn't believe her. After all, he had seen her in so many compromising situations back at the club.

Even now, when she secured deals, she still had to play along with the clients.

But Aidan was the only one who had touched her body, and she had truly loved him to the core.

Love had never been fair. She knew that all too well.