Chapter 2

By the time Irene brought the food over to me, I had already forced down the churning emotions.

"Why are your clothes all soiled? Did a customer do this to you on your rounds today?"

I stared at her for half a minute.

"It's nothing. I accidentally spilled some food on myself."

She walked up to me with a damp towel and tried to remove the stain from my clothes with a concerned look on her face.

"It must have been a really rude customer who did this to you. Next time, you should just leave these things to me. If I'm not there with you on your delivery rounds, then you're not allowed to go on your own!

"I'd rather that we earn fewer dollars than watch you get bullied like this!"

I choked slightly from her words. However, the emotion immediately disappeared as soon as I saw the faint hickeys on her neck.

Before falling asleep, Irene hugged my waist and buried her face in the crook of my neck.

"I'm going to follow my boss overseas for work starting tomorrow for three or four days. I'll make sure to bring home some yummy snacks for you to try."

I just hummed lightly in response. A while later, Irene was fast asleep, but I wasn't able to sleep a wink all night.

She left early the next morning.

I secretly followed her from behind and watched her enter a luxurious ballroom in a very upscale hotel.

From far away, I caught sight of a middle-aged couple who were very well-dressed, seemingly waiting for her.

Irene walked up to them and greeted them, "Mom" and "Dad".

There was also a young teenage girl, about 15 or 16 years old, happily bouncing around them and also referring to the same couple as her parents.

It was Ireme's younger sister.

At that point, I suddenly lost balance and nearly fell.

Back then, Irene had told me that her dad first killed himself, followed by her mom not too long after. And then, her younger sister, Ingrid Swensen, had been abducted by kidnappers and she'd lost contact with her since then.

I felt very sorry for Irene when she told me the tragic story of her family. That was the main reason why I had given her all of the money I'd earned over the past two years so that she could pay off her debt. I also made sure to take good care of her to make her happy.

During Thanksgiving and Christmas months, I wouldn't even go home to my parents' because I didn't want her to feel alone and left out because she didn't have a family to call her own.

I worked hard so that I could provide her with a home and a family. To save, I refused to waste money on medication or doctor's visits, wearing only the cheapest second-hand clothes I could find. I worked myself to the bone until white hair began to streak my head.

But now, I found out that Irene was not an orphan. In fact, she was a wealthy heiress with a wonderful family of her own.

I suddenly recalled the words some of her friends had said that other day.

Irene had only begun approaching me after realizing that I resembled Kevin.

Now that I thought about it, I realized just how laughable and pathetic it was.

…

After Irene and her family entered the ballroom, I disguised myself as a waiter and sneaked in.

Irene was chatting and mingling very naturally with the rest of the distinguished guests. I overheard her discussing the sale of a plot of land somewhere for tens of millions of dollars.

Her parents, Joe Swensen and Mandy Osbourne, seemed to be very proud of a daughter like her. A short while later, someone came up to them and asked Irene about her relationship status.

Mandy immediately tugged Kevin closer to her with a satisfied look on her face.

"This is my future son-in-law and Irene's boyfriend, Kevin Pickett."

Kevin had a smug look on his face.

"Mrs. Swensen, I might be dating Irene now, but there's still someone hounding her and refusing to let her go."

Mandy's face turned dark at once. She began questioning Irene with a stern look on her face.

"What is this I'm hearing?"

Irene lowered her gaze for a few seconds. Then, she met Mandy's eyes and said calmly, "He's nobody, just a gigolo trying to get close to me to escape poverty. He's not someone you need to worry about."

Joe nodded.

"Don't worry, Kevin. Irene would never fall for someone as lowly and filthy as that."

Kevin was beyond delighted. He then asked Irene to go out to the balcony with him for a breath of fresh air.

There was a huge balcony outside the ballroom. The night breeze was blowing and the moon was shining gently outside. Kevin and Irene looked like the perfect couple as they walked out side by side.

Kevin suddenly stopped and looked at Irene with a pitiful look on his face.

"When are we finally going to start looking at houses, Irene? We can't possibly not have a place to stay after getting married."

Irene pointed at an upscale condominium building nearby.

"I've already bought the place a while ago, in that building over there. It's on the 28th floor—your favorite lucky number."

I turned to look, following the direction of Irene's finger.

The building she was pointing at was one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the whole of Attingsdale. The condos went for prices as high as 100 million dollars, and each condo unit spanned an area of at least 10,000 square feet. Only wealthy and noble billionaires could afford to live there.

I dropped my gaze in embarrassment. However, I saw the 20-dollar shoes I was wearing on my feet instead.

These were the shoes that Irene had bought for me as a birthday gift. It wasn't branded in the least, but it had meant more to me than any luxury brand back then.

I couldn't even bear to get it dirty and would always carefully wipe away the dirt on its surface every time after wearing it.

Maybe Joe and Mandy were indeed referring to people like me when they said I was "lowly and filthy", only deserving to wear shoes not worth more than 20 bucks.

The night breeze was picking up. Kevin saw that Irene seemed to be shivering a little from the cold, and he said softly, "It's always chillier at night. Next time, don't wear such revealing dresses anymore."

He then put an arm around Irene's shoulders as she nodded slightly.

"You're always so good at taking care of people, Irene. I'm sure that you're going to be a brilliant mother after we're married."

Irene stared out to yonder and seemed to fall into deep thought for a bit.

"I'll be a brilliant mother after we have children together."

She stood with him on the balcony as they planned their future together. Meanwhile, I could only hide in the corner and peek at their happiness together like a disgraceful sewer rat.

I had been waiting for her for too long. I didn't want to wait anymore.

So, I sent her my final text message.

"Let's break up, Irene."