Chapter 2

He rushed forward and yanked the TV's power cord. He turned around and looked at me with a stiff smile.

"Haley, don't misunderstand. The tabloids are just making things up. The media loves to stir up fake romance rumors for clicks."

"You've been an agent for years. You know these tricks better than I do."

"Haven't you always wanted a grand wedding? I promise, once I win gold at the next major tournament, I will get down on one knee and propose."

"Be a good girl and stop causing a scene. Hurry up and arrange the yacht. I don't want any annoying issues when we set sail."

Looking at his two-faced expression, I couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.

I wondered why Nate, who had always acted like he was better than everyone, would suddenly swallow his pride to sweet-talk me and bring up marriage out of nowhere.

I had brought it up many times before, and he always avoided it like the plague, telling me to just keep waiting.

It turned out all he wanted was to keep Lexi happy and score a free yacht trip.

Seeing through his act, I shoved him toward the door, pointing outside.

"Haley, that's enough. I already said I'm going to marry you. What more do you want? I'm giving you an easy way out, and you want to push it?"

He shoved my shoulders, his tone full of irritation.

I had spoiled him too much over the past ten years, making him think he could order me around as he pleased.

I dodged his hand and said softly, "Nate, I said we are done. We have nothing to do with each other from now on."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I slammed the door shut and locked it.

I ignored Nate pounding on the door like a madman.

"Haley, you are going to regret this!"

"Don't come crying to me later begging to get back together!"

After he finally left, my phone rang again.

"Miss Haley, we have a situation at the aquatic center. You need to come down here and handle it personally!"

I gripped my phone, a bad feeling washing over me.

When this training facility was built, Nate self-righteously refused to put his name on it. He absolutely refused to let people call him a mooch who lived off his girlfriend.

But then he turned around and suggested that since it was built, it would be a waste to leave it empty. He had me put the management rights under a dummy sports management agency.

Because of this, I had hardly set foot in there for years.

Thinking of this, I grabbed my car keys and drove straight downtown.

When I arrived, a whole row of sports cars was parked outside. My lawyer was being blocked at the door by several burly bodyguards.

The welcome sign at the entrance announced a private pool party hosted by some girl I had never heard of.

Confused, I pushed open the glass doors at the entrance. The facility manager immediately rushed over, waving his hands with a troubled look.

"Miss Haley, you're finally here! Lexi claims the venue is hers and invited a bunch of friends over for a party. We couldn't stop them, and she even threatened to sue our staff."

My mind buzzed, and I instantly understood what was going on.

It turned out the dummy agency Nate set up was under none other than his precious new teammate's name.

He acted all high and mighty to my face, but behind my back, he generously handed this professional training facility over to Lexi to use as a party club.

I walked inside. The lights by the pool were dim, and the music was deafening.

A group of scantily clad young people were chatting and laughing with champagne in hand. A few girls were holding up their phones to take selfies, the background clearly featuring my Olympic-standard swim lanes.

Lexi was lounging on a chair by the pool, surrounded by a few friends, showing something off. Seeing me walking straight toward her, she frowned and spoke in a nasty tone.

"Oh, isn't this Nate's fired ex-agent?"

She took a sip of wine and mocked with a sweet smile. "What? Are you getting desperate and came to my private party to apply for a job as a waitress? Too bad we don't hire aging, broke assistants here."

I slapped away her hand and said coldly, "I own this aquatic center, and the transfer was completed an hour ago. Please leave immediately with your friends."

Lexi acted like she had heard the biggest joke in the world. She covered her mouth and laughed out loud, deliberately drawing everyone's attention.

"Everyone, listen to this! This pathetic ex-agent is actually deluding herself into thinking she's the owner!"

"Did getting fired make her lose her mind?"

The people around us gathered, whispering and gossiping.

"Isn't this the private pool Nate gave Lexi? Everyone knows that. They train here together every day, they're so in love."

"Exactly. Lexi even posted a photo of them here in the group chat a few days ago, saying it was to commemorate the hard times they spent together."

"That's right! The whole internet saw how Nate protected Lexi at the victory party last night. She's probably just jealous after getting fired, so she came here to cause a scene."

Someone had already held up their phone and started recording me. Suppressing my anger, I pulled the stamped property deed from my bag.

"Open your eyes and look closely! I am the sole owner here! I'm giving you five minutes to clear out, or I will call the cops."

Lexi glanced at the document. With a face full of arrogance, she stepped forward, snatched a cocktail from a nearby waiter, and splashed it onto the paper without losing her smile. The ink instantly blurred into a smudged mess.

"Oops, my hand slipped." She shrugged and turned to wink at her friends.