Chapter 4

Even so, their mocking laughs kept drifting in nonstop.

"When was the last time she washed her hair? She smells like barbecue."

"You really put in the work, Mr. Delaney. You'd even kiss a woman like that just to live-stream it for all of us!"

"I'll bet 100 thousand dollars that everything she owns, including her underwear, doesn't add up to 50 dollars!"

They were getting out of hand. Finally, Steven spoke up to stop them, yet the smugness in his tone was unmistakable. "Enough. She gave up Karnell for me, you know."

I slowly lifted my head and looked at myself in the mirror. My dark circles were heavy under my eyes, and my hair looked greasy from years of working at a dive bar.

Was this really the same person who'd once been a top student standing on stage?

"What are you hiding in the bathroom for, Melanie?" The door flew open, and Steven dragged me back out roughly.

"Everyone came out of their way to celebrate your birthday. Is this how you treat guests?" He shoved a cake knife into my hands.

Selena was lighting the candles. She then tilted her head and glanced at me. "I heard you haven't celebrated your birthday in three years. That's so sad."

Ignoring the mockery in her eyes, I bent down to cut the cake.

However, Selena suddenly bumped into me from the side, causing me to stumble forward and crash into the cake. Frosting smeared all over my face.

Surprised gasps erupted around us.

Selena spoke in an aggrieved tone, "We even took time off work to celebrate your girlfriend's birthday, Steven. And this is how she's repaying our kindness?"

Steven's expression darkened as he yanked me upright. The frosting was dripping messily onto the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Melanie? Do you know how expensive this cake is? Even if you sold beer for a whole month, you still couldn't afford it!"

Glancing at the identical disgust on their faces, I suddenly laughed.

It turned out that this was just another of Steven's tests.

He shook my hand off and left with the group.

I wiped the frosting off my face and opened the live stream, just in time to see Steven slide a diamond ring onto Selena's finger.

It was a ring worth 270 thousand dollars. The diamond caught the light and made my eyes ache.

I looked down, finding myself disheveled and unkempt.

Suddenly, I recalled how Steven had knelt in this same basement three years ago. He was holding up a can tab as a ring. "When I make it big again, I'll buy you the biggest diamond there is."

Now, he had bought one, but it wasn't for me.

…

Steven came back very late that night.

Before I could say a word, he wrapped his arms around me. "I've got good news, Mel. I found investors for my accounts. We'll be out of this dump soon!"

I froze, then slowly forced a smile. "That's great."

Late that night, I woke up choking on thick smoke. The basement was almost swallowed by flames by the time I opened my eyes.

I instinctively looked for Steven, only to hear his weak cries. "The cabinet fell on me, Mel…"

I stumbled toward his voice and saw half of his body pinned beneath a toppled cabinet.

The fire was spreading fast. I tried my hardest to pull him out, and we finally crawled out through a ventilation opening.

Once out of danger, I picked up my phone. Sure enough, Steven went live on his account.

"Damn, Mr. Delaney really outdid himself this time! That woman still has no idea the whole building belongs to the Delaneys. An 'accidental' fire, and she's the one stuck with the damages!"

"The part where he was pinned under the cabinet was truly marvelous!"

"The fire almost got out of hand. Good thing the beer lady risked her life to save Mr. Delaney. Shouldn't you give her a chance?"

Just then, I heard the commotion behind me.

Steven suddenly went down on one knee and pulled out a diamond ring. His gaze was filled with gratitude as he looked at me. "Thank you for staying by my side for the past three years, Mel. Will you marry me?"

Amid the loud cheers to marry him, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

Steven's head snapped to the side, the look of devotion still frozen on his face.

"Did I pass your test, Mr. Delaney?" I asked.