Chapter 4

Over the next few days, Lily and her family launched a full-scale barrage.

Lily started first, bombarding me with dozens of calls a day.

At first, it was all accusations, calling me heartless and ungrateful.

Then she’d soften, reminiscing about our three years together, trying to wear me down.

I didn’t pick up a single one.

So, she switched to long messages.

“Aaron, have you forgotten the hard times we went through together?”

“Have you forgotten you said you’d love me forever and give me the best life?”

“Now that you have money, you’re just going to abandon me? Doesn’t your conscience bother you?”

[ Ding! Received 20 Malice Points from Lily Foster. Cashback of $2,000 has been credited. ]

[ Ding! Received 40 Malice Points from Lily Foster. Cashback of $4,000 has been credited. ]

Reading those hollow words while watching the cashback roll in, I almost found it funny.

Hard times?

For the past three years, I’d scrimped and saved, only for everything I put aside to be taken by her under the name of “shared finances.”

Meanwhile, she lived as if money had never been an issue—always carrying the latest phone, draped in designer bags, with a fresh wardrobe every season. She never went without anything.

And now she had the nerve to talk about “struggling together.”

When she realized neither pressure nor persuasion worked, her parents stepped in.

Her mother called, voice thick with tears.

“Aaron, I know Lily handled your mom’s situation badly before. Don’t take it to heart.”

“That girl has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She really does care about you.”

“You two are young—couples fight, but they make up. There’s nothing you can’t work through. Listen to me, talk things out with her.”

Her father played the other side.

“Aaron, you need to be reasonable. Lily spent three years with you. Those were her best years. You can’t just turn your back on her now that you’ve made it.”

“Twenty million isn’t a small amount. You’re both young; you need elders to help guide you, so you don’t make mistakes.”

Every word, in one way or another, was about getting their hands into that “fortune.”

[ Ding! Received 60 Malice Points from Lily Foster’s mother. Cashback of $6,000 has been credited. ]

[ Ding! Received 80 Malice Points from Lily Foster’s father. Cashback of $8,000 has been credited. ]

The whole family treated me like a walking ATM.

I’d had enough. I blocked every last one of them, and the world finally went quiet.

My mom was recovering well; she could already get out of bed and walk slowly on her own.

The nurse taking care of her was named Jane Dunn.

She was a gentle and attentive girl.

She always wore a soft smile, spoke in a calm, quiet voice, and got along easily with my mom.

That day, I walked into the room with a bag of fruit and found Jane helping my mom massage her legs to prevent muscle loss.

Sunlight streamed through the window, settling over her and making her seem warm somehow.

When she saw me, she smiled and greeted me.

“Mr. Lewis, your mom’s doing really well today. Her appetite’s better than the past few days too.”

“Thank you, Miss Dunn. I appreciate it.”

“It’s just part of my job,” she said, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

Being around her felt like a breeze—quiet, steady, clearing away the irritation Lily and her family had left behind.

It reminded me that not everyone was like Lily.

There was still kindness in the world.

And then, the door slammed open with a bang.

Lily and Marcus stood there once again.