Chapter 1

"Did Irene just wish Samuel the best after he broke up with her?"

"She ended the call in under a minute, too. It's like she couldn't care less about it. Do you think she's so heartbroken that she's gone off the deep end?"

"I don't think so. She was too calm about it. It felt more like she's been looking forward to getting dumped."

Once those words fell, someone cast a cautious glance at Samuel Nelson. He had his arm around his new girlfriend, Anna Harding, but he was scowling in displeasure.

Therefore, the crowd quickly backpedaled.

"We've all seen how crazy Irene has been about Samuel for years now. There's no way she'd really be unbothered by the breakup. I'm sure she's just trying to bottle up her feelings. I bet that in less than three days, she'll come crawling back to him, begging him not to dump her!"

Samuel's expression eased a little as he remarked, "If she comes begging to get back together with me, I'll consider patching things up with her—depending on what she does."

…

I knew nothing of their conversation as I lugged my suitcase to the train station. Even if I'd heard their taunts and ridicule, I would've simply smirked indifferently.

My parents believed that there was no point in giving daughters an education. It was far better to have them married off as quickly as possible in exchange for some kind of benefit for the family.

They'd tried to stop me from attending high school. My drunken father had beaten me to within an inch of my life. It was then that Samuel's mother, Mrs. Nelson, approached me and made me an offer.

If I could help Samuel get into a top college, she would not only cover all the expenses for my high school education but also give me 50 million dollars.

Had it not been for that, I would never have latched myself onto Samuel, who was famous for being the hottest guy in school but also the one who should never be crossed. I wouldn't have let myself be at his beck and call, like the most loyal pushover.

For three whole years, I did everything I could to turn the arrogant and defiant slacker into a high-achieving student who managed to earn a spot at a top college.

Now that my mission was complete, I could finally leave with the money. I was nothing if not thrilled. Why would I be upset that Samuel had found himself a new girlfriend?

From the start, my only goal was to claw my way out of hell and carve out a place for myself in this world where I could be free. Love was never part of my consideration.

When the college semester began, I didn't show up at the college I'd been accepted to. I knew my parents would never leave me alone. After all, graduating from a renowned college only made me a more marketable daughter to marry off to the highest bidder.

Since I wanted to leave, I had to make a complete departure.

During the three months of summer vacation, I got my foreign language certification and achieved intermediate proficiency in the Farvian language. I was able to successfully enroll in a college abroad.

As I was about to board my flight to Barie, in the country of Farvia, I got a message from Samuel, who seemed to want to mend our relationship.

"Why did you block me everywhere? It's been an entire summer, Irene. Haven't you thrown your tantrum long enough?

"Even though Anna and I have gotten together, you and I can still be friends. Stop kicking up a fuss and unblock me."

Every word dripped with his usual haughtiness. He seemed certain that I'd do what I'd done the last three years—that regardless of the ways he would willfully trample on my feelings, I would still obediently return to his side.

I took out my SIM card and deftly broke it in half before tossing it into the trash can at the airport. With it, I discarded my unbearable past, which had been filled with schemes and humiliation.

The plane soared through the sky, leaving all of my past behind. Later on, a friend of mine, Melinda Greene, told me that Samuel posted messages in the comment section of all my old social media accounts. They were all largely about the same thing.

"Are you done with your tantrum yet?"

"All I did was break up with you and date someone else. Must you be so upset about it?"

"Hurry up and unblock me!"

Melinda informed me, "At first, Samuel was convinced you'd come back to him. He didn't expect you to stay away from him completely. He started becoming more and more foul-tempered. Sometimes, just the mention of your name makes him scowl."