Chapter 3 Love Was Never Supposed to Hurt Like This

Natalie barely ate anything at the restaurant, saving her appetite so she could come home and eat with me just to keep up the act.

I had to admit, the dedication she had to this game was admirable in a twisted sense.

In a way, it was quite an achievement for a poor man like me to have a wealthy heiress going to all that trouble just to play me like a fiddle.

"Forget it. I already had dinner. I'm not hungry."

Natalie didn't think much of it. Instead, she sighed wearily, wrapped her arms around me, and started apologizing again.

"It's all my fault for working so late just to earn a little extra overtime pay. But you… You got off work so early today. You went to pick up another day job, didn't you?

"Why didn't you hand the money over right away? What, getting brave enough to start keeping a little secret stash?"

She said it teasingly, as though it were nothing more than a joke.

I held out the hundred dollars I'd gotten from the restaurant and handed it to her. "Here. This was my last part-time job, and it's the last money I'll ever give you."

It was also the last time I would ever love her.

Natalie's smile froze, and she immediately frowned. "What are you talking about? Are you refusing to work part-time because you're afraid of hardship? You're still so young. Why can't you endure even a little hardship?

"Besides, I'm working overtime and taking all kinds of part-time jobs, too. We'll only be able to save enough money to run away together if we both keep working like this. I'm doing all of this for our future."

She said it with such a straight face, as though the 700 thousand dollars I'd spent five years working and saving for was nothing more than the cost of a single tip in her eyes.

As if that wasn't infuriating enough, the million dollars we'd supposedly been saving for was only one-tenth of what she'd spent on Ewan's birthday banquet.

"Why do we have to save a million dollars?" I looked at Natalie, giving her one last chance to come clean. "Why can't we just leave now?"

I'd seen what she and Ewan had done. I'd seen how little she truly cared about me. However, I also couldn't forget how she'd donated two full pints of blood just to save me back when I'd been in a car accident and was suffering from severe hemorrhage.

I could still fondly remember the Natalie who had stood behind me and pushed me forward every time I lost my nerve.

I'd held on to those good memories for seven years. That was why I would always believe her without question regardless of how bizarre or dubious her actions could get.

Natalie paused before answering, "No. We're saving money so we can lead a better life. Do you really want me to follow you around, struggling just to get by? We're going to get married. We're going to have children.

"Maybe we adults can endure hardship, but do you really want our children to suffer alongside us?"

She would always give me the same answer whenever I was close to my breaking point, whenever I asked her why we couldn't just up and leave. She would always, always say that it was for the sake of our future children.

I'd always believed her without question, but I'd also seen how she'd announced her engagement to Ewan earlier that day. Now, I couldn't help but wonder… Would we still have a future together?

The answer was no. Everything she had done for the past seven years had all been nothing more than a ploy meant to fool an idiot like me.

"Is that so?" I murmured, letting out a self-deprecating laugh.

When she saw how dejected I was, she softened her tone and tried to persuade me again. "Of course. Babe, maybe you're just stressed from working too hard lately. Why are you suddenly doubting me? Everything I'm doing is for your sake.

"Otherwise, why would I give up being a wealthy heiress just to struggle alongside you? I'm doing this because I love you. We're almost there. Just hang in there a little longer, okay? Do it for me."

She did all this because she loved me, huh?

I used to be so full of life and optimism.

Yet, years of scrimping and sacrificing my plans just for her had turned me into a hollowed-out version of myself.

How could her love feel so much like poison, leaving me battered and bruised from head to toe?

Natalie was about to say something else when her phone rang. I glanced up. The name "Ewan Somerset" appeared on the screen.

"You still need to keep working part-time. You have to keep working hard alongside me. I promise you, we won't have to live like this for much longer. Once we get to the finish line, I swear I'll make it up to you."

It was obvious that Natalie had suddenly lost all interest in lecturing me because of Ewan as she tossed out those words almost absentmindedly.

Then, she picked up her phone and went into the bathroom to take the call.