Chapter 1

Nathan Schumer frowned at me in displeasure, his fingers tapping against the marble tabletop. He carried himself with an added air of refined arrogance, as if he had victory in hand.

"Why are you taking back the card? Weren't you the one who said you wanted to extend our arrangement for another year?"

There was the usual mockery in his voice, as if reminding me how, for the past five years, I'd clung to him in debasing humiliation, using my money to buy his time and keep him happy.

Sherry Tate stood a little behind him, her fingers curling against the hem of her clothes. Her red-rimmed eyes only made her seem even more fragile and pitiful.

And there it was again. I heard that crisp, childlike voice coming from her belly.

"Take the card already, Daddy! Invest those two million dollars into Burkcoin, and in ten years, its value will shoot up by three thousand times! You can become the richest man in the country eight years earlier than before.

"That way, the three of us won't have to live under this nasty woman's thumb anymore!"

My hand paused almost imperceptibly. I lifted my gaze toward Nathan. My eyes lingered on the mole at the corner of his left eye. I really did like that face.

Over the past five years, I'd spent a fortune on Nathan. I hired the best stylists to groom his physical image and arranged private classes for him to learn proper etiquette and develop a sophisticated taste.

I'd even arranged for a personal trainer to sculpt his physique, all just to keep that face of his by my side.

Not once was I ever concerned with whether Nathan liked me or who he wanted to be with. Nevertheless, everyone should at least have the decency to stick to the terms of a pre-arranged agreement.

They shouldn't be biting the hand that fed them.

Snorting contemptuously, I slid the debit card back inside my wallet and met Nathan's gaze, saying, "Oh, I just lost the desire to extend our arrangement."

Nathan's tapping fingers paused for a split second. A flicker of shock flashed through his eyes. Clearly, he hadn't expected such a flippant response from me.

However, he quickly schooled his expression and straightened up a bit. With his tone as arrogant as ever, he questioned, "Throwing tantrums again, Estelle?"

Right on cue, Sherry began to sob, the sound faint yet annoying. Her fingers were still tightly wound around her hem, but her eyes were furtively darting toward me.

Then, that childlike voice rang out again, brimming with an eager excitement that was completely unlike Sherry's meek and vulnerable display, "Cry louder, Mommy! Tug on Daddy's sleeve and make him feel sorry for you!

"And Daddy, come on, get angry! That woman is just trying to scare you! The firmer you appear, the more frightened she'll be!"

Sure enough, Sherry followed the instructions from the voice and tugged on Nathan's sleeve, choking out, "Nate, don't fight with Essie… It's all my fault… I shouldn't have come here…

"Essie, I thought you really liked Nate. Why are you suddenly… Please don't get the wrong idea! It's not what you think! Nate and I don't have that kind of relationship. He was my neighbor when I was young. I just got a little emotional after seeing him again all these years…

"We just happened to bump into each other by coincidence today…"