All Chapters of An Affair with the Billionaire: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

"Th-thank you for taking me home, Mr. Corrigan. Please take care on your way back," she said politely as she stepped out of the car.Her cold, formal words created a distance between them. Alaric stared at her in silence, wondering why she had suddenly become so distant. Was she really upset with him for not agreeing to her earlier request?Emerald didn’t wait for his response. The night wind tousled her long hair, and the streetlights cast her shadow long on the pavement, but the loneliness she felt was unmistakable.When she arrived at her unit, she immediately showered and headed to her bedroom. From her balcony, she noticed Alaric’s car still parked by the roadside. Her floor wasn’t too high, so she could clearly see the people inside. She spotted an arm hanging out the window, the glow of a cigarette between Alaric’s fingers. She couldn’t be sure if he was staring up at her, but that’s what it felt like.Stepping back into the room, Emerald closed the curtains with a swift swipe,

When Max left, the atmosphere in Emerald’s classroom suddenly lightened. Mr. Gozon immediately approached her and gave her a sudden hug. After letting go, he looked around at everyone and even gave a brief round of applause. "Teacher Greene, this entire school is so grateful for your hard work. I thought you had completely dropped the project, but you were working on it in secret all along," he praised her, moving in for another hug, but Emerald stepped back. He only let out a dry laugh and turned his gaze toward Ariza. "Not like some people who don’t know how to keep their word and think this is all just a game." Emerald almost gagged in disgust at the principal’s behavior, listening as he spoke. It was as if he had immediately forgotten how he treated her before knowing about the contract. "Maybe it was Teacher Iris’s boyfriend who gave you the wine, Teacher Ariza, not Mr. Corrigan. Maybe you had too much to drink and started hallucinating," one of the other teachers comme

Despite his anger, Emerald remains calm."Mr. Florida, do I need to remind you why we broke up?" Emerald swallows the painful lump in her throat. "I didn’t make a scene when you cheated, and I didn’t argue when you blamed me for everything. I gave you enough dignity and did what was right for all three of us.""I gave you my heart and soul, but you’ve always been so distant. You didn’t even react when I cheated! Do you think you deserve my kindness? You’re heartless." Ethan’s voice is full of resentment.Emerald adjusts the strap of her bag and nudges a piece of broken glass with her foot."I even thought about marrying you, Ethan."Ethan was taken aback."I cooked for you. When I heard your mother had knee pain, I asked a doctor to prepare medicine. You said my home-cooked meals were left on the counter, and the ointment I made was thrown in the trash by your maid. 'It's enough that I love you. Why worry about trivial things like that?' you said."Emerald allowed herself to release t

"People appreciate art, but if no one values it, it’s just a pile of waste paper! There are no real artists in this world. Rich people spend a fortune to buy art only to flaunt their wealth. Art without connections is worthless, so you’d be better off marrying a rich man instead of chasing some dream of being an artist!"But this painting had kept her up for more than half a month. Every brushstroke was the result of her hard work and dedication.Slowly, Emerald knelt down and carefully wiped the rain from the paper.A few specks of gold paint dust stuck to her hair. As she wiped it, her tears continued to fall. "It's fine, yeah..."She had worked so hard, but why was this still happening to her?Was Samantha’s mother right after all?"You and your mother are the same—shameless women. All you know how to do is spread your legs to seduce men. What else can you do? Lowly people should know their place. In our world, everything’s about climbing up."Silently, Emerald promised herself she

Alaric glanced at her, and his breath caught. In this situation, Emerald knew exactly what would happen next. She knew what tomorrow would bring. Rather than being forced to surrender to Ethan, she’d much rather it be Alaric. At least, in the entire month they had been together, Alaric had never disrespected her. Deep down, there was a sweetness she couldn’t deny. Her mother once said that for a woman with no background, there was only one way to a good life—marriage. Emerald believed her. The same hardened blood that ran in her mother flowed in her. She had worked hard to live according to her own desires, to prove to her mother that she had chosen the right path. But now, it seemed that fate was proving her mother right. She had lost this game. A woman like her, without family or status, had no chance to rise again after one failure. The apartment had sold for over a million yuan—just like Ethan said. After paying off her debt, she was now the woman people called a