Semua Bab After the CEO Dumped Me, He Came Crawling Back: Bab 1 - Bab 10

On the road back from Elise Jones’ ninety-ninth failed escape.Under the blistering sun, sand scorched the ground, dust filled the air, and Elise used a thin scarf to shield her head and face from the grit carried by the wind.Suddenly, a weather-beaten old Jeep rolled toward them, slowing to a stop before her and the townspeople.As the creaking window lowered, Elise saw the sharp, clean lines of a man’s profile. His long, fiery-red hair was tied loosely at the back, with a few strands falling across his forehead.He turned his head, revealing a face worn by the years yet still striking, carrying a refined air no one in Borderfall possessed.He ignored the ropes binding Elise and instead held out a stack of ten-dollar bills, asking where he could find the nearest gas station.The townspeople only spoke their local dialect and couldn’t understand his standard speech, though their eyes never left the money in his hand.Elise’s gaze burned. She glanced past the bills to his other hand r

A long time had passed since that wild, desperate kiss in the desert.Elise had followed Merrick more than a thousand kilometers to Fourteenth District—a remote stretch along the border, yet the busiest little town anywhere in that region.There were clean inns here, even private baths.Water rushed steadily.Elise finally washed the sandy grime from her face.At a little over five foot seven, with a strong, striking figure, she looked like a rose that had fought its way through desert thorns—brilliant and unyielding.On the sink lay the keys to the Jeep.Merrick gave them to her so she could feel at ease.Elise stared quietly at her reflection in the mirror.There was nothing fragile or timid about her. In those steady, restrained eyes burned a fierce ambition to climb upward.She knew Merrick was her springboard out of the life she’d been trapped in.And she knew his heart already belonged to someone else.But she didn’t care.Elise wanted to see the world beyond everything she had

The silent backseat of the Maybach felt vast and soundless.The neon lights sliding past the windows and the towering buildings blazing with color were sights Elise had never seen before.Beside her, Merrick sat expressionless. He hadn’t spoken since getting into the car, and Margaret hadn’t come out to see him off. It seemed the conversation had ended badly.Elise gently hooked her fingers around his, testing his mood.He laced their hands together, firm and familiar, just as he always had.Starview Palace was the most exclusive luxury enclave in the heart of Crown City.Its crown jewel was the thousand-square-meter penthouse villa that floated above the skyline, the place Merrick called home.Elise stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down at the night city. It felt completely different from the view earlier.“What are you looking at?” he asked, steam still clinging to him from the shower.Elise slipped into his arms, playing the role of the poor girl raised on barren

Elise lingered outside the other study, the one Merrick used exclusively.He had come home unusually early tonight and gone straight inside.He hadn’t confronted her about his first love dropping by, which left Elise unsure of where she stood.Had Selena not tattled to him?Unable to read Merrick’s mood, she decided to test the waters herself.Her foot, wrapped in those oversized charcoal slippers, paced back and forth at the doorway—stepping in, pulling back, clearly hesitating.Merrick sat at the desk in a suit, typing. His peripheral vision caught her tentative movements, and he closed the laptop, leaning lazily into the chair as his gaze drifted down to her feet.He hadn’t found his slippers after returning home.Now he knew why.“Come here,” he said quietly.His tone gave nothing away. Elise hesitated before walking toward him.The moment she got close, she caught the scent of Selena’s perfume.Burying the unease curling in her chest, she slid into his arms with a stack of test

Their intentions were easy to read.Elise smiled and asked, “Miss Shaw, what kind of gift do you like?”Hannah sneered. “Ha! Listen to you. Anyone would think you actually have money. Everyone knows Merrick dragged you out of some backwater town.”In a world where the weak were eaten alive, surviving meant keeping her head down until she had the strength to fight back. Elise had understood that since she was a child.She couldn’t choose where she was born, but every step she took afterward came from careful calculation.And yet, there was still a stubborn streak in her that refused to bow.She came here with Merrick tonight. Even a dog was protected by its owner’s presence. No one understood the power of leverage better than she did.Elise lifted her gaze with a calm smile. “So, what if I’m from a backwater? I’m still sitting on the same sofa as all of you.”From the moment Merrick entered the room, several jealous, angry stares had fixed on her. Elise wasn’t stupid.She could see Sel