All Chapters of She Was Never Broke: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1 The Bracelet on Her Wrist

I had just hung up on Adrian when I saw Mia Sterling step out of a car. The emerald bracelet was on her wrist, bright and unmistakable under the streetlights. A moment later, Preston came out through the back door of the nightclub. The second he saw Mia, he strode over and pulled her into a hug like he had nothing to hide. Then, he let go and met my eyes. My bitterness must have been obvious, and so was the resentment I could no longer keep buried. For once, Preston looked uneasy. He quickly approached me. "What are you doing here?" he asked. I ignored him. My eyes stayed fixed on Mia's wrist. Preston noticed immediately. His expression did not change as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Nora, Mia really liked that bracelet. She paid a very generous price for it." Then, he gave my shoulder a light squeeze. "You should thank her." I thought, 'Thank her? Really?' Preston had tricked the bracelet out of my hands, so I knew full well that Mia had gotten it f

Chapter 2 The Broken Bracelet

Mia's gaze dropped to the bracelet, and her expression turned mocking. "Wait. Don't tell me this thing is fake." She slipped it off with obvious disgust, pinching it between two fingers as she held it out in front of me. I reached for it, but she took one step back and dodged my hand. 'Were the Sterlings in the jewelry business? If I wasn't mistaken, Adrian wanted me to marry into that family. So why have I never heard of Mia?' My inattention only lasted for a second. However, that was enough to catch me off guard when Mia suddenly tossed the bracelet at me. "Fine. You can have it back if it's just a fake." Her smile widened. "But don't forget to write that IOU for ten million." I barely spared a glance at the smug satisfaction spread across Mia's face before turning my gaze to the falling emerald bracelet. I immediately reached for it, but I was still too late. A sharp crack rang in my ears. I dropped to my knees, and the broken pieces cut into my skin. Blood ran d

Chapter 3 The Boss' Test

When Carla saw the confusion on my face, she looked just as puzzled. "The boss is Mr. Hale," she explained. "He was the one who arranged for you to work bottle service here in the first place." Then, she gave me a small, almost pleased smile. "But you've finally made it! I'm sure Mr. Hale will treat you well from now on." Only then did it hit me. Preston introduced me to this nightclub four years ago. Back then, I had just stood up on the blind date Adrian arranged for me and fled from the Whitmores out of anger. That was when I met Preston. He thought I was some poor girl from the countryside, running away from a family that had tried to force me into marriage. I thought he was a broke, unlucky man with no future. We agreed to work hard together and build our rags-to-riches story. He sent me here to work at the bottle service, where I had to smile at customers, flatter them, and put up with their wandering hands just to sell more liquor. And what did he do? He

Chapter 4 The Whitmore Name

Preston quickly cut his friend off. He still wanted to keep me on a leash. After all, I had not yet "paid back" the money for him. "What are you talking about?" Preston forced a calm smile. "Nora is just scared she won't be able to pay the money back." Then, he looked at me as if he were doing me some great favor. "Nora, stop making a scene. I won't be able to help you if you quit now." He kept talking about how I should repay the money as if I really owed someone a debt. My lips curled into a bitter, broken thing.Just as I was about to speak, Mia grabbed my arm and played the generous peacemaker. "It's only a little money," she said. "I'm not exactly desperate for it, so take your time paying me back, Ms. Whitmore." Then, her eyes slid toward Preston, and her tone turned sour. "Preston and I grew up together. I'd probably be married to him now if I hadn't spent the last four years abroad." She looked back at me with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Since you're

Chapter 5 The Man Who Came Back

A deep, urgent male voice cut across the room. The hand gripping my hair loosened instantly. Mia staggered away in fear, as if the man before her was some sort of monster. Even Preston looked panicked. "Nathaniel..." I murmured as I looked up at him. His face felt both familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. He used to shower me with gifts when I was child. He used to tease me by putting grasshoppers on my head. However, he suddenly disappeared from my world. It was as though he had never existed in the first place. "Nathaniel, I..." Mia was so scared that she could barely feel her hands. Her fingers felt like ice as the liquor clung to her like frozen sludge. She kept wiping them against her dress as if she could erase the evidence of what she had done to me. Nathaniel strode over, took off his suit jacket, and draped it over my shoulders before helping me up. My eyes fell on the mole near the bridge of his nose. Only then was I certain. It really was Nathaniel

Chapter 6 The Real Bracelet

I likely wouldn't have run away from home if Adrian had just used his words for once. I wouldn't have wasted four years taking the long way around. Still, I didn't regret loving someone, even though he didn't deserve it. I also didn't regret being fooled for four years. I was young and reckless, so I was just paying the price for my foolishness. I just had to consider that the suffering I'd endured for four years was a trial before gaining maturity. However, there was one thing I genuinely regretted—not letting Adrian tell me just who my blind date was. At that moment, Preston looked as if he had been hit from both sides and no longer knew how to react. On the one hand, he had not expected me to have a fiancé the moment I broke up with him. On the other hand, there was the issue of Mia's identity. He had truly believed Mia was the Sterlings' sole heiress. Unfortunately, the patriarch of the Sterlings had just declared that she was never one in the first place. Preston

Chapter 7 Back Where I Belonged

Nathaniel had them forced to chug down two full bottles of liquor. "Preston, you bullied my fiancée for four years. So, don't think for a second that this ends here." He said it before Preston blacked out, as if he wanted to make sure Preston remembered his threat. Both Preston and Mia were dead to the world after two whole bottles of liquor. Everyone who had hurt me met a terrible end, including the useless men who had starred in Preston's little show of torment.The moon was already up in the sky by the time I returned to the Whitmore Residence. Adrian, who had claimed that he was still overseas, was sitting in the living room waiting for me. I had not seen him in four years. My reserved, arrogant brother looked more mature now, but he was still the same as ever. He always acted as if he had everything under control, even though the fool couldn't communicate properly even if someone held a gun to his head. I thought he would have a lot to say when he saw me. Instea

Chapter 8 My Forever

I scoffed and said blandly, "Yes, I don't love you anymore." My love for him began to fade after I learned the truth. When I realized he had schemed to take all my money… Well, my love for him had vanished entirely. Each joke he made at my expense and every so-called test he subjected me to brought me closer to breaking point. How was I supposed to love a man like that? Now, I had finally found someone who genuinely loved me more. My life was finally back on track. Frankly, the little bit of money Preston had squirreled away from me and guarded so carefully didn't even count as pocket change in my eyes. "No," Preston cried out, shaking his head in denial. "You can't do this to me. How can you be this heartless?" I only found out what had happened to my oppressors much later. After I returned to the Whitmores, Nathaniel and Adrian had joined forces and destroyed everyone who had ever hurt me. Those who ran businesses of their own went bankrupt within a month, and th

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