He Played Poor, I Played Smarter

Synopsis

On Christmas Eve, Matthew Carter and I sat together, sharing a single bowl of soup, celebrating that he finally landed a new job. "Serena," Matthew called softly. He held my hand, looking at me with genuine eyes. "Once my job is stable, I swear I'll give you the life you deserve." The steam from the soup blurred my vision. Just then, a line of white text floated across my eyes. [LOL, the rich kid is at it again, pretending to be broke. He just got back from a dinner that cost 15 grand per head; one meal could cover ten years' rent for this place.] I rubbed my eyes. [Girl, run! This jerk is just testing if you're after his money.] [He's actually the heir to the Carter family in Betrico. Next month, they're dragging him back for an arranged marriage with Vivian Sinclair, the heiress of Sinclair Holdings.] [Classic moment alert: In three days, Serena will overhear Matthew making a bet with his buddies, saying, "I just wanted to play around with a regular girl for fun."] I looked up at Matthew. He was guarding his soup like it was a treasure, and the stitches I had patched up on his sleeve last week were still there. "What's wrong?" Matthew asked. He caught my gaze, concern in his eyes. "Nothing," I replied. I lowered my head and finished the last of the soup, the salty bitterness lingering on my tongue. "The soup is really good," I said. This soup was cheap, just like the love we share.