Chapter 2
He said he would give me seven thousand dollars as a tip.
Thinking about that decent funeral I could never afford, I said yes.
My dad spent his whole life holding his head high.
But in the end, all because of me, he got such a rough, unceremonious send-off.
When he passed, I had to make sure he had a proper funeral.
I downed bottle after bottle.
I knelt and begged Holly over and over.
But in the end, Barrett broke his promise.
He yanked my hair, his eyes icy as he stared at my bony body. "Florence, look at you now. You're downright cheap.
"Do you get it now? Compared to Holly, you're not noble at all."
I was completely drained, just kneeling on the floor with a twisted, bitter smile.
"Yeah," I said, "I really am cheap."
Why else would I have ever fallen for him?
Barrett suddenly got angry at my words, though I had no idea why.
He flung me aside, not caring how hard I hit the ground.
He sneered, "So that's all there is to you, Ms. Harper.
"You can't even apologize properly. That's pathetic. You're not even worth seven thousand. Ten bucks, maybe."
Then he just tossed ten dollars at me.
Then he left with Holly, arm around her, not even glancing back.
And me? That night, I died utterly alone on the cold street.
Just thinking about how wretched and disgraceful my death was, I couldn't help but clench my fists, my nails digging into my palms.
Seeing me keep quiet, Barrett pulled his hand away, irritation written all over his face.
He grumbled, "What are you upset about now?
"Florence, do you even know how much I hate that scheming look you always have?
"I love Holly because she's nothing like you. She's the complete opposite.
"When she loves, it's real. When she hates, she doesn't pretend otherwise.
"She's so crazy about me. That's why she blasted our private pictures in your family chat.
"She did all that because she cares about me, so don't even think about using this to hurt her!"
Watching Barrett shamelessly play favorites with Holly, my chest still ached, heavy and dull.
But it only lasted a moment.
I finally felt at peace.
Meeting Barrett's wary gaze, I flashed him a calming smile. "Don't get worked up. I really do understand.
"She's just too young and can't keep anything under wraps.
"She just messed up for a second. I get it."
He stared at me, disbelief clear in his eyes. "You really don't blame her?
"But you always couldn't stand those petty little vixens and their cheap tricks, right?"
I reached out and fussed with Barrett's collar, even though it didn't need fixing.
I gave him a soft smile and said, "I really don't blame her.
"I get it. You're always swamped with work and under so much pressure. Naturally, you like having these young girls around to keep you company or listen to you vent.
"Honestly, that's just how things work in our crowd.
"Didn't you always say I should learn the ropes and fit in sooner?
"Back then, I was too naive and ended up causing you a lot of trouble.
"It won't happen again."
With me being so understanding, Barrett should have felt relieved, but for some reason, he wasn't.
He looked like he'd just swallowed a fly.
After hesitating for a long moment, he finally blurted out, "But... but after what she did, aren't you even worried your dad might get mad?"
I flashed an even bigger grin.
I whipped out a project contract from my bag and said, "Yeah, I'm worried.
"So, honey, why not let my dad's company take on the Pitzburgh project?
"If Dad sees you're willing to trust him with such a huge project, he'll be so touched, any anger will just disappear."
For years, our family had always relied on traditional industries.
The company really had run into some problems.
If we wanted to bring it back to life, the Pitzburgh project was crucial.
Barrett didn't love me, but he was able to give me loads of money.
That was all I wanted from him.
This time, Barrett finally believed I meant every word.
He hesitated, staring at me for a long while, then gave me a genuinely relieved smile.
"Florence, I'm happy you see things this way now," he said.
He picked up the pen, catching my hopeful eyes.
And then, right there on the project contract, he signed his name.
Then, with a knowing look, he said, "If you keep acting like this, I'll gladly let you have as many projects as you want.
"But if I ever find out you're being two-faced and messing with Holly behind my back, you'll regret it."
Barrett's gaze was razor-sharp, like he could cut right through me.
Every word out of his mouth was just him standing up for his sidekick.
If this had been before, it would've ripped my heart to shreds.
But this time, I was just sick of it.
All the suffering from my life before left me completely numb to him. Any love I had for him was long gone.
And he was nothing but an ATM to me.