Chapter 1
Louise Turner and Simon Hayes were campus legends at Royal College, and their story of a girl chasing a guy had been retold in countless ways.
Louise was the pampered heiress who barely passed high school, scraped through the SATs, and basically bought her way into Royal College by donating two buildings.
Simon was the campus heartthrob and genius, winning gold medals in competitions since high school, got into Royal College on a full scholarship, but came from a poor family and was famously aloof and unapproachable.
Anyone who saw them together would say they were from completely different worlds.
But Louise had to go after Simon, no matter how tough it was.
She cooked for him, took care of his health, and set up a special scholarship to motivate him. Wherever Simon showed up, she was always right there, like his shadow.
When she saw him working late in the lab and getting sidelined, she spent 30 million dollars to build him his own private lab. But that only got her labeled as "clingy" and "cheap".
She thought maybe it was time to give up.
But that very night, Simon reached out to her. Louise never imagined that someone so cold could have such soft lips.
They'd been together for five years, and today was their anniversary.
Louise had booked a fancy music restaurant for a surprise, but the message she sent that morning still hadn't been replied to by ten at night.
She called Simon thirty times, but all she got was a cold, automated voice telling her his phone was off.
By the time the restaurant closed, the waiter gave her a look that was both awkward and full of sympathy.
"Miss, if he doesn't value you, maybe it's time to let go," the waiter blurted out as he locked up.
Louise's fingers froze, but she refused to back down and drove straight to Simon's office.
As soon as she parked, her phone buzzed.
Simon, who'd been MIA all day, finally replied: [Working.]
Louise looked up at the pitch-black office building, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. Then, out of nowhere, a familiar account popped up in her feed with a new set of photos. She couldn't help but click on it.
It was Haley Carter, Simon's junior, who posted nine photos about hiking and eating out, and Simon was in every single one.
The caption read: [Simon promised he'd spend every initiation anniversary with me, and he's never missed a single one.]
In the familiar background, Louise spotted the name of that trendy restaurant everyone was talking about.
It was only one street over from the place she'd booked.
While Louise waited alone at the restaurant until closing, Simon was spending the evening hiking and having dinner with Haley.
Tears streamed down Louise's face, and she hastily wiped them away. She was barely holding herself together as she stumbled home, feeling utterly lost and defeated.
When Louise pushed open the door, she saw Simon had just gotten out of the shower.
He caught sight of her and frowned. "It's already 11:30. I remember we agreed you wouldn't come home after 10. You'll mess with my sleep."
Louise stood frozen, spotting a suspicious red mark on his neck. Everything she'd bottled up all night finally burst out, and she snapped at him. "Why didn't you answer my calls or texts today? Do you know how much I—"
Before she could finish, Simon's phone, which he'd tossed on the couch, started ringing. The caller ID read Haley.
Louise snatched the phone, her eyes wild with fury. "Don't you dare answer that!"
Simon frowned. "Stop acting crazy."
With an icy expression, he stepped closer, his rough hand clamping down on her wrist as he forced the phone out of her grip. The call had already ended, but a new message popped up on the screen.
He barely glanced at the message, then got dressed with practiced ease and headed straight for the door.
"Simon, now you don't mind someone messing up your rest? If you walk out that door tonight, it's over between us!" Louise shouted hoarsely from behind him, her voice breaking, holding onto the last bit of hope.
Simon paused for a second as he put on his coat. Then he turned to look at her, his eyes full of exhaustion and helplessness, as if she was throwing a tantrum.
He said, "Louise, lab data isn't something you can throw money at, like your designer handbags. For us, it's the product of countless sleepless nights and hard work.
"I'm letting it slide that you came home late tonight, but enough with the drama, okay?"
Seeing him still determined to leave, Louise let go of her last bit of dignity, sobbing as she threw herself at him and hugged him tight. "Is your experiment really so fragile that it can't go on without you?
"But tonight, you have to stay with me."
Simon felt her tears, but only paused for a heartbeat before firmly peeling her fingers off his arm. "Don't make this harder. I have to go tonight."
"If you take one step out that door, we're done. All those perks you got from me..." Louise bit her tongue, forcing herself to say it, her voice shaking with stubbornness.
Simon finally stopped, turning to look at her under the dim, yellow light of the entryway.
His gaze was colder and more distant than she'd ever seen, with a trace of irritation he didn't even try to hide anymore.
"Louise," his voice was eerily calm, "wasn't this relationship something you forced from the very beginning?"
He pulled the door open, and the night wind rushed in, making Louise shiver. "Suit yourself."
The door clicked shut, sounding sharp and final.