Chapter 2

I stepped in front of Russell. "I don't think I need to report to you who I have dinner with, do I?"

Zoe's rich boyfriend checked me out with interest.

"Is this your friend? She looks pretty cute. How about joining us for dinner tonight?" he said.

Zoe's expression changed instantly.

Zoe quickly grabbed her rich boyfriend. "Honey, aren't we supposed to catch a movie? Don't bother with people like her."

After saying that, she gave me a dirty look and pulled him away quickly.

Russell looked at me. "You sure know how to stand up for others."

I lowered my head, my fair neck showing. "I just thought she was way out of line."

He suddenly smiled, a playful glint in his eyes. "Come on, let's go eat."

Since I wanted to catch a big fish, I had to throw out some bait.

I'd been tracking Russell's whereabouts. I put on my red vest for my part-time job, grabbed a stack of flyers, and took my spot at the mall entrance.

Everyone passing by was either loaded or high-status, and they shot me dirty looks.

"Hi there, interested in checking out our gym?" I said.

One of the flyers slipped from my hand and hit the floor. I bent down to grab it, but someone else snatched it up before I could.

My heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, when I looked up, it was Russell.

He was rocking a yellow uniform, holding a delivery box in his hand.

"What a coincidence," he said, handing me the flyer with a teasing smirk.

I was stunned for a moment, then surprise and delight lit up my face.

"Russell? Are you working part-time here as well?" I asked, surprised.

Russell played along. "Yeah, just out here making a few deliveries."

I pulled him over to sit on the steps by the mall's side entrance. I rummaged through my bag and took out a half-empty bottle of water, feeling a bit awkward.

"This is all I've got. If you don't mind..." I said.

Russell glanced at the bottle but didn't take it. Instead, he reached into his delivery box, grabbed a plain bottle of water without a label, twisted off the cap, and handed it to me.

"Here, drink this. The customer canceled the order, so it's just leftover," he said.

I took it and sipped carefully. "Are you strapped for cash or something?"

Russell leaned against the wall. "Yeah, I'm deep in debt. No clue how I'll cover next month's rent."

I set the bottle down and grabbed his hand. "It's fine, don't worry."

I looked right into his eyes, determination in my voice.

"I can take on a few more jobs. I'll support you. As long as we work together, we'll get through this and pay off the debt, no matter what," I said.

Russell's fingers froze for a moment. He turned to me, fixing his eyes on mine. "Amanda, what do you really want?"

I lowered my head, blushing. "I like you!"

Russell laughed. "Alright, you can take care of me then."

He gripped my hand in return. "Just remember, you said it yourself. Don't regret it later."

I nodded firmly. "Never."

Since he said that, I would never give him a chance to go back on his words.

Zoe got the other roommates to ostracize me, loudly gossiping about me in the dorm.

"She's got no shame, she'll go for any guy," one of them said.

"Yeah, trying to steal Zoe's man? As if she's even in her league," another chimed in.

I just ignored them all.

Zoe accidentally knocked over the skincare products Russell gave me, and they smashed to pieces on the floor.

She rolled her eyes. "Why'd you leave your stuff all over the place?"

I quietly crouched down and cleaned up the mess.

That night, while video chatting with Russell, I was looking down, applying ointment to the back of my hand.

"What happened to your hand?" he asked.

"It's nothing. I just bumped it by accident," I replied, hurriedly hiding my hand behind my back.

The camera caught a glimpse of the pile of shattered skincare bottles in the corner of my desk.

The next day, Zoe's rich boyfriend had all his cards frozen by his family, and then kicked her to the curb.

Zoe was so pissed that she started yelling in the dorm, throwing all her makeup around.

I knew Russell was behind it.

Someone like him would never let anyone hurt things that belonged to him, even if it was just a plaything.

To keep things going between us, I decided to get him a little present.

I ordered a handmade scarf online.

I made sure to tell them that the uglier, the better.

It only cost ten bucks, but honestly, it was all about the emotional value.

Russell held the scarf, looking at it with a complicated expression, clearly at a loss for words.

I stood off to the side, my cheeks flushed bright red.

"Sorry, it's my first time knitting, and it turned out so bad. Maybe you should just toss it," I said.

I reached out to take it back, but Russell moved it out of my reach.

He wrapped the scarf around his neck. "Pretty warm, actually."

That night, Russell was especially excited, but just as things were heating up, he suddenly pulled back.

He gently held my chin. "Amanda, if I stay broke forever, would you still want to be with me?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Come on, I like you for you, not for your money."

I looked up at him, my gaze pure and overflowing with love.

I said, "As long as I can be with you, I'd do anything."

Russell's body tensed for a moment, then his movements grew even more intense.

"Silly girl," he whispered.

My gaze slid past his shoulder and landed on the watch he'd just tossed onto the nightstand.

It was a Patek Philippe Nautilus. On the resale market, that thing easily goes for seven figures.

In my head, I called him a dumbass.

The next day, he posted a selfie on his social media, wearing the scarf I gave him.

He hid the post from most people, but at least he finally put us out there.