Chapter 1 · The Last Goodbye

The night I lost the promotion, I sat on the curb and bought a box of fries.

I stuffed them into my mouth one by one, tears rolling down my cheeks.

I texted my boyfriend, James Grant: [I'm a bit tired today, but the fry is really good.]

He didn't reply.

Half an hour later, I couldn't resist sending another message: [Are you busy? I want to talk to you.]

He finally replied: [What do you mean by sending this? Are you expecting me to cover it for you?]

I stared at those words for a long time, in disbelief.

James's startup had just gotten off the ground when his mother took all the money, leaving him with over 30 million dollars in debt overnight.

Since then, what he hated most were gold diggers.

And I did everything I could to show I wasn't like that.

For six years, I never spent a single penny of his.

Whenever we went out, we always went Dutch; I returned every gift he gave me, and at work, I made sure all my project results were laid out for everyone to judge.

As I scrolled through my feed, I saw the intern who'd just landed the promotion showing off a sparkling diamond necklace.

Her post read: [Thank you, Mr. Grant, for celebrating my promotion. I'll keep working hard.]

I remembered seeing that necklace in a magazine, only three of them existed in the whole world.

In six years, not once did James ever give me anything worth more than 300 dollars.

But the necklace hanging around Emily Carter's neck was worth 3 million dollars.

Tears blurred my phone screen, and suddenly, I realized that the innocence I had spent years trying to prove was probably not even worth the price of a single fry in his eyes.

*****

After finishing the last fry, I hailed a cab and headed back to the office.

The promotion results were already posted.

But I still wanted to ask where I fell short.

Six years of project experience, three consecutive years as the top performer, and the most stable team in the company.

And yet, I lost to an intern who just went full-time.

As soon as I got out of the cab, I spotted James about ten feet away, leaning down to open the car door for Emily.

"No rush on this project. Just take your time getting used to how things work," he said.

"In a couple of days, I'll bring you along to Londell to meet the client. It'll be a great chance to learn."

"But I only just became full-time," Emily sounded a bit unsure.

James cut her off, his voice gentle. "It's fine.

"As long as you've got the skills, your status doesn't matter.

"Besides, I'm here. If anything comes up, I've got you covered."

The summer breeze was warm, but I felt a chill run down to my toes.

In six years, James had been to thirty-five countries, but he never once took me with him.

He always said, "No personal stuff at work."

I once asked, "What if I go as the project lead? Would that be okay?"

He just looked at me and said, "Sarah, are you trying to use your project achievements to get a business trip? You should be mindful of your position."

Be mindful of position.

I was so cautious. I couldn't risk commuting with him, posting about us online, or even sharing the same elevator at work.

Then he turned to someone else and said, "Your status doesn't matter."

Emily spotted me and waved. "Sarah!"

James followed her gaze and turned to look.

He barely glanced at me before his attention shifted right back to Emily.

"Come on, I'll take you home. Get some rest," he said.

Emily nodded, then smiled at me. "Sarah, are you heading back to the office, or do you want to come with us?"

James finally looked at me.

"Just grab a cab. Emily lives the other way, so it's not convenient," he said.

But we'd still end up at our place together. So what exactly wasn't "on the way"?

Before I could say anything, he got in the car and started the engine.

I stood there in the wind, watching the car disappear.

I'd been watching that back for six years.

Back then, he'd go out of his way to pick me up when I had a contract to sign.

Now, it was not convenient anymore.

I found the judges' score sheet on the HR computer.

Next to my name, James had given me a score of 58.

Out of all six judges, he gave me the lowest score.

Scrolling down, I saw he'd given Emily a 98.

I stared at that 58, feeling like I couldn't catch my breath.

How could it be James?

He knew better than anyone how I'd struggled these past six years.

Every late night I worked overtime, every all-nighter before a proposal, every report card he glanced at, he'd seen it all with his own eyes.

And yet, he gave me the lowest score.

"Why?" I whispered to myself.

The only answer was the sound of a tear hitting the keyboard.

And the sudden pitter-patter of rain outside.

Chapter 1

The night I lost the promotion, I sat on the curb and bought a box of fries.

I stuffed them into my mouth one by one, tears rolling down my cheeks.

I texted my boyfriend, James Grant: [I'm a bit tired today, but the fry is really good.]

He didn't reply.

Half an hour later, I couldn't resist sending another message: [Are you busy? I want to talk to you.]

He finally replied: [What do you mean by sending this? Are you expecting me to cover it for you?]

I stared at those words for a long time, in disbelief.

James's startup had just gotten off the ground when his mother took all the money, leaving him with over 30 million dollars in debt overnight.

Since then, what he hated most were gold diggers.

And I did everything I could to show I wasn't like that.

For six years, I never spent a single penny of his.

Whenever we went out, we always went Dutch; I returned every gift he gave me, and at work, I made sure all my project results were laid out for everyone to judge.

As I scrolled through my feed, I saw the intern who'd just landed the promotion showing off a sparkling diamond necklace.

Her post read: [Thank you, Mr. Grant, for celebrating my promotion. I'll keep working hard.]

I remembered seeing that necklace in a magazine, only three of them existed in the whole world.

In six years, not once did James ever give me anything worth more than 300 dollars.

But the necklace hanging around Emily Carter's neck was worth 3 million dollars.

Tears blurred my phone screen, and suddenly, I realized that the innocence I had spent years trying to prove was probably not even worth the price of a single fry in his eyes.

*****

After finishing the last fry, I hailed a cab and headed back to the office.

The promotion results were already posted.

But I still wanted to ask where I fell short.

Six years of project experience, three consecutive years as the top performer, and the most stable team in the company.

And yet, I lost to an intern who just went full-time.

As soon as I got out of the cab, I spotted James about ten feet away, leaning down to open the car door for Emily.

"No rush on this project. Just take your time getting used to how things work," he said.

"In a couple of days, I'll bring you along to Londell to meet the client. It'll be a great chance to learn."

"But I only just became full-time," Emily sounded a bit unsure.

James cut her off, his voice gentle. "It's fine.

"As long as you've got the skills, your status doesn't matter.

"Besides, I'm here. If anything comes up, I've got you covered."

The summer breeze was warm, but I felt a chill run down to my toes.

In six years, James had been to thirty-five countries, but he never once took me with him.

He always said, "No personal stuff at work."

I once asked, "What if I go as the project lead? Would that be okay?"

He just looked at me and said, "Sarah, are you trying to use your project achievements to get a business trip? You should be mindful of your position."

Be mindful of position.

I was so cautious. I couldn't risk commuting with him, posting about us online, or even sharing the same elevator at work.

Then he turned to someone else and said, "Your status doesn't matter."

Emily spotted me and waved. "Sarah!"

James followed her gaze and turned to look.

He barely glanced at me before his attention shifted right back to Emily.

"Come on, I'll take you home. Get some rest," he said.

Emily nodded, then smiled at me. "Sarah, are you heading back to the office, or do you want to come with us?"

James finally looked at me.

"Just grab a cab. Emily lives the other way, so it's not convenient," he said.

But we'd still end up at our place together. So what exactly wasn't "on the way"?

Before I could say anything, he got in the car and started the engine.

I stood there in the wind, watching the car disappear.

I'd been watching that back for six years.

Back then, he'd go out of his way to pick me up when I had a contract to sign.

Now, it was not convenient anymore.

I found the judges' score sheet on the HR computer.

Next to my name, James had given me a score of 58.

Out of all six judges, he gave me the lowest score.

Scrolling down, I saw he'd given Emily a 98.

I stared at that 58, feeling like I couldn't catch my breath.

How could it be James?

He knew better than anyone how I'd struggled these past six years.

Every late night I worked overtime, every all-nighter before a proposal, every report card he glanced at, he'd seen it all with his own eyes.

And yet, he gave me the lowest score.

"Why?" I whispered to myself.

The only answer was the sound of a tear hitting the keyboard.

And the sudden pitter-patter of rain outside.