Vanessa threw away the ten thousand blessings she once demanded as the price for marrying her the moment Damon returned.
That single action confirmed that the five years I spent with her carried no weight and that I was never more than a temporary stand-in.
I did not argue, negotiate, or wait for an explanation.
I submitted my resignation, closed every point of contact between us, and chose to leave the city and the life she controlled.
After my visa was approved, I went home to pack. The moment I opened my closet, Vanessa popped out, startling me.
“Adrian! I’m the hunter, and I’ve caught my prey!”
She was beaming, her cheeks flushed, laughing heartily.
I knew she’d used a “business trip” as an excuse these past two days, but she was really just traveling with Damon to avoid me.
In the past, I would have greeted her with a warm smile, asking about her trip.
Now, I just pulled her aside and started rummaging for my clothes.
Vanessa stood there, looking a bit lost. After a long moment, she poked my arm.
“Adrian, what’s wrong? Are you still mad about me not lending you money that day? I was trying to complete Damon’s dare. We’re friends, and he was about to lose in fifteen minutes. I didn’t have time to transfer money. Didn’t I soften up later and have the finance department give you an advance?”
I gave a bitter laugh, suppressing the sting in my nose, and kept stuffing clothes into my suitcase.
That day, Mom had just arrived from out of town when she saw her future daughter-in-law on a giant screen, holding another man’s hand and making their relationship official.
She collapsed on the spot.
I rushed to the scene, falling to my knees in front of Vanessa, pleading with her to give me back my savings for Mom’s medical bills.
It would have taken less than three seconds to pull out her bank card from her bag.
But she just coldly kicked me aside, telling me to figure it out myself. Then, she used every last cent from my card to buy Damon a luxury car.
Later, when I went to the finance department for an advance, the finance officer rolled her eyes at me.
“Adrian, who do you think you are, dreaming about someone like her? Mr. Damon and CEO Vanessa are the golden couple.”
She deliberately dragged out the process.
I ran around the company, completing eighteen different procedures, which took three hours, just to get a $200 advance.
The finance officer said it was Vanessa’s order, and they couldn’t do anything about it.
By the time I rushed to the hospital, Mom had already passed away.
Vanessa saw I wasn’t speaking, snatched the clothes from my hands, and threw them onto the bed.
“That’s what I dislike about you small-town guys. You’re so petty. You hand over a few hundred thousand, and then you try every trick to get it back. Honestly, I bought Damon that sports car just to cut off your idea of getting into my pockets!”
My heart felt like it was squeezed hard. I took a deep breath. I thought if I just poured my heart out and gave her all my earnings, Vanessa would eventually let go of her suspicions.
But I never imagined she still thought I was after her money.
Damon and she had broken up and gotten back together three times. Each time, it was her winning him back with luxury cars and lavish homes.
So why was it suddenly me who was being petty?
I finished packing, picked up my suitcase, and curled my lips into a sarcastic smile. “It won’t happen again. Keep your money for Damon to spend.”
Vanessa’s eyes widened. She grabbed me.
CRASH!
A storage box was knocked over, sending countless paper slips covered with blessings fluttering to the ground like snow.
These were all the blessing messages I had pleaded with anyone and everyone I met on the street to write for me.
She had said she’d had enough heartbreak. Unless I collected ten thousand blessings from strangers to prove my sincerity, she wouldn’t marry me.
The ten thousandth blessing was from a passenger sitting next to my mom on the train ride into the city.
When Mom handed it to me, she wished Vanessa and me a long and happy life together.
But Vanessa still announced her relationship with Damon just because of one sentence from him.
All my boundaries, all my efforts, were a joke.
Vanessa picked up a slip of paper. Her beautiful brows relaxed, and she sighed.
“Alright, Adrian, stop sulking. I’ll give you another three hundred. Take your mom to get some nice clothes and good food. Later, I’ll take her on a trip. I’ll do my duty as a daughter-in-law.”
In the past, I would have taken the out and praised her as a good wife. But now, the bitterness in my heart wouldn’t let up. I just couldn’t swallow it.
I covered her transfer screen with my hand and said coldly, “No need. You’re not her daughter-in-law. We’re over.”
My words were swallowed by the sound of a key in the lock.
“Vanessa, I’m here to pick you up! Didn’t we say we’d treat everyone to dinner to celebrate?”
Damon walked in, looking surprised. “Assistant Adrian, why are you at Vanessa’s place?”
Vanessa coughed, putting distance between us. “Adrian’s mom needed money, he just asked if he could get an advance on his salary.”
We’d been in a secret relationship for five years.
She always kept me at arm’s length, and I couldn’t even post about her on Ins.
I thought it was because she didn’t want an office romance.
Turns out, keeping it from everyone was just about keeping it from *him*.
Damon looked righteous and reprimanded me sharply.
“Assistant Adrian, don’t go too far. I didn’t even say anything about you causing a scene at the announcement, but you have hands and feet. You can’t just take advantage of Vanessa’s kindness and demand money from her!”
Vanessa frowned, about to speak.
I curled my lips. “You’re right, that’s exactly what I think. So I’m leaving now.”
With that, I picked up my suitcase and walked past Vanessa, heading downstairs.
She took a step as if to follow, glanced at Damon, then calmly said, “Be careful on your way.”
As I walked out of the building, Vanessa sent me a SnapChat message: “Adrian, don’t worry. This is the last time I’ll help Damon out. I’ll make time in a couple of days to take your aunt out, and we can discuss our wedding plans and get married soon.”
I scoffed. I just opened my chat with William, the HR from the overseas company. “William, my visa is done. Flight’s tomorrow afternoon. See you there.”
I hailed a cab to the company to pick up my files, but the HR officer looked impatient.
“CEO Vanessa has been holding up your resignation application. Come back next Monday to ask again.”
I called Vanessa, but it just rang busy.
It was always like this when she was with Damon. I should have waited for her to approve my resignation before rushing off earlier.
Frustrated, I frowned and left the company.
Behind me, a burst of laughter erupted.
“When Mr. Damon and CEO Vanessa made their relationship official, he was there singing and dancing, even kneeling and begging Vanessa for money! So embarrassing!”
“Didn’t you see how awful his face looked when he couldn’t get through to CEO Vanessa just now? If I were her, I’d block a leech like that too!”
I was used to these mocking words by now. My phone pinged with a notification C a taunting message from Damon.
The photo showed the blessing slips stuffed into a reeking, greasy trash can.
“Vanessa threw away all ten thousand blessings just because I said so. I heard you spent a year collecting them, so much effort, how sad.”
“So what if you dated for five years? The moment I came back, you were kicked to the curb. She’s eating with me right now, peeling shrimp for me, her hands covered in sauce. You’ve never seen that, have you? If you’re curious, come to the restaurant’s private room, I’ll let you see all you want.”
My hand tightened around my phone. Since he’d returned, I’d seen too many messages like this.
Vanessa, who was a clean freak and so proud, would wash his clothes, cook for him, and even wash his feet and make his bed.
Before, I used to dread Damon’s messages, yet I’d self-torture myself by watching Vanessa’s special treatment of him.
I even tried to tell myself it was all Photoshopped, telling him not to stir up trouble, thinking if I didn’t see the truth, I could keep lying to myself.
This time, I went. Not out of jealousy, but to get Vanessa to sign my resignation and sever all ties with her.
Half an hour later, I arrived at the restaurant, only to hear Vanessa arguing with someone in the stairwell. I instinctively hid around the corner.
“Vanessa, are you out of your mind?! Damon dumped you three times, each time worse than the last! He even tricked you to a cliff and almost broke your leg! And you’re making it official with him?! Adrian has been with you for five years, and you never gave him a title. Don’t forget he risked his life to save you before!”
It was Sasha, Vanessa’s best friend. I touched the uneven scar on my forehead.
A year ago, Vanessa and I were in a car accident during a business trip.
To protect her, I was impaled by the windshield. I had a dozen steel plates implanted in my body, and a scar above my left eyebrow disfigured me, making my formerly gentle eyes look fierce.
Colleagues secretly called me ‘Scarface,’ kept their distance, and even spread rumors that I was beaten by loan sharks.
Vanessa, however, never clarified anything to avoid suspicion.
The next second, Vanessa’s reply struck me like a lightning bolt.
“It’s because he had the car accident. He has a scar over his eye. He doesn’t look like Damon anymore.”
Sasha was furious.
“So you were still treating him as a substitute! No wonder when he proposed, you made him do an impossible task. Ten thousand blessings? Even if he asked thirty people a day, it would take a year! If you didn’t want to marry him, you didn’t have to string him along! What kind of spell did a scumbag like Damon put on you?!”
“Enough!” Vanessa snapped, her voice sharp.
“Don’t you dare slander Damon like that! He said he’s turned over a new leaf. I’m just trying to make up for past regrets. Give me two more days, and I’ll break it off with him.”
Sasha was speechless. “Aren’t you afraid Adrian will truly give up?”
Vanessa seemed relaxed, in control. “Adrian’s job came from me, he lives in my apartment. He has nothing without me. I’ll take responsibility for him. We’ve been out too long, Damon will get impatient. Let’s head back.”
Watching their retreating figures, I stood there for a long time, then sank to the floor, holding myself.
When Mom got sick, I brought her to the city for treatment.
When I was desperate because we had no money, Vanessa was the one who approached me, inviting me to work at her company.
She was gentle and compassionate, like a goddess, and I fell for her.
Now, looking back, I was wearing a mask then, only my eyes visible. And her eyes were filled with the joy of finding something she’d lost.
Whenever she mentioned her ex, Vanessa would gnash her teeth, full of love and hate. Then she’d bury her head against my chest, sighing how lucky she was to have me.
After Damon returned to the country, she deliberately ‘ran into’ him several times, clashing with him, but their ‘arguments’ were just her way of flirting and showing how much she missed him.
No wonder Vanessa suddenly became distant after the car accident.
I was foolishly thinking it was because Damon was back, and she was just conflicted.
Turns out, the original was back, and I, the substitute, was useless, which was why she made me collect ten thousand blessings to politely reject me.
After a while, I took a deep breath and pushed open the private room door. Inside, everyone was already tipsy, clapping and cheering.
“Their dramatic reunion, their intense, complicated love C I’m totally hooked! Vanessa, you have to kiss Damon!”
Vanessa openly kissed Damon on the lips. Her long lashes trembled, and her ears turned crimson, betraying her racing heart.
She didn’t know how long it had been until the cheering died down.
She opened her eyes in confusion. She saw me, standing behind Damon, my face emotionless.
She shot up, her face pale. “Adrian, I can explain everything! It’s not what you think!”
Her attempt to cover it up just made her look incredibly guilty.
“Vanessa, we’re done.”
The next second, I pulled out my resignation application. “Also, please sign this so I can leave the company.”
Vanessa was flustered. Everyone in the room looked on with mixed expressions, some hesitating, wanting to advise me.
But then, whoosh!
Damon swept the drinks and fruit bowls off the table, looking utterly humiliated. “You two are a couple?!”
“Vanessa, I told you, the love I want is one where only I exist in your eyes. If you had a boyfriend, you should have just said so. There was no need to take revenge on me like this!”
He stormed out. Vanessa snapped back to reality and, losing all composure, slapped me. “How dare you make a scene in front of Damon? Why did you expose our relationship? He’s sensitive and can’t handle shocks, don’t you know that?”
My head was snapped sideways from the blow, my eyes cold.
The fierce fire in her eyes suddenly died, replaced by a flicker of distress. The hand that hit me trembled violently.
She turned her head away and said sharply, “You just want to force me into marriage, but your plan failed. I’d like to see how you’re going to cause trouble for Damon without the job I gave you!”
She snatched my resignation application and signed it. The next second, she shouted “Damon!” and ran off, chasing him.
I rubbed the crumpled paper, and with a sense of relief, I left amidst the stunned gazes of the crowd.
Now, there was only one thing left to do. After Mom passed, I decided to take her ashes abroad, so I had only arranged a simple memorial.
Tomorrow, I needed to pick up Mom’s ashes and belongings from the hospital.
The next morning, I timed my arrival at the hospital perfectly, intending to leave straight for the airport afterward.
As I passed a department, I overheard a doctor calling out Vanessa’s name.
“You young people are crazy in love! Your eyes are inflamed, ulcerated, and bleeding. You could go blind permanently! You can’t keep doing this!”
I unconsciously slowed my steps.
Then I heard Damon’s whining voice.
“Vanessa, I was just being dramatic yesterday when I said I’d only forgive you if you had eyes only for me! Why did you actually tattoo my name all over your eyeballs?!”
Vanessa’s voice was full of deep affection. “For you, it’s nothing.”
I turned my head and saw Vanessa’s eyes.
Her eyelids were swollen, blood vessels burst, and they were hazy with blood.
I could faintly see her eyeballs were dark, densely covered with Damon’s name.
Yet, before, when I had just bought a pair of matching couple’s rings, she had cursed me out, saying I was deliberately claiming ownership and trying to tie her down, restricting her freedom.
Turns out, in the face of love, everyone is equally desperate.
I continued toward the morgue. Damon had already spotted me and deliberately picked a fight.
“Adrian, Vanessa said you’re just a persistent admirer who won’t give up. What do you want now?”
Vanessa, surprisingly, wasn’t angry at all. She quickly put on her sunglasses, adjusted her hair, and her lips curved upward.
“Adrian, I know you came here looking for me on purpose. As long as you swear not to do anything out of line again, I can still let you come back to the company. I heard your mom is in our city recently. I could be generous and take her on a trip.”
My eyes were full of sarcasm.
What “out of line” things? Should I continue to be her secret lover, smilingly bless her and Damon, and then, after she’s had her fun and decided to settle down, gratefully marry her?
To this day, she still didn’t know that Mom had already died, her last wish being for me to find someone who loved me.
The nurse, however, couldn’t wait. She rushed out to find me, handing me Mom’s ashes and belongings.
“Adrian, I have other families to attend to. Just sign here, and you can take your mother’s ashes.”
Vanessa’s triumphant expression froze. “What ashes?”
The medical staff looked at her, surprised. “Adrian’s mother passed away two days ago because she couldn’t afford the medical fees.”
Vanessa was speechless. It took her a moment to find her voice. “How is that possible? Adrian, you didn’t use the money I gave you for your mom?!”
I bent down to sign the ash collection form. Damon frowned, then suddenly spoke.
“Vanessa, I suddenly feel a little discomfort in my heart. Could you please ask the doctor to check me? Adrian and I are both men, maybe I can comfort him properly.”
Vanessa hesitated, then finally called out to me. “Adrian, you stay here. Don’t move. Once I call the doctor, we can talk properly!”
As soon as she left, Damon’s eyes filled with malice, and he deliberately knocked over my mother’s ashes.
He whispered mockingly, “Adrian, you’re truly a persistent ghost. I deliberately told finance not to give you the funds. Your mom died because you didn’t know your place. And Vanessa even said she’s giving your vacant position to me. If you’re smart, you’ll get lost!”
My pupils contracted. So Damon was behind my mom’s death!
Furious, I didn’t hesitate to slap him. But he immediately collapsed, curled up in the corner, looking pained and begging, “Adrian, don’t kill me! I’m so sad your mother died too!”
Passersby, not knowing the full story, all assumed I was just venting my anger.
They had all seen Vanessa and Damon’s official announcement video and were now righteously indignant.
“His own mom died, and he’s bullying another patient to vent?! Where’s security? Get this guy out of the hospital!”
“Don’t you know that’s CEO Vanessa’s husband? The Sterling family has immense wealth, you just messed with the wrong person! It’s not too late to beg for forgiveness now!”
My face was numb. I knelt down to pick up the shattered ceramic urn holding my mother’s ashes.
The sharp edges of the fragments cut my fingers, leaving streaks of blood, but I didn’t seem to feel the pain.
As everyone condemned me, Vanessa finally arrived with the doctor. They vied to speak, as if taking credit.
“CEO Vanessa, your husband is being bullied! Aren’t you going to stand up for him?”
Damon, looking triumphant, weakly cried out, “Vanessa, I’m fine. I was just kindly helping Adrian with his mother’s ashes, and I accidentally broke them. He didn’t mean to push me or slap me. I’m okay, I don’t think anything’s broken.”
Vanessa took three swift steps towards me. I didn’t even lift my head, gathering my mother’s ashes. I figured she’d just say a few words to me.
But to my surprise, the next second, she knelt directly in front of me, carefully cradling my hands and asking, “Does it hurt?”
She held my bloody hands, her eyes filled with heartache. Everyone present stared at each other, stunned. Damon was dumbfounded, even forgetting to feign illness, his eyes wide.
In the past, if he pretended to be sick, Vanessa would fuss like a chicken with its head cut off. But now, she was concerned about me, the ‘unreasonable’ one.
↓ ↓ Download the Novel Master app, Search 【 314410 】reads the whole book. ↓ ↓
NovelShort
