Chapter 1

“Chloe, my dad is in the hospital waiting for a kidney so he can have surgery. We need $200,000! There are three million dollars in my salary account. Could you give me $200,000 first?”

I looked at Chloe Hart’s impatient expression and humbled myself as much as I could.

I said everything I could to persuade her, but she only frowned in disgust.

“Ethan Parker, can you stop putting on an act? Jason was right. You’re just too stingy to part with your money, and you’re always guarding against me because you’re afraid I’ll swallow up your savings!”

“My father is the chairman of a billion-dollar company. Do you really think I care about your three million dollars? I was only testing how sincere you are about me, but you’ve disappointed me!”

When she pushed past me to leave, I hurriedly blocked her path.

My father had waited years for a suitable kidney. The doctor had said that if he missed this chance, his condition would rapidly deteriorate, and he might not survive.

“Chloe, I really wasn’t lying! I’ve been with you for seven years. When have I ever asked you for money? Haven’t I always paid for everything between us? If my dad didn’t need this life-saving money, I would never have asked you for anything!”

The moment she heard that, Chloe’s expression turned cold.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Do you think being with me has been a burden? Ethan, if you care so much about that filthy money, then let’s break up!”

When Jason Reed heard the words “break up,” a glimmer flashed through his eyes. He tugged at Chloe’s sleeve and pretended to persuade her.

“Don’t you give him two hundred dollars in spending money every month? Maybe Ethan thinks that isn’t enough, so he came up with an excuse to ask you for more. You should try to understand him. He came from a poor family, so it’s normal for him to care about money.”

Seeing Jason trying to drive a wedge between us, anger flared in my chest.

Ever since I started dating Chloe, I had handed my salary card over to her. I earned more than fifty thousand dollars a month, yet she gave me only two hundred dollars in pocket money.

She claimed she was afraid that if I had money, I would go out and cheat on her.

With that little money, I had to cover my own expenses and care for my father, who had been hospitalized for years. I was constantly struggling to get by.

So even though I earned a high salary at the company, my food, clothing, housing, and transportation were worse than those of the cleaning staff.

Whenever Chloe saw me wearing clothes I had bought online for less than ten dollars, she only thought I looked shabby and embarrassing.

But every time I asked for a little more money, Chloe’s expression turned cold, and she accused me of not trusting her.

“Ethan, I planned to marry you. But you know my family is afraid you’re only after our money, so they made you sign a prenuptial agreement.”

Sure enough, after hearing this, Chloe’s expression became even uglier.

She pulled several bills from her purse and viciously slapped them across my face.

“How did I never realize what a money-grubbing person you are? Is this enough?”

The red bills scattered across the floor, and Chloe’s high heel stepped right over them.

Jason wrapped an arm around her waist, soothing her while throwing me a taunting glance.

Strangers passing by pointed and whispered. I looked at the money on the ground and thought of my father waiting in the hospital for life-saving treatment, so I gritted my teeth and picked up the bills one by one.

But how could this amount possibly be enough?

I went home and gathered every valuable thing I owned, listing everything on a secondhand website at the lowest possible prices. I would take whatever money I could get.

But it still wasn’t enough!

After thinking it over, I took out the last thing I had hidden away.

It was a Royal Oak watch Chloe had given me shortly after we started dating.

I had secretly looked it up back then and found out it cost more than $200,000, which scared me so much that I didn’t dare accept it.

But Chloe had said that no amount of money spent on me was too much and insisted that I put it on.

It was the only gift she had given me in our seven years together.

Looking at the watch I had worn only a handful of times, I felt a sharp ache in my heart and couldn’t bring myself to sell it.

In the end, I swallowed my pride and messaged Chloe, hoping she could lend me $200,000. I told her I could write an IOU.

But she didn’t reply for several days, and when I called her, I discovered that she had blocked me.

The red exclamation mark on my screen seemed to mock me for my one-sided affection.

I was hesitating over whether to look for her again when Jason sent me a video.

“Chloe, isn’t this too expensive for a birthday gift?”

In the video, Jason stared at the watch in his hands, clearly delighted, while pretending to refuse it.

Chloe held onto his arm and said coquettishly, “It’s only a little over three hundred thousand dollars. I checked, and there’s more than enough money in Ethan’s salary account. If you like it, you can buy two watches. Pick whichever ones you want!”

How ridiculous!

When I asked her for a few hundred dollars, she interrogated me as if I were a criminal. Yet she could turn around and use my money to buy another man an expensive watch.

I completely gave up on asking Chloe for money and took the luxury watch to a secondhand market.

Once I sold it, I would consider my seven-year relationship with her officially over.

All I wanted was to save my father’s life. I didn’t want anything else.

I couldn’t afford Chloe’s love!

In the VIP room, the sales associate carefully examined the Royal Oak in my hand and checked its serial number.

Then she looked up and sized me up, a trace of disdain in her eyes.

“Sir, this watch is counterfeit.”