Feeling utterly humiliated, Carol covered her face and ran off in tears.
Carol fled, Ida was left speechless, but still tried her best to defend Carol.
"Richard, look at her! She is bullying Carol like this!"
Though I hadn't done much, I still felt nervous. After all, love can blind a man.
But Richard, staying as cool as ever, responded with just several words. "Not my problem."
Then he walked over to me, ruffled my hair like I was a pet, and said, "Stop hanging around these people. They'll only make you dumb."
Ah...
For a moment, I didn't know whether he was insulting me or his own cousin.
Ida ran off crying, too.
Now, it was just me and Richard left.
I figured, why break the pattern?
Just as I was about to cover my face and run, Richard shoved a piece of paper into my hand.
I looked down—it was the check I had been hoping for!
"Thank you, Mr. Yukio!" I cheerfully thanked him, but when I glanced at the amount, my hand trembled.
I almost tore the check in half.
How many zeros?
I counted them.
Tens, hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands...
In disbelief, I counted one more time.
It was still ten thousand!
What? The CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the richest man in town, gave me only ten thousand as a breakup fee.
All those novels were full of lies! CEOs don't just hand out five million like it's nothing!
So, I stuffed the check into my chest and ran off, covering my face in shame.
The heavens must have been fed up with Richard's stinginess because, just before I was about to make my escape, they sent a god of wealth my way.
When Richard's mother appeared before me, poised and elegant, she didn't say a word. She simply handed me a black card.
My hands trembled as I reached out and took the card. Then, with resolve, I pounded my chest. "Auntie, say no more! I'm leaving right now! May Mr. Yukio and Miss Green have a long and happy life together with many children!"
After sincerely offering my blessings, I grabbed my bag and bolted while Richard's mother stood there in confusion.
"Wait a minute!"
Hearing Richard's mother call after me, I ran even faster!
As long as I ran fast enough, nothing could catch up to me!
But then...
The moment I stepped outside, I was thrown into a sack.
When I regained consciousness, I found myself in an abandoned factory, my hands bound behind my back.
A knife was pressed against my neck from behind.
"Pare my life!" I immediately dropped to my knees.