After Being Bullied, The CEO Stood Up For Me

After I humbly sent off the landlord who came to collect the long-overdue rent, my eyes once again landed on the entrance cabinet.

There was a small pink gift box that was delicately wrapped up in there. It was a gift that Mark Hanson had prepared for his childhood sweetheart, Terry Johnson. The gift was so expensive that it was worth two months of rent of our apartment.

Although our money situation was not good for the time being, he still insisted on giving the best present for his so-called "little sister". He did not even care that the money he used to buy it was the payment I had earned from working day and night.

I turned and looked at the young Master Hanson. The man was busy fiddling with his easel in the living room.

At that time, the landlord said before he left, echoed in my mind, "Young girl, I assume you are the same age as my daughter, so forgive me for saying this. You don't have to heed this old man's advice, but I'm concerned about you. I always see you leaving early in the morning and returning home late at night for work every single day, while your boyfriend stays at home all day long. Moreover, he has a temper too. Young girl, let me tell you. You are still young. You should not stay with a man who lives off a woman's hard work. The man is not reliable."

I acted as if I listened to the landlord's advice, after all, I was already in the wrong for not paying our rent on time and Mark had a few quarrels with others.

Unsurprisingly, those ten-minute exchanges left me mentally and physically drained. After all, besides pretending to hang on to the landlord's words, I had to make sure the stubborn and proud Young Master Hanson did not hear this, otherwise, his feelings would be hurt. 

Mark had lived as a wealthy young man for more than twenty years and he refused to compromise on anything in life. He insisted on living in an upscale apartment, eating and drinking fine gourmet and all the material that he used for painting had to be top-of-the-line quality. 

So, it was unsurprising that all my savings had long been depleted.

It was not like I had not tried to find a stable job but every time I sent a resume, no one gave any response. And after so many attempts, I finally realized it was all the Hanson Family doing. They deliberately were making things difficult for us.

Three months ago, Mark had a big fight with his father, the head of the Hanson Family, at work. He declared he wanted to pursue his pure artistic ideals independently, without using a single cent of his family’s money.

At that time, Mr. Hanson just asked me one thing, "Are you coming with him?"

I just nodded.

Mr. Hanson just smirked. "You're so young. Okay, we'll see. Well. Good luck."

Throughout it all, Mr. Hanson remained calm and collected, as if he were certain Mark’s act of rebellion would amount to nothing.

After I realized the truth, I stopped wasting my time and money to send out those resumes. I started to take various part-time jobs to support us.

I was so busy to the point that I was always in a state of exhaustion.

As I rubbed my throbbing temples, I looked again at the gift box that made me unable to afford the rent.

It seemed it always happened all the time. Young Master Hanson never saw how much I had to suffer to support both of us. All he cared about was treating his childhood sweetheart like she was the most precious thing in the world.

Even now, he spoke to me with a sour expression. “Finally, he’s gone. It’s just four hundred and fifty dollars, does he need to come knocking? It’s not like we won’t pay him! What’s for dinner?”

Without waiting for my response, he continued, “Let’s have sashimi! I’m sick of eating plain porridge and vegetables. We have been eating them lately.”