I reached out and touched the scar. "I do, Dylan. I'm willing to be your girlfriend."

That day, we officially started dating.

Unfortunately, my family didn't approve of me being with him.

My parents knew that Dylan had helped me before, so they didn't stop me from helping his father with his illness.

But they didn't want us together.

Dad tried to reason with me, "Evelyn, you two are too different. You're from different worlds, and you won't be happy. I don't approve of you being together."

I knew Dad was looking out for me. At that time, I couldn't listen.

If Dad said we weren't a good match, I figured I'd just help Dylan rise to my level.

I knew Dylan had ambition and wanted to start his own business.

His last failure was due to bad luck and a broken funding chain.

But now, I was here to help him.

Since my parents didn't support us, they cut off my access to money several times.

So, I sold my bags, my jewelry, anything I could to help him.

I even lowered myself, using every connection I had to secure resources for him.

I helped him transform from an unknown college graduate into an admired new business mogul in just five short years.

Now, he's successful and accomplished.

After all, I gave, even a stone would have warmed up to me. I thought Dylan would marry me finally.

Or at least break up with me respectfully.

But I never expected him to humiliate me like that.

To him, I was nothing more than a disposable woman.

"Dylan, I've long since repaid your kindness over the years.

Now, it's me who doesn't want you anymore.

I've always been decisive. When I say it's over, there's no turning back."

After blocking Dylan on WhatsApp, I dragged Abigail out of bed to help me move my stuff out of the so-called home we shared.

Honestly, I'd been so pathetic in this relationship, turning this place into a love nest just for us.

But Dylan had barely spent any time here.

That morning, we sat in the car and watched the moving company take all my things away.

Abigail yawned and looked at me seriously. "You're serious this time, huh?"

I nodded. "Absolutely."

Abigail laughed. "Evelyn, you're my kind of girl. Quick and clean. That jerk never deserved you. Forget him. I'll introduce you to someone better tonight."

I chuckled. "Please, no. I'm so over the idea of dating right now."

"So, what do you want to do?"

"I'm going home. It's been so long since I've had a proper breakfast with my parents."

"Fine, I won't get in the way of your family time. You've stayed at my place long enough. It's time to go home. Evelyn, I didn't mention it last time. But your dad didn't look too well. You should really check on them."

My dad's health wasn't good?

Abigail's words hit me like a ton of bricks. I was such a jerk. What kind of daughter was I?

I had done so many stupid things all because of that scumbag, Dylan.

Because of Dylan, my parents and I have been in a quarrel for a long time.

They never liked Dylan. Every time we met, it ended in arguments.

Eventually, I got tired of it and started going home less and less.

I didn't even realize my dad's health was deteriorating.

After saying goodbye to Abigail, I rushed back home.

It was still early, and my parents hadn't left for work yet.

They were surprised to see me back.

I was equally taken aback when I saw my dad.

It had only been a month, but he seemed to have aged. He had more gray hairs and a paler face.

My dad was the first to speak, "What made you come home today? Hmph, been so long I thought you'd forgotten the way."

His tone wasn't great, so my mom quickly smoothed things over, "What are you saying? This is her home. She can come back whenever she wants. She doesn't need to report to you! Evelyn, come over here. Let's have breakfast together."

My mom walked over, holding my hand, guiding me to sit down.

But then she noticed the tears on my face and looked startled.

"Evelyn, why are you crying?

"It's all your fault, Leo! Why did you scold her?"

My dad panicked when he saw me cry, fumbling over his words, "I... I didn't scold you, Evelyn. I didn't mean to. I'm bad with words... don't cry, sweetheart. I can't stand seeing you cry."

I couldn't help but laugh through my tears.

His jumbled words made me laugh, but then I grew worried again. "Dad, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, really. Strong as ever."

I wasn't convinced. "But Abigail said last time she saw you, you didn't look well."

He momentarily thought, " Ah, I wasn't feeling great back then. It's just my old issue. My herniated disc flares up when there's too much stress at work.

"Evelyn, would you consider returning to help me with the business?"

My dad looked at me hopefully. I knew he'd wanted me to help out for a while.

Before, I didn't want to take over because of Dylan. I didn't want to hurt his fragile ego by outshining him.

But now, it was time for me to step up and take responsibility.

When I nodded, my parents were overjoyed.

We sat down for a long-overdue family breakfast. Afterward, I told them about my breakup with Dylan.

My dad couldn't stop smiling. "Good, it's for the best. I'm finally at peace now."

My mom was even more excited. "You broke up? It was long overdue. I never liked him. How could he not appreciate my precious daughter?

"And don't even get me started on his parents! He's so petty, always trying to take advantage of people. What a joke.

"If it weren't for the fact that he helped you all those years ago, I wouldn't have tolerated them. Evelyn, you've repaid your debt to him, so let it go. It's time to move on."

I nodded deeply. "I know, Mom. I'll move forward. I don't owe him anything anymore."

I said I'd come back to take over for my dad, but managing the huge Adams Group isn't so simple.

Even though I didn't waste my time after graduation, working at Dylan's company, his business is nowhere near the same league as Adams Group.

The little management experience I had was practically nothing here.

So, to train me, my dad assigned me a mentor.

Joseph Carter, a new executive at our company, was a high-profile hire my dad brought over from Wall Street.

And my role? I was assigned to be his secretary.

After spending a day at home, I went to the Adams Group to report to Joseph.

Upon meeting him, I was surprised by how young Joseph was.

His sharp features and striking eyes carried the energy of youth along with the cool authority of a leader.

Strangely enough, there was something familiar about him.

"Hello, Mr. Carter."

"Hello, Ms. Adams. Are you ready?"

Joseph's stern expression softened into a smile.

I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking working with him might not be too difficult after all.

I smiled and nodded. "I'm ready. You can assign me some work."

"Alright then, I won't hold back."

Joseph's eyes crinkled with an even bigger smile.

And he didn't hold back. After adding my work account, he sent several gigabytes of work documents to my inbox.

"Go through these and write me a summary by the end of the day."

I was speechless.

"Is there a problem?"

Could I say yes?

This mentor seemed a bit like a taskmaster.

Resigned to my fate, I took the files back to my desk to start reading.

By the afternoon, I was going cross-eyed from reading, when my phone suddenly rang on the desk.

It was an unknown number.

Groggily, I answered, only to be greeted by a furious shout.

"Evelyn, how dare you! Who gave you permission to block me?"

It was Dylan, with his usual irritating tone.

It was hilarious. I had blocked him for two days, and he only just realized he couldn't reach me.

He really didn't care about me at all.

"Unblock me right now, or I'll ensure you can never contact me again.

"And why haven't you been to work these past two days? Do you even know what responsibility is? I knew it. Ms. Adams has no dedication to anything..."

Rubbing my temples, I interrupted his endless complaining, "Dylan, we broke up. Did you forget? I've already quit your company. I won't be coming back."

"What? You're really breaking up?"

I heard him chuckle softly on the other end.

"Evelyn, I'm giving you a way out. You'd better take it now, or there won't be one later.

"And when you come crawling back to beg, I won't take you."

His arrogant attitude finally ignited my anger.

As if he wouldn't want me anymore.

Why did he think I'd ever want him back?

"Dylan, who do you think you are? Do you think I would cringe at you? You're giving yourself way too much credit.

"A decent ex should act like they're dead, and you're offering me a way out? Who do you think you are? You must think you're something special.

"Remember this, Dylan. This time, I'm the one who's done with you. Don't bother me again. Now get lost."

I hung up without a second thought and immediately blocked his number.

What the hell did I ever see in that guy?

Such bad luck.

After handling that, I looked up angrily. It was only to find Joseph standing in front of me, staring in shock.

Oh.

This was a bit awkward.

He had just witnessed one of my rare outbursts.

How unfortunate.

Joseph's hearty laughter broke the awkward silence. He picked up my cup and poured me some water. "Ms. Adams, that was fierce! Losers like him belong in the trash."

His lighthearted tone lifted my spirits, which had sunk after dealing with Dylan.

That's right.

I should be happy I dumped that jerk.

By the end of the day, I finally managed to finish a report and handed it to Joseph.

It wasn't good enough.

And so began my unfortunate overtime.

After a grueling overtime session, I got home. I took a relaxing bath, and then my WhatsApp lit up.

It was Abigail.

[Evelyn, breaking up was the right choice. If you had waited any longer, that jerk wouldn't just be insulting you. He'd be cheating on you too.]

Dylan cheating on me?

Was it the sly secretary or the flirty receptionist?

The pictures Abigail sent cleared up my confusion.

Unfortunately, it was neither of them.

It was a woman in a white dress, with a sorrowful expression.

She was holding a bouquet of white roses, and Dylan was gazing at her with a smile.

His eyes were full of unmistakable affection.

I immediately recognized the woman, Camila Nelson, Dylan's high school sweetheart who had studied abroad.

She's back!

Abigail called me right after.

"Evelyn, did you see that jerk's post on WhatsApp? It's disgusting. He didn't waste any time, did he?"

"Nope, I blocked him."

"Oh right, I forgot. I'll screenshot it and send it to you."

Abigail was quick. I opened the image and burst out laughing.

[My one and only sweetheart, Camila. After all these years, it's still you, always you.]

The picture was of two hands tightly clasped together.