I opened my eyes and tapped into the ticketing app.

“Yesterday, I entered a livestream where they were giving away money. I’ve gathered enough. We can go back home together.”

In the glow of my phone, her brows furrowed slightly, and irritation flashed through her eyes.

She hadn’t expected me to come up with the money.

After all, I had given her everything I had yesterday morning to pay off her debts. I should’ve only had the two hundred and twelve dollars she sent me at night from dishwashing.

However, the irritation lasted only a moment. She hugged me tightly, her cheek buried against my neck.

“That’s great. We can go home together again.

“Aran, thank you.”

She still wasn’t telling the truth.

I locked the screen, and the bedroom fell into darkness.

Her fingers found the tear mole under my eye, gently rubbing it as if she were petting something.

…

The day before New Year’s Eve, I took leave, but didn’t tell her.

Matt said he was tired of staying in the villa, and his sugar mommy was going to take him shopping to cheer him up.

When I arrived at the mall, a Maybach had just pulled up at the entrance.

The driver respectfully opened the rear door, and Wren stepped out.

She wasn’t wearing her service uniform. Instead, she had on a high-end custom dress with a luxury scarf draped over her shoulders.

Never could I have imagined that the poor girlfriend who had muttered that morning about going to wash dishes at a barbecue restaurant was actually the only daughter of the Smiths, a well-known family in the capital’s real estate circle.

As I stood there in a daze, the door on the other side opened. Matt smiled and reached out his hand to her.

“Taking me shopping like this, aren’t you afraid your boyfriend will see?”

Wren rose on her toes and bit his lips in public.

I stood behind a tree not far away, watching my girlfriend share a passionate, lingering kiss with another man.

It took a long while before she pulled away, only to peck him again twice.

“What’s there to be afraid of? He has work today. I watched him get on the bus myself.

“And what if he sees?

“If he sees…”

Wren narrowed her eyes slightly, unconcerned.

“At worst, I’ll just return the little money he’s earned over the years.”

Matt laughed boldly, wrapping an arm around her as they walked into the mall together.

I should have chased after them.

I should have grabbed her clothes and demanded why she lied to me and betrayed me. However, in just two days, my heart had already gone numb.

My legs wouldn’t move. So I just stood there, watching Matt post updates one after another.

[This French restaurant is just average. Not as good as the French chef my sugar mommy hired for me.]

[My sugar mommy brought me shopping. She said I could buy whatever I wanted. She transferred another million to me. I’ll go live at ten tonight and give money away!]

Someone in the comments asked him, [Aren’t you afraid the sugar mommy’s boyfriend will catch you?]

“I wish he would,” Matt replied. “She said if he finds out, she’ll just return the little money he’s made over the years. What a loser. Five years and he’s only made six hundred and fifty-three thousand dollars.”

Six hundred fifty-three thousand. So that’s how much I’ve earned over these five years.

I found it laughable, but when I tried to smile, I couldn’t.

Two hours later, Matt posted his expenses for the day.

[As for me, my daily income is 1.2 million!]

I don’t even know how I got back.

By the time I came to, I was already sitting on the sofa. Wren had just walked in, having changed back into her service uniform, her hair messy.

“Aran, you haven’t had dinner yet?”

She rolled up her sleeves. “I’ll heat the meals in the fridge. It’ll be ready soon.”

Her tone was no different from usual, still gentle and considerate.

I held my chopsticks, countless words stuck in my chest.

Why did she lie to me and say she was from the same hometown as me—a poor kid from Sitka County, with a family burdened by massive debt?

I stayed with her from freshman year to graduation and then followed her here to struggle in the capital.

I saved every penny, worked one full-time job and three part-time jobs, just to give her everything I earned, just hoping she could pay off her debts sooner and get married without worry.

However, in reality, she was a wealthy young heiress of the capital, spending millions as she pleased, publicly dating me while secretly keeping another man on the side.

Did she ever really love me all these years, or was I just a pet she kept for fun?

Across from me, she took two bites and stopped, barely hiding the disgust in her expression.

I stared into her eyes and asked, “Wren, how much is left of your family’s debt?”

…

Her hand stiffened, her gaze drifting.

“My mom said… there’s still about nine hundred thousand left.”

I stayed calm.

“When we were freshmen, you said it was a million. It’s been five years. How is there still over nine hundred thousand?”

She finally remembered what she had told me back then. Panicking, she threw down her chopsticks, ran over, and crouched in front of me.

“I’m sorry, Aran. I kept it from you…

“My dad got sick. My mom borrowed money for his treatment, so we owe more now… Are you mad at me? Our family’s debt is just too much…”

She kept apologizing, her fingers gripping my wrist.

However, this same hand had just spent over a million dollars at the mall just because another man had grown tired of staying in the villa and needed cheering up.

I swallowed hard, forcing down the lump in my throat.

“I’m not mad at you. I just think we can’t go on like this forever.”

“How about this? When we go back home this time, we’ll arrange for both families to meet. Then we’ll get married. After that, I’ll take responsibility as the head of the household and help you repay the debt with everything I have.”

Her fingers trembled, cold sweat forming in her palm.

She looked straight at me. I had loved her for five years, but today, I couldn’t tell what was in her eyes.

Was it irritation or anger?

As time passed, she calmed down and reached out to touch the tear mole under my right eye.

“Okay. When we go home for the New Year, we’ll talk about getting married.”

Though she was still as sincere as ever, how many lies were beneath it?

I gripped her hand in return and nodded firmly.

Wren, this is your last chance.

Our tickets were for four in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve. We dragged our suitcases and took the bus to the train station.

Along the way, Wren kept replying to messages, each one making her frown.

I pretended not to notice and turned slightly, opening Matt’s profile.

[That broke loser actually dares to take my sugar mommy. How shameless!]

[Just wait. Let’s see who matters more to her—you or me!]

More messages came in for Wren, and she slowly grew restless. When the bus reached a stop, she suddenly stood up.

“Aran, something happened to my friend at the barbecue place. I need to go check on her.

“You go home first. Don’t let your parents wait too long.”

I stood up as well. “I’ll go with you. It’ll help to have another person.”

“No need!”

She reacted sharply, then realized I hadn’t actually tried to stop her.

A trace of awkwardness crossed her face. The doors opened, and she got off without hesitation.

“You go home first. Stay safe.”

She hailed a taxi and left in the opposite direction.

The bus continued toward the train station. I held onto the seat and sat down, staring straight ahead.

Matt had won. He mattered more.

Tears fell. I took out my phone and recorded a short clip of myself, my voice choked with emotion.

Then I put together all the photos I had taken with Wren over the years into one video.

“I’ve been with my girlfriend for five years. I worked four jobs to help pay off her debts, but her family’s debt just keeps growing. Today we were supposed to go home together for New Year’s, but she said something happened at the barbecue place and left again.

“Sigh… I guess I’ve failed as a boyfriend. I don’t even know when her debts will be paid off. Living on plain buns and pickles every day is just too hard…”

As the train started moving, I posted it.

I put all the money I had grabbed from Matt’s livestream into boosting it.

Wren, those who lie have to swallow a thousand needles.

Starting today, you can take your time swallowing them.

I won’t be staying to watch.