Willow stared at the photo on her phone.

With his eyes closed and shirt collar undone, Roy’s relaxed posture belied the underlying intensity and revealed the sensuality of a man accustomed to the finer things in life. In the same photo, Sierra was snuggling up to his chest, smiling smugly at the camera.

A new photo, though slightly blurred, jumped out, showing the man leaning in to kiss the woman. The fluster and joy in the woman’s eyes were so real.

Six months ago, Willow would be hurt and upset to tears by the photo. Now, her gaze lingered on Roy’s aroused face before she deleted the photos with a tap.

Over the past few days, Sierra had been sending photos and text messages to get a rise out of her. Willow had yet to block Sierra to keep tabs on Roy. She had unfinished business to deal with, and the last thing she needed was for Roy to ruin things for her.

Men had fragile egos, and when she walked out on him, Roy’s response left a lingering doubt that things were far from over.

The next day, Willow went to her advisor’s office.

“When can I expect the recommendation letter for my PhD studies abroad, professor? Next week is the deadline.”

The advisor remained silent. The swelling on his face had subsided.

Willow gritted her teeth and flipped over her bang, dropping all its contents out to prove she did not have him on tape.

“I can understand that you’ve changed your mind about writing me a recommendation letter, but why did you have to stop Professor Anderson from writing me one too?”

The advisor pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose and replied, “We’ve received an anonymous complaint, calling your personal conduct in question. You have a history of promiscuous behavior.”

“Is there a rule against dating while enrolled in the school?”

“Ha… Are you saying that you were dating the young heir of the Chesters? What a fancy way of putting it.” The middle-aged man mocked, “He should have no problem sorting your recommendation letter out if he was your boyfriend. You won’t have to grovel at my feet.”

“That’s my business. I’m earning my way to study abroad. If it weren’t for your abuse of power and your vendetta against me, I wouldn’t be wasting my time here.”

With a scowl, the advisor jolted to his feet and lunged closer. “Do you think I don’t know Mr. Chester got sick of you and dumped you? You better drop your attitude now that you don’t have a sugar daddy to back you up.”

He was utterly humiliated when Roy beat him up. Now, consumed by rage, the advisor grabbed Willow by the hair.

“Why don’t you get down on your knees and beg?” He leaned close, his breath hot against her ear. “Show me how you got all over the Chesters’ heir. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll write you that recommendation letter.”

Forced to look up, Willow could feel the outline of his junk against her skin. With a blank face, she snapped up a pot of boiling tea near her and threw it at him.

The man let out an excruciating scream. Then, with a smack, Willow took a hit to the face and fell to the ground.

She grabbed her things on the floor and scurried out of the office without another word.

“Willow…”

Sierra caught up to Willow in the corridor.

Taking a good look at Willow’s face, she said with a smile, “What happened to your face?”

Willow looked at her. “You were the one who went and told the school, didn’t you?”

Since Willow kept her academic life separate from Roy’s world, her advisor would not have found out unless someone leaked the information.

Sierra beamed. “I was only telling the truth. Did it upset you, Willow?”

Roy had one too many drinks that night. Usually, he would have a good measure of his intake and stay tipsy, or sometimes, he would pretend to be wasted just to tease Willow.

However, he got hammered pretty quickly that night. Either the booze was kicking in or his friends kept filling his glass, but he felt like crap halfway through.

Roy hurled his phone to Adrian. “Call Willow to pick me up.”

Silence weighed heavily in the air.

Roy looked up to Adrian spacing out, his phone in hand.

“I’ll do it.” Another friend snatched the phone from Adrian and said with a smile, “Willow will be here in no time, but you’re giving her an excuse to come back, Roy. She’ll hold on tight to you and refuse to let go.”

The remark cleared Roy’s head. It hit him that Willow had broken up with him, and it had been two weeks since they got in touch.

“Remember how Willow first forced herself into Roy’s life by staging an encounter at the café?” One of his friends teased. “It was so cheesy, but hey, it worked.”

“Then there was the time she waited outside the hot springs in the bitter cold. Apparently, she brought a coat for Roy, and we all saw right through her. She was probably looking to join Roy for a soak.”

“And they say gold diggers don’t put in the work, but look at Willow. She sure pulled out all the stops.”

Amid the roaring laughter, Roy recalled that he invited Willow over on a whim, only to forget about her while chatting with a friend.

As it was a private estate, the security guards turned her away, and because Roy did not have his phone with him, it took four hours for her call to reach him after his soak.

The place was in a remote suburb, with no taxis or other public places around. Willow stood by the road in the dead of winter, clinging to his coat as she waited patiently. Her nose was flushed against her fair skin, and snow lightly dusted her white fur hat, making her look like a winter fairy.

He thought she would throw a fit, yet she simply handed him the coat in front of everybody, expressing kindly that was the reason why she was there.

Roy found her somewhat endearingly naïve. Something about her there and then sent a rush to his loins. He pulled Willow into his arms and led her inside.

The next two hours were spent in the hot springs. When they got out, Willow could barely feel her legs. Roy had to carry her back to the room.

Willow’s eyes were red-rimmed, her lips lusciously flushed, and her gaze held a sultry allure for Roy. She certainly had a hold on him.

Roy tugged at his collar, overcome by irritation. He staggered to his feet and snatched his phone from someone’s hand.

“I’m done. I’m out of here.”

Back at his villa, the housekeeper met Roy at the door.

“Where’s Willow?” Roy asked.

Dumbstruck, Hailey replied, “Ms. Croyton left two weeks ago. I asked her where she was going, but she wouldn’t say.”

Roy frowned. He never thought Willow would walk away from him. His anger stemmed from her threat of a breakup. That was why he left her high and dry, not contacting her or coming home, but to his surprise, Willow moved out.

He smirked in rage and thought, ‘Fine! Be that way!’

Upstairs, he took a quick shower and headed to the wardrobe to grab his pajamas. There, he saw Willow’s usual sleepwear hung neatly next to his, just like always.

Roy paused for a minute before striding to the walk-in closet. The gowns, bags, and jewelry he had gifted her were untouched, some boxes left ajar. The state of the closet suggested Willow slapped some clothes on and stepped out for a moment.

Roy sneered, “We’ll see how long you’d keep up this act.”

A weight lifted from his chest.

Still, it was a rough night for Roy. His sleep was plagued by dreams of that night with Willow at the hot springs.

Willow was not at all the sweet little girl she had put herself out to be. During their first time, she was timid, trembling, and whimpering in pain. However, by the next day, the roles were reserved as she straddled him and cuffed him to the headboard. Roy let her have her way, enjoying the contrast of shyness and uninhibition in her.

The following day, he woke up feeling agitated, with Willow’s scent lingering in the air. He sniffed the pillow, surprised that the shampoo’s fragrance could last so long.

“Women need a little bit of TLC. Even the sweetest girl has a breaking point. You should try and meet her halfway.” Adrian’s words when he saw Roy off came to mind.

Roy scoffed and dismissed the idea at the time. Now, Roy realized that Adrian may have a point.

He sat up and called Willow. If Willow was still upset, Roy did not mind sweetening her up a bit.

Seconds later, Roy grimaced. Willow had blocked his number.