After a moment, Katherine continued over the phone, "I left a bottle of limited-edition perfume behind. Don't you dare keep it as a reminder of me. Bring it to me right now."

"I already threw it away." With that, I ended the call.

I thought Katherine would be upset, but I received a text from her almost immediately.

"Playing hard to get, aren't you? How ridiculous! If you've thrown it away, so be it. I don't want it anymore! Don't come looking for me again!"

On Saturday night, to thank everyone for attending the party, Brandon suggested a Sunday outing. The group chat was soon buzzing with enthusiastic replies.

I was about to opt out, but when I saw that Katherine had replied saying that she was busy on Sunday, I agreed to go.

The next day was bright and sunny. Wearing sunglasses, I grilled meat by a stream.

A few of Katherine's close friends gathered around, eyeing me with disdain. One of them even said sarcastically, "Valentine's Day is coming up.

"Did you get Katherine another expensive gift this time? What is it? Why don't you show it to us so we can take a look?"

They had no idea Katherine and I were already done. They thought I was still wrapped around her finger and would let them mess with me however they wanted.

Ignoring them, I deliberately fanned the charcoal until the fire burned even hotter. The smoke got to Katherine's friends, and they cursed under their breaths as they hurried away.

The meat was almost done. I was about to season it with some cumin and bring it to the table when it suddenly hit me that Katherine and I were already done.

Why was I still cooking food the way she liked it? I turned back and sprinkled a generous amount of chili powder onto the meat.

As soon as I set the grilled meat on the table, I saw Katherine heading my way. I took off my apron, ready to leave.

At that moment, I heard her friends chatting with her behind me. "You're late. You need to chug a beer. Oh, right. I forgot you don't drink that. Get Edison over here to drink for you instead."

With that, her friends started calling out to me from behind.

I didn't even turn around and said flatly, "I don't drink for outsiders."

Katherine's hand froze mid-air as she reached for the glass. She narrowed her eyes, her unreadable gaze fixed on my retreating figure.

I took Monday off and went back to work on Tuesday.

As soon as I clocked in, my boss patted me on the shoulder and led me to his office. I stood in front of his desk, watching him smile as he sold me a bunch of empty promises.

Goosebumps broke out all over my skin. I had no idea what this leech was up to this time, but it couldn't be anything good.

As expected, what he said next proved me right.

My boss had somehow gotten word that Katherine was my girlfriend. He insisted on sending me to her company on a "special assignment" to follow up on a project.

Sure, it sounded nice on paper, but what kind of project would Winston Corporation even have with a small-time company? The Winstons were one of the elite families in Bawton, so they wouldn't even be interested in a small firm like ours.

My boss only wanted to send me there to leverage my connections with Katherine and secure the project. I turned him down, but he refused to give up and kept trying to persuade me.

I was about to snap at my boss when he received a call from Katherine. He fawned over her on the phone. After ending the call, he turned to me and said, "Ms. Winston wants to collaborate with us on a small project. She specifically requested that you handle it."

I snorted, ripped my work badge off my chest, and slammed it onto his office desk. "I'm done with this job. I quit!"

I turned off my phone and left the city to unwind.

A week later, I finally turned my phone back on, and it almost crashed from the sheer number of messages. I briefly went through them and realized they were all from Katherine.

I opened the latest message. "Edison, I surrender, okay? Turn your phone on and call me back!"

I tapped to delete all her messages at once, but her call came in immediately.

"So now you're turning your phone on, Edison? Do you know I've been looking everywhere for you for the past few days? Where are you? Send me your location right now!"