At 2 AM, my sugar daddy called and told me to deliver a box of ultra-thin condoms. Staring at my rain-soaked clothes, his voice was husky. "Damn, who told you to be this obedient?" I handed the bag to Silas Vance, who was leaning against the doorframe. "Here's your 0.01." As he took it, he deliberately rubbed his calloused thumb over my knuckles, his eyes brimming with a seductive smile. "She's not here yet. Why don't we use one first?" While I froze, he chuckled. "Just kidding." "I arranged a blind date for you next Wednesday. You've been with me for so many years; I don't want to shortchange you." "You'll go, right?" Chapter 1 Silas used a negotiating tone, but his eyes held a careless oppression. He didn't want to shortchange me? Hardly. He was clearly afraid his "white moonlight"—his first love—would find out about our relationship when she returned, so he wanted to dispose of me beforehand. My curled fingers tightened abruptly. I forced a calm face and looked up. "Just send me the address." Noticing the formal "you" in my tone, he frowned slightly, but only for a second. Rainwater dripped from my hair onto my collarbone, making me shiver from the cold. I stammered, "It's late. I should go." "Wait." Silas walked into the living room and returned with a Burberry shawl in his hand. He wrapped me up tightly, leaving only my misty eyes exposed. In my panic, I looked up to thank him, only to crash into his suddenly darkened gaze. His fingers lingered on the collar of the shawl. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he suddenly spoke: "Don't go tonight?" I froze, blurting out subconsciously, "Isn't someone else coming..." He cut me off before I could finish, his knuckles pressing against the top of my head, his tone wrapped in impatient heat: "You actually believe that shit?" "In your heart, am I just a promiscuous scumbag?" "All these years, besides you, who else has been by my side?" Silas carried me to the bed. In the heat of passion, he leaned down and whispered in my ear. "This is our last time." "Claire is coming back." "I don't want her to suspect our relationship, so be a good girl and go on that blind date." He finally told the truth. I bit his shoulder hard in resentment. Chapter 2 Silas's stamina was simply heaven-defying. The saying that men past twenty-five are basically sixty simply didn't apply to him. It wasn't until the morning mist seeping through the curtains turned white that he finally ended the battle and walked to the bathroom. When the sound of splashing water started, I picked up my clothes from the floor and went to the guest bedroom. This was our tacit habit. Silas was a light sleeper and didn't like anyone beside him. So, for five years, no matter how tired or sleepy I was after his tossing, I would force myself to use my last bit of strength to crawl to the guest room. The next day, I woke up past nine. After washing up and rushing downstairs, I saw Silas just returning from his workout. He wore a white tank top, the muscle lines of his shoulders and back smooth and powerful. "I asked Mrs. Higgins to leave you breakfast." I waved my hand quickly. "I'm going to be late for work. I have to catch the subway." Silas raised an eyebrow slightly. "I can drive you, can't I?" Putting on my shoes at the entryway, I blurted out subconsciously. "No need." "The results of my promotion are coming out today. If my colleagues see me getting out of the boss's car, I won't be able to explain it even with ten mouths." Silas paused in unscrewing his water bottle cap. The air suddenly went silent for a moment. A while later, he scoffed lightly. "Suit yourself." Before leaving, Silas called me and handed me a business card. "Your blind date for next week." A buzz seemed to ring in my ears, dragging me back to reality. A night of intimacy almost made me forget. The reason I agreed to deliver the condoms last night was to propose ending this improper five-year relationship. I was afraid he would think I was still clinging to him. I reached out and took the card. The sharp edges of the plastic card dug painfully into the web of my thumb. My nose felt a bit stuffy. I gave a low hum. "I'll go." Chapter 3 Over the years, I would stay at Silas's house every weekend. At first, I always carried big and small bags filled with clothes and bottles of skincare products. He thought it was too troublesome for me to move back and forth like that, so later he simply had someone build a vanity for me to store my things. When leaving that day, I took all those things with me. Including the pink slippers I often wore at the entryway, and the pajamas in the closet. While I did all this, Silas just leaned quietly against the door frame watching me, the emotions in his eyes obscure. Until I finished packing and said goodbye to him. "From now on, we are just a simple boss and subordinate relationship." Seeing through my worries, Silas sneered lightly. "Relax, I won't make things hard for you at work." Chapter 5 Running all the way, I finally made it to my desk before ten. My colleague Bella generously treated me to a coffee for once. "Wendy, congratulations in advance. When you become the department director, don't forget our revolutionary friendship." I smiled shyly. "The results aren't out yet." She scoffed. "Why are you being humble? Among the colleagues competing with you, you have the longest tenure and have completed the most major projects." "Besides, everyone sees how hard you've worked for the company all these years." "You becoming the director is what everyone expects." I stopped being polite and smiled at the whole team. "If I succeed, I'll treat everyone to the most expensive Japanese restaurant in Manhattan!" Cheers erupted in the office. Three minutes to ten. During this time, I clicked open the company email countless times. I even ran to the bathroom three times out of nervousness. Until the email opened, and that line of bold black text jumped out. "We regret to inform you that your promotion was unsuccessful..." Boom. My mind went blank. Team members scrambled to gather around. After seeing the result on the screen, the originally lively office instantly fell silent enough to hear a pin drop. It wasn't until the HR director smiled and led someone in that the dead silence was broken. "Let me introduce everyone. This is Claire Lin, a master's graduate from overseas, and the Planning Department Director personally appointed by Mr. Vance." The moment I looked up, my breath hitched violently— The girl wore a sharply tailored white suit, her long hair loosely tied behind her head, her exposed neck slender and white. She looked exactly like the person in the photo I once saw in the hidden compartment of Silas's wallet. Chapter 6 It was like catching a severe flu; my nose was stuffed, my mind blank. I was mechanically pushed forward by a heavy force. The road to Silas's office wasn't long, but I had to keep wiping tears with the back of my hand. Many people passing by looked at me, but I couldn't care less about losing face. I knocked on the office door, and Silas's consistently cold voice came out. "Enter." I stood there with red eyes. As soon as I made a sound, tears fell. "Why?" He didn't even look up, his fingertips still scrolling on a document. "Why what?" I raised my volume, my voice filled with uncontrollable grievance. "There are so many positions in the company, why did you have to let Claire occupy my promotion spot?" Silas finally looked up from the pile of documents, his tone as flat as if he were talking about something insignificant. "She wanted to go to the Planning Department." "Just because she said she wanted to, you can easily strip away my five years of hard work?" He didn't know. To ensure a smooth promotion, I took the assignment to Africa that no one else wanted. I even caught malaria there and almost never came back. Silas stood up, walked in front of me, and looked down at me from above, his eyes cold without a trace of warmth. "Wendy, this is reality." "Because I sit in this seat, I can decide everything." My voice trembled uncontrollably. "I just want fairness. Is that hard?" As if I poked his funny bone, Silas chuckled low. "Fairness?" "You're talking to me about fairness?" "Wendy, get this straight first," he leaned in a step closer, the chill in his breath almost sticking to my face, "if you hadn't slept with me." "With your average state college qualifications, you wouldn't even pass the initial resume screening for Hua Mian." "Why don't you go ask those Ivy League graduates who interviewed in the same batch as you back then if they wanted fairness?" "You enjoyed the convenience power gave you without a word, and now you come to talk to me about fairness?" Silas's words slapped my face like a burning palm. Burning my cheeks hot, making even breathing painful. I suddenly understood. Even though I worked hard for five years, striving to prove myself, never thinking of using my relationship with Silas to enjoy any convenience in my career. But I couldn't change the fact that I relied on him to get into Hua Mian in the beginning. I indeed had no right to talk about fairness. So, I was ready to resign. Chapter 7 Speaking of which, my first meeting with Silas was indeed very cliché. That year after graduating from college, I arrived in New York only to experience being cheated on by my ex-boyfriend, who seamlessly moved on to someone else. Under immense survival and mental pressure, I chose to go to a bar with my best friend to get drunk. It was the first time in my life I drank so much alcohol. Drank until I lost consciousness. Usually, I wouldn't dare say an extra word to strangers, but I was bold enough to hit on a handsome guy at the bar. That handsome guy was Silas. That day, he sat alone at the bar, his temperament cold and outstanding. Handsome like a damn male star on a fashion magazine cover. Watching him coldly reject the eighth woman who came to hit on him. I sat over like I was possessed, opening with a brainless line, "Are you coming home with me?" The man lowered his head to sip his drink, laughter spilling from his throat. "Never seen anyone as bold as you." That night in my narrow rental apartment, we had our first passionate night. Before that, I had never had such an extreme experience. It could simply be called addictive. After that night, I thought we wouldn't cross paths again. Chapter 8 Until the next day, when I took my resume to interview at Hua Mian, I looked up and saw the man in the suit sitting in the main seat. In that instant, my heart almost jumped out of my chest. After recognizing Silas, I feigned calm and finished my self-introduction. After the interview, he stood up and said a word to the HR managers before leaving. Later, my email received an offer from Hua Mian. The day I joined, the company held a welcome party, and Silas gave a speech on stage as a senior executive. After the party, he cornered me in the elevator lobby. "You're Wendy, right?" "Can you accept a relationship of only sex and no dating?" I was never an open person; you could even say I was conservative. But that day in his deep gaze, my mouth made the decision before my brain. "I... accept." The moment I heard my own voice. I knew, I was done for. I had hopelessly fallen in love. Since then, our relationship was like being split in half. During the day, we were clearly separated as boss and subordinate; at night, we shed all identities and became the most compatible partners physically. After every intimacy, Silas would always give me a generous sum of money, as well as countless designer bags and jewelry. Of course, what he brought me was far more than this— Under his personal guidance, I went from a workplace rookie who couldn't even read a spreadsheet to eventually making a mark in the company. Every step of my growth was soaked with his traces. Gradually, I developed hopes I shouldn't have. Fantasizing that maybe one day, the eyes he looked at me with would hold a bit more love. Until today, waking up from the dream. It turns out the ending of a fairy tale isn't that wearing glass slippers makes you a princess. When kicked out of the game like a fool. I realized I was wrong. It turns out things that don't belong to me will never belong to me in the end.
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