I was Daniel's fiancé. The day his family's company went belly up, Daniel was scrambling, hounded by creditors. I ended up being the one who got him out of the country. Before he left, I even fronted him a million bucks to get started. "Here's a million. I'll be right here, waiting for you to come back and marry me!" Five years later, Daniel was the hot new thing in the business world, and he came back, just like he said he would. Only this time, he wasn't here to marry me. He was here to call things off. Right in front of the cameras, he took Jessica's hand and made it official. "Five years ago, when my family lost everything, we called off the engagement with the Eleanor family. Jessica's my fiancé now." … I sat back in my office chair, lit a cigarette. I looked at Jessica, sitting all dolled up next to Daniel. She was a looker, even more so than in the pictures I'd seen online. I blew out a lungful of smoke, filling the air. Jessica started coughing without even trying to hide it. Daniel was all over her, waving the smoke away from her face and turning back to me with a frown. "Hey, there's a lady present, Eleanor. Can't you put that thing out?" Now that he was a big shot, Daniel was less of a kid than he'd been five years ago. His eyes were sharper, and he had a bite to his words. Five years ago, no way he would have talked to me like that. I used to smoke, I used to drink, and he'd just be there, quietly by my side. Then he'd give me gum to get rid of the cigarette smell, make me hangover soup to get the buzz out. Just like he was waving away the smoke for Jessica now. Back then, I was just dumb enough to fall for that sweet, caring act. I practically begged my dad to go to the Daniels family and ask for my hand in marriage. But the good times didn't last. Not long after we got engaged, the Daniels family went bankrupt out of nowhere, and Daniel's parents died soon after. Daniel was all alone, with nowhere to go, and creditors chasing him left and right. I gave him a million, got him out of the country, and even said something ridiculous, like I’d wait for him to come back and marry me. Thinking about it now, I had to laugh. Daniel frowned at me. "What's so funny, Eleanor?" "Do I need to get your approval to laugh, Mr. Daniels?" He stared at me for a long moment, then reached out and handed me a bank card. "Here's ten million. It's ten times the million you loaned me five years ago. I hope you'll keep quiet. I don't want to talk about any of that again!" I chuckled, then calmly pocketed the card. "One thing at a time, Daniel. The ten million is what you owed me. Keeping quiet is going to cost you extra!" Seeing me negotiate, Daniel seemed relieved. He pulled out another bank card and handed it over. "Here's another ten million. I hope you keep your word!" With that, he seemed to regain his confidence, standing up straight in front of me. The little bit of hair falling on his forehead fluttered a little, just like the day he said goodbye five years ago. He didn't look like he'd changed much. He said he'd make it, he'd come back to this city, and he'd never forget how I felt about him. The memories and reality started to merge. Daniel's brand of gentle, confident arrogance still got to me. I must be out of my mind. Was I about to get all lovey-dovey now? "Ms. Eleanor, the amounts in both cards are correct." My assistant's voice snapped me out of it. Daniel looked a little cold, seeing that I didn't trust him enough to check the amounts on the cards. Before he left, he gave me a solemn look. "Eleanor, you should try to be more of a lady. No one's going to like you the way you are!" He said it with such sincerity, like he was actually worried about me. But I didn't care. I am who I am, a one-of-a-kind firework. 2 Honestly, I knew Daniel had changed his mind long ago. Or maybe he never loved me in the first place. Five years ago, when he promised to marry me, he was probably just caught up in the moment. Or maybe it was my million that got to him, and he couldn't find a reason to say no. So now that he was back, he couldn't wait to get rid of me, to make things right for him and Jessica. What Daniel didn't know was that I was way ahead of him. He was out of the country for five years, and I wasn't there for him. Jessica was. She gave him encouragement when he was down, cheered him up when he was feeling bad. She made a much bigger impression than me, the woman who just gave him a pile of cash. Now, they'd been through thick and thin together, and I was just the rich girl who got played. I handed the two bank cards to my assistant and had her bid on a necklace at an auction. The next day, I showed up at Daniel's party for the reopening of the Daniels Corporation, wearing that necklace. When I made my entrance, I made sure to rub the brightest pink diamond on the necklace, making it sparkle. Everyone in the room turned to look at me, and the whispers started up. "Isn't that the necklace Daniel was going to buy to propose to his fiancé?" "Does that mean Eleanor's the fiancé Daniel's been talking about?" "No way! Didn't he say on the news when he got back that they called off the engagement five years ago?" Seeing things get out of hand, Daniel couldn't stay put. He hurried over to me, his voice low and angry. "Are you doing this on purpose, Eleanor?" "You knew I needed that necklace, so you had someone buy it out from under me!" I lifted my glass and took a sip, ignoring Daniel. But the reporters were like sharks smelling blood. They swarmed around me and Daniel. "Ms. Eleanor, is that the necklace that Mr. Daniels said he was going to use to propose?" "Now that the necklace is on Ms. Eleanor, does that mean you two are getting married soon?" "Ms. Jessica, did you know about this? Mr. Daniels, how are you going to explain this?" Daniel's face was priceless. He started explaining himself, struggling to say that he had nothing to do with me. As for the necklace, it was just an accident. I waited for him to finish, then calmly set down my glass and added, "I bought the necklace myself, but someone else paid for it, right, Daniel?" Daniel looked like he'd swallowed a bug, his mouth open but unable to say a word. He'd given me the money, but he couldn't explain why. Whatever I said, he just had to take it. The reporters could smell something fishy, and soon the news about me and Daniel was all over the internet. Everyone was sure that Daniel was the man who gave me the money. He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't deny it either. By the end of the party, most of the reporters had left. Jessica was glaring at me, her eyes locked on the necklace around my neck. "Eleanor, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have money. So what if you got your hands on the necklace? Daniel doesn't love you. He'll never love you!" "All you ever do is make money. You reek of it. No one will ever like you." 3 I had to admit, Jessica's words touched a nerve. I raised my hand and slapped her. I wasn't done yet, but Daniel ran over and stopped me. He grabbed my right hand, his face dark and his voice mean. "How long are you going to keep this up, Eleanor?" "You stole my necklace, ruined the Daniels Corporation party, and now you hit Jessica. What else do you want?" "Don't think you're so special just because you're Eleanor's daughter. I'm not afraid of you!" He squeezed my hand harder and harder. Before long, there was a bright red mark on my wrist. Jessica was like a bunny, already in his arms, crying and sniffling. "It's not Eleanor's fault. It's my fault. I just said that the necklace she bought was really pretty, but she misunderstood what I meant." "It's my fault for not making myself clear. Daniel, I'm okay. You just got back. You don't need to make things worse with the Eleanor family." I finally saw what Jessica was up to. She was putting me down to make herself look better to Daniel. And she wanted to make me look bad in front of everyone. Too bad for her, I didn't care. Everyone in this town knew that Eleanor was rich and had a nasty temper! The people around us were whispering, but no one dared to come forward. Some of the people who knew me were shaking their heads. I raised an eyebrow, yanked my hand away from Daniel, and rubbed my wrist. I kept a smile on my face, and my eyes didn't change at all. "You've gotten a lot bolder in the last five years." Five years ago, Daniel wouldn't have dared to grab my wrist like that, not even if I gave him a hundred reasons. He wouldn't have dared to go against me like this. He didn't say anything. After a long moment, he gave me a cold look, then took Jessica and left. I knew he wouldn't stay and fight with me for long, but I didn't think Jessica would pull any more tricks. After the party, a video quietly made its way to the trending page. The video started with me slapping Jessica and ended with Jessica sadly pulling Daniel away. It made me look like a villain, and it made her look pitiful. People were standing up for her. In the comments, a lot of people came forward, saying that they had been abused by me. I got people to explain that the video had been edited and wasn't the whole story. But it seemed like it was too late. Everyone had made up their minds about me. After the video came out, Jessica got a lot of attention and did a lot of interviews. She kept hinting that I should apologize. Daniel also took the chance to launch the first product of the rebuilt Daniels Corporation, using his victim status to push the company into the market. His popularity soared, and the company was making money hand over fist. I was the only one who was taking the heat. I looked at the business evaluation for the Daniels Corporation over the past few weeks. I had to say, I had good taste. Five years ago, I knew Daniel would make it, so I gave him a million without thinking twice. He didn't let me down. He came back a success. But when he came back, he stood on the opposite side of me. I'd basically helped an enemy! I could make him successful, but I could also drag him back into the mud! After that mess, Eleanor's company took a hit. Our reputation went down, and other companies were targeting us. My best friend was afraid I would be sad, so she dragged me to a bar. But when I got there, I realized it was a trap. Daniel was there, laughing and drinking with other people. My best friend slammed her glass on the table. "Why didn't you tell us that jerk was here? We wouldn't have come if we knew." Some of the people we knew told us to sit down and talk. They said that we shouldn't stay mad at each other. Daniel even lifted his glass and toasted me. He stood in front of me, saying, "Eleanor, what's done is done. The Daniels Corporation has gotten back on its feet. If we keep fighting, it won't be good for either of us. Even Eleanor has to earn money, right?" I didn't say anything, and his face started to turn ugly. "Are you going to drag this out until we both lose?" The room went silent. All you could hear was my laughter. "You need to be sincere if you want to apologize, or shut up. And where's your fiancé? Why isn't she here to talk? Or are you afraid I'll hit her again?" "I've been getting dragged through the mud online for weeks. She hasn't even shown her face. You just want me to forget about it?" Daniel's lips were pressed into a thin line, and he was glaring at me. "What do you want?" "What do I want? I want her to apologize to me online, and say that she twisted the facts!" Daniel didn't even hesitate. If he did that, Jessica's reputation would be ruined, and the Daniels Corporation would take a hit. I smiled and said, "Then there's nothing to talk about. Let's settle this for good!"
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