When we graduated college, Julian and I had one last hookup—a breakup fling. Afterward, he skillfully handed me a cigarette, teasing, "In the future, the woman I marry definitely won't be the type to smoke after sex." My throat tightened. I asked him why. He exhaled a cloud of smoke and smiled. "Chloe, I like them innocent." I fell silent. After that night, I cut off all contact. Five years later, he became my new CEO. To avoid the awkwardness, I proactively handed in my resignation, only to be cornered by him in his office. "It's been five years," he murmured, pressing me against the desk. "One more time for old times' sake?" I lowered my eyes, my voice steady. "No thanks. I have to pick up my kid from school." Chapter 1 The air in the office instantly solidified. Julian froze. I tried to push myself off his lap, but his grip on my waist tightened, pinning me in place. The burning heat in his eyes cooled rapidly, replaced by a crack in his usually composed mask. He gritted his teeth. "How old is the child?" I stayed silent for a moment before whispering, "Three." Three years old. Not four. And we had been broken up for five years. The math didn't add up. This child had nothing to do with him. Clearly, Julian realized this too. I tried to stand up again. This time, the large hand around my waist let go. As I reached the door, his voice cut through the silence, laced with suspicion. "I recall your HR file says 'Single.'" I paused, steadied my breathing, and turned back with a calm expression. "We just got the marriage license recently." "Just got the license, but the kid is three?" I nodded, my face a mask of坦 honesty. "Yes. We had the baby out of wedlock." Julian didn't respond. His sharp gaze swept over the cheap ring on my finger, and he let out a scoff of disbelief. I didn't feel embarrassed. I held up my hand, displaying the ring proudly, almost shoving it in his face. Sensing his temper about to flair, I quickly made my escape. Back home that night, I let out a heavy sigh. Sometimes, a lie is the most efficient way to solve a messy problem. I bought the ring yesterday at a dollar store. Cheap, effective. I figured it was enough to kill whatever lingering nostalgia Julian might have had for me. Sure enough, my resignation was approved the very next day. The HR director personally came to notify me. "Hand over your projects within the week, and you're free to go." Normally, resignation takes two weeks to a month. Mine took days. It was obvious whose order this was. I nodded and began transferring my files to the intern. The new intern, Bella, was sweet and enthusiastic. Or at least, she was when I was buying her coffee and breakfast. Near the end of the day, Bella looked at me with puppy dog eyes. "Chloe, can I leave a little early? My boyfriend is taking me out to dinner." I hesitated. It wasn't that I wanted to be mean, but I also needed to leave early to pick up my daughter. Seeing my silence, she put her hands together in a pleading gesture. I laughed, relenting. "Fine, go ahead." She thanked me profusely and started packing. "My boyfriend is coming up to get me." "He works in the building?" I asked, surprised. Bella looked mysterious. "No, he's..." Before she could finish, a deep, magnetic voice interrupted from the doorway. "Ready to go?" Chapter 2 My body went rigid. If it were any other voice, I might have looked up out of curiosity. But this voice... it had haunted my nightmares for the past five years. In the dark nights where I relied on melatonin to sleep, Julian's voice would echo in my mind. "Chloe, you're too good. I'm going to corrupt you." "Chloe, try it. Girls who smoke look cool. I want to see a different side of you." Under his coaxing, I fell. I learned. Starting sophomore year, I went from one of Julian's many admirers to his hookup buddy. Eventually, I beat out the sorority queens and became his girlfriend for three years. The day he accepted my confession, the weather was terrible. The wind was howling. He had just dropped off a senior girl back at her dorm. His car was idling downstairs. His hand, elegant and long-fingered, hung out the window, holding a cigarette. I wrapped my coat tighter, went downstairs, and knocked on his window. relying on the tiny bit of special treatment he showed me, I confessed. In that moment, the wind seemed to stop. It felt like a movie paused on a single frame. I waited for his answer. Julian turned to look at me, brought the cigarette to his lips, his dark eyes bottomless yet fatally attractive. Like I was possessed, I leaned in and took the cigarette from his mouth with my own. My lips brushed his fingers. He didn't pull away. His playful expression shifted to acquiescence. He only said one thing: "The good girl isn't so good anymore." At the time, I was drowning in love. I didn't understand the underlying meaning of those words. It wasn't until graduation day, the last time we went to a hotel, the last time we met. After the passion subsided, he skillfully handed me a cigarette. "In the future, the woman I marry definitely won't be the type to smoke after sex." I swallowed the lump in my throat and asked him why. Julian smiled, smoke swirling around his fingers. His tone was serious. "Chloe, I like them innocent." Tears spun in my eyes, and I forgot how to breathe. Innocent. He said he liked them innocent. But once, he complained that I was too pure, too well-behaved, that he didn't know where to start. Years later, I finally understood. Because I wasn't "good" anymore, I was automatically categorized into the "fun for now, but not for keeps" bin. Chapter 3 I pulled myself out of the memory, my face returning to a neutral mask. Bella turned excitedly, grabbing her bag and trotting over to him. Then she stopped and looked back at me. "Chloe, didn't you say you had to pick up your daughter? We can give you a ride." Before I could refuse, Julian walked over, grabbed my bag from the desk, and turned toward the elevators without a word. He didn't give me a chance to say no. The atmosphere in the car was suffocating. Only Bella chirped occasionally. Julian tapped the steering wheel lazily, giving her short answers, but his gaze kept flicking to me in the rearview mirror. Maybe sensing the awkwardness, Bella tried to make conversation. "Chloe, when you work late, does your husband usually pick up the kid?" Hearing the word "husband," I froze for a split second. I shook my head, making up an excuse. "He works out of town. He's not back often." She nodded, then her eyes landed on the ring I bought at the dollar store. "Is that your wedding ring? It looks a bit... tarnished." "It looks like one of those cheap ones you get online for ten bucks." "Oh! I didn't mean it like that, please don't misunderstand." Bella realized she had been rude and turned to apologize. But I caught the flicker of disdain in her eyes, a sense of superiority. Right. Compared to her Hermès, my canvas tote was trash. Before I could speak, a laugh cut through the air. Julian reached over and patted her head, smiling dotingly. "It's fine. You didn't say anything wrong. No need to apologize." Then, he looked at me through the mirror. It sounded like casual chatter, but I knew it was meant for me. "Poor people care too much about face. If you're too blunt, Bella, you might get on people's bad side at work." He was talking to Bella, but the words were a slap to my face. A seemingly careless comment, defending her while warning me. I pretended not to hear and looked out the window. In the three years I was with Julian, I heard similar things countless times. They said I wasn't good enough for him. I admit, the gap between us was massive. My family wasn't poor, just middle class. But the Sterling family was old money—wealth and power combined. When we first got together, Julian told me clearly: "Chloe, you can be my girlfriend, but you'll never be my wife." I knew. I always knew. I tried to guard my heart, never crossing the line. But when we were in love, I wavered. I thought, maybe if I try hard enough. Maybe if I fight for it. What if I succeeded? So, near graduation, I asked him to meet. He picked me up early. The car stopped in a quiet corner of the campus. The driver got out to give us privacy. I sat in the passenger seat, the dappled sunlight through the trees stinging my eyes. An hour later, Julian leaned back, his white shirt slightly damp with sweat. The window was half open, cold wind rushing in, dispersing his breath. I looked at him and finally asked the question. "Julian, do you love me?" More than asking if he would marry me, I just wanted to know if he had ever loved me. He looked at me, the playfulness in his eyes replaced by a rare seriousness. "We're graduating soon." In that instant, I understood. We're graduating, so it's time to break up. Chapter 4 The car stopped in front of the kindergarten. I pushed the door open. My daughter, standing at the gate holding her teacher's hand, waved happily when she saw me. I rushed over, thanked the teacher, and looked down at my little girl. "Sorry, Mommy is late today." "Wait long?" My daughter looked up and pointed a small finger. "Was it because of that uncle?" I was startled and looked back. Julian was standing behind me. His nonchalant expression was gone, replaced by intensity. And... a trace of hidden joy? I froze, instinctively tightening my grip on my daughter's hand. He walked over, slowly squatting down in front of her, studying her cute face. Julian's usually cold voice softened. "How old are you? What's your name?" I didn't stop him. We were together for three years; I knew him well enough. If he didn't see it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe my lie. I looked at my daughter tenderly and gave her hand a squeeze—our secret signal. My smart girl understood immediately. "I'm Lily. I'm three years old." Exhale. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Julian looked at the girl who shared 70% of his features. The joy of fatherhood didn't even have time to fully form before her words dumped a bucket of ice water on him. The words caught in his throat. Lily was born premature, and because I was malnourished during the pregnancy, she was smaller than her peers. For a toddler, it's hard to tell the difference between three and four. After breaking up with Julian, I blocked him on everything. He never tried to reach out. We were like two intersecting lines—after a brief entanglement, we drifted further apart. Living in the same city for five years, I had fantasized about running into him at a coffee shop or a red light. But it never happened. We operated in different orbits. Even under the same sky, we were worlds apart. Back home that night, Lily tugged at my shirt, looking confused. "Mommy, I'm four. Why did we lie?" Why indeed? Maybe to avoid trouble. Shortly after the last time I saw him, I found out I was pregnant. I thought about abortion. But lying on the operating table, I hesitated. I admit, I was unwilling to let go. I thought, even if we couldn't be together, having a child that connected us would be enough. So I gave birth alone. But the moment I held that tiny pink bundle, my mindset shifted. I was glad I kept her. She was my child. She didn't belong to anyone else. She deserved to see the world. ... After putting Lily to bed, I got a call from HR notifying me not to come in tomorrow. I frowned. "Whose order is this?" The person on the other end hesitated and didn't answer. I didn't press. Leaving a day early or late made no difference to me.
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