Chapter 3 We Get Married

The dessert shop still played the light melodies.

The weather was clear, with not a cloud in the sky.

Today's task for the driver was the same as always, picking up his boss's girlfriend after her afternoon tea. He had already received a message that she was done with her tea and was waiting for her outside the shop.

Shirley finished her tea and saw the driver waiting respectfully not far from her.

She felt dizzy, nearly tripping over the threshold, but Abby quickly caught her. She sighed quietly and simply helped her into the car.

The driver opened the car door.

Shirley sat down in the back seat, feeling somewhat numb.

She gave Abby a vague goodbye, and after a while, she heard the driver in the front seat calling her name.

The driver had asked her several times if she was going back to the First-Class Mansion.

"Oh? Oh." Shirley quickly snapped back to reality and answered the driver. The Rolls-Royce quietly started, and she opened the window halfway. The cool evening breeze brushed her face, making her feel more awake, slowly bringing her back to reality.

Shirley bit her lips, remembering what Abby had bluntly said in the dessert shop-Lucas wanted to break up.

Lucas was finally going to break up.

The words "Lucas wants to break up" filled her mind, and after confirming it several times, she felt a trembling throughout her body. It was as though every cell was cheering and bubbling with excitement.

She had lost hope for so long, having almost given up on any expectations.

Yes, Lucas's recent behavior was the precursor to a breakup, just like it happens in every relationship when the man starts thinking about ending it.

The diary on her phone showed, Today is Day 1713 of waiting for Lucas's breakup fee.

Shirley almost cried when she saw the number 1713.

She had been the devoted girlfriend for 1713 days, working hard, almost to the point of losing her mental stability, giving so much inside and out, and now Lucas finally wanted to break up. She could finally leave this role with pride.

Shirley thought about her breakup fee and couldn't help but feel excited, but then she sensed the driver in the front seat was looking at her. She quickly adjusted her emotions again.

Taking a deep breath, Shirley told herself not to get too excited. She should wait quietly for that day to come, just as usual. But she couldn't help but wonder how Lucas was thinking. If he was going to break up with her, would it be next quarter, next month, or next week?

She unconsciously opened the calendar app, but before she could start calculating, her phone vibrated lightly with a message notification.

It was from Lucas, marked as "Lucas",

[What do you want to eat tonight?]

[Shirley, I have something I want to talk to you about.]

[Tonight.]

Shirley's phone slipped from her hand and fell with a snap.

...

At the same time, in the evening, the setting sun cast a fiery glow.

Most of the office workers in the CBD were still busy preparing for overtime. The Noble building stood in the heart of the financial district, radiating the most solemn and cold light as it reflected the sunset.

26th floor.

After a whole day of meetings, the people from the president's office had left for the day, and the office was empty. The only light left was in the president's office.

Liam, holding several documents, stood at the door of the president's office. After receiving a response, he entered.

Lucas had not left after work, staying behind to deal with some personal matters.

"President William," Liam said, walking in and placing the documents on Lucas's desk.

Lucas had just put down his phone and looked at the documents Liam had brought.

They were all property transfer agreements.

Liam waited beside him.

Lucas quickly flipped through the documents and, after confirming everything was in order, signed his name on the final line for the party A. He then put the agreement aside and picked up the blank check Liam had brought along.

Liam couldn't help but glance at the blank check.

He saw that Lucas pondered over it for a few seconds before taking the pen and writing.

The numbers began with "hundreds of millions" and continued with three nines.

The final amount on the check was 999 million.

Despite expecting a large sum, Liam was still shocked when he saw the number Lucas wrote.

The documents that had seemed so thin in Lucas's hands represented cash worth 999 million, a top-floor apartment in First-class Mansion valued at no less than 500,000 per square meter, a villa in the suburbs of B city that couldn't even be bought for money, and a vacation villa in a southern coastal city with a private sea area.

And all of these properties had one common recipient,

Shirley.

Liam had expected a large amount, but not one written out to the maximum amount.

It made him think of the shy and careful Miss Shirley, who always greeted him politely as "Assistant Liam."

Liam paused for a moment.

Indeed, when you want something from a man, the best emotion to exploit is his guilt and sympathy.

Especially when this man is already generous.

Lucas finished signing the check and put down his pen.

He glanced at Liam, signaling that he could leave for the day.

Liam quickly snapped back to reality, gathered all the signed documents, and left the office.

The office fell silent again.

The sunset outside the floor-to-ceiling windows painted a beautiful scene.

Lucas sat in his office chair, staring at the sunset and thinking about Shirley's message, where she suggested a romantic candlelit dinner with a view of the night sky.

Lucas lightly tapped his fingers and counted how long he had known Shirley.

From the semester he began his exchange at C University, to graduation, and then taking over Noble, it had been nearly five years.

They had been together for almost five years.

In these five years, there had never been any conflict. Shirley was always sweet and considerate. When they first met, she was naively pure, and later she became like a clingy little animal always sticking by his side. She understood everything, never being pretentious or awkward, and while his friends were often busy with their girlfriends, he never had to worry about such things.

So Lucas knew he was being cruel now.

Perhaps it was age, or maybe the increasing pressure and busyness after taking over Noble, but at some point, he began to hear a voice in his head.

He and Shirley might not be able to last forever.

He knew that their relationship had always been good, and Shirley had never done anything wrong, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they couldn't go on.

Especially now, after growing from the young man who started his exchange semester to the CEO of Noble, with no opposition from the board.

But Shirley seemed unchanged.

She was still as pure and considerate as when they first met, occasionally timid, unwilling to do anything just to kill time, unwilling to engage with the outside world, living quietly in her ivory tower. Only when forced to, she would briefly participate in events and then retreat back into her comfort zone.

The distance that already existed between them seemed to be widening.

And it was at this moment, when she tied his tie as usual, that Lucas realized he no longer looked forward to each day with Shirley by his side.

An end to a relationship doesn't have to be dramatic.

Lucas had spent the entire day wondering whether he should break up next week, next month, or next quarter, but he knew the result was inevitable. Prolonging it would only add to the exhaustion.

Lucas looked at the check he had just signed.

So, all he could do was compensate her as much as he could, hoping that after their breakup, Shirley would still live well, at least materially.

...

At the First-class Mansion.

The dressing room was in chaos.

Shirley had tried on all the dresses she owned for the season and then remembered Lucas's message about wanting to talk tonight. She couldn't help but smile and silently scream with excitement.

It almost felt too unreal.

For 1713 days, she had given everything and almost lost hope. But now things had taken a turn.

Just when she thought Lucas might want to break up, his message came.

They weren't the type of couple who talked about everything, so if Lucas wanted to talk, it could only mean one thing.

But she didn't expect him to be so quick about it, it was happening tonight, not next week or next month.

Shirley thought "a cliff-edge breakup" wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

With a smile on her lips, she picked out a simple white dress, one with a minimalist cut.

She remembered how the girls at Eva's birthday party had looked at her. Shirley laughed softly.

When she was a model, changing into three hundred outfits a day, those fake friends were probably still playing pretend at home.

Shirley stood with her hands on her hips, looking at herself in the mirror. She thought, after five years of wearing simple clothes and being secretly ridiculed by the wealthy women, the breakup fee tonight better be a seven-figure sum.

Anything less and she'd go down with him.

The thought made her laugh.

She sprayed herself with a perfume called "Freedom" and finally grabbed her bag to head out for the dinner. It felt like a victory march to her final MVP moment.

The Rolls-Royce glimmered under the evening lights.

When she arrived, Lucas was already there.

The waiter led her to the VIP room, where the night view outside the window was dazzling. Lucas was already seated at the table.

It wasn't their first time dining at this restaurant.

Lucas noticed Shirley had arrived a little later than expected.

At first glance, he realized Shirley seemed different tonight, though he couldn't quite pinpoint why. He wasn't very knowledgeable about fashion, but tonight she seemed brighter, livelier.

Shirley sat down across from Lucas with a big smile.

The waiter brought two menus, and Shirley casually flipped through hers. Then she looked up and blinked curiously.

"Lucas," she said, "You said you wanted to talk tonight. What is it?"

Lucas paused as he flipped through the menu.

Then, seeing her seemingly confused expression, he smiled and replied, "Let's eat first."

"Oh." Shirley didn't expect Lucas to be so formal about breaking up.

Outside the window, the city was bathed in the glow of the night.

The main dishes tonight were black truffle foie gras risotto and sirloin steak.

The waiter dimmed all the lights, and white candles slowly burned in silver candleholders, creating the most romantic atmosphere.

But Shirley had no appetite.

She couldn't pretend she didn't know what was happening right now. She mechanically cut her steak, and just as she was about to bring a piece to her mouth, she heard Lucas's voice.

"Shirley."

Her hand trembled, and the steak fell off her fork, rolling down her chest and onto her skirt, then finally landing on the carpet.

Shirley looked down at the steak sauce stain on her white dress.

Lucas couldn't speak at first.

Shirley winced at the sight of the stain and said, "I'll go to the bathroom and clean it up."

Lucas nodded. "Okay."

Shirley went to the bathroom, leaving Lucas alone in the room.

The candles burned silently, their light reflecting on the nearby windows.

Lucas sat still, thinking about what he was going to say to Shirley tonight. But just then, Shirley's phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.

The screen lit up with an unknown number.

Lucas picked up the phone. "Hello?"

On the other end, someone was asking if he was interested in buying health supplements, claiming they could cure terminal cancer.

Realizing it was a sales call, Lucas immediately hung up.

As he hung up, he glanced at Shirley's phone screen, intending to check the time. However, since Shirley's phone was set up to recognize his face, it unlocked as soon as he swiped.

Lucas wasn't the type to go through his girlfriend's phone.

He had no real interest in invading Shirley's privacy. But when the phone unlocked, Lucas happened to see a few unread messages on WhatsApp, one of which contained his name, "Lucas."

Everything seemed so coincidental.

For the first time, Lucas found himself compelled to open the chat with his name on it.

...

Shirley was busy in the restroom for a while.

A waiter brought her a stain remover pen. After a lot of effort, she managed to reduce the visible stains on her dress to faint marks that weren't noticeable unless looked at closely.

After cleaning her dress, she also took a moment to use the restroom.

Standing in front of the mirror, she took several deep breaths and reminded herself to stay calm. Her expression became determined, like a warrior preparing for battle.

This was probably the most important night of her 24 years of life.

After tonight, she'd be free to collect her payment and step into the peak of her life.

She forced herself to suppress a smile that was threatening to appear, then walked out of the restroom.

The waiter led her back into the VIP room, where Lucas was still seated at the same spot, bathed in the soft candlelight.

Shirley sat back down across from Lucas.

She adjusted her dress. The food on the table had mostly cooled, and she wasn't hungry anymore. She noticed that Lucas' wine glass appeared empty.

Lucas, noticing that Shirley's dress was now clean again, slowly looked up at her. He saw the beautiful face in front of him, always wearing a sweet smile.

Shirley couldn't shake the feeling that something was different about Lucas tonight.

But she couldn't pinpoint what exactly was off. Sweat had started to form in her palms as she remembered the ultimate purpose of tonight. The meal was almost over, and seeing Lucas silently staring at her without saying a word, she decided to take the initiative and spoke up, "Lucas, can you tell me what this is about now?"

Lucas looked at Shirley as she spoke. Since they first met, she had always been this way-gentle, clear-eyed, quiet, never acting selfishly.

Despite the limitations her background placed on her, she always tried her best in front of him.

Lucas had always believed he knew everything about her.

Until, in just a few short minutes, everything seemed to turn into a complete joke.

This situation was so absurd that he could hardly believe it-he, a man of wealth and power, being manipulated by a young woman who had once barely seen the world beyond her small life.

His fingers tightened around the silver cutlery.

Shirley, still smiling with her eight perfect teeth, started to feel a chill down her spine as she waited for Lucas to respond.

The silence seemed to grow louder, making the back of her neck feel even colder. A gust of wind appeared from nowhere, causing the candle flames to flicker.

Shirley began to feel something was wrong.

Just as it seemed everything would snap, the eerie silence was finally broken.

Lucas, staring at her now stiff smile, spoke calmly, his eyes as dark as an endless abyss, "Shirley..."

"We're getting married."