Loving You Was a Dead End

On my first date with billionaire's son Leo Maxwell, he mocked my $200 dresssaved from months of part-time workcalling it cheap polyester that would shock him. He made me take it off and burned it. Left shivering in the snow in a thin top, I endured laughter from him and his cashmere-coated friends.

The next day, he blocked me with his Ferrari at school, loudly apologizing with a Van Cleef necklace. "Country folks aren't picky about fabric. Use this for better clothes, or my card."

Amidst stares and whispers, I refused the gift and broke up with him. He smirked. "Still upset? Name your price."

I pushed past him. "I want nothing. Just leave me alone." All I wanted was my dignity.

Leo didn't respond. His gaze swept over my roommate, Grace, who stood behind me. He casually placed his hand on her shoulder, his tone dismissive. "Hailey, your temper is getting out of hand. All I did was call your name once. You never talked about breaking up when I used to buy you gifts." He paused, his eyes flicking towards me, then back to Grace. "Look at her, shes so unreasonable compared to you. How about you be my girlfriend?"

My heart pounded. Grace didn't push his hand away. Instead, she leaned closer to him, smoothing things over with a smile. "Haileys just being dramatic, Leo. Don't be mad." Leo chuckled, deliberately raising his voice. "Mad about what? If someone doesnt appreciate me, there are plenty who will." He turned to Grace, his fingers kneading her shoulder. "Be my girlfriend, and next week I'll buy you that new designer bag. What do you say?"

Graces eyes lit up, and she was about to speak when Leo suddenly gestured to me with his chin. "What do you say, give in now, and I'll pretend this never happened. Otherwise" He deliberately paused, his hand sliding down to clasp Graces wrist.

I sniffled. I looked at the hand that had held mine countless times, and suddenly, my tears stopped. My voice was steadier than I expected. "No, thank you. When it's over, it's over. I wish you both well." I turned and walked away.

Leos smile froze on his face, then he let out a scoff. "Don't act tough. You'll be back to me within three days. But for today, I guess I'll just have to spoil my new darling." He deliberately drew out his words, his eyes fixed on me. He was waiting for me to turn back. I heard Graces laughter blend with his words, growing fainter with each step I took.

Back in my dorm, I sat on my chair, and the tears Id held back finally streamed down. It was the weekend, and my roommates were out. I cried for a long time before I recovered. I packed up the necklace, the plush toys, and other small items he had given me, sealing the box and placing it by the door, intending to return them in a few days.

By the time I finished tidying up, it was evening. I opened my phone to see a photo he'd posted. Grace was in the passenger seat of his car, holding a bubble tea and smiling. The caption read, "New beginnings." On the dashboard was the acrylic plate Leo had once put there to appease me, inscribed with "Hailey's Spot." I stared at the photo for two seconds, feeling a heavy ache in my chest. I called my best friend, Mia, then turned off my phone and left.

Mia was waiting for me at the hotpot restaurant. Seeing my swollen eyes, she didn't ask questions, simply spooned meat into my bowl. Halfway through the meal, when my emotions had stabilized, she quietly asked, "Why did you really break up? Was it just because he came to school for you?" I lowered my head, stirring the soup in my bowl, and gently shook my head. "No."

When I first met Leo, I had no idea who he was. He rolled up to me in a beat-up old van, and my younger brother, mistaking him for a kidnapper, gave him a good beating. Later, I found out his luxury car had been scratched by a farm vehicle, and he was given the van to drive while his car was being repaired, which was how he ended up in our village.

He stayed at our house to recover, occasionally plucking wildflowers by the roadside to give to me. One day, as I was picking corn in the fields, he leaned in, smiling. "You look beautiful picking corn. Go out with me, and you won't have to do this kind of work anymore." I thought he was joking and casually agreed. It wasn't until he recovered and came to pick me up in his luxury car that I realized he was a rich young heir.

Mia put down her chopsticks. "So why the sudden breakup?"

"He always drives his fancy car to school to block me. Students gather around, whispering about me being a 'gold-digger.' He hears it but never explains, even joking with his friends, 'She's the one who threw herself at me.'" I pursed my lips, lowering my gaze, my nose tingling again. "Last time, I saved two months' salary to buy a dress, spent two hours doing my makeup to meet him, and he didn't even glance at it. When he pulled me towards his hotel, the dress snagged on his watch, and he tore it right off, annoyed."

"He always does this. Afterwards, he buys me a plush toy or a necklace as compensation." I looked down at the cooling soup in my bowl. "This time, he called my name at the school gate again, and everyone was staring. I suddenly woke up. Eight years. I don't want to coddle him anymore."

Mia sighed, not pressing further. After dinner, she dragged me to a karaoke bar. I sang until my throat was hoarse, but at least I didn't cry any more. In the private room, I had two beers, and my head started to feel heavy. Mia, seeing my state, didn't stay long, dropping me off at the dorm around ten. The hallway lights were off. I fumbled in the dark, pushing open the door. Seeing Grace's bed empty, my heart sank.

Thankfully, I was too exhausted to think much else. I took off my coat and collapsed into bed. I wasn't woken until noon the next day by my phone ringing. I answered without checking the caller ID. On the other end, it sounded like one of Leos friends, his voice frantic. "Hailey, get to Leos house now! He drank so much last night, saying he didn't want to live without you. He's really bad!"

My mind reeled, my heart pounding. I hung up, didn't comb my hair or change my clothes, and jumped on my scooter, rushing to Leos house. On the way, I was so flustered I took a wrong turn, and a truck almost hit me. I didn't catch what the driver yelled, but I gripped the handlebars and sped on.

Finally, I arrived at Leos apartment building, breathless from running, wanting only to be faster. But the moment I pushed open the door, I froze. A room full of people surrounded the sofa, laughing. Leo was lounging in the middle, and Grace sat on his lap, feeding him grapes. He naturally opened his mouth to take them. He used to always say he didn't like grapes, preferring me to peel mangoes for him. But when Id cut and brought them to him, he wouldnt eat them, just ruffle my hair and say, "So obedient."

Leo saw me, raised an eyebrow, and turned to his friends, chuckling. "I told you she'd come. I won won the bet."

Someone laughed and handed him an envelope filled with money. He took it and gave it to Grace, then looked at me, his eyes full of mockery. "Hailey Vance, you really can't live without me, can you? You heard something happened to me, and you rushed over without even washing your face?"

The others joined in the teasing. One guy laughed and called out, "Hailey, Leo already said he doesn't like you. You're broken up, and you're still chasing after him? Is no one else interested in you?"

Another chimed in, "Leo, look how desperate she is. Maybe she wants to come back and continue serving you, hoping to get back together!"

"Yeah, right, wasn't she acting all high and mighty before? Now she's practically throwing herself at him?"

"What breakup? I bet she's just playing hard to get"

I stood there, unable to stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks. Seeing me cry, Leos mockery deepened. He pushed Grace off his lap and walked over to me, pinching my face, forcing me to look at him.

"What are you crying for?" He leaned in, his breath heavy with alcohol, and lightly touched my lips, his tone flippant. "Now you regret it? Beg me, and I'll"

Before he could finish, I slapped him.

Smack! The laughter in the living room instantly ceased. Everyone gasped. Leo's face froze, his eyes instantly turning cold. He frowned and pushed me away. "Hailey Vance, you dare hit me? Over such a trivial matter?"

Grace immediately rushed over, pulling on Leos arm, soothing him softly. "Leo, don't be angry. She's just jealous, she's gone crazy." Then, she glanced at me. "She was always like this in the dorms, always getting too close to guys in class, deliberately trying to make people misunderstand. Didn't she just want all the guys to fawn over her? Now she's trying to act innocent."

I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand, my eyes bloodshot, my voice rising. "Leo Maxwell, I must have been blind to ever be with you. From today on, I will never look for you again. If you die, it has nothing to do with me!"

Leo froze for a moment, a flicker of panic in his eyes, but then he scoffed. "Last time you threw a tantrum, didn't you come back to me within three days, clutching the plush toy I gave you? Now you're trying this again? Fine, I'll wait. But when you regret it, don't come begging me." He leaned back on the sofa, pulling Grace closer, then whispered something to his friends, utterly convinced Id return. He didnt even glance at me again.

I didn't watch the merriment in the living room anymore. I turned and walked out. Just downstairs, I saw my scooter lying crooked by the roadside, its back tire flat, punctured by someone unknown. I struggled to push the bike towards the dorm, the path dark, with one or two drunk people occasionally passing by. My heart pounded, and I quickened my pace.

Thankfully, I made it back to the dorm safely. The boxes were still by the door. I grew angrier the more I thought about it, kicking them into a corner before collapsing into bed.

The next morning, I carried the boxes to the post office. When I tried to pay by scanning the QR code, my phone repeatedly flashed "Insufficient balance." I clicked into my transaction history and saw it clearly: yesterday afternoon, Leo had used the shared payment feature to transfer the only two thousand three hundred and fifty dollars left in my accountmoney I had painstakingly saved from two months of part-time work.

"Miss, stop dawdling! There are people waiting behind you!" The post office worker's voice was impatient. Several students in line looked over, and some recognized me, whispering.

"Isn't that the little bird who broke up with her sugar daddy? I heard she used to spend all of Leo's money. Now that she's been dumped, she's broke."

Another student, sounding scornful, spoke louder. "What 'little bird'? They call them 'golden canaries,' but really, she's just a prostitute. And I heard this kind of person even won some award, right?"

Those words pierced my ears, incredibly harsh. I instinctively gripped my phone, told the post office worker, "Give me five minutes," and ducked into the alley behind the post office to make a call.

"Mom, I want to borrow some money"

My mother's voice, booming through the phone, hurt my ears. "You ungrateful wretch! I told you not to mess with rich people, but you wouldn't listen! Now they've dumped you, and you're coming to the family for money? I say you deserve it! You little hussy"

I bit my lip, not daring to reply. Hanging up, I had no choice but to carry the boxes towards Leos house, my arms aching from the cardboard digging into them the entire way. A few items fell out as I juggled the boxes, and I clutched them in my hand.

Just as I reached the entrance of his complex, I saw Leo's car pull up. Grace was in the passenger seat, surrounded by several luxury shopping bags. She deliberately held them up when she saw me. The car stopped, and Leo rolled down the window. He glanced at the boxes in my arms, a subtle sigh of relief, then raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"I told you you couldn't live without me." He then pointed to a bench nearby. "Here, wait here. Grace and I are going to buy a bag up ahead. I'll be back for you later."

Before I could say, "I'm here to return your things," he hit the gas, and the car sped off. Grace poked her head out the window, waving triumphantly at me.

I dumped the boxes at Leos front door and turned to leave. I needed to make money. That two thousand dollars, I decided, would just be his payment for all the meals hed bought me. I wasnt going to ask for it back.

That afternoon, the department suddenly announced a commendation ceremony for the "National Scholarship" recipients. My advisor had called me the day before, asking me to prepare a speech, saying I'd speak as a representative. But the one who walked onto the stage to receive the award was Grace. She wore a new designer dress Leo had bought her, her face even paler than usual. She held a certificate in her hand and, as she came down, deliberately walked over to me, whispering, "Hailey, someone reported you for misconduct, so you can't blame me for getting the award."

Seeing my frown, she continued in a low voice, "I failed five courses, you know. Leo helped me contact the professors to change my grades. Seriously, without him, how would I ever graduate?" She then added, "Oh, Leo also told me to tell you that your hard work means nothing compared to his word."