Chapter 02

My acquaintance with Oliver was purely due to work. My family owned numerous companies, both large and small, domestically with dozens, and recently my father opened several branches abroad, which my brother managed.

Upon graduating, I joined the headquarters of our family business as the Sales Director.

And almost every quarter, I was the sales champion.

It was simply because my social circle is entirely composed of wealthy heirs.

Those who hung out with me were either rich young ladies who partied daily or couples vacationing abroad, casually handing me tens of thousands of dollars to arrange their travel.

Oh, right, my family was also involved in the tourism industry.

When Oliver first joined the company, I saw his resume in the office.

Though he was a farm boy from the south, he graduated from the University of Chicago with a master's degree and a scholarship. His resume showed he was a capable man.

But in our company, diploma wasn’t the most important. What really counted was one's own capabilities and work performance.

Oliver started in the sales department, under my supervision. Over time, we had more and more interactions.

We officially got together after one incident where he shielded me from drinking too much at a dinner engagement with clients. Standing in front of me at that moment, I must admit I felt grateful to him.

Later, after his confession, our relationship naturally progressed and we became a couple.

When my parents and brother found out about my relationship, they even held an overnight family meeting and brought me along.

“You're in a relationship?”

My father looked at me incredulously.

“He's interested in you?”

My brother, somewhat skeptical, raised an eyebrow and joked, “He couldn't possibly be after our family's assets, could he?”

Sitting at the dining table, I looked at them helplessly.

Eventually, I sighed and told them that I was with Oliver and that I hadn't disclosed my identity to him.

Aside from the company's senior executives, no one outside knew about my identity.

This was because my father feared I was naïve, and people might have ulterior motives if they knew about my identity.

I felt more than once that my father might be overreacting, especially since Oliver genuinely treated me well after we got together.

He even voluntarily handed over his bank card, telling me he would love only me from then on.

I was so touched that I wanted to tell him right then that my father was the company's president.

But under my father's insistence, I swallowed those words.

Later, to better maintain my commoner guise, my mother went to great lengths to buy me a very ordinary apartment.

“I didn't put this much effort even when buying a hillside house. It took forever to find an apartment that met your criteria,” she complained.

With that, she handed me the keys.

After we moved into the apartment, Oliver came to live with me. I didn't ask him to pay rent, and without saying much, he took over all household chores and meals, never letting me do the dishes.

I thought our relationship would continue in this ordinary yet happy way. Although Oliver wasn't financially strong now, it didn't mean it would always be the case.

What I didn't expect was that over a birthday cake costing only $8, he took back the bank card he had left with me, without a word.

The way he looked at me was as if he saw a spendthrift.

It turned out that he cared about money more than me.

At that moment, my heart broke.