My author girlfriend, Sonia, in another fit of writer's block, swept the dinner I’d handmade for her off the table. Just then, text floated into my vision, shimmering like a heat haze: 【She regretted it the moment she did it. Look at the guilt in her eyes... my heart is breaking.】 【If he just goes and hugs her now, she’ll be so moved.】 Sonia... felt guilty? Moved by me? Mustering my courage, I gently brushed my fingers against hers. "It's okay. Do you want me to make you something else?" Her eyes, when they met mine, were chips of ice. "What, are you addicted to playing maid for me, you useless trash? Can't you see I'm pissed off right now? Get lost!" She shoved me away with her foot. Staring at the palm of my hand, now pierced by shards of broken porcelain, a profound sense of exhaustion washed over me. This one-man show… I was tired of it. … I said nothing, just quietly retrieved the first-aid kit and began bandaging my hand. 【You can see the pain in her eyes, she’s heartbroken for him…】 【Just give in already! She’ll definitely apologize and help you with that cut!】 【She's a born loner, bad at communicating. Can't this useless boyfriend at least open his mouth?】 I glanced at Sonia. She still wore that same cold expression, as if the world owed her a million dollars. There wasn't a hint of concern in her face. It was laughable that I'd actually believed the floating comments. Just as my heart was turning to stone, Sonia pushed her laptop towards me. "It won't turn on. Take a look." This was her usual way of making peace—she never apologized directly. But this time, I wasn't going to play along. I pushed the laptop back. "I'm your maid, not your IT guy. Find someone else." 【This guy is such a jerk! She’s already extending an olive branch, what’s his problem?】 【A genius author is willing to humble herself for him, and he’s still not satisfied? I hope she dumps this loser!】 She bit her lip, then deliberately stepped barefoot into the broken porcelain on the floor. "There," she said, her voice tight. "Can you forgive me now?" My breath hitched. I rushed forward, sweeping her up into my arms to clean the wound. "Sonia! Are you insane?" Seeing her hurt, I couldn't help it. My heart still ached for her despite myself. Ignoring the stream of digital abuse floating in the air, I held her close. That night, her protégé, Cox, sent me a text. She was drunk, he said. I needed to come pick her up. I rushed to the private room at the bar, only to find Sonia perfectly sober, complaining to her friends about me, her "free live-in maid." Her friends laughed, asking her to find them one, too. Sonia shook her head, her tone serious. "You couldn't." A wave of relief washed over me. "You could never find one that pathetic!" she crowed. "Honestly, whenever I'm mad, all I have to do is play the victim, and he comes crawling right back." The comments exploded. 【She’s so good to him! She’s willing to let a loser like him be her personal assistant just to keep him by her side!】 【She's just saying that! She was bragging about how great he was at first, then got scared her friends would try to steal him, so she started putting him down!】 I felt none of the love the comments were deciphering. I just felt like a joke. A chill ran through me, rooting me to the spot. It wasn't until I met Cox's mocking gaze that I snapped out of it and pushed the door open. Sonia tensed when she saw me. "You heard that?" I nodded, and she said, with a dismissive wave, "It was just a joke. Don't take it seriously." The last flicker of hope in my heart died. She was a genius author, clueless about everything outside of writing. To take care of her, I had given up everything. And in return, I was her free maid, the punchline to a joke for her friends' amusement. A bitter laugh escaped me. "Was it really just a joke, Sonia? Or was it what you truly think?" She said nothing, her jaw tight as if holding something back. 【He’s being such an ass. She already explained, why is he still throwing a fit!】 【She’s about to cry… Can we get a new main character, someone more considerate?】 【Yeah, Cox seems pretty nice.】 Cox, as if summoned by the comments, stormed over and grabbed my collar. "You're going too far, man! I told you she was out with us tonight. You didn't have to come here and check up on her!" Rage flared in my chest. I swung my fist, connecting squarely with his jaw. "You're the one who—" "Enough!" Before I could finish, Sonia threw her arms out, shielding Cox with her body. "This is between us! Don't drag other people into it!" I stepped toward her instinctively. "He's the one trying to cause trouble!" She thought I was going to hurt her precious protégé. She shoved me hard, sending me stumbling to the floor. Then she grabbed the thermos of soup I’d brought for her and hurled it at me. "Don't you dare touch him!" Stars exploded behind my eyes. I took a deep, shuddering breath and asked her one last time, "Are you really choosing to attack me, for him?" Her hands were clenched into fists. She said nothing. 【She was clearly just trying to stop a fight from breaking out! How can he be mad about that?】 【I feel so bad for her… no good deed goes unpunished!】 Was that really it? Just then, Cox dropped to his knees in front of me. Facing away from the others, a sly grin spread across his face, but his voice was thick with tears. "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault for meddling!" Sonia gently helped him up. "It's not your fault. You don't have to apologize." Once he was on his feet, she pointed a finger at me, her voice ringing with fury. "He's the one who should be apologizing!" The woman who had just spoken so softly to her protégé was now looking at me with absolute contempt. "Apologize!" she demanded. "If you don't, we're breaking up." I was frozen. She was going to break up with me over another man. 【Don't do it! She doesn't mean it!】 【Just say you're sorry! She’ll forgive you if you just apologize!】 There it was again. The comments, always using her supposed hidden love to emotionally blackmail me. I was always the one apologizing. This time, I was done. Looking at Sonia's cold, expectant face, I gave a calm nod. "Fine. Let's break up." Her breath hitched. She shook her head slightly, as if in disbelief. I took the other container out of the insulated bag I'd brought. "Drinking on an empty stomach is bad for you," I said, holding it out. "I made you a late-night snack." A smug smile touched her lips, a look that said, I knew it. One of her friends whispered, "Jeez, I thought he was actually going to break up with her. He just came crawling back again." "Who else would want a loser like him?" Sonia looked triumphant as she reached for the container. "Hmph. Fine, I forgive you this time. But next time, don't you dare—" Just as her fingers were about to touch it, I pulled my hand back. Right in front of her, I tipped the contents directly into the trash can. "I figured you wouldn't need food made by a useless maid." She stomped her foot in fury. "Fine! Be a dog with some pride, then! Once you're gone, don't you dare come back!" As I walked away, I heard one of her friends ask, "Shit, you think he's really not coming back this time?" Sonia's voice was nonchalant. "Don't worry. He'll come crawling back within three days. A parasite like him… how could he ever leave me?" After I left, I called my father. "Well, well. Decided you can spare a moment for your old man? Wasn't it you who cut off the family for that woman?" "Dad," I said, my voice cracking despite myself as the weight of my wasted years hit me. "I was wrong." I took a deep breath, the decision finally solidifying. "Dad, I'll do it. I'll agree to the alliance with the Langleys." My father sighed on the other end of the line. "Good. It's not too late for you to wake up. Isabelle is a good girl. Don't you dare fail her." After hanging up, I started packing my things. I was struck by how little I actually owned in this apartment. I used to buy little trinkets to decorate the place, telling myself it was to make it feel more like a home. In reality, it was a desperate attempt to assert my own existence here. In the eyes of her friends, I was just a roommate they could ignore. Gradually, my little decorations had filled every corner. Until the day Cox stayed over and casually remarked, "Sonia, your taste is terrible." The next day, she threw all of my things out, telling me never to buy such useless junk again. Later, she asked me why all the gifts she'd given me had disappeared, wondering if I was so broke that I'd secretly sold them. I just nodded and took the blame, never telling her she was the one who had thrown them all away. As I was about to leave, the door opened, and I came face to face with Sonia. Cox was right behind her. A smirk played on her lips. "What's this? Weren't you breaking up with me? Why are you still here, clinging to my apartment like a stray?" I ignored them and tried to push my suitcase past. But Sonia grabbed the handle, blocking my way. "Stop. Open the suitcase. I need to check it." I froze. This Sonia felt like a stranger. "What do you mean? You think I'm a thief?" 【He’s so dense! She obviously doesn't want him to leave! This is her way of keeping him there!】 【She even brought Cox back to apologize, and this guy doesn't appreciate it at all…】 Keeping me here? Apologizing? I shook my head, a bitter taste in my mouth. The scorn in her eyes said it all. They opened the suitcase and tore through my belongings, turning everything upside down. "Are you done?" I asked, my voice cold. Just then, Cox pulled out a dress shirt from the bottom of the case. "Sonia, look at this…" Sonia glanced at it, and then her hand cracked across my face. "I was wondering where this shirt went! So you're the one who stole it!" I held my cheek, stunned and hurt. "What are you talking about? You gave that to me for my birthday!" Sonia let out a sharp, derisive laugh. "Are you deaf? I just told you to try it on, not that it was yours!" A wave of sadness washed over me. "And I thought it was the first real gift you'd ever given me." Meeting Cox's mocking gaze, I answered calmly, "If it's yours, then you can have it back." Just like I'm giving you back, I thought. But my answer didn't satisfy her. She threw the shirt in my face. "Have it back? It's already filthy. How can I take it back?" "Filthy?" I started to explain. "I've never even worn it—" Her eyes were filled with disgust. "Anything you touch is filthy, you useless waste of space." 【This guy is so pathetic. He steals a gift and makes her clean up his mess.】 【Even I understood that. She just meant that Cox is a germaphobe.】 While I was still processing the floating comments, Cox suddenly lunged forward and dumped the entire contents of my suitcase onto the floor. "Sonia, let me help you check if he stole anything else!" And then he found it. His eyes lit up when he saw the small, velvet ring box. He presented it to Sonia like a prize. She stomped her foot. "So you really are addicted to stealing!" She snatched the box and ripped it open, only to freeze when she saw the 10-carat diamond ring inside. Then she scoffed. "A loser like you could afford a diamond ring? Where did you steal this from?" My hands trembled at my sides. But I managed to keep my voice steady. "I bought that with my own savings. It's an engagement ring. I was planning to propose to you tomorrow night, at seven, at the International Grand Hotel." She gave me a suspicious look. "Is it secondhand? Or fake?" I never imagined that her first reaction to an engagement ring would be that. I was shaking with rage. "Are we done here?" I bit out. She grunted, then nodded with a look of satisfaction, as if I had finally learned my place. She kicked my scattered belongings toward me. "Well, if you're going to propose, then stop with this drama. Clean up the house like a good boy and wait for me to come home for dinner. I'm going with Cox to get you a proper gift." 【She’s all talk! She’s obviously going to get him an engagement gift!】 【This loser is finally acting like a human being. It’s a good thing Sonia was willing to sleep at Cox’s last night just to give him some space to cool down.】 【She was crying on Cox’s shoulder all night… I’m so glad her suffering is finally over.】 Reading the scrolling text, I couldn't help but laugh, a hollow, bitter sound. So she had been cheating on me all along. And I, like a fool, had been played by both her and these phantom words of love. I turned away, not wanting her to see the devastation on my face. She didn't even glance at me. She just linked her arm through Cox's and started to leave. Before she closed the door, she reminded me to buy extra groceries. "Cox is staying for dinner tonight. Consider it your apology to him." As if I were truly her maid, and not the man who loved her. Using the last ounce of strength I had, I said, "Sonia, I'm done." She didn't even pause. The only reply was the slam of the door.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "394389", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel