I Dumped My Poor Boyfriend, Became Rich—He Said Regrets Chapter 07

I Dumped My Poor Boyfriend, Became Rich—He Said Regrets Chapter 07

On my wrist hung a simple silver chain. Over the years, the metal had lost its luster, turning dull and worn. It was the very first gift Ethan had ever given me, on my nineteenth birthday.

For an entire week leading up to it, I had barely seen him outside of lectures. He was sprinting from one grueling part-time job to another, working harder than I’d ever seen anyone work.

On the night of my birthday, my parents threw a massive, lavish gala for me at a five-star hotel. I had texted Ethan the details, but he never showed up. I waited for hours. Finally, late into the night, my phone buzzed. He told me he was waiting outside the hotel gates.

I ran out into the pouring snow. My boy was standing tall under the streetlamps, looking like a lone pine tree

against the winter wind. He looked exhausted, covered in slush, his bright red delivery vest stained with mud

-just like I was tonight.

Back then, I was too spoiled to understand. All I did was throw a tantrum because he was late. Ethan had

just smiled, gently ruffling my hair, and pulled out a small box.

The bracelet was a basic, off-the-rack piece. It wasn’t expensive by upper-class standards, but I knew it had

pushed his bank account to the absolute brink. I loved it instantly. I snapped it onto my wrist right there in

the snow, and I had never taken it off since.

Then my parents had called out from the hotel steps, asking who I was talking to. They despised Ethan; they

thought he was a parasite dragging me down. By the time I turned back around, Ethan had already vanished

into the blinding white storm.

Even now, looking back. At least when he was nineteen, Ethan Hayes truly loved me, didn’t he?

That bracelet was paid for with his sweat, his sleepless nights, and his bleeding knuckles. He must have

skidded on the ice and fallen, just like I did tonight, but he kept moving forward just to give it to me.

As for now, he was pinning me down, forcing his way back into my life. His penthouse was filled with the

luxury goods I used to love. Was he doing this because he couldn’t let me go… or was this his way of

humiliating the girl who used to look down on his world?

The confusion twisted tight in my chest, and tears finally spilled over my lashes.

Ethan froze. The raw anger vanished from his face, replaced by instant, unadulterated panic. Just like the old days, he still had no idea what to do when I started crying.

He scrambled to wipe the tears from my eyes with his thumbs. “Don’t cry, please don’t cry. I’m sorry. I was just trying to scare you. Today… today is your twenty-sixth birthday. I bought you a new bracelet.”

“What?”

I had completely forgotten. Today was my birthday. Ethan cracked open a sleek, midnight-blue velvet box.

“Look. Do you like it?”

He reached down, intending to unloop the old silver chain. “Veronica, can we just-”

Before he could finish, the sharp chime of the penthouse doorbell echoed through the room.

Chad Montgomery was standing on the threshold, a cigarette dangling from his lip. “Where’s Veronica? I’m

here to take her home.”

“Who the hell are you?” Ethan’s eyes narrowed into slits.

“I’m her fiancé,” Chad smirked, blowing smoke into the pristine hallway. “Didn’t she tell you?”

Ethan went entirely rigid. The velvet box slipped through his fingers, hitting the carpet with a dull thud.