The Man Who Ruined My 22nd, the Customer Who Wanted a Steamed Bun Chapter 02

The Man Who Ruined My 22nd, the Customer Who Wanted a Steamed Bun Chapter 02

I stood my ground, forcing him to turned back to look at me.

“I live right upstairs.”

I said, pointing toward the dilapidated residential building behind us.

Large patches of paint had peeled off the exterior walls, and a few loose strips hung precariously, weathered, battered, and utterly mundane.

Elliot walked closer, silently took one of the folding stools from my hand, and sat down.

“Changed your mind?” I asked. “You’re a difficult customer.”

He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, took out a check, and held it out to me.

“Elena, back then, I… I wronged you. This isn’t much. Three hundred thousand dollars. Stop running this shop. Do anything else you want. Just don’t work yourself this hard.”

I looked at the check in front of me and laughed.

“If you don’t like the buns, just say so. Why try to shut down my whole business?”

“Elena, you know that’s not what I meant.”

I sighed too, brushed the leftover flour and bits of dough from my hands, and looked at the people hurrying along the street.

“Elliot, I really don’t need it. I told you, I’m happy with my life now.”

“Elena!”

He shot to his feet.

A passerby startled, then quickly quickly picked up his pace and hurried away.

I watched the man go and could not help laughing under my breath.

Elliot noticed how little I cared about his outburst, and embarrassment flickered across his face.

“Do you even understand? You’re struggling at the very bottom of society now. Like an ant under someone’s shoe.”

“I don’t need money. But for you, money changes everything.”

He stared hard into my eyes.

“Why can’t you just give me a chance to make it up to you?”

I slowly stood as well.

“I refunded your payment. You waste too much of my time to count as a customer.”

“Have a good day.”

I turned and walked toward the shop.

Behind me, Elliot’s voice cracked with tears.

“Do we really have to be this cold to each other?”

The wind lifted the ends of my hair.

I stopped, looked up at the sky, and said, “Elliot, honestly, we never should have known each other in the first place.”

Six years ago, I had leaned on my parents’ wealth and lived perfectly content as a spoiled, temperamental heiress.

Any boy who tried to pursue me, no matter who he was, would be driven insane by my bad temper within a day.

But Elliot had been different. He was poor, but he was smart, ambitious, and handsome.

I gave him a pork bun I could not finish, and he was so moved that he hugged me.

No matter how difficult I was, he accepted it all without complaint.

I thought I had finally found my Prince Charming.

I could not bear to see him struggling, so I rushed to get him a job at my parents’ company.

After that, talking about getting married seemed natural.

But while we were preparing for our engagement party, I accidentally discovered that Elliot had added my best friend, Vivienne Shaw, on Instagram.

And they had been messaging constantly.

I was so angry that I smashed his phone on the spot.

But he only held me gently and said, “Is my princess jealous? I was just trying to learn more about what you like from Vivienne. I wanted to prepare a little surprise for you. Don’t be mad, okay?”

A woman blinded by love was a tragic thing.

After he coaxed me into calming down, I turned around and bought him the latest phone.

Later, Elliot was always saying he was busy, that he had too much work to do.

I thought he was trying to build his career, make more money, and marry me sooner.

One day, full of anticipation, I secretly followed him.

Only then did I find out that his so-called work was sitting in a café with Vivienne, sharing the same slice of Basque cheesecake.

I picked up a rock from the curb and smashed the window beside them.

The moment the glass exploded, Elliot instinctively shielded Vivienne’s face.

My eyes went red with rage. I screamed at him like a lunatic.

Elliot only sighed and calmly told me not to overthink it.

He said he was just trying to get along with my friend, since we would all be family one day anyway.

Vivienne grabbed my arm too, tears shining in her eyes.

“Elena, you know I grew up without parents. I was in an orphanage. I didn’t even know what happiness was until I met you. Elliot didn’t mean anything by it. He just heard about my past and bought me a slice of cake I’d never tried before. He only wanted me to taste it. I didn’t know you would misunderstand. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

Listening to her sincere apology, I forced down the discomfort in my chest and turned away.

A few days later, Vivienne brought me a gift and came to my house to apologize.

But the moment she saw my parents, she burst into tears and threw herself into their arms.

Then she handed them a DNA test.

“Mom, Dad… I’ve been looking for you for so long.”

I stared in shock at the “family” crying together in front of me.

My fingers twisted together, and my heart filled with emotions I could not untangle.