Chapter 1

I just ended a five-year marathon of a relationship with my girlfriend, who is five years younger than me.

On the very eve of us getting our marriage license, I caught her at the mall.

She was participating in a public couples' challenge with a younger guy from the architecture department.

After the game ended, I gently took her hand with a bitter smile.

"You said you'd love me forever," I whispered.

She didn't even flinch. Instead, she laced her fingers tightly with the younger student's.

"Silas Sterling, look at yourself. You have no money and you're getting old. Tell me, what exactly makes you think you deserve my love forever?"

I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.

She thinks I'm old? She thinks I'm broke?

That definitely wasn't what she said when she was the one chasing me.

Fine. Since she wants to play that game, I'll show her exactly who has the money and who's really in charge.

1

Sienna Wells chased me relentlessly for two years.

For two years, I turned her down with every bit of resolve I had.

"Sienna, I'm five years older than you. We're not a good match," I told her repeatedly.

But she would always grab my sleeve, looking like a kicked puppy.

"Silas, we're perfect together. I like older men because they know how to take care of someone. Five years is just the right gap."

She never gave up. She pursued me from her freshman year all the way to her junior year.

At that time, I was finishing my master's degree. Most of my friends were already talking about engagement and marriage.

Out of the four of us in my dorm, I was the only one still single.

My roommates had watched her chase me for over seven hundred days. Before graduation, they all urged me not to leave any room for regrets.

On the night of our graduation dinner, the air was warm and the moonlight hit the lake just right. As we passed each other, the spark was undeniable.

I realized I couldn't fake my feelings anymore. I actually loved her.

In a moment of impulse, I grabbed her wrist and finally accepted the confession she had been shouting to the world.

For five years, our relationship seemed rock solid.

Even two years ago, when my family went bankrupt, she didn't leave me.

My father had skipped town with the company funds, leaving behind a mountain of debt and a mess for my mother and me to clean up.

I used the house and all my savings to pay off the creditors, but it still wasn't enough.

We moved into a cramped, rented apartment. My life went from luxury to the literal dirt overnight.

My mother spent her days in tears, unable to see a way out.

My own startup was just in its infancy, and it was the hardest period of my life.

I didn't want to drag Sienna down with me, so I forced myself to break up with her.

She refused. She spent every day waiting outside my office building.

When she finally learned the truth, she rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around my waist.

"Silas, I'm not leaving you. I will love you through everything. For better or worse, we're in this together until we're gray and old."

Her hot tears soaked through my shirt, and my heart ached with a mixture of pain and devotion.

I felt so much pity for her, but it only made me more determined to love her.

From that day on, I swore I would work myself to the bone to give her the best life possible.

But two days before we were supposed to get married, I saw her with another man.

I watched them passionately kissing in the middle of a crowded mall.