Chapter 3
Married?
Benjamin… getting married?
My blood froze instantly, a lump forming in my throat.
I forced a smile, my voice strained: “Then I wish you and Mr. Hayes grow old together in harmony.”
Accepting her candy, my heart ached as if sliced by a knife.
The next second, Benjamin suddenly appeared, snatched the wedding candies from my hand with icy detachment, and threw them into the trash can.
He didn’t glance at me, taking Victoria’s hand and interlacing their fingers tightly.
“My wedding isn’t for just anyone to attend.”
His words slammed into my chest like a sledgehammer. The once- bustling office plunged into silence, employees exchanging uneasy looks. Olivia moved to defend me, but I pressed her hand down.
I watched Benjamin and Victoria–their perfect silhouettes hand–in- hand–disappear through the door, waiting as colleagues tactfully
returned to their stations.
When the noise faded, only Olivia and I remained.
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I crouched down, retrieving the discarded wedding candies from the trash can one by one.
Chocolate–flavored, strawberry–flavored, pear–flavored…
But no lychee–flavored.
That year, at the highest point of the Ferris wheel, he kissed me and said: “From now on, I’ll only eat lychee–flavored candy.”
He doesn’t like it anymore, really doesn’t like it at all.
I let out a silent scoff, tears suddenly falling onto the wedding candies.
My hand clutching the wedding candies formed a fist, pressing hard against my surging chest pain, trying to stop the ache.
But the sorrow kept tearing at my chest uncontrollably.
Olivia held me tightly with aching heart, taking me back to our rented place near the cancer hospital.
When she brought me egg noodles, I’d just written “bet agreement” on
paper.
Olivia looked puzzled: “Why are you writing this?”
I carefully folded the bet agreement, smiling faintly: “Even though Benjamin told me to leave, I still want to try one last time to show him my worth, to prove I can earn money for him.”
Olivia stared at me incredulously: “How do you plan to do that?”
“By battling in live streams and reaching the top spot on the gift leaderboard.”
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I had prepared many arguments to persuade Benjamin, but none proved useful.
After receiving the bet agreement I drafted, he only said: “Since you don’t know how to spell ‘giving up‘, I don’t mind teaching you.”
The icy glare in his eyes nearly pierced through me, yet I smiled bitterly.
“What are you laughing at?” The hatred in his gaze felt tangible.
I simply recalled how he’d used that same tone years ago when teaching me to ride a bicycle.
The memory gnawed at my bones, but all that escaped my lips was: “Thank you, Benjamin, for this opportunity.”
That night’s live–streaming became my last stand.
I switched off filters and studio lights, appearing bare–faced while maximizing the spectacle.
The moment I went live, we rocketed to the top of trending topics-
“Beauty influencer Elizabeth’s AI–perfect bare face! Once–in–five- millennias beauty emerges!”
I’d expected Benjamin to pit me against top influencers or A–list celebrities.
The last person I expected was Victoria.
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No time for shock–I instantly switched gears to greet the flood of followers pouring into my live stream.
As I sculpted floral designs on my face with makeup tools, I rocketed to the gift leaderboard top spot with a huge lead!
Meanwhile, Victoria’s competing stream looked dismal, barely scraping 10k viewers.
Victory seemed certain.
Some viewers even pleaded: “Don’t crush the newbie.”
But during the final 30–second countdown, Benjamin parachuted into Victoria’s stream and showered 999 virtual rocket gifts!
My eyeliner brush slipped–red liquid dotted my white iris.
The undisputed leaderboard champion instantly became Victoria.
The tables turned instantly, and I lost to Victoria by a thousand–point
gap.
Victoria smiled with practiced ease.
Following the rules, she randomly selected a punishment from the live chat comments: “Elizabeth, you lost and must accept punishment. I sentence you to a three–second kiss with the production assistant!”
The production assistant was a fresh–faced intern who’d just graduated.
Flushed crimson, he was pushed before my live–streaming camera. Even two fists apart, I could hear his heart pounding.
He dropped his gaze, not daring to meet my eyes. I couldn’t help but
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ask, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
He froze for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I’ve… never dated.”
A first kiss, then.
Looking at him with pity, I immediately decided to embrace defeat.
Since I’d already lost my job, it didn’t matter whether I did this punishment or not.
I didn’t want to drag innocent people into this mess.
I looked up apologetically at the control room guy and said, “I’m sorry, I…”
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Before I could finish saying I couldn’t accept it, he suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist, lowered his head with warm breath brushing my skin, and kissed me.
Meanwhile, the live chat comments in my stream exploded.
“OMG the strong woman and the young wolf! A kiss seals their love, So sweet!”
“I’m so jealous of the control room guy! He gets to kiss one of those exceptionally beautiful women! Ahhh, if I had that luck, I’d be poor forever!”
Just then, BANG–the studio door got kicked open.
On the screen filled with crazy shipping comments, a gloomy Benjamin stormed in, grabbed me, and dragged me out!
