Chapter 1
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My husband is incredibly wealthy, but I don’t love him.
Back in college, he moved heaven and earth trying to win over my roommate, Chloe. Lavish gifts arrived one after another, and he once famously had nine thousand roses delivered to the front of our dorm building. All the girls in our hall got a piece of the action, hauling armfuls of roses back to our rooms like we were looting a botanical garden.
The only one who remained unimpressed was Chloe herself.
She even warned Nicolai Payne to never bother her again.
“He’s rich, and he’s not bad–looking. Are you sure you don’t want him?” I asked one night, my face covered in a sheet mask, finally voicing the question that had been nagging at me. She had a face that could launch a thousand ships, yet she spent all her time with a broke upperclassman who juggled four part–time jobs.
“No way. He’s so stuffy and serious. If you want him, you go for it,” Chloe said with a dismissive sniff.
I rested my chin on my hand, gave it a moment’s thought, and nodded.
“Fine.”
“I will.”
1
Chloe’s expression flickered, but she said nothing more.
After I washed the mask off my face, I went downstairs.
“She has a boyfriend.”
I held my umbrella over my head and looked at Nicolai, who was standing under the dorm entrance like a lost puppy, gazing up at our window with a soulful expression. I couldn’t help but say something.
He flinched, pushing the gold–rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice laced with apology. “I didn’t know.”
Chloe hadn’t even told him?
His face fell, and he turned to toss the bouquet of black roses in his hand into a nearby trash can.
I watched the rain soak the petals and thought it was a terrible waste. Black roses. My favorite.
“Wait,” I called out. “Don’t throw them away. Give them to me.”
He glanced at the rain–drenched flowers and gave a self–deprecating smile before handing them over. “Alright.”
His white shirt was soaked through, clinging to the faint outline of his abs. He was clean, well–mannered, athletic, tall, and obedie-
- nt.
But most importantly, he was rich.
Honestly, he was exactly my type.
“Hey,” I said, stopping him as he turned to leave.
He looked back, a bewildered expression on his face.
I don’t have a boyfriend. You can pursue me instead.”
Chapter 1
20 09 0
I’m not unattractive. I have a healthy, disciplined lifestyle–I go to bed early, wake up early, run six kilometers every morning, eat clean, and never skip my skincare routine. I had far more suitors than Chloe, but I’d turned them all down.
He took off his glasses and looked at me, his gaze quiet and intense. Time seemed to stretch on forever, long enough for his assis-
tant to rush over with another umbrella, long enough for his car to pull up to the curb.
“Okay,” he finally said.
