Chapter 1

On the year I turned twenty-five, Austin handed me a hotel room card.

Though I felt a flush of shyness, I went to meet him with a heart full of hope. I genuinely thought he was just one of those guys who found it hard to confess his feelings.

But the next morning, I stood outside the office breakroom and heard him talking to his buddies. He wasn't even trying to hide it.

"Damn, man, you actually landed her? Clara is top-tier."

I frowned, initially wanting to just walk away and ignore them.

Then, Austin’s arrogant voice rang out, dripping with pride:

"Shh, keep it down. Don’t spread it around. I’m planning on marrying the CEO’s daughter, you know? But she’s a tough nut to crack. I figured I needed someone to practice on first."

Austin’s words froze me to the core.

My lips parted slightly, but not a single sound came out.

The chill in the hallway seemed to seep deep into my bones.

Inside the breakroom, his colleagues had no idea I was standing right there. The laughter and banter went on. "Using a gorgeous girl like Clara for practice? You’re savage, man."

"Hey, when you get bored of her, can you hook me up? I’ve been eyeing her for a long time."

Austin replied with complete indifference. "I wouldn't mind, honestly. But she’s head over heels for me. She’d never look at you."

"You have no idea. The moment she got my room card, she practically ran to the hotel."

"And now she wants us to be official. What a joke. If she didn't have such a great body and wasn't so good in bed, I wouldn't even have bothered using her for practice."

His buddy let out a dirty laugh. "A girl like that is only good for one thing..."

Austin cut him off, sounding annoyed. "Shut up. Do you think I'm the type of guy who lets his lower half rule his head?"

"I only gave her what she wanted because she’s been chasing me so hard. I was just throwing her a bone."

The whispers and laughter in the office grew louder and cruder.

"Man, you really have a way with her. So many guys tried to ask Clara out before, and she turned them all down. Turns out she likes guys like you."

"What’s that saying again? Your dream girl is just someone else's..."

The conversation degenerated into pure filth.

I stood there like a statue. Tears streamed silently down my face.

I had to use every ounce of my strength just to keep my knees from buckling.

The sound of other colleagues approaching echoed from the elevator.

Forcing my trembling body to move, I practically fled the scene.

With the last bit of my energy, I stumbled into the empty stairwell.