After Being Bullied, The CEO Stood Up For Me

I pressed my lips together before I managed to speak calmly, "Mark, we are broke. We don't have any money left."

"How much can some sashimi cost," he replied while rubbing off the paint from his fingers. "I know. I'll eat less today."

Huh! Is that really the real issue here? Young Master Hanson, the problem is everything you eat is too expensive!

Before I could say anything, Mark suddenly grabbed my hand. "This is the last time, okay? I’ve been staying up late and working diligently on my paintings. Things have been hard for me."

I looked down at my hand, trapped in his grip and against my better judgment, I relented. "Alright."

After a moment, I added, "However, I need you to be careful with the money from now on. Things aren't like they used to be. We are broke and you should remember that rent money can't be used. It’s unnegotiable."

"Okay … okay. I know. You don't have to nag me about it." After he said that, he turned and walked away.

I talked again, "Mark, my part-time job can't cover our expenses any longer. Maybe we should …."

Mark suddenly turned around and cut out my words, "No! Absolutely not! Don't ever think about it! I'm not going back!" 

I was stunned. All I wanted to do was to suggest that he should not be so picky with his painting's buyers and maybe sell some of his paintings at a lower price.

Perhaps realizing that he had been too harsh to me, Mark softened his tone, "I'm asking you to be patient a little bit longer. We can't give up now. When I find the right buyer, things will turn around for us."

"I refuse to believe that I, Mark Hanson, can't make a name without the Hanson Family."

I just murmured my half-hearted agreement, while sighing inwardly.

Young Master Hanson might be out of being out of touch with reality and he might be living off my hard work, but the landlord was wrong about one thing though, Mark was not my boyfriend.

Although I had done so much and through so much struggle in this relationship, I could not give it any title.

I quickly ordered the sashimi to forget those depressing thought.

As I was about to change, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Probably because I had to work nonstop, I looked so exhausted and worn out.

Unable to hold back any longer, I blurted out, "Mark, why did you help me back then?"

We were not related in any way, yet he paid off nearly three hundred thousand in high-interest loans that I owed the loan shark without batting an eye.

At the time, he had casually said, "That amount of money isn’t even enough for me to last for three days. Don’t worry about it."

Mark paused for a moment as if he was trying to remember that incident. Then he answered with a casual tone, "Well, at that time, you looked like a pitiful stray dog."

A pang of sourness gripped my heart. He was so heartless. Even now, he even bothered to comfort me with a flattering lie.

As if I wanted to punish myself, I asked the question that had been lingering in my mind for so long, "So, what does this make us now?

Mark placed his hand on my shoulder and lowered his head slightly, "Listen. You know that I’m not in the right place to be thinking about relationships right now. You’re different from everyone else, but our relationship .... Ugh, can we talk about this later on? The most important thing right now is to hold onto our dreams."

Our dream? No! More like, yours!  I grumbled in my heart.

However, at this time, I finally realized.

Young Master Hanson might be clueless about the hardship of life, but when it came to the matter of heart, he was not stupid.

The fact that he could answer me like this meant that he had realized my pathetic feelings.

I shook off Mark's hand, stumbled back to my room and locked the door.

I ignored his question "What are you going to eat?" and stayed inside.

At that moment, I felt truly exhausted.