
After My Ex-boyfriend Asked To Get Back Together
Chapter 1
Matthew Jeffrey's birthday was in the cold winter of December.
To please him, I requested to use my uncle's hot spring villa to throw him a birthday party.
All the elites in Capitol attended, enjoying the sight of blooming flowers and warm spring in the cold winter.
I gave Matthew the gift I had carefully prepared, hoping that he'd like it.
But he flipped through the book in the box and threw it into the stream nearby.
He washed his hands under the running water with disgust.
"Lily Simmons, you disgust me! I've no interest in receiving gifts from you!"
As the book gradually got soaked in water, my heart felt tightly squeezed.
I lowered my head sadly.
A wise man nearby exclaimed, "That is Master Hall's handwritten copy. There are only three left in the world. How could you treat such a valuable object like that?"
Everyone looked at me, waiting for my reaction.
Among the young generation in Capitol, because of my noble status, they always followed my lead.
My mother was the Princess Royal, my father the eldest son of the noble Simmons family, and my uncle the unsurpassable Emperor.
I had reason to be proud.
But at this moment, I humbly stepped forward to apologize.
"Matthew, please don't be mad. If you don't like it, I'll find you something else."
"I chose it because you liked the copy Ruby gave you, and I thought you would prefer the original..."
Before I could finish my words, Matthew threw the cup in his hand to the ground, annoyed.
"Shut up! How can you compare to Ruby? She is gentle and kind, unyielding despite being born at the bottom of society. You are such an arrogant and domineering idiot, you are not even fit to carry her shoes! Even the sight of you makes me sick!"
My nails dug deep into my palms, blood dripped out, but I didn't feel any pain at all.
Ruby James was a distant relative of my aunt. Because her parents both passed away, she came to live with us.
The rare book was a treasure in our family library. I saw Ruby copying it every day, then made a book out of the pages and gave it to Matthew.
At that time, he looked like he had found a treasure, his face all lit up.
I thought he must really like this rare book.
To get my family's approval, I copied a hundred volumes of scriptures as an offer to our ancestors.
But he discarded it like a worn-out shoe.
Although our family library had countless books, there were only a handful of rare books like this one. I never thought it would be treated like this, or whether it was possible to restore it.
I carefully fished the book out of the water and asked the servants to bring it back to the library.
"Matthew, tell me what you like, and I'll find it."
Matthew glanced at me sideways, then left with a fling of his sleeves.
Witnessing the scene, everyone around began to whisper.
"Who could've thought a poor guy with no connections whatsoever could so arrogant!"
"That's right. Even the adults in my family have to watch their manners in front of Miss Simmons, yet look at his nerves! The fact that he can hold a birthday banquet in this villa is all thanks to Miss Simmons' arrangement!"
"Where's Ruby? Why didn't she come? My mother said her weak and timid look is just an act. But men usually like that!"
...
The whispers went on.
I closed my eyes in annoyance.
I was named Princess Serena when I was born. I was always the center of attention, treated like a treasure, always having my ways.
Except when it came to Matthew.
Matthew's family had no power or influence, with only his widowed mother alive.
I spotted him among the crowd when roaming about during Lantern Festival.
I was impressed with his talent in solving all the riddles.
I was in a spell, chasing after him and failing over and over again, but wouldn't give up.
What happened today had played out many times before on different occasions, just slightly different scenarios.
He never cared about me, and only had eyes for Ruby.
I shook my head, trying to put the unpleasantness behind me.
Suddenly I remembered what Ruby told me.
"Mr. Jeffreys prefers weak girls. On your way back, you can set up a robbery scene and let him play the hero. Men love their damsel in distress, he'll definitely fall for you."
There were two voices arguing in my head.
One said that this was a bad idea, that feelings couldn't be manipulated like that.
Another said, wouldn't hurt to try, if you succeeded, you'd get what you want.
For some unknown reason, I agreed with Ruby's idea.
On the way back, I checked around carefully.
I didn't know where Ruby would stage the scene.
As the sky gradually darkened, suddenly a group of masked robbers rushed out from both sides of the road.
They came straight towards me without saying a word.
Fortunately, I had accompanying guards who managed to hold them off.
When the first guard collapsed, I suddenly realized that something was wrong and this group of people were not putting on a show.
I hurriedly pulled Matthew and ran towards Capitol.
The men behind gradually caught up, and suddenly Ruby appeared in front.
She was in our way and kept asking what happened.
I myself wanted to ask her what happened.
The masked men behind us had caught up and were slashing at us with knives.
In a flash, Ruby ran forward and pushed me towards a robber, while she stretched out her arms to protect Matthew.
"Mr. Jeffreys, run. I'll hold them off!"