The Heart I Gave You

Why did I leave without saying goodbye back then?

Why did I choose that kind of person?

Why, after ending up like this, was I still unwilling to bow my head to him?

I looked at the coldness in Alex's eyes—the kind he couldn't let go of.

I chuckled softly and gave the same answer as seven years ago.

"Because of love."

I love Alex Harding.

From the moment I first came to Harbor City, when he rescued me from the red-light district, I had already fallen in love with him.

I remember that day. The evening breeze brushed my face, and the sky blazed with rosy clouds. Alex lifted me onto his motorcycle and told me to hold his waist and not be afraid.

"Remember this—your boy here is the boss of this area. From now on, stick with me, and you won't have to be afraid of anything."

What boss—Alex was a big liar.

All his belongings added up to one dumb little sidekick who couldn't read the room, and a beat-up motorcycle that had been patched together more times than I could count.

But we made it. Day by day, we endured, relying on that motorcycle.

Using the skills I'd learned on the mainland, I opened a flower shop. Alex drove that beat-up motorcycle to make deliveries.

On the day we made it official, we agreed to save up money and take over a storefront. When the shop opened, we would get married.

Alex was so happy he almost didn't know where he was. He hugged me and spun me around several times, telling me over and over—

"Grandpa said it—only men who cherish their wives can make a fortune. In order to marry such a good wife, I'm definitely going to work hard!"

From then on, Alex put that sentence into practice.

No matter the wind or rain, no matter bitter cold or scorching heat—he didn't slack off a single day.

He already had a head for business. After shedding the disguise of being a slacker, he became unstoppable. In just a few short years, he not only built up his own network of connections, he also saved up a considerable amount of money.

Every time Alex came back after being busy, his biggest pleasure was counting money at home. He liked to divide the money into small stacks, one after another, muttering with conviction—

"This portion is saved for buying a house."

"This portion is kept for marrying Josephine."

"This portion is taken out to buy her new clothes."

My heart ached for how hard it was for him. Alex always said that as long as I was happy, the suffering he endured had meaning.

Just like that, we finally saved enough money to buy a house.

But it was also that year that Alex was diagnosed with heart failure.

The surgery fee was an astronomical figure. Even if I took out everything I had. Even if his sidekick friends emptied their savings, running around everywhere to borrow money—the surgery fee still fell short by $300,000.

I went to loan sharks. Relatives and friends would hide as soon as they saw me.

I truly had no other way, so I could only sell myself.

I went to find Third Master Chen—the one who had tricked me into the red-light district back then. I promised that as long as he was willing to give me $300,000, I would follow him wholeheartedly and work for him for the rest of my life.

After hearing it, Third Master laughed so hard he couldn't straighten up. He looked at me with a face full of contempt.

"How much do I pay to buy a virgin? With trash like you that Alex Harding has already played until it's worn out, you think you're worth $300,000?"

He sized me up from top to bottom, his eyes rolling.

"$300,000 to buy a woman isn't worth it, but to buy some face—that is worth it. It's just that I don't know whether you're willing."

To me at that time, as long as I could save Alex's life, I would agree to anything.

Even if it meant hurting him.

To satisfy Third Master's vile sense of fun, I lied to Alex and said I'd fallen in love with another man. I made him kneel down to me in public.

I uploaded his humble, helpless look onto the internet.