Cayden seemed to have suddenly become obedient.
In the past, he never allowed me to attend any of the Daugherty Family’s events.
This time, when someone invited him to a dinner party, he proactively told Mrs. Daugherty, "I’ll bring my sis along. Mom, help her prepare a dress."
Over the phone, I heard Asia protest, "Shouldn’t you bring me as your date if you’re bringing a female companion?"
Cayden sounded impatient. "I’m already paying for you to study in Australia with me. What else do you want?"
Asia did poorly on her exam.
She wasn’t a good student in her previous life, focusing all her energy on pleasing the Daugherty Family.
This life had gone from easy mode to hell mode, and her grades had worsened.
Her only option was to cling to Cayden and go with him.
But I could tell that Cayden was getting annoyed.
Asia initially attracted Cayden with her stubborn independence despite her poverty, refusing to be swayed by wealth or power.
But that wasn’t really her true nature. People can pretend for a while, but it’s hard to keep up a facade forever.
Cayden liked the girl who was poor yet refused luxury gifts, not the one who cried and begged him to take her to study in Australia.
But there was no way around it. Asia could pretend to be the former, but she couldn’t maintain the latter.
Because she had no other options. If Cayden didn’t take her, she would truly be trapped in the suffocating Burke Family.
After the summer break, Asia and Cayden went to Australia together.
In fact, Cayden had never publicly stated that his girlfriend was Asia.
But the Burkes couldn’t wait.
They hired paparazzi to follow Cayden and Asia, taking photos of them and posting them online:
【Young Master of the Gu Corporation Dines Intimately with His Girlfriend. They Are Childhood Sweethearts.】
Mr. Daugherty saw the report and threw his phone:
"Low-class tactics. They’re trying to push someone into our family before even graduating from university?"
After Cayden returned home, Mr. Daugherty berated him, "If you want to get married, wait for your mother and me to arrange it."
"You can find a few to casually date, but don’t bring me someone who’s clearly not suitable!"
Cayden listened quietly, his gaze silently falling on me where I sat nearby.
I felt his gaze, but I simply focused on the financial reports in front of me.
The Burke parents were the same in the previous life.
As soon as Cayden showed a bit of interest in me, they couldn’t wait to drug me and send me straight to the Cayden’s bed.
As for the Daughertys, they also strongly opposed Cayden marrying a girl from such a family in the previous life.
Unfortunately, their lives were short, and they didn’t live to see Cayden’s marriage.
Mr. Daugherty scolded Cayden and then strictly forbade him from seeing Asia during the holidays.
Cayden didn’t resist.
He stayed at home, occasionally showing kindness to me, buying me expensive diamond earrings as a birthday gift.
I partied late with friends, and he waited outside the bar in his car to pick me up.
Claire sat next to me, holding a non-alcoholic mojito, watching he smoke cigarette after cigarette outside.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something to me.
I reached out to stop her. "I know what you’re going to say."
"Don’t worry, I have a handle on things."
After saying goodbye to my friends, I sat in the passenger seat of Cayden’s car.
He handed me a bag.
I glanced down and saw the hangover remedy and my favorite cupcakes from the dessert shop.
I smiled. "Cayden, it’s unnecessary."
He pressed down on the gas pedal in silence, not saying anything.
The ride was quiet.
When we got home, I threw the hangover remedy and the small cake in the trash bin.
Cayden watched from beside me, remaining silent until the end.
I returned to my room, not wanting to deal with him.
Claire was studying computer science at T University, and recently she developed a program that could improve corporate personnel management efficiency.
This was a great opportunity to start her own business.
I had been interning in the Strategic Investment Department of the Daugherty Corporation for nearly three years and had gained some influence.
I decided to allocate two million yuan to Claire, to co-found a company.
She would handle the technology, and I would handle the business side.
There were many things to be busy with lately, and in comparison, Cayden was simply not important.
I didn’t expect that Asia had seen Cayden dropping me off at home.
She hadn’t seen Cayden for too long, so she waited at the entrance of the villa complex, hoping to see him.
And she just happened to see me getting out of Cayden’s car.
I could imagine that in that instant, Asia was filled with immense fear.
She must have seen the scene from her previous life — Cayden laughing coldly as he kicked her out, then gently putting a wedding dress on me.
That was her deepest nightmare.
Monday morning, after meeting with potential clients, I left their office building with a stack of documents.
At the stairwell, I spotted a familiar figure.
