Chapter 1: You Don’t Deserve Me
Seven Days Hotel, Porthampton.
Connor McDonald rode an electric bike to the Seven Days Hotel, colloquially known as the Lovers Haven, to deliver food.
Today was the birthday of his girlfriend, Mandy Hines. After delivering the last order in the morning, he would go on a date with her. Filled with anticipation, Connor carried the takeaway and walked toward the Seven Days Hotel.
Just then, a young man and a girl walked out of the elevator hand-in-hand. The guy was wearing an Armani shirt, a Rolex watch, and a BMW key fob hanging on his waist. The woman was dressed in a miniskirt that exposed her shapely white thighs. She was smitten and looked enticing. The two clung to each other and flirted with each other like they were a couple.
“Mandy?” Connor could not believe his eyes, and he hastily ran to them.
Last night, Mandy had told him that she was going to the movies with her bestie and would not be back that night. Connor never expected that he would run into her at the Seven Days Hotel.
She was startled; her expression changed. She subconsciously wanted to break free from the guy when she heard Connor’s voice, but the guy was holding her tightly.
“What are you afraid of? Do you still want to be with that broke guy?” He was shorter than average. If it were not for his branded wear, he would have been inconspicuous, and no one would have spared a glance at him.
Mandy’s eyes flickered for a moment. She was not as panicked as before. But instead, she looked callously indifferent.
“Well, now that you’ve found out, I guess it’s time to let you know, Connor,” said the rich guy holding Mandy, “Your girlfriend is dating me now.”
He was Connor’s classmate, Brandon Guthrie. Unlike Connor, he was a rich kid.
Connor staggered back as his face was grave when he heard Brandon’s words. Then, ignoring Brandon, he pulled Mandy over. “Come home with me, Mandy. I can make you happy.”
“Don’t touch me!” Mandy pushed Connor’s hand away. “Why should I go with you? Can you afford to buy the phones and handbags that I like? You even need to wait until my birthday before we can watch a movie. What makes you think you can make me happy?”
“Mandy, I may be broke now, but I will work harder.” Connor gritted his teeth.
“Work harder? You’re an orphan with no money, power, or background. You can’t achieve the level of wealth that Brandon has just by being a delivery guy,” Mandy sneered.
“Wake up, Connor. Mandy won’t go with you. Do you want her to deliver food with you?” Brandon taunted him.
“I have long wanted to tell you that you don’t deserve me. We are done, Connor,” Mandy said in an icy voice. Then, she turned to look at Brandon with a fond smile and put her hands through his arm. “Let’s go, Brandon.”
“A broke guy like you don’t deserve love, you know?” Brandon shot a disdainful look at Conor as he brought Mandy toward a BMW parked outside the hotel.
Connor looked on while his heart was aching as Mandy left. He felt angry, painful, indignant, yet helpless.
“You humiliate me just because Brandon is rich?”
Connor lowered his head, and his hands clenched into fists. His fingernails sank into his palms until his hands were bleeding.
Connor and Mandy met in college. They had become a couple during the first faculty fellowship. She was innocent back then, but now, she had betrayed him and chose Brandon.
Connor did not beg Mandy to stay or chase after her because he was broke. Who was he to compete with Brandon?
He had seen through Mandy by now. Because he was broke, Mandy had repeatedly insulted him for the past two years. Nevertheless, Connor had never said a thing. All he could do was work harder and make money to support her. However, she cheated on him by hooking up with the rich kid.
“You have humiliated me today. One day, I will make you realize that it is you who don’t deserve me,” Connor said to himself with a gleam in his eyes.
The cafeteria, Porthampton University.
“Look on the bright side, Connor,” Dominic Turner, Connor’s roommate said, “I told you a long time ago that Mandy doesn’t belong to our world. She is beautiful, hot, and flirty. I knew at first glance that she wasn’t serious about relationships.
“As the saying goes, the goddess of the poor, the sperm vessel of the rich; a long-legged beautiful girl with ample bosom like her is a plaything of the rich. Plebs like us should stay clear of girls like her. Otherwise, they will make us cuckolds, eventually.
“I suppose you have slept with her, right? You got nothing to lose.”
“The thing is, I didn’t,” Connor said.
“What? You didn’t? You two have been together for years, yet you didn’t touch her? Didn’t you two go to a hotel after a movie?” Dominic jumped to his feet, looking distraught.
“We checked into a standard double-bed room, but nothing happened between us,” Connor said.
“You can’t be serious! What a loser you are!”
Connor thought for a moment and agreed with what he said. He genuinely loved Mandy and respected her, so he never forced her to do things that were against her will.
Just that, alas…
Connor looked at the orders on his phone. The only benefit of the breakup was that he could finally stop delivering food. Just then, his phone beeped with an incoming text message.
[Your account number ending 4466 is credited with $1,000,000,000.00. Your account balance now is $1,000,000,056.00.]
Connor looked at the message and was wide-eyed. ‘Holy moly! Who deposited a billion dollars into my account?’