Guess Who's Not Sweet Anymore?

Albert Roosevelt was the crush I was never meant to have.

Like an idiot, I believed loving someone meant giving them everything, even if they didn't care about you. So, I trailed after him like a desperate puppy, bending over backward to meet his every whim.

When he couldn't afford tuition, I begged Dad to fund him, sending him to the best schools.

When his worn-out clothes made him a laughingstock, I pitied him and showered him with designer labels.

And what did he do? He used what I gave him to chase after a gold-digging campus belle. To keep up appearances, he blew through money like it grew on trees. He even spread rumors that he was the real heir to the Roosevelts.

To him, I was just an ATM.

"Your family's loaded. It's not like you'll miss a few hundred grand. If you're gonna be stingy, maybe you should stop following me around," he said when his wallet ran dry.

And like a fool, I believed that if I kept paying, someday, he'd love me back.

After graduation, I funded his startup. The second it took off, he married the campus belle. He had the nerve to claim he earned everything through nothing but hard work.

So, I crashed his wedding, and he buried a knife in my chest.

"Only when you're dead, Eve Roosevelt. Only then will my pathetic past stay buried."

When I opened my eyes again, I was face-to-face with a scowling Albert. "You can't scrape together a few hundred thousand dollars? It's Bianca's birthday. Are you trying to humiliate me?"

I looked around the room and rolled my eyes. "Sure, I'll pay. But first? Kneel. You look pretty enough. Consider it charity, peasant."

"Eve, I told you to pay up. What are you standing there for?"

My mind spun as I heard Albert Roosevelt's voice. Only when I saw his heartless face did I realize I had been reborn.

I turned and looked at the most extravagant private dining room of the hotel's restaurant, now packed with classmates from our department.

I curled my lip and exclaimed, "How generous of you, Mr. Roosevelt. Booking this many tables at La Pearle must've cost over a hundred grand. You're really planning to blow your whole fortune tonight for Bianca's birthday."

Albert's face darkened. He grabbed my arm and dragged me into a secluded corner.

Looking troubled, he frowned. "A few hundred grand is nothing to you. It's Bianca's birthday. You're not going to let me embarrass myself, are you?"

I used to be weak to that look on his face. He was handsome, with a touch of melancholy in his eyes. Even when he wasn't frowning, it was enough to tug at my heartstrings. And when he did frown, it felt like the whole world owed him something.

I would do anything for him. So whenever he frowned, I answered his every need.

However, he was never grateful. He'd spent my money without shame, acting like he was truly from the Roosevelt family. And in the end, he killed me with his own hands.

Staring at the face I once was obsessed over, the very one I dreamed of waking up next to, I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

I raised my hand and covered my chest. In my last life, that was where he stabbed me. It hurt.

This time, it was his turn to pay.

I let out a scornful laugh. "Worried about embarrassing yourself? Then why did you choose this place? You know how expensive it is. If you can't afford it, don't pretend you can."

"Why you—" Albert glared at me furiously. "Are you saying you're not paying for this meal?"

He lived off me, and now he wanted to act like he was entitled to it.

I turned and started walking toward the elevator. He rushed after me.

"Eve, you—"

"Albert, where are you? What's taking you so long to take a bottle of wine?" Bianca Reed's voice came from the door of the private room.

I caught the panic on Albert's face and smiled. "If Bianca finds out you're flat broke, do you think she'll still want to be your girlfriend?"

He frowned, clenching his jaw as he glared at me. "What do you want?"

Seeing Bianca walking in our direction, I gave him a mocking smile. "Get on your knees. You've got a decent face. I'll count this dinner as your tip."

Albert's fist tightened. "You're going too far."

Too far? I was just getting started, and he already thought it was too much?

How weak of him.

"Forget it, then. It's just a few hundred grand. That's pocket change for someone like you, right, Mr. Roosevelt?"

I turned and walked straight toward Bianca without hesitation.

"Wait," he called out.

I saw Bianca getting closer. I smirked and tapped the floor lightly with the tip of my shoe. I raised my voice and demanded, "Here's fine. On your knees, then."

Albert shot daggers at me. Just as he bent his knees to kneel, I heard Bianca's voice from behind me.

"Albert, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you."