Chapter 1The Possessive Algorithm

I’m high maintenance. Everyone says so.

But I landed a boyfriend who is mature, steady, and infinitely tolerant.

His friends couldn't stand it and told me to be nicer to him.

So, at dinner, I peeled a shrimp for him.

That night, he posted a rage-filled status update visible only to his "boys":

[Which one of you idiots ruined my bratty girlfriend?! I want her bad attitude back!]

* * *

It wasn't a holiday or an anniversary, but Adrian Sterling suddenly transferred two million dollars into my account.

I texted him a question mark: [?]

He replied instantly:

[Babe, we just hit the 2,000,000th minute of being in love.]

[Don't you think that's incredibly meaningful?]

I raised an eyebrow.

Honestly, I never kept track of time like that. Especially not such... obsessive milestones.

I only remember we've been dating for about three years.

But money is money.

I accepted it calmly and Venmo’d him back $200 with a note:

[Here’s to the next 2 million minutes~]

A moment later, I saw Adrian’s new Instagram story.

It was a screenshot of my $200 transfer.

Caption: [❤️ My daily allowance. Feeling like a kept man today. Bliss. 🥰]

Even though I’d seen similar posts many times, I still struggled to connect the mature, stoic Adrian Sterling I knew in real life with this love-struck teenager online.

The contrast was too extreme!

In person, Adrian was serious, rigorous, and unsmiling.

His attitude toward work was harsh, bordering on tyrannical.

I heard his employees called him "The Ice Reaper."

Yet, this "Ice Reaper" posted lovey-dovey content almost daily.

How good I was to him.

How much I loved him.

Even if I just sent a random emoji, he’d screenshot it:

[Spoiled by my girlfriend again. (Spinning)]

Even I found it a bit much, let alone his bros.

One of them once pulled me aside and said tactfully:

"Zoe, I know couples have their own dynamic, but do you have to force Adrian to post that stuff every day?"

I was confused. "What stuff?"

"The PDA."

He showed me his phone. "Adrian’s feed isn't just for us. It’s for his business partners, investors, and industry elders. Do you know what people are saying about him?"

I was shocked by Adrian’s feed on his phone.

It was full of pink bubbles and sickeningly sweet captions I had never seen before!

His friend said seriously:

"Can you stop forcing him?"

I opened my mouth to explain but didn't know where to start.

So I called Adrian.

Later, his friends learned that Adrian posted those voluntarily.

He even hid them from me just so he could post more.

I didn't understand his obsession with social media validation.

Just like I didn't understand what was worth showing off.

I sent him $200, and he flaunted it. He sent me $2 million, and he didn't say a word.

I tied his tie on a whim, and he posted it. He served me hand and foot every day, yet never mentioned it.

Sometimes I felt he was intentionally putting me on a pedestal.

Now that even his business partners knew he had a girlfriend who "adored" him, did I dare not love him?

Luckily, I did love him.

Adrian was handsome, wealthy, and obedient.

He spent money on me, listened to me, and tolerated my bad temper infinitely.

I couldn't find a more perfect boyfriend.

Just as he came home from work, I jumped into his arms. He caught me easily with one arm. I whispered loudly in his ear:

"Adrian, I want to go to work!"