Chapter 1The Billionaire's Street Food Wedding

When Julian Thorne's ex-fiancée showed up, I finally learned he came from old money. To chase me—a broke college student from the boonies—he had cut ties with his family and broken off his engagement with his childhood sweetheart, Clara Vance. Julian was panicking, but Clara was calm and collected. "Relax," she said smoothly. "I just wanted to see what kind of woman was worth giving up the Thorne empire for." Suddenly, floating text appeared in the air above us: [Lol, the scumbag is acting tough now. Wait until he gets tired of being poor with the mistress. He'll be begging for forgiveness!] [Clara is such a queen! Go study abroad, girl, and come back to slap him in the face with your success!] [Fast forward seven years! I want to see the scumbag dump the mistress and kneel before our Clara!] Reading this, Clara's smile deepened. "I wish you happiness."

Seven years later, we ran into her on the street. Julian and I were squatting on the curb, eating kebabs. Clara, draped in Prada and clutching an Hermès bag, looked at us with pity. "Julian Thorne, is this really the life you wanted?"

* * *

"Yeah," Julian answered without hesitation, though he looked confused by the question.

The pity on Clara's face froze.

The cheering floating text in the air froze too.

[Wait, did I hear that right? The scumbag went from billionaire heir to this, and he's still acting tough?] [LMAO, seeing how successful and glowing Clara is, he's definitely regretting it inside. He's just saving face because the mistress is right there.] [Going from Michelin stars to street food... how could he not regret it?] [Tsk tsk, remember how arrogant he was when he broke off the engagement? Only seven years later, and look at him—] [Wait... why is the scumbag still so hot? And the mistress... damn, why did she get so pretty?]

I almost laughed reading that last comment, but the spicy chili powder hit the back of my throat, and I started coughing violently.

"Slow down, no one's fighting you for it," Julian said, immediately unscrewing a bottle of water for me. He took the spicy skewer from my hand and angled the portable fan directly at my face.

This smooth sequence of actions shocked not only the floating comments but also Clara, who looked like she had something stuck in her throat.

[Something's wrong. It's been seven years. The billionaire heir has been eating bitterness with the poor girl for seven years. He should be sick of her by now.] [According to the original plot, the second male lead should feel humiliated right now. He should be trying to talk to Clara, get blocked by the villainess, have a huge fight with her, and then realize how ugly the villainess is compared to Clara!] [I get it! They're acting! He's deliberately showing off to prove his choice wasn't a mistake!] [Exactly. Seven years later, they're eating street food while Clara is thriving. Men and their egos. He's just holding on for dear life!]

Clara’s frown relaxed as she read the comments. Her confidence returned.

Seeing me hacking up a lung, she opened her bag, pulled out a pack of tissues, and handed them over like she was bestowing a royal favor. "Here."

"Thanks."

Julian took them naturally, opened the pack, and wiped the sweat from my forehead, looking worried. "Better? Still hurt?"

[He won't even look at Clara. Afraid he'll break character if he does?] [Male Lead #2, we see you. King of Pretending.]

Empowered by the comments, Clara’s face lit up again.

She looked me and Julian up and down, then glanced at the busy kebab stand behind us.

Her face, undeniably beautiful, wore a perfect, polite smile, but her eyes were dripping with contempt.

"I remember you used to refuse to eat street food. Said it was dirty."

"I didn't expect you to change so much in just seven years."

Clara looked at Julian, issuing an invitation. "It's been seven years. Want to go to our old spot and catch up?"

Then she looked at me as if she’d just remembered I existed. "If Ms. Miller doesn't mind, she can come too."

[Clara is so gentle and kind, even to the scumbag ex and the mistress.] [She just wants to watch the drama unfold. Love this petty queen energy!]

I couldn't take it anymore.

When Julian pursued me, he had already broken off his engagement with Clara.

Before that, I was busy with school and part-time jobs; I barely knew who he was.

If you say Julian wronged Clara by breaking the engagement, I accept that.

But the label of "mistress"? I wasn't taking that.

Julian stood up, half a step ahead of me, and spoke bluntly. "It's been years. When did you lose your sense of boundaries?"

"Do I need to remind you of our relationship?"

"Asking me out in front of my wife, and saying she can come 'if she doesn't mind'?"

"Clara Vance, this isn't like you."

Clara froze. She couldn't believe her ears. "What did you say?"

The floating text went silent for a second, then exploded:

[WTF? What did the scumbag say? How dare he talk to Clara like that?] [Heh, acting tough now. Wait until later.] [Keep acting. The more you pretend now, the harder you'll cry when you're kneeling for forgiveness later.]

Despite the comments' support, facing Julian's cold rejection, Clara turned bright red.

"My mother just asked me to check on you. Don't overthink it."

"Since you're not willing, I won't stay. Goodbye."

Clara had arrived draped in jewels and confidence, looking down on us from high above.

She left flustered, angry, and in a hurry.

"Weirdo," Julian muttered, frowning. He turned back and saw my dark expression, instantly panicking.

"Wife!"

"I didn't know she was back! I didn't know my mom sent her! I haven't contacted her in seven years! I don't know why she's acting like we had some great romance. Even though we were engaged since we were kids, I never liked her..."

"Okay," I interrupted him. "I believe you."

Julian let out a breath, looking at me with puppy-dog eyes. "Your face looked so scary just now. You scared me."

I glanced at him. "Want me to make it up to you?"

Julian nodded excitedly. "Yes, yes!"

I turned back to the kebab stand. "Boss, ten more lamb skewers!"

Julian immediately added, "And a stir-fried noodle! Extra vinegar, extra spicy!"

While waiting for the food, I thought about Clara, feeling unsettled.

"Julian, do you regret being with me?"

I looked at him seriously, sitting on his little plastic stool. "You used to eat Michelin-star meals. Now you're eating street food with me. Do you feel wronged?"

He looked horrified. "Wife, don't scare me!"

"Aren't we back in River City to discuss a business deal and relive some memories?"

"Why are you talking like we're broke and can only afford street food?"