I listed my old books on LetGo and messed up, accidentally adding a few extra zeros to the price.

In the next second, a system notification popped up.

"Your item has been sold for 300,000 dollars."

Slack-jawed, I tried to contact the buyer, hoping he would apply for a refund.

Then I saw who he was—Shaun Chapman, the heir to the Chapman family, the top family in Washington, D. C.

He asked me with grief, "Do you have any other Mona Becker's belongings?

"Name your price. I'll pay whatever you want.

"She was my late wife."

Before moving, I cleaned out the bookshelf and found a bunch of SAT prep books.

Figuring they were still worth something, I listed them on a secondhand platform for 30 dollars.

Arnold Tate laughed at me, saying I was obsessed with money.

"They've revised the textbooks already, OK? These belong to the recycling station. 30 dollars? Are you serious?"

I retorted, "They represent my youth.

"Selling them cheap feels like disrespecting them."

But honestly, I didn't have much hope.

It had been seven years since I graduated from college and a whole decade since I took the SAT. The textbooks had been revised multiple times, and maybe Arnold was right—the recycling station was where they truly belonged.

To my surprise, within three minutes, I received a notification telling me my books had been sold.

Overjoyed, I opened the app.

The next second, I was slack-jawed, rubbing my eyes hard. "300,000 dollars?"

What the heck? Did I set the currency wrong?

As I checked my other listings, I saw the dollar sign right there.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that when I was setting the price, I seemed to have entered a few extra zeros. And I hadn't even noticed.

Perhaps the buyer hadn't checked the price either.

I was so bitter.

Seriously, who buys something without checking the price? How could someone not notice the difference between 30 dollars and 300,000 dollars?

How could someone this stupid actually have 300,000 dollars in his account?

Life was so unfair!

Clenching my fists, I took a few deep breaths to calm down. Then I opened the chat on LetGo and sent the buyer a smiling emoji.

"Sorry. I set the price wrong. You should request a refund."

The buyer replied instantly.

"Wrong? What do you mean? Do you think I should pay more? Fine. How much?"

"?"

Had the world gone crazy?

Or had the dollar suddenly lost its value? It was 300,000 dollars, and I was supposed to ask for more?

Was this guy even speaking English?

I clicked on the buyer's profile. His picture was blank, but in the bio section, I saw two all-too-familiar words: Shaun Chapman.

My heart started pounding like crazy.

Shaun was the heir to the Chapman family, the top family in Washington D. C., and he was every woman's Prince Charming.

Other than his outstanding family background, he himself was very capable. A few years ago, he started a tech company, which was listed within a year.

At the press conference of the company's first product launch, he showed up in a black suit. His slender legs and icy, restrained face instantly made the audience scream, asking him to debut as an idol right away.

Everything made sense since Shaun was the buyer.

As one of the ordinary people, of course, I wasn't in a place to fathom the reason behind his decisions.

I replied to him with respect, "Mr. Chapman, I messed up the price."

He replied, "How much do you want? Do you have any other Mona Becker's belongings?"

"I want everything related to her. Name your price."

I stared at his messages intently for three whole minutes.

I was Mona Becker.

And that baffled me even more—how did Shaun know me?

Everyone in Washington D. C. knew him.

But I was in Los Angeles, and our paths had never crossed.

He sent over a voice message after not receiving my reply for a long time.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. I'm a bit excited is all."

After a while, he sent me another voice message, sounding grieved.

"Mona was my late wife. Anything related to her means the world to me. If you do have anything, please sell them to me."

His voice was unique—deep, magnetic, and with a slight accent from those Washington D. C. natives, exactly the same as on TV.

I felt dizzy as my heart raced. My head was spinning, and I breathed rapidly.

I thought, "Seriously? I share a name with Shaun's late wife?"

Shaun's love life was almost legendary.

Rumors had it that women, including stars, wealthy heiresses, and influencers, were lining up to be with him.

Among them, people thought the woman who had the best shot was Thalia Clayton, Shaun's childhood sweetheart.

They had matching social status, and their families were close business partners. From time to time, rumors would surface about a marriage alliance, and the two companies' stocks would soar for a few days.

Yet, a woman who showed up out of nowhere proved to be Shaun's chosen one.

During his vacation abroad, he had a flash marriage with a local girl.

He then announced their marriage quickly but didn't reveal his wife's name. The reporters stalked him for months but came back with nothing, not knowing her name, appearance, or family background at all.

Cornered, they could only resort to asking Thalia.

Facing the cameras, she firstly confirmed that she and other Shaun's friends had all met Mrs. Chapman.

Then she asked them, seemingly joking, "Why bother hiding anything good?"

Soon, it was widely reported that Shaun kept his wife from the public because she was unpresentable.

But if she was so ordinary, why would Shaun fall for her?

It became the greatest mystery in history, and people all had their theories.

Some said his wife had saved his life and took the chance to threaten him.

Some said he had been set up, and she came to his door while carrying his baby.

The most acknowledged story was Shaun and Thalia had had a big fallout before his vacation.

Apparently, she did something horrible. Out of spite, Shaun married a random woman.

What happened later further confirmed the story.

Shaun didn't like his wife. He never brought her to any public event and never brought her up in front of the reporters.

At his birthday party, he said Thalia was the most important woman to him.

Everyone thought the marriage was a formality or a facade.

Then three years ago, Shaun's wife died in a car wreck, and he lost it overnight.

Shaun's wife's car plunged off a bridge into the river, and her body wasn't found until now.

After the car wreck, many police officers and rescue workers came to the site, but Shaun still didn't think it was enough. It was cold winter, yet he took off his suit jacket, jumped into the river, and searched for her in there for a day and a night.

He refused to come ashore until he was exhausted and fell unconscious.

After he came around, he yanked out the IV tube and wanted to rush to the river, his eyes bloodshot.

His father had the bodyguards pin him down.

The reporters were all outside the hospital room door, eager to catch a glimpse.

Shaun, who had always been proud and aloof, struggled and wailed in front of the cameras like a trapped animal in despair.

"I have to go save her! She's timid, and the water is so cold. Let me go! Let go!"

The doctor had to sedate him. Later on, his family kept him under strict watch, and for the following six months, no one ever saw him again.

When he showed up in public again, he was already like a completely different person.

He had been a vigorous, high-spirited, and charming playa.

Now, he was cold and serious, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

Everyone agreed he had become much more mature, and the melancholy in his eyes was deadly captivating.

A moment ago, Shaun sent me another long voice message—his low, smooth tone even more intoxicating.

"Rest assured. I'm not a liar.

"How did you get those? Do you have anything else? Can you take pictures of them?"

To put my mind at ease, he even confirmed receipt right away.

Immediately, I saw 300,000 dollars added to my account balance on LetGo.

I counted the zeroes several times and couldn't help but jump up on the spot.

Arnold was putting on his shoes by the door. Seeing this, he arched an eyebrow in surprise.

"You sold them? Seems you're over the moon."

He smiled happily, which softened his usually sharp eyes. A gentle breeze blew, and a few strands of hair swayed.

My affection for him as well as great happiness filled my heart.

"Arnold, I'm going to be rich. Listen! Did you hear me? We're going to be rich!"

I rushed over and threw myself into his embrace.

He grunted, stumbled back against the cabinet, and reached out naturally to hold up my thigh.

I clung to him as if I were a koala and lifted my head to kiss his chin.

"Arnold..."

"Mona..."

His whisper, almost like a sigh, reached my ear as he lowered his head to kiss my earlobe, trying hard to suppress his desire.

"I've got several surgeries waiting for me. Don't make me late, OK?"

Noticing the change in his certain body part, I scrambled off him, blushing.

"Go on then. I'll tell you after you come back."

"Good girl. I'm going to be home late today; I promise I'll be back with snacks."

He stroked my head and went out hurriedly with his bag.

Meanwhile, my phone kept buzzing; Shaun had sent me several voice messages, urging me.

Judging from his reaction, I assumed that I shared the same name with his late wife, and even our handwriting was pretty similar.

What did that mean?

Just like I said—I'd be rich, super rich!

I jumped up, rushed back into the room, and took out all the notebooks I had ever written in.

"This page is filled with copied song lyrics. Will this do?"

"Yeah. What's your number? I'll friend you on WhatsApp."

I accepted his friend request, and he transferred me 80,000 dollars for the notebook with copied song lyrics.

He paid me 150,000 dollars for my notes in college.

Then he transferred me 100,000 dollars for my handwritten recipes.

And for my reading extract notes? He paid me 130,000 dollars for them.

The notebooks on my desk piled up as I ran around frantically.

If anyone walked in, they'd think I was crazy.

I was seriously going crazy.

Within just an hour, I earned over a million dollars!

Money was indeed nothing in Shaun's eyes.

And unlike the rumors, he wasn't exactly bright.

The only things his late wife and I had in common were our names and handwriting.

I even sold him my high school yearbook, which clearly stated my school and class. Obviously, I wasn't his late wife.

But he didn't care at all.

As he saw my handwriting, he was so happy. Did it remind him of her? Would this make him feel better?

People all said hopeless romantics were all rich, and now, I finally knew why. Shaun paid me over a million dollars just because my handwriting reminded him of his late wife! He must have loved her to the core.

As I counted those zeros in my account balance, I started wandering.

Frankly, I was hard up.

I had been hospitalized before, which cost Arnold a fortune.

Though he said I didn't have to pay him back, we were just dating, and I didn't think that would be appropriate.

Everyone said I hit the jackpot to be with him.

He was a PhD graduate from a prestigious university and the youngest cardiac department deputy director at a top-tier hospital. Also, he was so handsome.

After work, he'd come home as fast as he could to cook me my favorite.

He had saved up for years to buy an apartment at a great location and offered to put my name on the deed.

And that was precisely why I wanted to repay him.

With Shaun's money, I could buy Arnold everything he liked.

But ... did the money really belong to me?

Maybe Shaun was drunk, and maybe he'd want his money back after he sobered up.

With this in mind, I replied to Shaun uneasily, "Mr. Chapman, I'll ship the notebooks to you right away.

"You won't go back on your word, right?"

Shaun asked, "You're in Los Angeles?

"I'm in town for meetings these days. You don't need to ship them. Tell me an address, and I'll get someone to fetch them."

I replied quickly, "No need. Are you in your branch office? I know where the Chapman Group is. I'll bring them over shortly."

After what he paid me, I figured that I owed him at least this much.

He didn't object.

"I'll be in my office till 10:00 p.m."

"Alright!"

I counted those zeros in my account balance several times and then packed up all the notebooks in high spirits. Then I got downstairs and hailed a cab.

On the way, I received a call from Lawrence Parks.

"Mona, you're really something."

He accused me of being obsessed with money in an exaggerated tone.

"You want 300,000 dollars for a couple of used textbooks? Seriously? Set the price right, or Arnold wouldn't get off my back."

Lawrence was Arnold's best friend.

Hearing this, I knew Arnold asked Lawrence to buy my textbooks behind my back.

Lawrence sounded bitter.

"Arnold dotes on you so much that you can't even set the price, right?

"Keep this between us. He specifically asked me not to let you know."

I couldn't help but grin.

"Lawrence, check the page. I've sold the books for 300,000 dollars!"

The Chapman Group wasn't far from where I lived, and I'd soon arrive there. On the way, I told Lawrence about what had happened while joking with him.

Of course, other than the 300,000 dollars, I told him nothing.

I knew he came from a rich family with a political background, and he wouldn't make a fuss over 130,000 dollars.

To my surprise, he raised his voice at once.

"Shaun Chapman?"

I sensed deep panic in his voice.

"Go home now, Mona!

"You can't see him!"

"Why not? This is 300,000 dollars we're talking about, OK? Are you jealous? Chill. I promise I'll take you to a fancy meal," I said.

Holding a paper box, I walked into the Chapman Group.

Since I didn't have an employee badge, and the Chapman Group had strict security, the receptionist grilled me, not letting me in.

Holding the box with one hand, I used the other to hang up the phone. "Talk to you later," I said to Lawrence.

After knowing why I was there, the receptionist told me Shaun had already informed her. I could use the elevator to go to the top floor right away.

The receptionist handed me an elevator key card and asked me, feeling both envious and curious, "Which company do you work for? Not anyone can get on the top floor. It's exclusive to Mr. Chapman."

I smiled a bit awkwardly, and she suddenly realized something.

"You must be with Ms. Clayton, right?"

Saying this, she waved at me.

"Go on then. Ms. Clayton is short-tempered; you don't wanna keep her waiting."

I thought, "Ms. Clayton? Is she referring to Thalia?

"It seems the tabloids are right. Thalia and Shaun are suspiciously close. Did they say the two may get married? Are they going to?

"Forget it. What's it to me? I'm only here to bring him my notebooks."

I shook my hand and found the restroom by following the signs.

Honestly, I was just an ordinary white-collar worker, and I felt pretty nervous about meeting with Shaun.

Taking a few deep breaths, I put the box on the sink counter.

As I walked into a stall and closed the door, I heard the crisp sounds of high heels outside.

In the next second, a woman's impatient voice rang out.

"He's still looking for her? Give me a break. It's been three years, OK? Even her bones are gone! What's he thinking?"

Another gentle voice sounded.

"Let him be."

"But Thalia, I just don't think it's fair to you! You've been with Shaun for years, but he still wouldn't acknowledge you. How outrageous!"

"Enough!" Thalia cut her off, her voice stern.

"Laura, this is between Shaun and me. Stay out of it."

Laura Allen stomped her foot in anger.

"That jerk annoys me.

"What's wrong with him? When Mona was alive, he treated her like nothing. Remember? When we made things difficult for her at that party, he even sided with us and forced her to apologize to you.

"Now that she's dead, he suddenly loves her so much? Can he just drop the play? He's nuts."

It seemed Laura was a straightforward person. She couldn't stop complaining about Shaun at all.

Gossipy as I was, I listened with great interest.

Five years ago, Shaun and Mona met in a romantic town in France.

Back then, he had made a major mistake and was expelled from the company.

He collaborated with Thalia on that project. After things went south, instead of defending him, she twisted the knife and let him take all the blame because she didn't want any responsibility.

Deeply disappointed, Shaun went to France alone to better deal with the blow.

Here, he met Mona, who was enthusiastic and kind.

They fell in love at first sight.

Soon, he popped the question partly due to the romantic vibe and partly to get back at Thalia as well as his family.

They held a low-key yet sweet wedding in a manor in France.

Mona felt she had become the real-life Cinderella, and everything was as perfect as a fairy tale.

It wasn't until they came back that she realized fairy tales were too good to be true.

Those sweet nothings Shaun had said to her in the rose manor all collapsed in the face of the harsh reality.

Soon, he grew sick of her because she was so ordinary.

She didn't come from a prestigious family and wasn't highly educated. She knew nothing about jewelry or wine.

Thalia was right—Mona was eye candy and wasn't good enough for him.

He started to feel bored and even disgusted.

Whenever he saw Mona, he was reminded of the stupid mistake he had made.

So, when Thalia gave Mona a hard time, he chose to turn a blind eye.

At the party, he saw Laura bump into Mona with a glass of wine, and he did nothing.

Laura poured the wine on herself, but she screamed while grabbing Mona, asking Mona to pay for her custom-made gown.

Mona's face turned red as she looked at Shaun at a loss, silently asking for his help.

He tilted his head, ignoring her gaze.

Laura smiled complacently.

"The gown cost me 280,000 dollars.

"Pay me now, or I'll call the police."

Thalia stepped up to be the peacemaker.

"Forget it, Laura. We're all friends here. No need to blow this out of proportion.

"How about this? Mona, bow and apologize to Laura, and we'll call it a day. OK?"

Mona stood in situ motionlessly, keeping her head down.

Laura directly kicked her knee.

"What makes you so cocky? Do you think your apology means anything? If weren't for Thalia, I would have sued your ass!"

Mona fell to the floor.

Shaun left indifferently.

They were from two different worlds, and his world was simply too complicated for her to deal with.

The reality was much harsher than fairy tales.

Cinderella lived happily ever after with the Prince. One of the reasons was that she came from a prestigious family to begin with.

But other than her deep love for Shaun, Mona had nothing.

Any trick Thalia pulled could humiliate Mona deeply.

The stained custom-made gown, the scratched luxury bag, and the ruined expensive high heels were all expensive yet fragile.

They were the same expensive yet fragile as Shaun's affection.

It was too much for Mona to take.

***

Laura kept cursing outside the stall, "Why can't he get over that bumpkin? What the fuck is he thinking?

"So what if that bitch is dead? If she were alive, I would have slapped her so hard. She should know her place, alright?"

What a big bully!

I was so indignant that I couldn't help but straighten up.

With a whoosh, the toilet flushed automatically.

Laura stopped talking at once and rushed over to bang on the door.

"Who's in here? How dare you eavesdrop! Get out!"

Oh, no.

After a moment of hesitation, I forced a smile and opened the door.

"I'm sorry. I was in here before you showed up. I didn't mean to..."

"Mona!"

Laura screamed at once.

She staggered back while pointing at me frantically.

Then she turned to Thalia. "That's Mona, right? I'm not seeing things, am I? Thalia! That's Mona!"

Thalia's face turned ghastly pale at once.

She stumbled while clutching Laura's arm, and then her body shook as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I knew it. I should have known it. Shaun has been acting all weird today. He... You..."

She couldn't even finish a whole sentence as she was crying so hard.

Furious, Laura came at me while raising the bag in her hand.

"You bitch! Sure enough, you didn't die! Why aren't you dead?!"

Instinctively, a great surge of fear overwhelmed me. I felt like I was plunging into deep water, being watched by onlookers.

They hurled taunting, sarcastic words at me, engulfing me, suffocating me.

I couldn't breathe.

Just then, a hand came into my view, and I looked up to see the gentle smile on Arnold's face.

"Don't be afraid, Mona. I'm here. No one gets to hurt you.

"Come out, OK?"

During those hospitalized days after I came around, for some reason, I had very severe stress reactions.

I was afraid of the crowd, afraid of others' voices, and even afraid of light.

I always hid inside the closet, curling up into a ball.

It was Arnold who held my hand and pulled me out of my darkest time.

He said I wasn't weak or useless. I was just too kind-hearted.

Those kind-hearted people always choose to hurt themselves rather than anyone else.

Because subconsciously, they felt they weren't as good as the others, and no one cared about them. They could be sacrificed at any time.

Arnold held me and kept telling me how important I was to him.

"Mona, you mean the world to me. It breaks my heart to see others hurt you.

"If being kind means being disrespected, learn to protect yourself, OK?"

He let me to the open-air market so I could bargain with vendors.

He wanted me to learn to resist and fight back.

Occasionally, we'd have disagreements.

He'd shove his face in front of me cheekily and said, "Hit me then.

"Hit me, and I'll listen to you."

One time, he got under my skin, and I indeed slapped him. He was so excited that he hugged me and spun around, saying I deserved some serious reward.

I was in the abyss.

It was Arnold who pulled me out, encouraging me to be reborn with love and faith.

Now, no one could hurt me again.

I was immediately filled with courage, and the suffocating coldness instantly dissipated.

I shouted and punched Laura's face hard.

"Come at me! I don't learn two years of boxing for nothing!"

Laura closed her eyes as she screamed and shook her bag crazily.

Meanwhile, I shifted my stance and swayed my body rhythmically, punching her at ease.

I was no different from those boxers on TV.

Thalia was slack-jawed.

After quite a while, she came back to her senses. She grabbed a broom in the corner and lunged at me, revealing her true colors under that gentle facade.

I hit her with my notebooks in the box.

Though I was outnumbered, I wasn't at a disadvantage at all.

Someone told the security guard, who rushed over at once.

When he opened the restroom door, I was grabbing Laura's hair with my left hand and stepping on Thalia's back with my right foot.

Their exquisite makeup was already ruined by their tears and snobs, and their designer dresses were torn apart, looking no different from tattered rags. One could even see their underwear.

The security guard gasped.

"You... Call the police. Call the police now! Wait. Someone, go and inform Mr. Chapman. Ma'am, you're Mr. Chapman's guest, right?" he said to me.

I couldn't beat the two up anymore now that the security guard was here.

Loosening my grip and withdrawing my foot, I picked up the books that were scattered all over the floor.

"They started it."

Thalia cried while lying on the floor.

"I knew it! You're such a phony, always putting on an act in front of Shaun. I'll tell him exactly the type of person you are."

Covering her nose, Laura cried, too.

"It hurts, bitch! I won't let this slide!"

They kept cursing me.

At the same time, someone walked toward me from the other end of the corridor against the light.

He was so tall.

In a sharp black suit, he had a buzz cut and sharp, chiseled features.