Chapter 3

Selena was stumped to see Anne blowing up at Elliott. What was happening?

"I'm a lowlife? How so?" Elliott asked.

"Are you the one who called the police?" Anne questioned.

"I did. So what?"

"Why, you!" Anne fumed.

Sure enough, it was Elliott's doing.

Even Ivan started berating Elliott, "That's such a despicable thing to do, Elliott!"

"What's going on?" Selena asked.

Chuckling, Elliott explained, "These two wanted to do the deed in the hotel. Out of the goodness of my heart, I called the police to report a possible case of prostitution to them. They're now blaming me because the police chased them out."

"Huh?" Selena gaped.

Elliott sure knew how to cause a scene!

"Do you guys know each other?" Selena inquired curiously.

She sensed that there seemed to be some kind of bad blood between Elliott and the two.

"Certainly," Elliott replied. "Anne here is my ex-girlfriend, but we only dated for a month. I barely even got to hold her hand."

"What?" Selena exclaimed.

After seeing how furious Elliott was and noticing the vest he was wearing that proved he was on a delivery, she guessed, "Don't tell me you just made a delivery to them."

"You bet I did," Elliott responded, his expression foul. "That's how I ran into them!"

Selena couldn't hold back the urge to laugh. She couldn't believe this happened to him. It was just like a scene right out of a soap opera. That being said, she now understood why he called the police. No one would be pleased to catch their partner fooling around with someone else at a hotel.

"You've gone too far, Elliott!" Ivan growled. "Elliott is no prince, Selena. I advise you to keep your distance from him. He does all sorts of devious things!"

Sneering, Elliott retorted, "I've gone too far? You two are the ones who crossed the line. Anne and I hadn't even broken up yet, but you already snuck into a hotel room to get it on. How dare you say that I've gone too far?"

"You!" Anne sputtered in anger. "I'm not your wife, Elliott! I have every right to be with whoever I want!"

"Yes, of course. It's your right. Either way, we've broken up, and I don't want to see either one of you! Just the sight of you two disgusts me, so scram!" Elliott snapped in disdain before taking Selena by the hand. "Let's go. I'm taking you shopping!"

"Huh?"

Selena was still a little dazed. It was her first time witnessing a dramatic spectacle like this. She did, however, figure out the situation. Elliott and Anne were dating, but they broke up after he caught her cheating on him.

Well, she couldn't bite the hand that fed her. Since Elliott said he was going to buy her a new pair of shoes, a new bag, and even an entire outfit, she couldn't drop the ball now. She had to help him maintain his dignity!

Jumping into action, Selena took Elliott by the arm and said, "Thanks, Eli!"

Ivan and Anne watched in disbelief as Selena hopped onto the e-bike Elliott used to make his deliveries. They were long gone before Ivan and Anne finally snapped out of their reverie.

"What the fuck?" Ivan roared. "Did that bastard Elliott actually manage to hook up with Selena? I must humiliate him!"

Anne didn't feel all that pleased, either. She assumed that Elliott would've been deeply hurt to see her with Ivan. Who would've thought he'd turn around and get himself someone new—and prettier than her, too?

How was she supposed to accept this?

She wouldn't feel a thing if no one wanted Elliott. After all, that was to be expected of a penniless loser like him. However, even if she didn't want him, she couldn't accept that someone else did!

Yet, the prettiest young woman from the School of Communication had just voluntarily hooked her arm around Elliott's. Anne felt as if someone had immediately swooped in and snatched something she discarded. It made her extremely displeased.

Did Elliott say he was taking Selena shopping? Her outfit looked pretty expensive. How could someone as poor as Elliott afford to buy her clothes?

"Let's take a cab and go after them, Ivan. I'd like to get some new clothes, too!" Anne said.

That was precisely what Ivan had in mind, too. He might not be as good as Elliott in anything else, but he was confident when it came to money.

He came from a fairly decent family background and had 10,000 dollars in pocket money each month. Even after setting aside a generous 3,000 dollars to cover his meals, he still had 7,000 dollars left over.

Since Elliott had just humiliated him, Ivan was determined to pay him back in kind to reclaim some of his dignity.

"Alright. We'll follow them!"

Ivan and Anne quickly hailed a cab. "Follow that e-bike with the delivery service logo!"

The driver immediately got the message and said, "No problem! Fasten your seatbelts and leave it to me."

The cab sped off at once, sticking close behind the e-bike. When Elliott noticed a cab tailing him through his side-view mirror, he smirked and realized what was happening.

So, Ivan and Anne were tagging along, huh? Excellent! He was going to let them see how loaded he was.

He had 200 million dollars credited to his card and could always top up even more. Since he had 30 dollars to spare, that was equivalent to three billion dollars if he put the money toward the Conquest Fund.

Thus, he was brimming with confidence. They wanted to humiliate him, and he was going to make sure they ended up biting off more than they could chew.

Soon, Elliott parked his e-bike outside Waverly Mall. It was the premier luxury shopping mall in Mountshire and home not just to the brand that carried the shoes Selena was wearing but to all the finest luxury brands, such as Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and more.

Ivan and Anne also had the cab driver stop by the side of the road so that they could get down, and all four ended up heading into Waverly Mall.

"Hah! Elliott wants to buy new clothes for Selena here? In Waverly Mall? With the chump change he earns from making deliveries? He can't even afford to buy a drink here! He sure is trying to humiliate himself!"

Ivan and Anne were both laughing mockingly on the inside as they trailed behind Elliott and Selena.

Up ahead, Selena muttered to Elliott, "They followed us here."

"It's fine. Leave them be," he replied.

"Elliott, are you sure you want to take me shopping here in Waverly Mall? The things here are all extremely expensive."

"We made a pinky promise, didn't we? Why would I lie? Get whatever you want today. It's on me!"

Selena frowned. She didn't want to spend too much of Elliott's money. Knowing that he was a fellow college student like her, she knew he couldn't be that well-off.

"Let's forget about it. My shoes will be fine after a quick wash. It'll take a month's worth of deliveries to cover the cost of my shoes."

"Alright. I'm going to lay my cards on the table and drop the act," Elliott said. "Actually, I come from a wealthy family, too. I've got more than enough money, so you can buy whatever you want!"

"Huh? That can't be true," Selena said, thinking that he was just joking with her.

She'd heard of Elliott before and knew he spent three years working part-time as a deliveryman just to earn more money to pursue Anne. And yet, here he was claiming to be from a wealthy family. Who would believe him?

"I'm telling the truth. In the past, I purposely pretended to be poor so that I could find true love. I didn't expect things to turn out like this instead.

"I spent over three years doing my best to win Anne's heart. I gave her my heart and soul, but she scorned me because she thought I was poor and even cheated on me!

"Well, I don't want to pretend to be poor anymore. Since I've got the money, I'm going to spend it with no regrets. I don't care whether I find true love anymore," Elliott said quietly. "Check my bank account statement, and you'll see how much pocket money I've got lying around."

He pulled up the banking application on his phone and showed it to Selena. She saw the number two followed by a long row of zeros. It took her a few moments to count them.

That was 200 million dollars! What the hell? Elliott had 200 million dollars in pocket money?

Selena was stunned, her face dripping with disbelief. She had heard stories about wealthy young men pretending to be poor just so they could find true love. Never did she think she would end up encountering someone like that herself.

If Elliott had 200 million dollars to spend, his family fortune had to be at least hundreds of billions of dollars. He was undoubtedly the heir to a large inheritance, alright.

Selena's heart trembled. She couldn't stop herself from tightening her grip on Elliott's arm and leaning in closer, making them appear like a loving couple.

"Conquest Target Selena Witt gains 40 affection points for a present total of 40 affection points."

In the blink of an eye, Selena's Host Affection Level shot up by 40 points.

Elliott had to acknowledge the power of money. Just by showing her his bank account statement, her Host Affection Level increased by a whopping 40 points.

Well, since she was the one who initiated physical contact by taking his arm, there was no reason for him to hold back. He reached out and hooked an arm around her waist.