Chapter 5 Drowning

Austin's messages were vulgar,

"What were you doing with my brother just now? You looked all flushed on video, don't think I didn't notice."

Her fingers trembled as she tried to close the chat, but another message popped up,

"Wait till I return to the country. Let's see how I deal with you."

A wave of nausea surged through Anne. She forced herself to stop shaking and typed,

"Austin, you know what? You're going to hell."

After sending the message, she swiftly blocked Austin's account on Facebook again, as if delaying even a second would suffocate her.

She gasped for air, feeling like someone drowning in the vast ocean, struggling to reach the surface. Just when she thought she might be lost, a ray of light appeared-Arthur, standing on the water, reaching out to her, offering a glimmer of hope.

It took a while for her breathing to steady and her emotions to calm. After years in The Moore family, she had already developed an unbreakable heart-sometimes she broke down, but more often, she found ways to be happy. Nothing could truly bring her down.

Arthur, despite being ruthless and pragmatic, was at least well-mannered. He left but arranged for his driver, Jackie, to take her home.

Jackie politely asked, "Miss Anne, where to?"

"Back to school," she answered calmly, having regained her composure.

Jackie skillfully drove toward Chicago National University, not even needing GPS. He had driven this route many times-always because of her.

Anne was currently a second-year master's student in the Department of Philosophy at Chicago National University, specializing in fundamental psychology.

When they arrived at the school gate, she bid Jackie farewell, watching as the luxury car worth millions merged into traffic and disappeared into the night. Then, she turned and walked back toward campus.

At this moment, she felt like Cinderella hearing the clock strike midnight-her carriage turning back into a pumpkin, returning her to reality.

The extravagant family banquet, the glitz and glamour of high society, had nothing to do with her.

A man like Arthur, who managed a fortune worth billions, had even less to do with her.

Even the intimacy they shared was nothing more than a fleeting dream.

In reality, she was just a struggling student who had to tiptoe around her roommates while washing up late at night.

She was just an overworked research assistant, enduring her professor's endless demands, knowing she had no choice if she wanted to graduate.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said, "No man ever steps in the same river twice."

Anne, however, had a different saying, "But a person can be unlucky multiple times in a single day."

Tonight, the man she had loved for years wanted to end things with her.

Her so-called "fiancée" humiliated her with crude words.

And just when she thought the day was over, at nearly midnight, her professor, Abraham, sent a message,

"Anne, come to my office tomorrow morning. In the afternoon, I need you to assist with a client."

Anne replied, "Professor, the paper you asked me to proofread-'Reflections on Reconstructing the Psychological Framework in the Era of Big Data'-is due tomorrow."

She didn't want to go to his so-called "company," which she thought was nothing more than a scam.

But Abraham dismissed her protest, "The paper can wait. The client tomorrow is important."

Anne wanted to smash her phone. Yesterday, he had urgently emailed her, demanding she submit the paper by tomorrow. And now? Suddenly, it wasn't urgent anymore?

But she swallowed her frustration. She was graduating next year.

A little more patience. Just a little more.