No wonder my parents had always disapproved of Elion. The audacity of him to secretly demand a billion from my dad, it was beyond shameless!
"My daughter is just confused right now; she’ll come to her senses soon enough!" my dad’s voice rang with conviction.
Tears blurred my vision as I stammered, "Dad, I… I’m going to jump off Holden Tower with Elion. He’s forcing me. I’m at Grand Regent Villa now."
Panic overtook my dad’s tone. "Sweetheart, don’t do it! Stall him, no matter what. I’m on my way!"
Before I could respond, Elion snatched the phone from my trembling hands, ending the call with a vicious glare. His slap came swift and brutal, stinging my cheek like fire.
"You conniving bitch! So you were tipping him off all along, huh?" he hissed.
Grabbing my arm, he dragged me toward the door. "Let’s go! We’re jumping now. Your dad can have a front-row seat to your corpse when he arrives!"
I clung to the garden sculpture with all my might, refusing to let go. "I’m not going! If you want to die, then go do it yourself!"
Elion gripped my chin with brutal force, a twisted smile spreading across his face. "I’m not dying. Tomorrow, I’m marrying a wealthier heiress. I’ll live my fairy tale, and your parents will learn the price of rejecting me."
He called out to his friends, "Stop drinking, you idiots! Help me drag her to the rooftop of Holden Tower. We're about to watch a rich heiress take her last breath, ha!"
They tied me up in ropes and gagged me, smuggling me through the back door of Holden Tower like a prisoner. I was carried up to the rooftop.
The wind bit at my face as I stood at the edge, looking down at the dizzying drop, my stomach churning from the height.
"Elion, this is murder! If I die, you won’t escape either!"
Elion’s eyes gleamed with cold indifference. "Murder-suicide, get it? You’re the one who wanted to jump. It’s your choice, not mine."
He even dug up our old chat messages.
From just half a month ago, I had written to him. [If I can’t be with you while I’m alive, then I’ll die to be with you. I want the world to know our love is as steadfast as heaven and earth, as eternal as the sun and moon.]
If I could have, I would have slapped my past self awake. Was it worth it? Hurting my parents over and over again, all for a man who was nothing but cruel and unworthy?
But there was no time to dwell on the past now.
I feigned submission, my voice trembling but steady. "I have money. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you."
Elion wasn’t fooled. "You think you can stall me at death's door? Don’t kid yourself; you don’t even have ten thousand to your name."
Suddenly, the truth dawned on me: Elion was desperate to push me into jumping, not only out of spite for my parents but also because I had no money left.
"I have money," I said, my voice steady despite the chaos. "My dad opened a Swiss bank account for me. There’s one billion in dowry funds."
Elion’s grip loosened instantly, his face lighting up like a child’s on Christmas morning. "Why didn’t you say so earlier?"
"Then hurry up and transfer the money to me. Once you do, I’ll marry you."
I glanced past him, and my gaze locked onto a stunning woman approaching. My tone turned icy. "Say it louder. If I transfer a billion to you, you'll marry me, right?"
Elion, his excitement barely contained, shouted back, "Vernia, I’m willing to marry you!"
A furious voice rang out from behind him. "Elion, say that again. Who are you planning to marry?"
Elion’s face drained of color, his excitement turning to panic.
He froze, his face contorting with rage. "Was that your dad you just called? How is she here? How do you even know her?"
Panic gripped him as he ran his hands frantically through his hair. "What am I supposed to do now? My dream of marrying into wealth is shattered!"
Elion's eyes darkened as he turned toward me, his gaze sharp and filled with malice. Leaning in close, he whispered through clenched teeth, "I won’t let you ruin me."
