Ronald felt a strange satisfaction hearing people gossip about Sarah’s husband being old and ugly. He preferred to believe that Sarah had really married someone old and unattractive rather than someone as impressive as Holden, who always seemed to overshadow him.
Thinking about seeing Holden at the hotel that day made Ronald feel a deep sense of shame and discomfort.
Elisa noticed that Ronald didn’t mind her friends spreading rumors, so she slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
Some curious classmates approached Elisa, asking, “Elisa, have you seen Sarah’s husband? Is he really like that?”
Elisa’s friends, who had never met Sarah’s husband, claimed they had. If Elisa denied it, no one would believe her.
“Yeah, I’ve seen him,” Elisa smiled, “They don’t really match.”
She didn’t think she was lying. To her, Sarah didn’t deserve someone as exceptional as Holden.
The jealousy Elisa harbored since their youth burned like wildfire.
Elisa felt heartache from the jealousy.
She looked at Ronald, then thought about the handsome, refined man she saw that day. That man surpassed Ronald in both appearance and demeanor. Like the unreachable stars and moon.
A man like that and Elisa were worlds apart.
Sarah, abandoned by Ronald, should be in the dark, consumed by jealousy, repeatedly trying to harm her, leading Ronald to despise and abandon her. Only then could she, Elisa, truly replace Sarah, having not only Sarah’s looks but also everything Sarah desired.
But how could Sarah now be with a man better than Ronald?
It wasn’t fair.
Elisa’s smile masked her resentment and jealousy, “Well, I never expected that.”
******
“Elisa’s friends are such gossips,” David said, looking displeased. “Her choice of friends shows what kind of person she is, and Ronald actually believes them!!!”
Sarah didn’t seem too bothered.
In the book, Elisa and Ronald were the protagonists. Elisa was pure and kind, avoiding conflicts. Her friends, always defending her against the ‘villainous trio,’ were praised by readers as ‘angels’ and ‘true to themselves.’ They thought it was right to treat Sarah this way, believing Sarah was too evil and deserved to be dealt with harshly.
To the protagonists, Elisa’s friends seemed like loyal companions willing to do anything for her, while Sarah and her friends were seen as the dark, scheming villains.
But to Sarah’s group, they believed they were on the right path, seeing Elisa and her friends as fake and pretentious.
The three hadn’t eaten yet, so they went to a restaurant together.
David checked his phone and said, “I have to head back early. I need to take my dream girl to work tomorrow morning. I really want to propose to her, but I feel like she hates me.”
“Propose?” Sarah asked.
Sarah suddenly remembered David’s tragic ending. Not only did he end up in jail, but his wife and a company bodyguard conspired against him. His wife was even pregnant with the bodyguard’s child.
David was sentenced to many years in prison, his wife and the bodyguard took over his company and wealth, and they kicked his mother out of the house, leaving her homeless.
Readers had cheered for this ending, saying David deserved it for all the bad things he had done.
Honestly, his fate was pretty grim.
The girl David was pursuing worked at a cosmetics counter and was very beautiful. David fell for her at first sight.
The girl already had someone she liked and despised David, but she liked his money because he was very generous, giving her gifts worth a year’s salary. The man she liked was from a poor family and unemployed, unable to support her. She wavered between her feelings for her true love and the allure of David’s wealth.
In the original story, this girl became friends with Elisa and shared her experiences. Readers felt she and the bodyguard were truly in love and wished them a happy life together. David was depicted as a villain using his money to trap a beautiful woman.
Sarah said, “David, you should focus on your career first. Think about marriage once your career is stable.”
Merry nodded, “I agree with you, Sarah.”
David sighed, “But I really love her… I’ve never met such a gentle girl.”
For something to touch David, it had to be more than just looks. Despite being around someone as beautiful as Sarah for years, he never had romantic feelings for her, seeing her only as a good friend. This showed he wasn’t just a man driven by appearances.
Sarah thought about the girl’s character in the book-gentle and strong, someone who could bloom even in difficult situations. Even if she married someone she didn’t love, she found ways to secure a high-paying, easy job for her true love, bought a big house in the city for her parents, and used her smarts to send the man she didn’t love to prison. In the end, she had both money and love.
Back when she read the story, from the heroine’s perspective, no one saw anything wrong with this and only felt that David’s wife was both pitiable and inspirational.
But seeing David in person now, he didn’t seem like such a villain. Sarah started to rethink things.
David was essentially a huge resource for the girl’s family and lover to exploit until he was drained dry.
Sarah took a sip of her coffee. “How many times have you met her?”
David remembered clearly, “Seven times.”
Sarah asked, “What have you given her?”
“Not much. Just three bags, a necklace, and a bracelet. Only a little over a million.”
Sarah asked, “How much does she make a year?”
David thought for a moment. “She said she makes six thousand a month.”
Sarah continued, “How far have you two gotten?”
David looked a bit embarrassed. “The other day, I wanted to hold her hand, but she’s so innocent, she wouldn’t let me.”
Sarah sighed inwardly. The girl made less than 100k a year, and David, after seven dates, had given her gifts worth over ten years of her salary without even holding her hand. Of course, she’d be sweet to him; where else would she find such a gullible catch?
“She’s a good girl, but you’re going about it the wrong way,” Sarah said confidently. “Using money to woo a girl like her will only make her resentful.”
David was head over heels for this girl. Even if his own mother couldn’t convince him to cool off, Sarah knew that saying something harsh would only make him rebel.
David was taken aback. “But my mom always said that if you love a woman, you should spend money on her.”
“If you’re not even dating yet, showering her with expensive gifts will just make her feel uncomfortable and emphasize the gap between you. Normal girls would be scared off,” Sarah said, looking at Merry. “Merry, do you think I’m right?”
Merry, always agreeing with her friend, nodded vigorously.
“David, you need to woo her the right way,” Sarah advised.
David had no experience with dating. His father was a notorious womanizer, making his mother miserable. David had vowed never to be like his father, wanting to give his future wife and children a happy home. So unless he was very serious, he didn’t flirt casually.
Listening to Sarah’s advice, David was in awe. “Sarah, you’re absolutely right! Tell me, how should I woo her?”
“First, don’t give her gifts worth more than her daily wage. Too many gifts will make her feel pressured. Don’t drive your luxury car to her workplace and buy out the store; her colleagues and bosses will distance themselves from her. And stop sending her huge cash gifts! She’ll think you’re just a tacky rich guy!”
David took out his phone and started taking notes, writing down everything Sarah said.
Merry, curious, asked, “Sarah, Oswald keeps asking me to get him opportunities through my aunt, and she doesn’t want to. Now he’s giving me the cold shoulder. How do I make him happy?”
Sarah, “…”