“Because Ms. Chen is chairwoman of Novara Mobility.”
Chloe blinked.
Jason laughed nervously.
“Okay?”
Martin continued.
“Novara is the majority owner of Aurelius Automotive.”
Silence.
Jason looked toward the hypercar.
Then at Lily.
Martin wasn't finished.
“And Ms. Chen personally owns the X-One prototype you're sitting in.”
Jason's face went blank.
Chloe slowly turned toward him.
“You said the dealership was selling it to you.”
Derek looked like he wanted to disappear.
Jason climbed completely out of the car.
“Lily…”
She looked at him.
For the first time since their breakup, Jason truly saw her.
Not as his ordinary ex-girlfriend.
Not as the woman with the old car.
Not as someone who failed to match his new world.
He saw the general manager waiting for her instructions.
The staff standing straighter.
The one-of-one hypercar behind her.
And suddenly he understood how little he had ever known about the woman who had shared his bed for four years.
“You own this?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Lily almost smiled.
“Apparently emotional support wasn't the only thing I brought to the table.”
Jason flinched.
Chloe looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
Lily turned toward Martin.
“Was the financing application stopped?”
“Yes.”
Chloe frowned.
“What financing application?”
Jason's entire body tightened.
Lily looked at him.
“Jason?”
“Don't.”
Chloe stepped closer.
“What application?”
Jason swallowed.
“It's not what it sounds like.”
Lily looked toward Martin.
He hesitated.
Lily asked Chloe:
“Did you authorize Jason to use information from your family trust as support for a vehicle financing inquiry?”
Chloe stared.
“What?”
Jason stepped between them.
“Lily, shut up.”
The wealthy customers around the showroom had stopped browsing.
Everyone was watching now.
Chloe's voice became sharp.
“Jason?”
He smiled desperately.
“Baby, it's complicated.”
“Did you use my trust?”
“No.”
Lily spoke calmly.
“The application references Whitmore Family Trust assets.”
Chloe turned toward her.
“How do you know?”
“Because it was submitted in connection with an asset my company controls. I was notified of the compliance issue.”
Jason pointed at Lily.
“She has no right to discuss my private finances!”
Lily's expression hardened.
“You brought Chloe's finances into the application.”
Derek tried to escape toward the office.
Martin noticed.
“Stay where you are.”
Derek stopped.
Chloe opened her phone.
“Jason, show me the application.”
“Chloe.”
“Show me.”
“It was preliminary.”
“Show me.”
Jason's hands trembled.
“Look, I was going to explain.”
Chloe stared at him.
“You told me you were paying cash.”
“I can get the money.”
“You said you had the money.”
“I do.”
Lily looked at him.
“No, Jason.”
He spun toward her.
“You don't know anything about my finances.”
“I know enough about the application.”
Jason's breathing became faster.
Lily continued.
“You listed an annual income substantially higher than the figure Vanguard verified during automated review.”
Chloe's eyes narrowed.
“What figure?”
Jason said:
“Don't listen to her.”
Lily didn't disclose the exact number.
She didn't need to.
“Jason is not a Senior Vice President.”
Chloe turned toward him.
“What?”
Jason's face drained.
Lily continued.
“His own employment information identifies a lower position.”
Jason stepped toward her.
“Stop.”
“You told her you were a Senior Vice President?”
Chloe asked.
Jason shook his head.
“No, I said senior executive.”
“You said Senior Vice President.”
“That's basically—”
“No.”
Chloe stared at him.
“It isn't.”
Jason looked around.
Customers.
Employees.
Martin.
Lily.
Every eye seemed to strip away another layer of the identity he had constructed.
Chloe's voice dropped.
“How much money do you actually have?”
Jason said nothing.
“How much?”
“We should talk privately.”
“Are you a millionaire?”
He looked away.
Chloe laughed once.
Harshly.
“Oh my God.”
“Chloe—”
“You lied to me.”
“I wanted you to take me seriously.”
“You used my financial information.”
“I was going to ask you.”
“When?”
“Before anything became final.”
“You submitted it first.”
“It was just preliminary!”
Chloe slapped his reaching hand away.
“Don't touch me.”
Jason's voice cracked.
“Baby.”
“Don't call me that.”
She removed a key from her purse.
Jason stared.
It was the key to Chloe's apartment.
She placed it on the hood of a nearby display desk.
“Your things will be with the concierge tomorrow.”
“Chloe.”
“We're done.”
“Please.”
“Do not call me.”
She turned toward Lily.
For the first time, the arrogance was gone.
“I owe you an apology.”
Lily shook her head.
“You don't owe me anything.”
“I was rude to you.”
“Yes.”
Chloe almost smiled despite the situation.
“Fair.”
Then she looked at Jason.
“You deserve exactly what you've built for yourself.”
She walked out.
The glass doors closed behind her.
Jason stood alone.
The showroom was silent.
His face was red.
His eyes filled.
For a moment, Lily saw the man from the coffee shop again.
The ambitious young man terrified that his life would mean nothing.
And she felt something she hadn't expected.
Not love.
Not revenge.
Sadness.
Jason looked at her.
“Lily.”
She said nothing.
“I made a mistake.”
“A lot of them.”
He took a step closer.
“I was insecure.”
“I know.”
“I thought…”
He stopped.
“What?”
Jason wiped his eyes.
“I thought if I became rich enough, important enough, everyone would finally respect me.”
Lily's expression softened slightly.
“And did they?”
Jason looked around the showroom.
No one answered.
He laughed brokenly.
“No.”
Lily nodded.
“That was never something money could fix.”
Jason dropped his gaze.
“I still love you.”
“No.”
He looked up.
“You don't get to tell me what I feel.”
“You don't love me, Jason.”
“You don't know that.”
“I do.”
She stepped closer.
“You loved how I made you feel when you were struggling.”
His eyes filled.
“But when you believed you had become more successful than me, you stopped respecting me.”
Jason shook his head.
“I was stupid.”
“Yes.”
“We could start over.”
“No.”
“I'll change.”
“I hope you do.”
“Then give me a chance.”
Lily's voice remained calm.
“Changing so you can get me back is not changing.”
He stared at her.
“You need to become someone you can live with even if I never speak to you again.”
Jason began crying.
This time, there was no audience in his mind.
No performance.
No billionaire fantasy.