"I'm sorry, Lina… but love doesn't survive on feelings alone."
The café was loud—cups clinking, machines humming, laughter floating in the air—but Lina heard nothing except that sentence.
It echoed in her head, slow and cruel.
She stood in front of the table, fingers trembling as she clutched the cheap paper cup she had bought with coins counted twice. Across from her sat Eric, her boyfriend of three years. The man she had once imagined spending her life with.
Now, he looked at her like a burden.
"Say it again," Lina whispered. "I want to be sure I heard you right."
Eric exhaled impatiently. "We're done."
Just two words.
They shattered everything.
A few nearby customers turned to look. Lina felt her face burn, but she refused to lower her head.
"Why?" she asked. "Because I don't come from money? Because I don't have connections?"
Eric straightened his expensive watch—the one she had helped him buy.
"Because you're holding me back," he said bluntly. "I'm moving forward. You're still stuck struggling."
Her chest tightened. "I worked two jobs to support us."
"And I appreciate that," he replied, standing up. "But I'm at a stage where love needs… value."
Value.
That word was sharper than any insult.
"I met someone else," Eric continued calmly. "She understands reality. Her family owns several companies. She can help my future."
Lina's hand slipped. Coffee spilled over her skin, burning hot.
She didn't even flinch.
"So that's it?" she asked softly. "You're trading me in?"
Eric frowned. "Don't be dramatic."
He placed a thin envelope on the table.
"Take this," he said. "It's enough for rent. Consider it… closure."
The café went silent.
Lina stared at the envelope.
Then she laughed.
It was shaky. Broken.
"You're paying me," she said. "After three years?"
Eric's patience snapped. "Stop embarrassing yourself."
Embarrassing herself?
Lina straightened her back.
"I was poor before I met you," she said quietly. "And I'll be poor after you leave. But at least I loved honestly."
Eric scoffed. "Honesty doesn't buy a future."
He leaned closer and lowered his voice.
"You're too poor to afford love."
Then he turned and walked away.
Just like that.
Lina stood frozen, humiliation crawling over her skin as whispers spread around her. Pity. Judgment. Curiosity.
She wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
That was when a calm male voice spoke behind her.
"Are you hurt?"
She turned sharply.
A man stood a few steps away. Tall. Broad shoulders. Dressed simply in a gray shirt and worn jeans. Nothing expensive. Nothing flashy.
Yet his presence was… steady.
His dark eyes lingered briefly on the empty chair Eric had left, then on the envelope.
Something cold flashed through them—gone in an instant.
"I'm fine," Lina said quickly, wiping her eyes.
"You're bleeding," the man replied, nodding at her hand.
Only then did she realize the coffee burn had blistered her skin.
He handed her a napkin.
His fingers brushed hers—warm, careful.
"Thank you," she muttered.
"I'm Noah," he said.
"Lina."
They sat.
He didn't ask questions. Didn't offer empty comfort. He simply stayed, shielding her from curious stares with his presence alone.
After a while, she spoke, voice hollow.
"He said I'm too poor to deserve love."
Noah's jaw tightened.
"Then he doesn't understand love," he said calmly. "Or worth."
She looked at him, surprised.
"You don't look rich either," she said bitterly.
He smiled faintly. "Good."
Something about that smile felt… dangerous. Like a secret hidden beneath calm waters.
Outside the café, a black luxury car slowed to a stop.
Inside, a sharply dressed man stared at Noah in shock.
"Sir," he whispered urgently into his phone. "We found him."
Lina didn't notice.
She only noticed that Noah's phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed.
For just a second—his warmth vanished, replaced by something cold, powerful, and terrifyingly controlled.
Then he locked the screen.
"Lina," he said softly, standing up, "do you believe love should be tested by money?"
She hesitated. "No."
A corner of his lips lifted.
"Good," he said. "Because if you did… I'd have to walk away right now."
Outside, the man in the black car opened the door.
"Sir," he said, bowing slightly. "The chairman demands—"
Noah cut him off with a single look.
The man froze.
Lina stared, confused.
"Who… is that?" she asked.
Noah turned back to her.
And for the first time, he didn't look like an ordinary man.
He looked like someone the world bowed to.
"Lina," he said quietly, "if everything you believe about me turns out to be a lie… will you still sit with me?"
Her heart skipped.
Before she could answer—
The man outside called out loudly,
"Young Master, the board has arrived."
The café went silent.
Lina's blood ran cold.
Young… Master?
She looked at Noah in disbelief.
And Noah looked at her—
Knowing his secret had just begun to surface.
[End of Chapter 1]