The Principessa Bought a Genius Boyfriend Chapter 02

The Principessa Bought a Genius Boyfriend Chapter 02

I still remembered freshman year.

Vincent stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd of new students, wearing an old shirt washed so many times it was almost white.

It was obvious he was broke.

It was just as obvious how upright and striking he was.

I loved the cool, crisp tone of his voice when he talked.

I loved the way his thin eyelids drooped when he looked at me.

Vincent was desperate for money. His student loan application got rejected by the school—he’d already made enemies with a bunch of rich brats back when he first got on campus, being the overachieving standout he was.

So one day after evening class, I marched right up and grabbed his hand, bold as anything.

“Vincent, I like you. Date me. I’m rich, we can split my allowance. My family has connections too, I can make sure those assholes don’t bother you. If that’s not enough, I’ll pay you every time we kiss.”

He rejected me, obviously.

But back then, everything in my life had gone perfectly. I didn’t know what defeat felt like. The more he pushed me away, the harder I chased.

Then his grandfather—the man who raised him—got terminal illness. I didn’t even blink, I paid the entire medical bill right then and there.

That was when Vincent finally gave in.

I was naive enough to think I’d done him a huge favor.

It took me a long time to realize—

I got him, but I also broke him.

After we started dating, he still worked every day to pay his own living expenses.

He barely touched my money, but things only got worse for him.

Rumors about Vincent spread around campus.

They said he’d sold himself for cash.

Everyone looked at him differently. People called him cruel names.

I was still optimistic and clueless back then. I held his hand and said, “Ignore them. They’re just jealous.”

I lived in the tower of ivory my family built for me, I never realized Vincent was fighting that battle all alone.

Senior year, the Moretti family fell.

My whole world collapsed.

I didn’t tell Vincent what happened.

I just called him out and said, “Let’s break up.”

“Why?”

“I got bored.”

“Okay.”

That was it. We split up.

I thought he was happy about it. He finally got his freedom back, right?

The same day we broke up, I pulled my SIM card, deleted all my social media, and caught a Greyhound bus to another state to work off the debt.

I bounced from state to state.

Only three months ago, after the court case against my family finalized, did I come back here.

Vincent looked good.

He was always a genius, the kind that left the entire department in the dust back in college. Only four years out of school, he was already a regular on finance magazine covers as a top tech newcomer.

Aurora was famously the prettiest girl in our year. She got scouted by an agency junior year.

I never expected the two of them to end up together.

It was good. It was really good.

I pressed a hand to my chest, forcing down the ache.

I got off work at four am.

I was the last one to leave. My coworkers thought everyone was gone, so they turned off all the lights and shut down the elevator.

I pressed the button over and over, frustrated, hoping it would turn back on.

“Just call the front desk.”

Vincent’s voice came from behind me, sudden and unexpected.

Stiffly, I called my coworker.

The elevator started running again. We stood together in that tiny, cramped space.

“You get off work this late?”

He asked, cool and indifferent.

“We can’t leave until all the guests are gone.”

“Pay good here?”

“It’s okay.”

I kept my head down, my cap pulled low over my face.

Vincent didn’t seem to recognize me. We made small talk, then he checked his watch. “This elevator is so slow. My girlfriend’s probably waiting impatiently. She’s clingy, loves to pout.”

I froze, realizing he was talking about Aurora.

“What about you? Getting off work this late, your boyfriend doesn’t pick you up?”

“I live close by.”

The elevator reached the lobby.

The doors opened, and I bolted right out.

Vincent, who’d stayed calm this whole time, finally let his anger boil over right then.

“Why are you running?

“Where else can you run to, Isabella Moretti?

“Just disappear out of the blue and walk away, is that fun for you?”