The Last Taste of Your Love

A year ago, I was the heir to a billionaire empire. At a party, I publicly humiliated Chloe: "Who the hell would ever fall for that fat pig?" She completely lost her mind that night, and her father had her committed to a mental institution. One year later, our roles reversed completely. At her welcome-back party, a luxury VIP club sent in a lineup of male escorts. I was one of them. She looked down at my pale, emaciated frame and sneered, "Who would ever hire such a sickly jinx? Unless... he barks like a dog." Inside the VIP lounge, Chloe sat right in the center, surrounded by wealthy heirs and socialites. A dozen tall, handsome male models walked into the room. I stood at the very end of the line, keeping my head low to go unnoticed. Now, everyone in the city knew the power and wealth of the Miller family. If I could get picked tonight, the payout would be huge. I lifted my eyes slightly, only to collide with Chloe's cold, detached gaze. A mocking smirk played on her lips as her eyes swept over our lineup. "Let's see some skin." The guy in the middle immediately ripped open his button-down, flexing his sculpted abs. The others quickly followed suit. I stood there like a wooden statue, completely still. "You still think you're the golden boy of the Vance family? What are you standing there for? Take it off!" "I'm warning you, if you don't bring in cash this month, you're out on the street!" The club manager hissed impatiently into my ear. The boss had spoken, so I had no choice. I slowly undid my buttons, exposing my bare chest. The room instantly erupted into sharp, cruel laughter. My body was practically skin and bones now, and after a severe car crash a while back, ugly scars crisscrossed my torso. There was nothing appealing about me. Someone recognized me. "Holy shit! Isn't that Julian Vance? The guy who used to look down on everyone! Chloe, look at this!" "And here I thought the great heir had a killer body. Turns out he was hiding a skeleton." "Heir? More like a bum. The Vance empire is dead. He owes millions in debt. He's not even fit to shine Chloe's shoes now." Malicious sneers came from every corner of the room, but Chloe just stared at me in complete silence. The manager caught on quickly and shoved a bottle toward me, telling me to pour her a drink. I hesitated, set down the wine glass, and instead picked up a small strawberry cake from the side table before walking toward her. "Miss Miller, I remember strawberry cake was always your favorite." I bowed my head, holding the cake out to Chloe in utter humiliation. The manager rushed forward with a sycophantic smile. "Miss Miller, he's new and doesn't know the rules. I'll have him down a whole bottle as punishment so he doesn't ruin your mood." Chloe let out a sultry, arrogant laugh. "My mood is already ruined. If you want to stay, fine. Bark like a dog." "Otherwise..." She flipped her long hair, raised her hand, and slapped the strawberry cake right out of my hands. She wiped the cream on her fingers across my bare chest to humiliate me. Then, in a lazy drawl, she murmured, "Who would ever fall for such a sickly jinx?" The moment those words left her lips, the facade of endurance I had maintained for so long shattered completely right before her eyes.A year ago, at my own birthday party, I had said the exact same thing. Back then, the Vance family hadn't gone bankrupt. The ballroom was packed with high-society guests, and Chloe was just the daughter of a minor parts supplier. That night, someone accidentally dropped the homemade cake she had brought me. Everyone crowded around, grabbing the confession letter she had hidden inside the cake box and tearing it back and forth. They read it out loud in mocking, exaggerated accents, roaring with laughter. "Man, she really is the ultimate simp. Julian, teach me your ways. I want a clingy puppy like that too." "Jesus, what century are we living in? Who bakes cakes and writes love letters to confess? So cringe." "Well, Chloe loves eating cake herself. Julian, honestly, aren't you touched?" They took turns making fun of her until I coldly scoffed, "Who the hell would ever fall for that fat pig?" The crowd went dead silent for a second, followed by waves of uproarious laughter. "Bark! Chloe's giving you a shot, aren't you going to take it?!" The jeers from the people around me yanked me back from the memory. I looked at Chloe and lowered my head. "Woof!" A bark echoed through the room, shocking everyone. No one spoke. I barked again. Then, I forced a humiliating smile. "Are you satisfied, Miss Miller? Please don't deduct our service fee." Chloe remained dead silent. Someone nearby pulled out a phone to record a video. Seeing this, the manager nudged me to keep going. I took a deep breath, opening my mouth to degrade myself further just to please her. Suddenly, Chloe hurled a glass of wine straight into my face. "Enough! Julian Vance! You really have no shame left when it comes to money, do you?! You truly disgust me. Get the hell out!" All her amusement was gone. She began downing one glass of liquor after another. I bowed repeatedly, flashing a shameless grin as I scrambled out of the VIP room, looking like a total scumbag who didn't care about dignity at all. No one knew that I didn't have much time left to live. A dying man has no use for dignity.The moment I stepped out of the lounge, a group of street thugs grabbed me. They dragged me into a dark alley near the club, kicking and punching me while spitting out curses. "Asshole! Your old man's dead, but his debt didn't die with him!" "I don't give a shit if you steal or rob, if you don't pay up, I'll beat you to death!" In the darkness, I curled into a ball on the filthy ground, offering no resistance. The bruises and broken ribs on my body were already from their previous beatings. Fighting back would only get me beaten worse. To spare myself more agony, I begged, "Please... by the end of the month. I swear I'll pay by the end of the month." The thug spat on me in disgust. "Bullshit! With a face like that, you can't even find a rich cougar at the club to pay your bills? Who the fuck are you acting tough for?!" My fingernails dug deep into my palms. I lay there in the cold, swallowing every insult. Blood trickled into my eyes, blurring my vision. Through the haze, I saw a pair of designer high heels slowly approaching. Chloe stopped right in front of me, looking down like an icy queen. "How much does he owe you?" She transferred the money to the thugs on the spot. But once the leader saw how easily the cash arrived, his eyes turned greedy and lustful. "Hey beautiful, why waste your cash on a broke pretty boy like him? How about you come hang out with me instead?" Chloe's eyes turned lethal. She slapped his reaching hand away. "Take the money and get lost." "Ooh, feisty. I like that." Grinning nastily, he and his crew stepped forward to surround her. "Didn't you hear her tell you to get lost?!" Seeing them try to touch Chloe snapped something inside me. Like a wounded predator, I lunged forward, throwing punches like a madman. The strikes landed with bone-crushing force, beating the man who had reached for Chloe until he was screaming for mercy on the ground. Chloe froze. The other thugs were stunned too. A second later, the remaining guys rushed Chloe in retaliation. "Whoever touches her dies!" Nobody could stop a man who had completely lost his mind. After knocking two more down, I grabbed Chloe's hand and bolted down the street. Amid the rushing city traffic, Chloe stared at my battered, bleeding face in a daze before coming to a sudden halt. I caught a flash of raw worry in her eyes, but she immediately masked it, looking away coldly. I wiped the blood from my lip. "Feeling bad for me?" She scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, Julian. I paid off your debt, which makes me your loan shark. From now on, you do whatever I tell you to do. If you want money, you keep me happy." I let out a low chuckle. "What are you saying? You want to keep me as your boy toy? I don't come cheap." Chloe mocked, "Is that so? Guess I'll have to see if you're worth the price." After two years apart, her proud, stubborn defense broke my last thread of sanity. In the next second, I pulled her hard against my chest. My hot breath closed in, and I crashed my mouth down onto hers in a desperate, bruising kiss. Chloe tried to pull away at first, but her resistance quickly melted into the kiss. It wasn't until a car honked behind us that she bit down hard on my lip and shoved me away with all her strength. A sharp slap cracked across my face. Chloe wiped her mouth in disgust and threw a black credit card at me. "Know your place. You are my toy, my servant. If you ever disrespect me like that again, you're fired!" With blood dripping from the corner of my mouth, I let out a wicked, reckless smile in the night breeze. I picked up the card from the pavement, licked the blood off my lip, and drawled, "Understood, boss. Whatever makes you happy." She turned to leave. Behind her, I whispered softly, "Does this make you hate me a little less, Chloe?"Her steps halted. She spun around and marched back to me, her eyes bloodshot, her jaw clenched tight. "Julian Vance, did you forget what you did to me? How dare you say that to my face?!" How could I ever forget? Because of that confession letter, Chloe had been mocked like a clown at my birthday party. My childhood friend, Sarah, had led the crowd in humiliating her. Chloe had grown so overwhelmed and hysterical that she grabbed a steak knife from the table, screaming for them to give her letter back. In the chaos, Sarah got cut and collapsed, looking frail and helpless. Meanwhile, Chloe stood there with trembling, blood-stained hands, crying, "It wasn't me... I didn't mean to..." I couldn't focus on Chloe back then; I scooped Sarah up and rushed her to the hospital. Afterward, the prominent family refused to let Chloe off, threatening to press charges and send her to prison. Chloe's father came begging me to intervene. In the end, I convinced the family to drop the charges and send Chloe to a psychiatric facility instead. Chloe gripped my collar now, her face twisted in rage and venom. "Don't worry, Julian. For what I went through these past two years, I will make you pay it back, piece by piece!" A luxury sports car pulled up to the curb. The dashing, polished Marcus Evans stepped out. His eyes locked onto Chloe immediately. "Chloe, why are you wearing so little out here?" He wrapped his coat around Chloe's shoulders and guided her into the car, shooting me a sharp, hostile glare. They drove off into the night. A blinding pain ripped through the back of my head. Watching the red taillights vanish into the darkness, my entire body began to shake, and I collapsed onto my knees on the sidewalk. That night, I got dead drunk in my tiny, rundown rental apartment, my mind replaying the image of Marcus holding Chloe over and over. Painkillers couldn't numb the agony tearing through my heart. On my phone screen, a video was playing on an endless loop. Two years ago, Chloe's father had brought this exact video to beg for a settlement. In the footage, Chloe was locked in her room, crying day and night, refusing to eat or drink. She kept screaming that she was going to starve herself down to eighty pounds just to see me. Her mother had passed away when she was young. When the family housekeeper brought in her favorite strawberry cake, Chloe screamed and smashed it to pieces on the floor. She kept chanting like a madwoman, "Julian likes skinny girls. I'm never eating cake again." Chloe... my sweet Chloe, whom I loved with all my heart. Do I still have enough time left to bring a smile back to your face?The next morning, before I even fully woke up, Chloe dragged me to a television studio. She had invested in a reality show called Life Reversed, which featured guests whose lives had undergone drastic transformations. Chloe told me that going from a billionaire prince to a stray dog on the street made me the perfect candidate. Marcus Evans was also on the show as a guest. He had climbed his way up from a dirt-poor background to become a rising tech mogul. Right now, media outlets were practically fighting to interview him. With a few movie investments under his belt, his public popularity was through the roof. I knew that the gap between Marcus and me was like heaven and earth. The moment our matchup was announced, the live stream's viewer count exploded, instantly hitting the top trending spot on Twitter. The first round was a "Friendship Challenge." The host announced, "When life turns upside down, the people around you change too. Our viewers want to know if that's true.” “Guests, please scroll randomly through your contacts and call three people to borrow a hundred thousand dollars. You have three chances. Whoever fails the challenge gets a punishment!" Marcus went first and cleared the challenge on his very first call. He was the golden boy right now; countless venture capitalists were waiting in line to throw money at him. Having a chance to lend him cash on live TV was something people fought over. After breezing through the task, Marcus gave a gentle, humble smile to the camera: "To be honest, the only reason I'm here today is thanks to Chloe Miller's financial support back then. She was just a college student, but she gave me hundreds of dollars every month to help me get through school.” “She is the kindest person in this entire world. None of my success would exist without her." His heartfelt speech set the audience ablaze. The live chat flooded the screen at lightning speed: "Now that's a real man! Never forgets the woman who helped him." "Marcus is so gorgeous and loyal! An underdog triumphing and getting the girl. I ship Marcus and Chloe so hard!" "Chloe has amazing taste. Investing in your own future husband is top-tier." The reality show had practically turned into a romance show. Fortunately, the host steered things back on track and signaled that it was my turn. Hesitantly, I unlocked my phone. Following the rules, I swiped down my contacts blindly and let my finger stop on a random screen. The screen immediately mirrored onto the giant stage display. The first contact was a guy who used to call me his brother. I dialed the number, only to hear the automated tone informing me that I had been blocked long ago. The studio audience, caught off guard, suddenly burst into laughter. I kept my head down, a bitter taste in my mouth. Ever since my family went under, my so-called brothers had vanished into thin air. I had learned the harsh reality of the world long ago. The second contact was a supplier I had personally helped in the past. I thought he might show some gratitude since I had once saved his company from ruin. Instead, the second the call connected, a barrage of vile curses came roaring through the speaker. "Borrow money?! Keep dreaming! You arrogant rich pricks deserved to lose everything!" "To you scumbags, suppliers like us were lower than dirt! You piece of trash! Rot in hell!" "Your old man choked us with ridiculous contract terms back then. Would it have killed him to relax the quality standards a little?! Good riddance that he's dead!" I had stayed silent through all the insults. But the moment he cursed my father, my temper flared. "Shut your damn mouth! How did my dad ever wrong you?! You tried to deliver defective materials, and my father didn't sue you into the ground—he gave you a second chance to resupply!" My dad had always been an honorable, fair businessman. I refused to let anyone drag his name through the mud. The live broadcast instantly fell into chaos. Chloe ordered the crew to cut the audio feed immediately. She marched over to me, her expression colder than winter ice. "Who the hell do you think you are, Julian? You ruin my show, and you think you can afford the damages?" She waved for the crew to resume filming. The host hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Julian, you still have one last chance. Who is 'Z'?" On the screen, my next contact was simply saved under the letter "Z." I kept my head down, frozen. My hesitation fueled endless speculation among the studio audience and the online chat. Everyone assumed I was just terrified of losing again. None of them knew that "Z" stood for Chloe. The last letter of the alphabet. She was the very last thing tying me to this earth. If I called Chloe, there was no way in hell she would lend me money. Was I supposed to dial her number just to publicly humiliate myself? To push me further into the dirt, Marcus suddenly reached out and tapped the dial button on the screen. Panicking, I locked eyes with Chloe for a fraction of a second and slammed my hand down to hang up the call. At that exact moment, an incoming call lit up my phone. It was Sarah. She had somehow rushed into the studio. The second the call connected, her clear voice echoed through the speakers, stunning the entire room: "I'll lend it to you. Whatever amount you need, I'll give it to you."