After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 40

“Catherine, Waldo’s got a point. You really shouldn’t settle for a guy who’s all talk and no action,” Shirley jumped in. To be honest, Lawrence was seriously good-looking, and that body didn’t hurt either. Shirley found herself a little jealous that Catherine had landed him.

In her heart, Catherine totally deserved someone way less impressive.

Catherine turned to Lawrence with a warm smile. “Go pay, okay? Just ignore them.”

Lawrence nodded and followed the sales associate over to the register.

Waldo wasn’t ready to give up yet. He stepped forward, dropping his voice. “Catherine, does five years together mean nothing to you? You can just walk away?”

Catherine shot him a cold look. “Waldo, are you done yet?”

Waldo took a deep breath and suddenly grabbed her arm, refusing to let this go. “That day at the beach, I didn’t mean to leave you behind. I just—”

“You just picked Shirley. Because she had the ‘Resonance AI’ you wanted,” Catherine cut him off, her tone icy. She jerked her arm free. “When you had to choose between loving me and chasing your own interests, you picked yourself.”

Waldo went pale, completely lost for words.

Just then, a staff member approached Shirley. “Miss Shirley, you still have a complimentary gift waiting. Please come with me.”

Shirley turned to follow, and as she passed the register, she glanced at Lawrence. She caught a glimpse of the cashier handing him a bank card. For a second, she thought it might be a black card. Maybe it was the lighting, or maybe she was seeing things, but it looked like one of those cards you only saw on TV.

Lawrence tucked the card away quickly. Shirley blinked, shaking her head. No way. A broke engineer couldn’t possibly have a black card.

That was the kind of card you only got if your net worth was in the billions.

She glanced over at Lawrence again, her mind racing. Even Waldo, with all his family money, had just barely qualified for one. How could Lawrence?

Shirley pushed the thought aside and followed the staff into the VIP room.

“A black card? Are you sure?” a senior staff member asked, her eyes wide.

“Absolutely. I’ve been doing this for ten years. I’d never make that mistake. That card is global, super exclusive. You need at least a billion in assets to even apply.”

Everyone gasped, eyes snapping to the door where Lawrence and Catherine had left.

“Wow. I’ve seen people pretend to be rich, but never someone pretending to be poor.”

“No wonder he seemed so different. He’s totally a hidden billionaire.”

“And Waldo was making fun of him for buying a cheap ring. If he knew who Lawrence really was, he’d be mortified.”

“Well, Waldo’s the heir to The James Group, so he’s not exactly ordinary either. But that other guy… I have a feeling there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye.”