The Simp's Awakening

For three years, I was Conrad's ultimate simp.

I ran his errands. I did his homework. I took the fall for his mistakes. I was at his beck and call twenty-four seven.

I even delivered love letters to the girl he liked.

Right after our SATs and finals, Conrad finally won his dream girl over. He confessed to her in front of a huge crowd.

Stella let her cold gaze sweep over me. A mocking smirk touched her lips. "I will be with you," she said. "But your simp has to go."

Conrad did not even hesitate. He threw a thick stack of cash right at my face. "Get lost, Ivy."

I crouched down and picked up the bills. I turned away, keeping my head down to play the part of a brokenhearted loser.

The second the door clicked shut behind me, the sad act dropped. I left Chicago without a single backward glance.

"I have enough." I clutched the money to my chest. "Tuition, living expenses. I finally saved enough."

I burst out laughing right there in the street. "Mother of God, yes! I never have to be a simp again!"

Chapter 1

Even paper money stung when it was slammed directly into your face. The bills fluttered under the blinding club lights. They rained down at the feet of the wealthy heirs.

"Get lost, Ivy. From this second on, stay the hell out of my and Stella's sight."

Conrad did not raise his voice. He did not have to. The deafening VIP room dropped to a dead silence. Dozens of eyes followed his condescending glare, pinning me to the floor.

Pity. Mockery. Disgust. Nobody dared to make a sound.

If this room was a room full of old money and trust funds, Conrad was the absolute king sitting at the top of the food chain.

I crouched down. Bathed in the shifting disco lights, I started picking up the cash, bill by bill, from around their expensive sneakers.

A weird urge to laugh clawed at my throat. Everyone always said Conrad did not give a single damn about me. But at the very end, he actually remembered that I only accepted cash. The untouchable boss had been carrying around a fat stack of paper bills all night just for this moment.

Wasn't that him stooping down just for me?

I gathered the last bill. I did not look at the golden couple surrounded by their crowd of admirers. I hung my head and turned away.

The heavy door clicked shut behind me. The invisible pause button lifted. Raucous cheering exploded through the walls.

"Look at that, man! Con kicked his three-year simp to the curb just for his girl. If that isn't true love, I don't know what is!"

"Don't even joke like that. A cheap weed like Ivy does not even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Stella! If she hadn't cried and begged to follow Con back then"

Their voices muffled as I walked away. I navigated the familiar hallways and pushed open the front doors.

I looked up at the sky. The moonlight was blindingly clear. It washed over me. I lowered my head and pressed both hands over my face.

I took one long, deep breath in, and let it out.

"I have enough." A muffled laugh spilled through my fingers.

"Tuition. Living expenses. I finally saved enough."

I dropped my hands. I laughed out loud into the empty street. "Mother of God, yes! I never have to be a simp again!"

My pocket buzzed. I pulled out the latest iPhone Conrad had given me. I swiped to answer with a massive grin on my face.

"I heard everyone is committing to a college today. Why the hell didn't you say a word?"

It was my dad. Bruce.

"Listen to me. I don't care what you scored on your SATs and finals. You stick to the boss. Wherever he goes, you go."

My perfect mood instantly vaporized. "With his grades, he can only get into a community college here. Do you want me to go there too?"

"Yes! Why wouldn't you?" Bruce yelled through the speaker. "Latch onto him, and you and I will be set for life! Degrees don't pay the bills!"

There it was again. Degrees don't pay the bills.

At least when I have absolutely nothing left, I can smash a heavy textbook right into your face. I swallowed the vicious words before they could slip out. I smoothly shifted my tone.

"He is not staying in the country. I cannot follow him. Drop it."

"Tsk. That's easy. Just cry! You are the best at playing the victim!"

"When the time comes, you just"

"Thank you, Dad."

Chapter 2

My sudden gratitude caught him off guard. He paused.

"Ha! What are you thanking me for? You earned this yourself. Though you really should thank me for giving you that pretty face"

"Thank you for treating me like trash all these years."

His voice cut off. I hit end call.

The screen lit up with his callback. I powered the phone down. I caught a cab.

The second I stepped out, I marched straight into the AT&T store and slammed the phone and my ID on the counter.

"Cancel my plan. Give me a new SIM."

One backpack. Two changes of clothes. My stolen birth certificate and social security card tucked deep inside. I boarded a train heading to the West Coast.

With an SAT score of 1450, my grades weren't Ivy League material, but they were plenty for a top-tier state university. I already had my college picked out.

This was a long-premeditated escape.

The wind howled across the platform. I took one last look at Chicago, the city that trapped me for eighteen years.

I only had two things left to say to my past.

"Screw you, Conrad."

"Rot in hell, Bruce."

Conrad's friends were right. I was trash.

I simped my way into his life.

First day of freshman year. I was lurking near the school gates, looking for a target.

A gleaming chauffeured stretch limo glided to a stop a few feet away. Conrad stepped out. He carried himself like he owned the pavement.

A row of men in sharp suits bowed in perfect sync. "Have a great semester, boss!"

He flicked a speck of invisible dust off his sleeve. "Good work. Double bonuses for everyone this month."

My eyes locked onto him. I could not look away. He was glowing. Handsome, sure, but a giant neon sign might as well have been flashing right above his head.

Gullible, arrogant, pretentious trust-fund kid with cash to burn.

I made up my mind instantly. A few crumbs dropping from his fingernails would feed me for my entire three years of high school.

I rushed up to him. "I can run errands, get your lunch, do your homework, and take the blame when you mess up! Available twenty-four seven!"

"You're always right! You're always the best! Let me be your most loyal sidekick!"

I fanned him furiously with the hem of my shirt in the blazing sun. "Consider it, boss?"

He gave me a side-eye. His lips twitched, fighting a smirk. He asked for my name.

"I'm Ivy!"

"Ivy" He raised an eyebrow, testing the syllable on his tongue. A mocking smirk touched his lips.

"Mu Jin (Hibiscus), a cheap weed. Spreads everywhere. Annoying and cheap. Who names their kid that?"

Idiot.

I could not give him an answer. If he really wanted to know, he would have to go down and ask my dead mother.

He found me annoying at first. But I cried, I begged, and I clung to him like a parasite until I became his exclusive simp.

Doing his homework was the easy part. Conrad had a nightmare of a temper. Working for him was harder than I imagined.

Whenever he snapped his fingers, no matter what I was doing or how urgent my own life was, his needs came first. Rich kids had too much freedom, and they loved to play games.

Chapter 3

Conrad loved dragging me along when he hung out with his friends. Or rather, he loved having his friends play me for a fool.

If he was in a bad mood, he made it his mission to torment me. Watching me scramble and make a total fool of myself in front of a room full of old money and trust funds seemed to cure his bad days.

I only promised to be available twenty-four seven to get my foot in the door. He actually enforced it. Why take things so literally, you nasty capitalist.

The worst incident happened the night before finals. He called me at two or three in the morning.

His voice sounded hollow and low over the line. "I want to see you."

It was his birthday. The pretentious trust-fund kid sounded serious for once. I thought something terrible had happened.

Panic wiped away my common sense. I threw sleep and finals completely out the window.

I lived in the middle of nowhere. No cabs were running at that hour. I hopped on a Divvy bike and pedaled like a maniac for an hour to reach him.

I shoved the private room door open. The party was already over. His friends pointed at the table full of cold, half-eaten leftovers, laughing.

"Con said you always eat like a starving ghost," one of them sneered. "So we wanted to see it live. Eat for us."

The insult knocked the wind out of me. The exhaustion of being dragged out of bed at 3 a.m. finally crashed over me. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my temper in check. I could not force a smile.

"I am not hungry right now."

"What is wrong? Our scraps not good enough for you?" Someone snickered in the corner. "Since when do dogs care about pride?"

My breath caught. I turned my eyes to Conrad. He lounged in the corner of the plush sofa, his brows slightly furrowed.

He had been staring at the floor since I walked in. At the insult, he finally looked up at me. His face was a completely blank slate.

Dead silence stretched across the room. I broke eye contact. A loud laugh ripped from my throat. "Are you kidding?"

I grabbed a fork and a plate. I started shoveling the cold food into my mouth. My cheeks bulged as I chewed and forced out my excuses.

"I never get to eat fancy stuff like this! I was just scared you guys would make me pay for it." I chewed loudly.

"Thanks for the treat! I promise nobody at school eats better than me!"

The room cleared out. Conrad grabbed my arm before I could leave. He looked annoyed.

"If you hate it, why do it?"

I stared at him. The question made zero sense. He handed them the knife to cut me with, and now he was asking why I did not dodge.

It was like a boss asking his corporate drone why they showed up to a job they hated. Absolute insanity.

I plastered on my brightest smile. "If the boss wants me to walk through fire, I will do it. Eating some good food is a breeze."

"What do you want from me?" He did not move a muscle. His dark eyes drilled into mine, searching.

"Is it what they say? Do you actually"

"Boss." I cut him off. I met his gaze.

"It is your birthday today. You would never look twice at any gift I could afford, so I did not bring one."

I smiled until my cheeks ached. "Happy birthday."

I did not close my eyes for a single second that night. My finals went down in flames the next morning.

But it was not a total disaster. I was not one of those geniuses who could snag first place without studying.

I poured every waking moment of my free time into serving Conrad. My grades taking a hit was inevitable.

Luckily, nobody cared about my report card anyway. Bruce knew exactly why I attended St. Jude Preparatory School. I was there to catch a rich husband.

To anyone watching, Conrad did not treat me well. He was actually quite cruel.

Chapter 4

At first, everyone thought I was only simping for his money. But they soon realized that wasn't it.

I tagged along just to eat and drink. Unless he handed it to me, I never asked for a single dime.

Conrad was confused behind my back too.

"She is so weird. She only takes cash," he told his friends once. "And even then, if I hand her a stack of a hundred bills, she only pulls out two or three."

In the eyes of those trust-fund kids, taking that little cash meant I was practically working for free. Especially considering how hard I simped for Conrad.

Over time, they all assumed I was hopelessly in love with him. In love enough to throw away every ounce of my pride.

As long as I got to stay by his side, I would even deliver love letters to other girls for him. Even if that girl was Stella.

Everyone knew delivering a love letter to Stella was harder than sleeping through the semester and acing the SATs.

She was a scholarship student too. Top of the class. She only cared about studying.

There was a running joke at school. Stella is the untouchable Ice Queen. Anyone who tries to distract her will get slaughtered without mercy.

Unfortunately, Conrad fell for the untouchable Ice Queen and wanted to break her focus. But he was afraid of getting shot down. So he threw me onto the front lines to take the hit.

I did not have any real weapons. All I had was my thick skin.

Between classes, I planted myself outside Stella's classroom. I didn't say a word. I just followed her everywhere. The second she looked at me, I whipped out the envelope.

I kept at it until she finally snapped. She snatched the letter, ripped it to shreds, and threw the pieces right at my face.

I picked up the torn scraps, marched back, and handed them to Conrad.

Conrad then grabbed the pieces and hurled them right back at me.

"You can't even do one simple thing right! What are you even good for?" he yelled.

"Write another one. Deliver it again. One day she will see my sincerity."

I was convinced they were soulmates right then and there. They both took turns throwing shredded paper at my face. If that wasn't a match made in heaven, what was?

So I wrote another letter. I delivered it again. Totally shameless.

Hard work pays off. I became the first person in the entire school to successfully hand Stella a love letter.

"Ivy, you act like a dog."

That was the very first thing Stella said to me after taking the envelope. I remember she stood incredibly close when she said it.

"We got into St. Jude Preparatory School on our own merit. Why do you insist on groveling? Why be a dog for these rich kids?" she hissed.

"Do you realize you are ruining the reputation of every scholarship student here?"

Her words did not physically hurt, but the insult cut deep. If I hadn't developed such a thick skin, I might have actually let it sting.

People watching could not take it anymore. Someone asked me, half-pitying, half-mocking.

"Ivy, did Conrad save your life or something? How can you sink this low for him?"

I just smiled brightly and nodded. "Yep! The boss totally saved my life."

The person shot me a look of pure disgust and walked away.

I did not bother explaining. I kept up my heartless, happy act and skipped off to report the good news to Conrad.

They did not know the truth. I was not a hopeless case.

Conrad actually did save my life.

My mom died early. My dad, Bruce, was a degenerate gambler.

When he won, he would throw me a smile or maybe buy me a new shirt. When he lost, we had absolutely nothing. I starved. The only thing I got to eat was his backhand across my face.

He lost nine times out of ten.

Even though my middle school grades were stellar, Bruce planned to pull me out of school the second it was legally allowed. He wanted me working a minimum wage job.

That was the first time I ever fought back against him.

Chapter 5

I barely got two words out before he grabbed my hair and dragged me out into the street.

That was the exact moment I lost the luxury of pride.

The stares of the crowd were knives. If I cared about them, I would not survive.

I fell to my knees. I dug my fingers into Bruce's pant leg and begged. "Scholarship students at St. Jude Preparatory School get full tuition. I swear it won't cost you a single dime."

"St. Jude Preparatory School?" Bruce finally latched onto the profit.

He crouched down. He slowly tucked my messy hair behind my ear. His thumb wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. His gaze crawled over every inch of my face.

"So pretty. That's my daughter."

He leaned in and patted my cheek. A greedy smile stretched across his mouth. "Make sure you catch a rich husband."

Bruce let me attend the school. True to his nature, he never gave me a penny.

He disappeared for days at a time. By the first day of classes, I was dizzy with hunger.

Then Conrad showed up.

The very first day I latched onto him, he took me out for a massive meal.

He watched me inhale the food with absolute disgust. "Do your parents not feed you?"

My jaw worked on autopilot. I nodded frantically. "You are so smart, boss. My family literally does not feed me!"

My heavy groveling actually amused him. He scoffed. "Bullshit."

He ordered a mountain of dishes and never touched his fork. He just propped his chin on his hand and watched me wipe every single plate clean.

"Are you full?"

"I'm full."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

He pulled out an Amex Centurion Black Card and handed it to the waiter. "Check."

Romance novels did not lie. A man whipping out a black card was undeniably hot.

I followed Conrad around and never went hungry again. I worked like a dog to serve my golden ticket.

Half a year later, Bruce realized I hadn't starved to death. He figured I hooked a whale. He came looking for cash.

I didn't have a single cent to give him. He beat me half to death and locked me in the house.

"I sent you to St. Jude to latch onto someone rich!" He pointed a finger at my bruised face. "Even the dogs in those mansions wear designer clothes! You can't even hustle a few bucks out of them?"

"What is the point of you going to school?"

He slammed the door. "You are done! You stay in here until you agree to work a minimum wage job!"

I was already injured. Two days in that room broke me.

My head spun. Every breath tasted like rust. I curled up in the corner, completely drained of strength.

For a second, I thought my heart was going to stop. Then I realized death was the perfect escape from this miserable life.

Once I was dead, I would complain to the devil himself. I would crawl out of a deck of playing cards like a vengeful ghost to drag Bruce to hell with me.

A heavy boot kicked the door wide open. Conrad stood in the doorway.

I was so delirious I almost laughed. They say your life flashes before your eyes right before you die. Nobody told me a corporate drone's final hallucination would feature their boss.

I woke up in the hospital. Conrad sat by the bed. Rage radiated off his rigid posture.

I tried to joke around to lighten the mood. It only made him angrier.

"Ivy." His voice was ice. "You never ask for anything. What is the point of you clinging to me?"

I froze. "You gave me food." Was feeding someone really that worthless in the eyes of the rich?

"Not enough." Conrad's brows pulled tight. He stared at me with lethal seriousness.

"I have a lot to give. What you ask for is not enough."

The noise of the hospital rushed back into the room the second he finished speaking.

Chapter 6

Reality crashed back into me in pieces.

Ambulance sirens wailed down on the street.

Over the blaring alarms, Conrad leaned in. He was close. So close I could feel the heat of his breath against my skin.

"Tell me, Ivy," he demanded. His dark eyes locked onto mine. He enunciated every single word.

"Anything. You name it, and I will make it happen."

I froze.

For a long second, neither of us spoke. The silence stretched tight, a silent tug-of-war.

Our gazes tangled. Our breathing synced. Blood pumped back into my chest, thick and heavy, bringing me back to life.

After a long time, I finally spoke. My voice was a fragile whisper.

"I want to stay in school, Conrad. Deal with Bruce for me. Can you do that?"

I had to keep a clean criminal record. A single stain would ruin my chances of getting a government clearance job