Page 1 of After going bankrupt, my ex-boyfriend became the CEO

After the company went bankrupt, my enemies broke both my legs.

With nowhere else to turn, I had to swallow my former pride and set up a street stall selling snacks to make ends meet.

That day, I was working my usual spot when I spotted John in the bustling crowd.

He wore a perfectly tailored suit, and the luxury watch on his wrist gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

Riley, his first love, stood beside him.

I gazed hungrily at his face, knowing in my heart that this might be the last time I'd see him in person in this lifetime.

Soon, he and Riley would be going abroad together to develop their careers.

If I wanted to see him again, it would only be through a TV screen.

And the place where I lived didn't even have a television.

"What are you spacing out for? Where's my hot dog!" An impatient voice snapped me back to reality.

I quickly came to my senses and carefully placed the hot dog in a paper bag, handing it to the customer.

The customer asked in confusion, "I want to pay by card. Where's your POS machine?"

I pressed my lips together and said embarrassedly, "I don't have a POS machine. Could you pay with cash?"

The customer rummaged through their bag for a moment, tossed down two crumpled bills, and muttered, "What era are we in? How can you still only accept cash?"

I carefully picked up those two bills.

Today's hot dog sales, after costs, would leave me with about a hundred dollarsenough to buy some medicine for the next few days.

But I couldn't buy too much, or I wouldn't have money left for food.

While lost in thought, John had quietly appeared in front of my stall.

He stared at me.

I quickly lowered my head, cold sweat breaking out in my palms, my heartbeat quickening.

I wondered, "Has he recognized me?"

At the thought of this possibility, I felt like I was standing on a knife's edge, filled with anxiety.

Under John's sharp gaze, I even felt the urge to run away.

Because in this world, John was the last person I wanted to encounter.

I didn't want him to recognize me, didn't want him to see me in such a sorry state.

Just then, Riley walked up to John's side, breaking the silence: "What's wrong, John?"

John's cold expression softened the moment he looked at Riley: "This hot dog smells so good. We used to love eating these in school. Back then, you'd always say you were full and then give me the rest."

His eyes were filled with tender affection.

Riley smiled too: "Things are different now from before. We're going to get better and better."

I didn't dare speak, just handed John the freshly made hot dog.

He took the hot dog and pulled a hundred-dollar bill from his wallet, tossing it into my bucket.

Only after they turned and walked away did I dare lift my head.

Watching that intern I once kept, who had now transformed into someone far beyond my reach.

I looked down at my worn, shabby clothes and smiled bitterly, thinking, "I was being too presumptuous."

Wearing a mask, covered in grease and smoke, with disheveled hair, I was no longer the glamorous female CEO I had been back then.

How could John possibly recognize me?

Though I didn't want John to recognize me, I still watched his retreating figure until he disappeared into the crowd, surrounded by people.

I suddenly remembered the first time I met John.

Back then, he wore a cheap work uniform, his face covered in sweat, clutching a stack of documents while carrying several cups of coffee, stumbling into the company. My gaze was involuntarily drawn to him.

From that day on, my secretary Colton Walsh and I spent weeks sitting in the break room, watching John efficiently handle various tasks. He worked from nine in the morning until ten at night, constantly called around by colleagues. Sometimes he didn't even have time to eat, only managing to wolf down a few bites of spaghetti to fill his stomach.

From his file, I learned he was a new intern at the branch office, with a seriously ill mother and a gambling-addicted father at home. He'd learned to save money from a young age, was ostracized by classmates in school, and received cold treatment from colleagues at work. Yet he always wore a smile on his face, revealing two dimples when he laughed, as if even the sunlight became brighter because of it.

I gradually became interested in him, even deliberately concealing my identity and appearing before him as a company client representative. Watching him stay up all night preparing materials and earnestly explaining products to win me as a client, my heart stirred. I even had Colton shield him from those difficult colleagues.

He smiled and said to me, "Ms. Bennet, I'm so lucky. Ever since I met you, everything has been going much smoother."

Looking at his clean, sincere smile, I couldn't help but smile too. In the scheming world of the Bennet family, my gradually cooling heart was warmed again by his smile.

I never told him I was actually the president of Bennet Group. I was afraid he would treat me like everyone else, putting me on a pedestal and showing me that familiar, flattering smile.

Through our daily interactions, I cared about him more and more. Until one day, I realized that whenever I received a message from him, I would unconsciously break into a brilliant smile. That's when I knew I had fallen in love with him.

So on a bright, sunny weekend, I asked him out, planning to confess my feelings. However, when I arrived at his rented house, I saw him embracing a girl wearing an equally cheap cotton dress. They were sharing an ice cream, their faces glowing with happy, satisfied smiles.

Actually, during that time, I had investigated everything about him thoroughly. That girl was his first love, Riley. He worked desperately hard not only to pay off his family's gambling debts and his mother's medical bills, but also to help her afford graduate school.

I smiled bitterly, quietly left, and endured the heartache while deciding to let John go.

Until one night, passing through a small alley, I heard his desperate voice.