Chapter 8 Jeremy's face was dark with anger as he shoved me into the bathroom . " Go clean yourself up ! " I could clearly sense the change in his attitude towards me . He no longer protected me like he did in college , nor would he help me with anything . I watched him change before my very eyes , but I was utterly powerless to stop it . The years since leaving James hadn't been easy for me either . Especially after learning he hadn't actually been engaged to Julia , I felt like a betrayer who'd brought all this suffering on myself . James cupped my face , forcing me to look into his eyes . " You're wrong . Bridget Lockhe can live well without anyone . She never needed to depend on others . " " Whether it was the Bridget who picked up trash with her grandma in high school , or the one who sold food at stalls and paid for her boyfriend's treatment - she's always been brilliant . " " That idiot Jeremy Foster just doesn't know it yet . One day , he'll realize how precious the thing he lost was . " Was that true ? For the first time , someone told me I was brilliant and that person was my ex - boyfriend . I couldn't help but ask , " What about you then ? How did you change from John Shelton to James Howard ? " James chuckled softly . " My story's much simpler . When my parents divorced , I was still a kid . The court gave me to my mom , so I took her last name . " " After they went through their ups and downs and got back together , I returned to the Howards and changed my name ! " My gaze fell on his face and I couldn't resist reaching out to gently touch it . " Then your face ... " With a relaxed smile , James pulled out a photo . " I had plastic surgery based on a picture of my dad when he was young . This is the result of countless surgeries and reconstructions . Well , what do you think ? Not bad , right ? " Not bad ? It was perfect . The James before me was at least seventy percent similar to the man in the photo . Perhaps this was supposed to be his true appearance all along . *** The Girl He Dumped Turned Out to Do the Dillion 1/2 682 % 9:22 Thu , Oct 16 94 While I worked as James ' private chef , the dish I cooked most often was sweet - and - spicy ribs . I'd been making it for days without variation and I'd mastered it so well that it only took me half an hour to finish . Earning a hundred thousand a month for that honestly made me feel guilty . Especially since he always brought me something every day when he came home- sometimes a box of desserts , sometimes a bouquet , sometimes even a priceless piece of jewelry from an auction . If I didn't accept it , he would just firmly force it into my hands . After half a month of this , I finally couldn't take it anymore and went to James to say . " Actually , I can make other things too , you know , like salted egg shrimp , tofu nuggets , fish soup and more ... " That man was busy in his study , deeply engrossed in a document . Hearing my words , he looked up at me . " If you truly want to do something else , then attend the party with me . " I pointed at myself in shock . " Me ? " James nodded . I immediately sighed , " My image probably isn't quite right for this ... " James simply got up and pulled me out the door . " Who says ? Every woman has a beautiful side; it just takes money to bring it out . " He then took me for a spa day , bought me new clothes and styled my hair . My whole person was completely transformed , becoming both beautiful and fashionable . Later , I learned that we were going to attend the 70th birthday celebration of Mr. George Shelton , a patriarch of a century - old family in this city . Unexpectedly , I ran into Jeremy . At that moment , the woman beside him wasn't Stella . But his sister , Julia . When that girl saw me holding James ' arm , her eyes looked ready to shoot fire . Jeremy was even more stunned , scrutinizing me with utter disbelief . That was exactly the same look I'd given him when the Fosters came to pick him up .