I Saved My Fiancé Before He Became a Billionaire Chapter 02
Elias Blackwood stared at me for a long, quiet time, his dark eyes unreadable.
I waved my phone at him brightly, showing him the mobile banking app screen.
“I have money. More than enough.”
“Taking care of you is nothing for me. I can easily afford it.”
I’d checked and confirmed immediately right after I arrived in this timeline.
The large balance in my mobile banking app was still there, completely unchanged.
The physical debit card linked to it didn’t work in this timeline, but the account balance was real and valid.
And there were dozens of large transfer records, all marked with notes from Elias Blackwood years and years into the future.
Using the money from the mature, successful future Elias to take care of the broken, starving teenage version of him.
It felt weirdly amusing, full of quiet irony.
When he still didn’t move, frozen in place, I reached gently to help him up slowly.
“Look how thin you are. You’re practically skin and bones.”
He weighed almost nothing, light as a feather.
I lifted him easily, barely using any strength at all.
He felt like nothing but sharp bones, with loose, thin skin hanging over them, no muscle or flesh.
Elias stood shakily with my support, said nothing at all, just hung his head obediently.
As if he was quietly checking if he really was as thin and weak as I’d said.
Years of constant hunger and repeated beatings had clearly slowed his reactions and dulled his senses.
After a long, slow pause, he mumbled softly, his voice small and helpless.
“It’s okay. It could be worse.”
“I was thinner before. Much thinner.”
There was a quiet, earnest honesty in his tone that broke my heart.
And a hidden hint of helpless, childish sadness he tried to hide.
My chest tightened painfully, a sharp, aching sorrow flooding my whole body.
Then he spoke again, hesitantly, his voice raw with need.
“I’m hungry. So hungry.”
“Let’s get you checked and treated first. The clinic will fix your head.”
“Afterward, I’ll buy you anything you want to eat, as much as you want, okay?”
I found myself speaking to him in a soft, coaxing tone, like talking to a wounded, scared child.
I glanced again at the bleeding, bruised cut on his forehead, my chest aching.
“Doesn’t your head hurt? It looks so painful.”
Elias nodded slowly, his eyes downcast.
Then said simply, his voice honest and weak, “It hurts. Badly.”
“But I’m hungrier. More than anything.”
I helped him slowly out of the back alley and called an Uber immediately on my phone.
A deep, bitter sadness welled up uncontrollably in my chest.
I’d never seen even a flicker of resentment or bitterness in the future Elias.
He was always gentle, calm, restrained, and kind to everyone.
Even when he became the youngest CEO of Blackwood Corporation, standing high above everyone else, wealthy and powerful, he never spoke of his past suffering or pain.
I’d foolishly assumed he’d grown up loved, cherished, and safe.
That was why he didn’t complain, didn’t turn bitter or cruel.
Why he was so endlessly tolerant and gentle with the world.
But now I finally knew the ugly, painful truth.
He wasn’t unhurt or untouched by pain.
He’d just walked through the broken, bloody pieces of his life completely alone, no one to help him.
While Elias was being examined and treated by the doctor, I went to the nearest large department store to buy him clean, new clothes.
His school uniform jacket was filthy, stained with blood and mud, completely ruined.
The cuff of his white dress shirt was torn sharply, revealing a wrist frighteningly thin, all bone and no flesh.
I picked soft, warm hoodies, plain cotton T-shirts, comfortable chinos, and a thick, warm winter coat for him.
At the checkout counter, my eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
What should have been a total of around one thousand dollars showed up as one million dollars on my mobile bill.
I stared blankly at the glowing screen and muttered to myself in disbelief, “Is my phone haunted? What’s wrong with it?”
The store associate glanced over politely and said sincerely with a smile, “Your phone case is absolutely lovely. I’ve never seen one quite like this style before.”
To everyone except me, all my payment amounts appeared completely normal, unchanged.
I quickly realized the truth: everything I bought in this timeline was multiplied exactly by 1,000 times.
Not long ago, I’d bragged confidently that supporting and taking care of Elias was easy, no trouble at all.
Now his just over three-thousand-dollar medical bill had cost me three million dollars from my account.
My face twisted slightly in shock and frustration at the absurd cost.
Elias stood quietly beside me, his dark eyes flickering sharply as he watched my expression change.
He seemed to read my shock and worry instantly, understanding exactly what had happened.
In a low, guilty voice, he said quickly, “I’m not really hurt. It’s fine.”
“I don’t need treatment. Let’s leave. Save the money.”
He started reaching immediately to hand the examination paperwork and prescribed medicine back to the nurse behind the counter.
I quickly grabbed his thin wrist firmly and pulled him away from the counter, not letting him go.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
“You’re clearly hurt and sick. You don’t just tough it out and become some kind of medical miracle. That’s not how it works.”
Inside, I felt a strange, quiet satisfaction amid the worry.
All the gentle scoldings and reminders Elias used to tell me in the future—I was going to say every single one back to him now.
The thin boy I was dragging suddenly stopped walking completely, his feet rooted to the floor.
I looked back at him in confusion, concerned.
“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”
Elias’s voice was muffled, small, and desperate, full of raw need.
“Hungry. I’m hungry.”
“I’m taking you to eat right now, immediately. Don’t worry.”
I sighed softly, my heart softening for him.
“But the doctor warned me clearly: your stomach is in very bad shape, damaged from years of starvation.”
“We have to start with mild, gentle, easy-to-digest food only, nothing heavy or greasy.”
“Not too much at one time, small portions slowly.”
“Otherwise it will hurt so much worse, you’ll be in agony.”
Elias said nothing at all, his face blank and unreadable.
I turned around in surprise, confused by his silence.
He was staring down fixedly at the paper medicine bag hanging from his hand, his expression unreadable.
Before I could figure out what he was thinking or why he was so quiet, Elias looked up at me sharply, suddenly.
His dark eyes were full of clear, cautious scrutiny and confusion.
He blinked once slowly, his gaze fixed on me.
“Medicine.”
Then he lifted the bag and hung it gently over my wrist, his movements slow and deliberate.
…?
I lifted the bag slightly, half amused, half exasperated at his strange behavior.
“I’m not the one who’s sick or hurt. You are.”
Elias touched his bandaged forehead calmly, his face still pale and weak.
“I’m sick. My head hurts, my stomach hurts.”
“I’m hungry. Starving.”
He sounded as pitiful and helpless as could be, like a wounded, starving puppy.
I almost agreed to give him whatever he wanted right away, my resolve breaking.
“I’m taking you to eat, I promise. I won’t let you starve.”
“But the doctor said you can’t eat anything heavy or greasy. You have to be patient.”
I repeated the doctor’s instructions and rules again slowly, clearly.
Elias didn’t seem to listen or care at all, his eyes distant.
When I finished speaking, he glared at me suddenly, as if annoyed and wronged.
“Liar. You’re lying to me.”
As if that small glare wasn’t intimidating enough, he bared his teeth slightly at me, playful but fierce.
“No food? If you don’t feed me, I’ll eat you instead.”
Not eating enough for years had clearly affected his focus and judgment.
This young, teenage version of Elias was definitely acting strange and silly.
I couldn’t help pulling out my phone quickly and snapping three photos in a row of him.
In the pictures, the thin boy had a white bandage on his forehead, pale, bloodless skin, dark, wronged, hurt eyes.
His mouth was slightly open, showing his neat teeth.
Like a little wolf cub starving too badly to know how to beg properly, fierce but helpless.
“I’m not saying no food. I never said that.”
I held back a soft smile and put my phone away quickly.
“We just have to take it slow, be patient, okay?”
“Eating too much too fast will make your stomach hurt unbearably. I don’t want you to suffer.”
Elias thought seriously for a long moment, his brow slightly furrowed.
Finally, he seemed to decide I was telling the truth, that I was trying to help him.
He looked down at the medicine bag still hanging on my wrist.
After a long moment of hesitation, he reached gently, took it back from me, and held it firmly in his own hand.
