boxer to hollywood

### Beep! Beep!

As Link drove away from the Bay Villa area at noon, the paparazzi stationed on both sides of the street recognized his car and swarmed around it. There were hundreds of them, making it feel like all of Hollywood's paparazzi had converged here.

"Link, is it true that Taylor dumped you, as the internet says?"

"Link, last night you asked netizens how to apologize. Are you going to seek Taylor's forgiveness today?"

The paparazzi surrounded his car, bombarding him with questions about Taylor, with some even banging on the windows, appearing ready to smash them and drag him out for an interview.

Under these circumstances, an interview was impossible.

Driver Bob honked the horn for over ten seconds, the shrill sound forcing the paparazzi to cover their ears and back away. The car broke through the crowd and sped onto the main road.

In the rearview mirror, Link saw the paparazzi, angry and cursing because they hadn't gotten their scoop.

The car drove north from Santa Monica Boulevard for over 20 kilometers to the Beverly Hills Villa area.

Compared to the crowded apartment residential area at the foot of the hill, this place backed up to the beautiful scenery of Beverly Hills, overlooking the bustling streets of Los Angeles and the vast Pacific Ocean. It looked very nice.

Taylor's villa was on the north side of Coldwater Canyon Drive. It wasn't large but was a charming white standalone villa with white stone steps, several artistic stone sculptures, and a pretty little garden—a very cozy and comfortable home.

Considering the paparazzi down the hill, Link suddenly felt that living in Beverly Hills wasn't a bad idea, offering a sense of seclusion amidst the bustle.

When Link entered the villa courtyard with a pot of camellias, Emily was also there. She made him a cup of coffee before leaving the semi-open living room, leaving just him and Taylor.

Previously, when facing Taylor, he could hug her, lean on her, pull her close, or even pin her down without any reservations. But today, facing Taylor's cold expression, he had to carefully consider his words.

"You've got a great place here. How about I move in with you?" Link said, thick-skinned, holding his coffee cup.

Taylor glanced at him, closed the magazine in her hands, and asked, "Is that why you're here?"

"No, I originally came to continue apologizing, but I realized you were right. Apologies are meaningless. I'll prove with my actions that I won't make the same mistakes again."

"What mistakes are you referring to?" Taylor asked coldly.

"The Emma Watson incident. If any girl approaches me in the future, I'll push them away without hesitation and won't maintain any contact with such girls."

"Huh, do you think I should believe you?"

"I mean what I say," Link replied firmly.

After sleeping alone last night, he realized he had gotten used to having Taylor by his side. Without her, he felt something was missing and found everything uninteresting.

After much thought, he decided to cut off his indecisive thoughts and win Taylor back, intending to be faithful to her. Spending his life with her didn't seem so bad.

After all, even the wealthiest person must learn to be satisfied at some point. Greed only makes one feel emptier.

"Fine, I'll give you a chance. Let's play a game of honesty."

Taylor leaned forward slightly, her blue eyes fixed on him. "Tell me the truth. Since we started dating officially in February last year, how many women have you slept with behind my back?"

"N-none!"

"Link Becker, it's not that I don't give you chances; it's that you don't cherish them. You can leave now."

Taylor picked up the magazine, speaking coldly.

"Okay, I'll be honest. Just once, on set, but it didn't count. I was drunk and don't remember anything. You know my alcohol tolerance is low," Link said helplessly.

Taylor laughed coldly, looking up. "So, you messed around with someone on set? I was at home alone, letting you go out to film, and you were fooling around with another woman?"

"Dear, I swear I was really drunk that time," Link said, raising his hand.

"Link, you're a man. Stop making excuses, okay? You know your alcohol tolerance is low, yet you drank with another woman. So, is getting drunk an excuse?"

"Dear, I know I was wrong. I'll quit drinking from now on," Link said helplessly.

"Don't call me dear. It makes me sick."

"Alright, besides that time, there really hasn't been anyone else."

"Link, you've wasted another chance. In January, at the Grammy Awards, do you think I couldn't smell the disgusting perfume on you?"

Taylor picked up the magazine and threw it at him.

Link was stunned. After that incident, he remembered changing clothes. How could Taylor have smelled it?

"It was the makeup artist's perfume. The makeup artist is a woman."

"Still lying. Link, you disappoint me."

Taylor shook her head and sneered. "That night, I saw some disgusting nail scratches on the back of your thigh. Don't tell me you did that to yourself."

Link started sweating. Taylor was too observant.

He suddenly understood why many men liked simple-minded women—they were easy to fool. Unlike Taylor, who was too smart, smarter than himself.

Cheating under her nose was like playing extreme challenges or wilderness survival, and he had been careless.

Seeing Taylor's increasingly cold expression, Link realized he probably didn't have a chance and decided to lay it all out.

"Alright, I cheated. You know why. I'm a lecher, lacking resistance to temptation from the opposite sex. These are my inherent flaws. But I haven't ignored these problems. I've been working on correcting them, addressing them seriously. Why? Because I love you. If I didn't love you or care about your feelings, I could have cheated countless times in the past year. But I didn't. The only two times it happened were under very complicated circumstances. Taylor, I'm trying to change, to become better. Can you give me a chance?"

"Hmph! If our roles were reversed and I cheated once, would you give me a chance?" Taylor asked.

Link looked at his fists, knowing he wouldn't.

For men, regardless of time or place, being cheated on is an unbearable humiliation.

This has nothing to do with love.

It has to do with a man's dignity.

It's a dignity that would be instinctively defended even if humans reverted to being four-legged animals.

"So because you're a man, I must forgive you for cheating, while if I'm a woman, even just talking to another man about work in a bar would bother you. Do all men demand strict fidelity from their partners while being lenient with themselves?" Taylor sneered.

Link had no answer.

This was the downside of having a smart girlfriend; sometimes, he couldn't even win a debate.

He suddenly understood Leonardo, whom he had once looked down on. Before, he thought Leonardo, after two decades of dating, was just messing around and must be terrible at it.

After this experience, he realized Leonardo was a smart guy.

"Hmph! To spend more time with you, I ended my world tour early. Even when collecting material, I often came home to see you. And what about you? Participating in boxing matches, getting cozy with other women backstage, fooling around with women on set while filming, and during award ceremonies, you couldn't go twenty minutes without getting involved with another woman? Have you ever respected me? Considered my feelings?" Taylor asked, her eyes red.

"Sorry, it was my fault. I'll definitely change," Link said, trying to hold her hand and hug her.

"Don't touch me!"

Taylor coldly pushed him away, pointing to the door. "You can leave now. You're no longer welcome here."

Seeing no signs of reconciliation in her expression, Link sighed, said, "I'm sorry," and left the villa.

Taylor collapsed on the sofa, crying. Mrs. Andrea came downstairs and gently patted her back, comforting her.

"Mom, I really liked him and thought about starting a family with him. But what he did disappointed me so much. I can't be like other women, pretending not to care while knowing everything. That would make me very uncomfortable and even disgusted with myself," Taylor cried in Mrs. Andrea's arms.

"I understand," Mrs. Andrea sighed. The worst had happened.

Taylor was too strong-willed. Whether in music, life, or with her partner, she pursued perfection and couldn't tolerate any flaws. Once she saw a problem, she'd decisively cut it off.

But a perfect partner doesn't exist. The closer the relationship, the more flaws one finds.

Mrs. Andrea worried silently, wondering if Taylor would ever find a suitable partner with her picky nature.

She hugged Taylor and said, "I've told you, men are like children. There are no naturally sensible, trouble-free children, and very few men who become perfectly well-behaved after adolescence. Women are like mothers. We need to teach them, change them, and mold them bit by bit to get the person we want.

Link may not be a perfect boyfriend, but he's much better than his peers, more mature and steady, with fewer inherent problems. If you miss out on him..."

"Mom, I disagree. Must women be mothers while men can be children? Can't women be children too? And can men really be molded into good kids?

Take Dad, for example. You've lived with him for over twenty years, constantly trying to change and influence him. What's the result? He thinks no one knows what he's done.

Mom, I'm not you. I can't generously tolerate Dad. I don't want to become a woman like you. I want to live my own way, never changing myself for anyone."

Taylor wiped her tears.

Mrs. Andrea didn't persuade Taylor any further. A smart, strong,

 and powerful girl like Taylor might live differently and doesn't need to live like an ordinary girl.