Chapter 1

My boyfriend, Alex Grant, comes from old money and has always been convinced I'm only dating him for his money.

To keep me in check, he insisted on strict rules when we started dating: everything we do, we split fifty-fifty.

When I flew back to Riverdale from a business trip, I asked him if he could pick me up from the airport.

Instead, he sent me a ten-dollar transfer with a text: [A cab home is twenty bucks. Here's my half.]

The very next night, his childhood friend Sophie Lane flew in from abroad. Alex drove out to the airport to get her at three in the morning, then dropped three hundred thousand dollars to buy out an entire Michelin-starred restaurant for her welcome party.

As the dinner wound down, Alex pulled out his phone, opened a payment app, and showed me a QR code.

"Everyone here tonight is a mutual friend of mine and Sophie's—you're the only exception, since you came as my guest," he said. "So you need to pay your share. I won't charge you for the venue, but you owe seven hundred dollars for your meal."

I stared at him, caught off guard. "How much is Sophie paying you, then?" I asked.

After all, the whole party was for her.

Alex knit his brows, looking at me like I'd just said the most absurd thing in the world. "She's the Lane family heiress. We grew up together. I know where she stands, and she definitely isn't after my money."

I looked at the complete sincerity on his face, pulled out my phone, and transferred him the money.

Now that this bill was settled, it was time to clear the balance on this relationship for good.

*****

I had barely put my phone away when Sophie, stunning in a red dress, strolled over. "Alex, so this is Emily—the secret girlfriend you've been hiding for three years?"

She slipped her arm through mine with practiced ease, acting like we were old friends. "He talked about you every single day while I was away. I've never seen him care this much about a girl."

Alex twirled his car keys around his finger. "If you hadn't kept pestering me about my love life, I wouldn't have brought her up at all."

Watching them banter back and forth with zero room for me to join in, I pulled my arm out of Sophie's grip.

Alex and I lived in the same city, yet we went days without talking.

Meanwhile, he and his childhood friend had managed to stay in daily touch across oceans and time zones.

It was hard to watch.

I forced a faint smile. "You two catch up. I'll catch a cab home."

Sophie immediately turned to Alex. "Have your boyfriend drive you, and I'll tag along."

She reached to open the back door, but Alex stopped her. "Ms. Lane, I'm not your personal chauffeur."

He opened the front passenger door for her instead.

Sophie glanced at me, then gave him a knowing look. "Right, got it. You only drive for your girlfriend."

I hesitated for a second before slipping into the back seat.

Once we got going, Sophie turned around with a grin. "Emily, your driver really is so attentive."

I tightened my lips and stayed silent.

In all the time we'd been together, this was the first time I'd ever stepped foot inside his car.

We had dated long-distance through college for three years before finally meeting in person.

After graduation, I moved to his city for work, which was when he finally laid all his cards on the table.

He revealed that he was heir to the Grant Group.

"Every woman who's ever approached me was after my money," he told me back then. "Emily, I believe in equality. I want us to be equals—economically, too.

"If we don't go fifty-fifty while we're dating, how will I ever know if you love me for who I am or for my bank account?"

I understood where he was coming from; wealthy guys had to be cautious.

So I agreed. We split every meal and every movie ticket down the middle.

He never let me ride in his car, either. Instead, whenever our dates ended, he'd send me his half of the fare so I could take a cab home.

"Alex, you and Emily have been together for three years now. When are you getting married?" Sophie's question snapped me back to reality.

I instinctively checked the rearview mirror to catch Alex's eye, but his gaze remained fixed on Sophie. "Emily's still young—there's no rush. Not like you, desperate to tie the knot, stringing along an endless parade of boyfriends overseas."

Sophie laughed and swatted his arm, their physical familiarity showing zero sign of awkwardness. "You didn't use to be like this. Where'd this devoted, model-boyfriend routine suddenly come from?"

She turned around to face me again. "Emily, your driver used to snap my bra straps just to tease me back in the day. Look at him changing his whole personality for you."