Chapter 1

I beat Yvonne in a contest. My boyfriend, Samuel, wanted to stand up for her, so he sent his three friends to hit on me.

One tried to drug me and snap some compromising photos.

Another staged a car accident to play the hero and swoop in to save me.

And the third showered me with jewelry and even a house, just so he could pin a fraud charge on me.

Looking at their three faces, each compelling in its own way, I assessed them quickly.

I invited them all to the same hotel.

Then I bundled them together and handed them over to a big shot in the city.

*****

The king-sized bed in the presidential suite was rocking all night long.

Meanwhile, I was in the small room next door, studying all night.

Just as my head was spinning from studying and I was about to catch a quick nap, someone started pounding on the door.

I opened it to find a whole bunch of people crowding the doorway.

Samuel was leading the pack, with Yvonne standing right beside him.

When Samuel saw my dark circles and messy hair, looking like I'd been up all night, his face was so dark that it looked like a thundercloud.

I glanced at the crowd, let out a lazy yawn, and asked, "What's up? I haven't slept all night. I'm dead tired."

Samuel glared at me like I'd just committed a crime, gritting his teeth as he demanded, "I've been searching for you all night. Why didn't you pick up my calls? Who were you with?"

His tone was so pushy that I couldn't help but get pissed, too. Annoyed, I shot back, "You handed my grad school spot to someone else, so now I have to study twice as hard. I don't have time for your drama."

This year, there were only two fast-track slots for grad school: one for the top student, and one for me.

When Yvonne found out, she tried bribing a professor on the sly. After she got caught, she threatened to jump off the building and stirred up a huge drama, claiming I stole her chance.

Samuel came to me, hoping I'd give up my spot for her, but I turned him down flat.

Not long after, my adoptive mom got hit by a car and ended up in the hospital. The driver was a total loser with zero credit, and he was drunk out of his mind.

The hospital bills were 6 thousand a day, way more than I could ever afford. Just when I was about to lose it, Samuel stepped in and covered everything.

But he had one condition: I had to hand over my grad school spot to Yvonne.

I didn't even hesitate. I said yes right away.

Nothing and no one could ever compare to my adoptive mom.

Samuel paused, looking confused. He asked, "Were you really just studying?"

Hearing this, I quietly pulled the door almost shut, leaving just enough space for half my body to stand in the doorway, keeping their eyes out.

My not-so-subtle move only made Samuel's anger flare up again. He tried to shove the door open, but I blocked him with my body.

Yvonne grabbed my arm and said loudly, "Didn't you say you were studying? Then let us in and see for ourselves, unless you're hiding something."

Everyone barged in, only to see the small room piled high with textbooks and notes.

Everyone instantly lowered their phones, which they'd been ready to record with.

Yvonne gave someone a meaningful glance, and he took the lead as the group spread out, searching every nook and cranny of the room.

I just leaned against the door, coldly watching them tear the place apart.

Just then, a ridiculously handsome guy emerged from the presidential suite down the hall.

Watching him steady himself against the wall, I couldn't help but curl my lips into a smile. All the gloom clouding my mind instantly cleared away.

When Zack saw me, his first instinct was to stand up straight, desperately pretending nothing had happened.

But he looked at me with murder in his eyes.

"Chloe!" Zack growled through clenched teeth.

I flashed a small smile and said, "Mr. Summers, as I said, I'm not accepting your confession. I'm already in love with someone else. He may be gone, but he'll always live in my heart."

Samuel, still in the room, nearly ground his teeth to dust when he heard that.

He snapped, "Who's dead? I'm standing right here, alive and kicking. Don't you dare say your man is dead."

Samuel had just stepped out of the room when he got sucker punched right in the face.

Zack stood there, fist still clenched, his handsome face cold and unreadable.

Zack and Samuel, who used to be best friends, were now standing on the other side.

Samuel crashed to the floor, blood at the corner of his mouth. When he finally realized who'd hit him, he just stared in shock, totally unable to believe it.

He snapped, "Zack, don't tell me you're into Chloe now? She's mine. You really gonna steal my girl?"