Chapter 1

On Valentine's Day, my boyfriend, Maxwell Sterling, hired an expensive drone show. The drones spelled out in the sky, [Kira, I'll protect you for life.]

I was just starting to feel moved when comments started appearing in midair.

[What's this supporting actress getting all emotional about? Can't she read? That says "Kira"—the heroine's nickname. Look at her flattering herself. So tacky.]

[If Kira's body weren't damaged and she couldn't have kids, why would Maxwell ever be with her? She's just a baby-making tool.]

[She doesn't really think waving a pregnancy test around will force him to marry her, right? Later, she goes against Kira, so Maxwell punishes her by faking a paternity test, claiming her child is another man's bastard. She ends up like a madwoman, clutching her baby and crying everywhere, until a truck runs her over.]

So that "Kira" wasn't a typo. It was someone else.

I slapped him across the face. "Who is Kira?"

*****

That slap shattered the whole romantic vibe in an instant.

Everyone froze, all eyes staring to me.

Maxwell's face swelled from the slap. Guilt flickered in his eyes—but he quickly masked it and snapped, "I went out of my way to surprise you and you're picking faults? I was even planning to propose. Guess that's off the table."

With that, he put on a show of being genuinely hurt and turned to leave.

Before I could respond, someone rushed in and swung at my face.

I jerked aside just in time. The slap barely missed—but sharp nails still sliced across my cheek.

Pain burned. I looked up and kicked her.

She was already off balance, so my kick sent her tumbling to the ground.

"Ouch! That hurts! Are you nuts or something?"

The one who came at me was Kira Lane, Maxwell's so-called "best friend."

In that instant, everything clicked.

Before those comments appeared, I had never doubted them. Even when they acted too close, I brushed it off.

The reason was, Kira had another identity—she was Mrs. Sterling's illegitimate daughter.

Everyone in our circle had been whispering about it for years. Mrs. Sterling never made it official, but she treated Kira so well—like a second daughter, you could say.

Because of that, no matter how close Kira and Maxwell acted, I never thought twice about their relationship.

Looking at her pretentious, overly delicate face, a wave of disgust washed over me. I raised my hand and gave her a hard slap across the face.

The sharp sound of the slap left everyone in shock all over again, including Maxwell.

As I went for a second slap, Maxwell hurried over, grabbed my wrist, and shoved me aside.

I stumbled a few steps, and nearly fell.

He helped Kira up, his eyes full of concern as he asked if she was okay, if her face hurt.

Kira put on her usual "tough girl" act. "It's just a slap. I can take it. But I can't stand her hitting you. You spent a whole week designing that surprise for her, and she repays you by slapping you over some nonsense. I said it long ago—she's a gold digger. You didn't give her a gift today, just a surprise, and of course she's pissed off about it."

After all her twisted talk, suddenly I was the crazy, gold-digging one.

I scoffed. "I've been dating Maxwell for three years, and the only thing he ever gave me was a necklace worth about 10 thousand dollars. Meanwhile, I've spent at least 70 thousand dollars on gifts for him. So, who's the real gold digger here?"

Kira never expected me to lay it all out like this. I used to never care about these things.

Her face darkened instantly, and for a moment, she was left speechless, not knowing how to fight back.

Someone in the crowd questioned me, "No way! Last time, Mr. Sterling auctioned a pink diamond necklace overseas for over 300 thousand dollars. The media interviewed him, and he said it was a gift for his girlfriend. So, could it be..."

So that was why people in our circles sometimes said I'd bled him dry. That was the so-called "inside story."

Something suddenly hit me, and I marched right up to Kira, pulling at her collar.

There it was—a pink diamond necklace sparkling with fire, hanging around her neck.

She loved to brag about her stuff, but she'd never showed off that diamond. I always thought it was a bit strange, but I never hadn't dwelled on it.

I ripped the pink diamond from her neck and held it out to Maxwell. "So Kira's your real girlfriend. No wonder you throw around 300-thousand-dollar diamonds and spell her name in the sky. Have your fun, but leave me out of it. And stop telling people I cleaned you out."

With that, I tossed the necklace right at his face. "We're done. You're trash."