Chapter 1

The hotel receptionist had her eye on my boyfriend. And so, she tried to spread lies about me before a crowd.

"Miss, weren't you with another man yesterday?" she sneered. "You even left the sheets in a mess and refused to pay for them."

Then, with a mock gasp, she turned to my boyfriend. "Oops, did I say too much? Sorry, I just can't stand seeing you get played, handsome."

I asked to see the security footage, but she claimed the cameras were broken.

She had no idea that this five-star hotel belonged to my family.

*****

"Hello, miss. How can I help you?" the receptionist said to me.

But even though she was speaking to me, her eyes didn't leave my boyfriend, Chris Dillion, for a second.

I glanced at her name tag—Anya Wiggins.

I had a pretty vivid memory of this receptionist—she looked delicate and gentle, but honestly, her professionalism was questionable.

Last night, when Chris brought me here to check in, she was the one who received us.

She was so mesmerized by Chris that she totally spaced out and even knocked over a glass of water.

After clumsily cleaning up the spill, she dragged her feet for another ten minutes before finally getting me checked in.

I knew Chris was a real head-turner.

Tall, with tanned skin and strikingly handsome features—he was impossible not to notice.

But his eyes were the clincher. His dreamy, romantic eyes could make anyone seem like the center of his world.

Girls would be totally mesmerized by him, just staring slack-jawed. Me? I hardly batted an eye.

Everyone loved to admire a good-looking guy. But honestly, Anya was just being way too unprofessional.

"Hi, I checked out this morning and realized I left a necklace on the sink," I said.

When Anya didn't reply, I added, "Hey, did you hear what I said?"

Chris and I had been together since university. We met at a party during our senior year.

Many couples broke up during graduation, but me and Chris didn't let that happen to us.

Even though we ended up in different cities for work, our relationship as a long-distance couple stayed rock solid.

This time, I flew over to Chris's city for a work trip, and he wanted me to just crash at his place. Trouble was, his parents and grandparents all lived there too.

No way was I about to live at his place, with his whole family watching my every move, especially before we even tied the knot.

So, Chris went ahead and booked me a room at the only five-star hotel in the city.

I checked out early in the morning. However, after lunch with Chris, just as I was getting ready to go home, I realized I'd left my necklace back at the hotel.

It wasn't until I waved my hand right in front of Anya that she finally looked away from Chris, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

She lowered her eyes to her computer screen and replied briskly, "Miss, housekeeping thoroughly checked your room this morning, and nothing was left behind. Maybe you just remembered wrong?"

I couldn't help but feel surprised.

That morning, while I was brushing my hair in front of the mirror, my hair got tangled up in my necklace.

And so I took off the necklace and tossed it down on the sink. When I finished brushing my hair, I reached out to grab the necklace, but my phone rang then.

Turned out my client had decided to show up early for the meeting.

I grabbed my bag and dashed out the door. Only after signing the contract did it hit me—I'd left my necklace behind.

"I'm pretty sure I left it right on the sink. Would you mind checking again with the housekeeping staff, just to be sure?" I said.

Anya didn't bother to pick up the phone. She just shot me a flat look and declared, "Sorry, but there's absolutely nothing missing from your room. You probably were mistaken."

Seeing me frown, Chris quickly stepped forward and gently took my hand.

"Don't worry," he said softly. "Try to think back—did you maybe misplace it somewhere along the way?"

I felt a flicker of irritation. I couldn't believe he doubted my memory. I was absolutely certain I'd left my necklace on the sink.

That diamond necklace had been given me to me by my mother for my birthday last month—it was worth a small fortune.

I said, "You guys have cameras in the lobby and elevators, right? Why don't you have them pulled up? It'll be clear whether I was wearing my necklace when I left the hotel."

Chris finally seemed relieved, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze as he joined in backing me up. He said, "Yeah, that sounds solid."

Turning to Anya, he said, "Just bring up the security footage for us, okay?"

Anya paused, eyes flashing. She chewed on her lip, throwing me a complicated look.

"Miss," she finally said, "are you sure your necklace wasn't taken by the guy you were with?"

Chris and I just stood there, completely stunned.

Chris's face darkened, and he shot back anxiously, "What guy? Who are you talking about?"

Anya blurted out, "The guy she came in with yesterday. She checked out first thing in the morning, but the guy hung around and only left an hour later."

Anya added, "When housekeeping went up to clean the room, she found stains all over the sheets. Like, seriously everywhere. You know what I mean.

"Hotel policy says guests have to pay for that kind of mess, but the guy wouldn't cough up the cleaning fee. He argued with us for ages."

Chris was fuming, his face turning beet red as his voice shot up an octave. "What guy? Where did the guy come from?"