Chapter 1

The night my parents transferred the one million meant for my heart surgery to my so-called sister so she could buy an Hermès bag, my boyfriend broke up with me.

"I can't do this anymore, Lily." Victor Reed let out a weary sigh.

I stared out the window. "Is this about money?"

He sank to the floor, burying his face in his hands as he broke down. "That money was your last chance to survive, and your parents spent it on a handbag for your sister.

"In their eyes, your life isn't even worth that much. I can't spend the rest of my life buried in debt, only to watch you slip away anyway. I'm sorry... I can't."

He turned and disappeared down the hallway.

A moment later, my phone buzzed.

It was my mother. She sent a photo of Sophie showing off her brand-new bag, followed by a voice message filled with pride. "This is what class looks like. With something like this, Sophie's future is practically secured. She'll marry well."

I pulled out the IV needle from my arm and replied calmly, "It's beautiful. I hope everything works out just the way you want."

Then I blocked every last one of them.

If none of you care whether I live or die, I see no reason to spare your dignity.

But when I become the true mistress of that wealthy family one day, don't come begging and claiming I was ever your beloved daughter.

I pulled out a number I hadn't contacted in years and sent a single message. [Charles, would you still marry me?]

*****

"Lily, this is just how it is. You have to accept it."

My boyfriend, Victor Reed, slapped the hospital bill down on the nightstand. The word "OVERDUE," printed in red, glared back at us.

I said nothing.

"A million. That's what your heart stent surgery was supposed to cost." Victor grabbed fistfuls of his hair. "That was the money we got from selling the house. Every last cent of it. Gone."

I turned to look at him, at those bloodshot eyes. "Where did the money go?"

Victor pulled out his phone and checked the bank message. His hands were shaking. "Your mother said she would take care of your hospital fees, but she emptied the account instead."

My heart gave a violent squeeze.

Victor leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette.

"You're not supposed to smoke in here," I said, barely above a whisper.

"You're practically dead already, and that's what you're worried about?" He took a long drag and blew the smoke right into my face.

Then he said, "Lily, I think we should break up."

When the smoke cleared, I could see it in his face. He wasn't asking. He'd already decided.

"Right now?" I asked. "You have to do this right now?"

"If I don't do it now, what am I supposed to do? Watch you die in my hands?" He dropped the cigarette and ground it out hard under his shoe.

"The doctor said without the surgery, you've got maybe two weeks.

"So why should I be the one to stick by you?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

And honestly, he had a point. In that family, I had always been the outsider.

Sophie Grant, the girl they had accidentally brought home instead of me, was the one they truly loved.

Even after three years of having me back, I still couldn't hold a candle to Sophie in their eyes.

I closed my eyes, and a single tear slipped down the corner of my eye. "Then go."

Victor hesitated for a moment, almost as if he hadn't expected me to let him leave so easily.

He bent down to pick up the duffel bag he had already packed and left waiting by the wall.

He said, "Don't hate me for being heartless, Lily. If you want to blame someone, blame your parents and their pathetic favoritism. They're the ones who took away your only chance to live."

The door slammed shut behind him, and I listened as his footsteps slowly faded down the corridor.

I reached for the glass of water on the bedside table, but my hands were trembling too violently to hold it.

The glass slipped through my fingers and shattered across the floor, much like the sorry excuse for a life I had been given.