Chapter 2

Andrew and I met in college. He got a perfect score on the SAT that year.

I barely made the cutoff. My family donated a building to the school, and that helped me get in.

From the moment Andrew arrived on campus, everyone knew his name. He was handsome, he got top grades, and he had a calm, easy manner. The only thing he lacked was money.

I fell for him the first time I saw him. After that, I chased him with everything I had.

He did not know how to deal with me. One day, he told me the truth. He said he already had a fiancée back in his hometown.

He said she had supported him for years. She was the reason he made it to college. He could not betray her.

I liked him, but I still had my pride. After that, I kept my feelings to myself.

I thought that would be the end of it.

But in my third year, one night changed everything. I went to a bar with some friends. That was where I saw Andrew again. He was wearing a waiter's uniform. A group of customers was giving him a hard time.

He kept his head down and said nothing. Seeing him like that hurt in a way I did not expect. So I stepped in and helped him.

Andrew thanked me again and again. I asked him why he was working in a bar. His expression fell. After a moment, he told me the truth. His fiancée was sick. Her family refused to pay for treatment. Instead, they planned to marry her off to an older widower for money.

The man called Samuel. He had a bad temper. He often hurt her.

Andrew wanted to get her out. He had taken on several jobs to save money. The bar was just one of them.

As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. Each word hit me hard.

My parents had a business marriage. They had me because it was expected, then lived their own separate lives.

In our world, that was normal. Men kept a wife at home and found someone else on the side.

I had seen men abandon their first wives for profit. I had seen men chase rich women to climb higher. But I had never met anyone like Andrew.

So I gave him a sum of money. He tried to write me an IOU, but I tore it up. At first, I wanted to say, you do not have to pay me back, just be my boyfriend in return.

I knew that would make me selfish. I looked at him. His eyes were clear and full of hope. In the end, I could not say it. I did not want to pull him into my world or turn him into someone I would not respect.

So I said something else. "Think of it as payment for tutoring me. If my grades drop, I could lose my chance to take over my family's business."

It was not true. Someone like me only needed a diploma. After that, I would study abroad for a while, then come back and step into the family business.

Still, someone like him, someone so steady and sincere, how could I not care about him?

Over time, living with Andrew, I fell completely in love with him.

One night, after we had both been drinking, we ended up together.

The next morning, I saw the sadness in his eyes. I realized he did not love me. I did not want to be a burden to him.

I pretended it had never happened and told him not to worry about it.

Andrew avoided me for a week. I thought that was the end of whatever chance we had. Then, one evening, he knocked on my door. He said he wanted to take responsibility for me.

From that moment, we were together. I followed his lead in everything. I obeyed him completely.

The only daughter of the Sterling family, I devoted myself entirely to love.

Everyone around us knew how much I adored Andrew, and Andrew knew it too.

Over time, I managed to break through his walls. Slowly, he started to care for me.

I believed we would be happy like that until I saw Chloe. Until I saw the photos Andrew kept of his fiancée.

Chloe looked a lot like her.