Chapter 1

My father, Roger Shelton, who hadn't been around for ten years, suddenly showed up and told me to seduce my future brother-in-law.

"You and your sister resemble each other quite a bit. If you really try, getting Austin to like you shouldn't be that hard," Roger said.

Roger spoke with an easy, almost careless tone. I stared at him in disbelief, my blood running cold.

My lips trembled, and it took every ounce of self-control not to throw my coffee in his face.

I couldn't believe that he could say something so shameless so casually.

Roger didn't even bat an eye at my reaction. He looked me up and down, his brows furrowing slightly, as cold and detached as if he were appraising a piece of merchandise.

Over the years, I'd hustled every way I could, including delivering packages and running food orders. Sun and rain were part of the routine.

In Roger's eyes, his daughter should be as graceful as a white rose, not someone like me, wearing a cheap T-shirt and carrying a frayed canvas bag.

I looked scruffy like a weed growing by the roadside.

I clenched my fingers so hard, my nails almost broke the skin.

"Get out. Don't ever bother me again. I'm never going to do what you want," I snapped, my voice trembling with rage.

Roger shot me a casual glance, then lit a cigarette. After blowing out a smoke ring, he finally spoke, dropping a bombshell that left me reeling. "Helen was in a car accident."

I was shocked.

*****

Helen Shelton was my sister.

After our parents split, Helen went with Dad, and I stayed with Mom.

I hadn't seen Helen in years, and I never imagined I'd hear about her like this.

"What happened? How did Helen get into a car accident? Is she alright?" I blurted out, my voice trembling with worry.

Roger noticed the concern in my eyes and sighed. "Helen's out of the woods. She's safe now. But...

"There's something pretty serious we need to deal with."

Helen wasn't the only one in the accident. Her fiancé, Austin Glover, the CEO of Glover Group, where she worked, was with her.

When the accident happened, Helen was in the driver's seat, and the shattered windshield cut her face.

Austin, sitting in the passenger seat, hit his head. It wasn't life-threatening, but it messed with his central nervous system and left him with partial memory loss.

Coincidentally, the memories he lost were all about Helen.

"Helen needs facial reconstruction surgery. I need you to step into her shoes and help Austin regain his memories," Roger said.

He looked at me. "You don't want someone else taking advantage of the situation and snatching away what Helen worked so hard for, do you?"

With a net worth in the billions, Austin was the kind of guy every girl in town would be lining up for.

Roger was worried that while Helen was recovering from her surgery, Austin might end up falling for someone else.

He said it was about helping Austin remember, but really, he wanted me to keep Helen's place warm for her.

This was insane.

I said, "What about the Glover family? Helen and Austin have been together for ages. There's no way they don't know about her.

"And how am I supposed to fool everyone at Glover Group into believing I'm her?"

This whole scheme was as fragile as a bubble. One touch and it'd shatter.

Roger flicked the ash from his cigarette and gave me a faint smile. "Relax. If the Glover family hadn't given the go-ahead, I wouldn't be here talking to you."

The Glover family didn't have any messy power struggles. Austin was the leader whom everyone in the older generation respected.

Now that this happened, their only concern was getting him healthy again, no matter what it took.

"As for the employees at Glover Group, Helen's been overseas, expanding the company's branches. No one in the domestic office has ever met her," Roger added.

I looked down, stirring my coffee without really thinking, my face clouded and hard to read.

Roger couldn't read my expression, so he let out a sigh. "Helen really cares about you. All these years, she's kept every gift you ever gave her.

"She treated them like precious treasures. Now that she's in trouble, can't you help her out?

"Once this is all over, I'll give you 150 thousand dollars."

He looked at me with a deep, knowing gaze. "Don't let this get to you. I know you need the money."

My hand stopped dead in the middle of stirring.

He actually knew everything.

It was like my heart had been split wide open, a chill blowing right through me.

Back then, Mom handed some money and me to my aunt and disappeared without a trace. I crashed at my aunt's place all the way up until college.

Two years ago, my aunt was diagnosed with kidney disease, and it burned through nearly all our savings.

Even if we found a matching kidney, we couldn't even dream of affording the surgery.

I'd been working my ass off at every job I could find to repay my aunt for raising me.

No matter how tough things got, I never even considered asking Dad for money unless I was absolutely desperate.

I never thought the first time he'd ever offer me money would be under these circumstances.

My throat felt clogged, like I couldn't swallow or say a word.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. "And what about Helen? Did you ever stop to think how she'd feel about all this?"