Chapter 1

I'm a fake heiress.

After being kicked out by the Grant family, I threw myself at Alexander Sterling and asked, "Mr. Sterling, will you keep me?"

After I rattled off five reasons why I'd make the perfect sugar baby, his expression finally froze over completely.

Alexander looked down at me with a sarcastic smirk and sneered, "Rachel, you sure love the good life, right?"

I stood calmly before him, wearing a fawning smile. "There, there, Mr. Sterling. Someone's going to live the good life, so why not me?"

It was painfully clear that Alexander wasn't interested in me at all.

As soon as he heard my shameless proposal, he turned on his heel and walked away without a second glance.

Left alone in the pouring rain, I hugged my knees and sat huddled at the gates of Sterling Manor.

The day Emily was welcomed back to the Grant family, Andrew, his face grim, threw me out.

"There's only one daughter in the Grant family. You've stolen twenty-three years of Emily's life. It's time you gave it back," he said.

My face twisted in utter disbelief.

"Andrew, you always said I was your favorite," I choked out.

Andrew's eyes were icy as he signaled the manor security to shut the gates of the Grant family in my face.

The parents who once doted on me like their most precious treasure now silently condoned the contempt and condemnation hurled at me by everyone in the Grant family.

Yeah, I guessed that was fair.

I meant, after all, I was just a fake heiress, taking up another's status.

Now that the real heiress was back, I couldn't exactly stick around shamelessly.

Andrew froze all my bank cards and accounts.

He ordered me to get out of Riverside within three days, claiming that Emily had abandonment trauma and would have episodes whenever she saw me.

Today marked the third day already.

Looking across all of Riverside, there was no one but Alexander who could possibly protect me under the Grant Group's watchful eyes.

I sat in utter dejection at the gates of Sterling Manor, feeling completely defeated.

The icy rain lashed mercilessly against my face, but I didn't even bother to wipe it away.

Time seemed to lose all meaning as I sat there, shivering so violently I could barely feel my limbs.

At last, the polished black Oxfords of the Sterling family butler, Thomas, appeared in my blurry vision.

"Ms. Grant," Thomas said, "Mr. Sterling requests your presence upstairs."

Alexander's place was as dull as the man himself, nothing but black, white, and gray.

Dripping wet, I knew better than to step inside and stood hesitantly in the foyer.

A moment later, a man's toneless voice came from within. "Either come in or get out."

My shoes were muddy.

I hastily bent down, kicked them off, and scurried barefoot over to Alexander.

"Please don't be angry, Mr. Sterling. I just didn't want to dirty your floors," I explained with an ingratiating smile.

I couldn't tell if I was imagining it, but Alexander's expression darkened even further.

"The five reasons why I'd make the perfect sugar baby," he demanded.

I hadn't quite caught what he said. "What?" I asked hurriedly.

Alexander spoke through gritted teeth, "The five reasons you just rattled off at the door for being a sugar baby. Repeat them."

My heart leaped with joy. Finally, a glimmer of hope.

Alexander was finally granting me an audition.

With practiced grace, I clasped my hands over my abdomen, assumed a formal stance, and began to answer in all seriousness.

I began, "First, I once held the title of the Grant family's heiress. Sure, I turned out to be a fake, but I was genuinely raised like royalty."

My beauty was common knowledge in Riverside. Even the street sweepers could tell one that. So I would spare one the lengthy description.

I continued, "Second, I can satisfy all my benefactor's needs. Sure, I may not have much hands-on experience, but I've got plenty of theory. Those late-night, steamy novels I read helped a lot.

"Of course, Mr. Sterling, if you prefer hands-on experience over book smarts, I am entirely at your disposal."

After saying that, I gave Alexander a thorough once-over. Honestly, falling into this man's arms wouldn't be any hardship for me.

The more I talked, the more excited I got. After all, back in the day, I spent the Grant family's money rescuing all those lost souls at nightclubs.

With all that experience, I was practically born to be a sugar baby.

I smiled, "Third, I'm incredibly docile. If you wanted to keep me in a gilded cage, I guarantee I wouldn't resist, struggle, or try to escape, not even a peep."

At this, the man on the sofa finally stirred, lifting his eyes to meet mine with a brief, assessing glance.

"Fourth," I quipped, "I'm naturally lazy and indulgent. I can't stand the slightest hardship. So I picked the easy road, letting a wealthy benefactor spoil me rotten.

"Fifth, Mr. Sterling, if you take a fancy to me, and the price is right, I might even consider calling you my new sugar daddy."

After all, I had just been kicked out of the Grant family. My parents basically became strangers. So getting myself a new sugar daddy didn't sound so crazy now.

With that, I bowed deeply and formally to Alexander.

"Mr. Sterling," I pleaded, "please, give a chance to a fallen woman, a shattered soul, a one brought so low."

Alexander was utterly speechless.

After I finished speaking, Alexander remained silent for a long time.

To show my sincerity, I remained in a deep bow.

Riverside was vast, and the Sterling family and the Grant Group were the two largest shareholder groups with the most extensive business empires.

Truth be told, a golden boy like Alexander should've been completely out of my league.

But damn my big mouth back then.

At that dinner party, I whispered that Alexander was trying too hard to look young.

And of course, he heard every word.

On the day he was insulted, Alexander was dressed in custom-tailored casual wear, identical to what my kept boy was wearing.

But the only difference was that the kept boy's outfit was a cheap knockoff, while Alexander's was a priceless designer piece money couldn't buy.

It was not about who wore it first, but who wore it better.

The young boy beside me was only nineteen.

Everyone's malicious glances converged on him.

I watched as he cast me a look, pleading, innocent, and quietly broken.

At that moment, I finally got what it meant to have a chronically ill sister, a struggling family, and a broken soul right in front of me.

So I immediately pulled the kept boy into my arms.

"Same outfit? No big deal. It's the older one who should be embarrassed," I quipped. "What a pathetic attempt to look fresh."

Alexander was two years older than I, not to mention the fresh-faced young kept boy in my arms.

So, everyone knew it went without saying who those jabs were aimed at.

I successfully stunned the entire party into silence for a good ten seconds.

Moments later, Alexander stood behind me, a wine glass in hand.

He drawled, "So, Ms. Grant, I've heard you have a taste for younger men. What now? Are even men a bit older than you targets of your ridicule?"

Everyone at the party watched with bated breath as Alexander and I squared off, the tension between us so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Back then, I was still the outrageously spoiled and arrogant heiress of the Grant Group.

But now, I had been reduced to nothing but dust.