Chapter 1

My boyfriend, James, and I were both broke, but somehow we ended up saving a rich heir.

He had amnesia and was sick, and the first time he laid eyes on me, he accused me of trying to seduce him.

I wanted to kick him out, but instead, he took off his watch and pointed at James. "Your boyfriend has a heart condition, right? Sell this watch and use the money for his treatment."

I quietly put down the broom and used the money from the watch to pay for James's surgery.

From then on, James and I pretended to be siblings, showering him with gratitude and fussing over him.

Once he got his memory back, Dylan threw a stack of cash at me. "You're not good enough for me.

"This is hush money. Don't ever come looking for me again. Stay out of my life."

I was over the moon. With that money, James and I started a business, bought a house, and began planning for a baby.

But then Dylan came back, pointed at us, looking like he was about to lose his mind. "Are you two out of your minds? Siblings don't kiss like that. Break it up, right now."

Dylan was sick. I knew right away the first time I saw him.

James and I dragged him out of the water, but he acted like James wasn't even there. He stared at me, his face bright red.

Finally, he blurted out, "Stay away from me. Don't even think about trying to seduce me."

Nothing had changed, even now.

Flanked by bodyguards, Dylan sized me up.

With his cheeks flushed, Dylan said, "I've got my memory back. I'm leaving. You don't need to bother dressing up to impress me anymore."

I glanced down at my three-dollar gray T-shirt and my hair that hadn't been washed in three days.

I asked cautiously, "You're not coming back?"

How was I supposed to pay off James's medical bills now?

His face got even redder, and he looked away, clearly uncomfortable. "Yeah."

I was freaking out. "So you're seriously not giving me anything?"

Like, maybe some cash? Or some fancy jewelry?

James and I had been pampering him like he was some kind of god, blowing so much money on him.

But Dylan's face suddenly turned cold. "Victoria, I can't give you the answer you're looking for. We're from two different worlds.

"You're not good enough for me. This is hush money.

"Just keep your mouth shut about what happened between us, and don't ever come looking for me again. Stay out of my life."

I couldn't hear a thing he said. All I could see was that suitcase full of cash on the floor, my eyes going red with excitement.

It was a 26-inch suitcase. That had to be at least 300 thousand dollars.

"Wow, you must really love me, huh?" I blurted out.

Dylan let out a sigh. "Alright, I guess I can take you with me. I'll help you pick a guy to marry, and as for your brother, I'll help him find a wife too."

"No way." I finally realized what he was saying and jumped in to stop him.

No way. James was mine. No one else got him. He was the one I was going to marry.

Dylan gave me a long, meaningful look. "I already have a fiancée."

What was that got to do with me?

But then something else popped into my head, so I asked, "Is your fiancée's last name Mitchell?"

Dylan's face darkened with anger. "Are you snooping on me?"

I'd got the cash for that.

Half a year ago, James and I were out for a walk after dinner when we spotted two brothers—one fat, one skinny—acting suspiciously.

They were carrying someone and, taking advantage of the darkness, tossed him right into the ocean.

The skinny guy said, "Let's go. Miss Mitchell's money just came through."

The fat guy replied, "Isn't Miss Mitchell his fiancée? Why would she want to hurt him?"

"Whatever, as long as we get paid." The skinny guy shrugged.

James, being the kind-hearted guy he was, wanted to save the guy.

I was worried about him, so I tagged along, in case things went south.

But after we dragged Dylan out of the water, he completely ignored James and stared at me, saying I was trying to hit on him.

He took off his watch and handed it to me. "Looks like I've got amnesia, but I can tell I'm rich.

"You two seem like good people, so you're responsible for taking care of me from now on."

I let out a cold laugh, half tempted to slap some sense into him.

Dylan stared at James for a moment, then said to me, "Your brother's got a heart condition, right?

"Sell the watch and use the cash for his medical bills."

I was stunned.

James had a heart condition and needed a valve replacement surgery, but there was no way we could come up with that kind of money.

Dylan had seen it all. He figured it out in a heartbeat.

"We're not siblings," James said, frowning.

Dylan took the watch back. "Forget it, then."

He thought that couples would just take the money and go their separate ways, so he was worried one of us would run off with his watch.

"Yes, we're siblings," I blurted out, quickly changing my tune.

I managed to talk James into it, and together we pretended to be siblings, looking after Dylan.

Dylan used to get on my nerves. He was always spouting random nonsense that made zero sense.

But now, staring at that suitcase full of cash, I couldn't help but think he was honestly a saint.

After thinking for a moment, I reminded him, "Hey, you might wanna be careful with your fiancée. I actually overheard something back then."

But Dylan's face changed, and he snapped at me, "Shut up. Who gave you the right to talk about her like that?

"Don't get cocky just because you saved me. Compared to her, you're not even fit to touch a single strand of her hair."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. What was wrong with this guy?

Honestly, even if I saved a stray dog, it wouldn't snap at me like this.

But getting yelled at a bit was totally worth it for all this cash. I was making out like a bandit.

After Dylan finished yelling at me, he froze for a second, looking at me with a mix of emotions. "You… Forget it. I'm leaving."

I didn't say a word. I turned my back on him and started counting the cash.

My shoulders were literally trembling with excitement.

I grabbed three thousand dollars and headed over to Eleanor Foster's supermarket to settle my debt.

The money from selling the watch only covered James's surgery, and Dylan was all banged up after that ocean fiasco. So expenses kept piling up.

Sure, we had some income, but it never seemed to be enough. Lately, we were basically running up tabs with Eleanor, scraping by on credit.

Eleanor looked genuinely surprised to see me. "You didn't go with him?

"That guy's got money and power, and he's totally into you."