Chapter 2 · The Rich Boyfriend's Secret

Chapter 2

Zander was nothing like those guys at school who were always cussing and messing around like they didn't give a damn.

From the moment I laid eyes on him, I was done for.

I fell head over heels, no way out.

I mean, who hadn't fantasized about a hotshot CEO falling madly in love with them?

And now, that fantasy was coming to life.

Not once did it cross my mind that this could all be a setup.

With everyone staring, totally jealous, Zander took me to the café right across from school for afternoon tea.

Zander took me to the café right across from school for afternoon tea.

Before I met him, I was living on just 400 dollars a month.

I never even dreamed of setting foot in a place like this.

But then Zander looked at me and said, "You're way too skinny. You need to eat more." Just like that, he got me a prepaid card and told me I could use it whenever I wanted, for whatever I wanted.

At that moment, I honestly thought he was the best person in the world to me.

Even my own mom didn't treat me that nicely.

Her usual line was, "Why are you eating so much? If you get fat, no man will want you.

"Eat less, don't stuff yourself. If you keep your stomach small, it's better for you."

But then, she'd turn to my brother, Jamari, and say, "Jamari, did you eat enough at school today? Is 50 dollars a day enough for you? If it's not, just tell me, okay?"

Lauren was zoning out, her gaze drifting to the leaves outside the window.

Her eyes were gorgeous, light amber, and totally mesmerizing.

"Do you know how I first realized you existed?" Lauren said, her voice soft.

I shook my head.

She said, "One day, Zander came home and, out of nowhere at dinner, he sighed, 'Kids who haven't stepped into the real world yet are so easy. Hand them some lunch money and they're all grateful. Not like those pros at the office, no matter how much you give, it's never enough.'

"I saw your messages with him and ended up tossing and turning all night, couldn't sleep at all.

"I kept thinking, 'Why didn't he just delete those chats? What if I stumbled across them?' But then I realized that he honestly didn't care if I found out.

"Zander did a lot for my family. My parents would never let me divorce him. And with all the power he's got in Roseburg, even if I tried to sue him, it'd be pointless."

She gave an indifferent smile, like she was talking about someone else's story.

She added, "Oh, and I noticed he sent you a bunch of money at first, but you never claimed any of it.

"I'm really curious. Why didn't you ever spend his money?"

My eyes flickered, my throat felt parched, and for a second, I just couldn't say anything.

To be honest, I had this super naive thought.

I always thought I'd only feel okay taking someone's money if I was really sure I wanted to be with them forever.

Lauren nodded, looking like she was deep in thought.

She said, "But that's exactly what he banked on. He knew you were innocent and easy to sway, so he had you wrapped around his finger. To him, messing with you was no big deal.

"All it took was a little money, and you'd do anything to pay him back. No matter how out-of-line his demands got, you'd never turn him down.

"Emersyn, take a guess. How much do you think Zander spent to marry me?"

I bit my lip and took a wild guess, "150 thousand dollars?"

"Nope, 1.5 million dollars," Lauren replied. "See? Compared to that, what he did for you seems pretty insignificant, doesn't it?"

She gave a wry, self-mocking smile.

She said, "He was willing to spend all that money to marry me, but look at me now. He tossed me aside like yesterday's trash.

"I'm just telling you, he's not as amazing as you think.

"You're still young. Don't let your whole life be decided for you, like mine was."

"Oh, and one more thing," Lauren said, scrolling through her phone and pulling up a photo for me.

I took one look and my stomach dropped.

She'd snapped a picture of Zander's photo gallery.

And in Zander's gallery, there were hundreds of explicit photos, some showing my face, some not, all of them of me.

And every single one of those photos? They were all of me.

Lauren looked at me and asked, "Did you send these yourself, or did he just take them behind your back without you knowing?"

My face turned pale.

Freaking out, I knocked over my latte by accident.

Not long after Zander gave me that Cartier diamond ring, he went on a business trip for a whole month.

We hadn't seen each other for over ten days when, one night, he called me for a video chat.

On the call, Zander, who was always so serious, actually let down his guard and acted sweet with me for the first time.

"Emersyn, come on, turn on your camera and let me see you, okay?" he coaxed, his voice softer than ever.

I knew I should have said no.

But he kept coaxing me, and I just couldn't resist.

So, just like he asked, I turned on my camera.

I turned on my camera.

I did all those daring, provocative moves for him right on camera.

I even went along with what he wanted, writing his name on my collarbone with lipstick.

His breathing grew heavy, and his voice went all husky as he said:

Chapter 2

Zander was nothing like those guys at school who were always cussing and messing around like they didn't give a damn.

From the moment I laid eyes on him, I was done for.

I fell head over heels, no way out.

I mean, who hadn't fantasized about a hotshot CEO falling madly in love with them?

And now, that fantasy was coming to life.

Not once did it cross my mind that this could all be a setup.

With everyone staring, totally jealous, Zander took me to the café right across from school for afternoon tea.

Zander took me to the café right across from school for afternoon tea.

Before I met him, I was living on just 400 dollars a month.

I never even dreamed of setting foot in a place like this.

But then Zander looked at me and said, "You're way too skinny. You need to eat more." Just like that, he got me a prepaid card and told me I could use it whenever I wanted, for whatever I wanted.

At that moment, I honestly thought he was the best person in the world to me.

Even my own mom didn't treat me that nicely.

Her usual line was, "Why are you eating so much? If you get fat, no man will want you.

"Eat less, don't stuff yourself. If you keep your stomach small, it's better for you."

But then, she'd turn to my brother, Jamari, and say, "Jamari, did you eat enough at school today? Is 50 dollars a day enough for you? If it's not, just tell me, okay?"

Lauren was zoning out, her gaze drifting to the leaves outside the window.

Her eyes were gorgeous, light amber, and totally mesmerizing.

"Do you know how I first realized you existed?" Lauren said, her voice soft.

I shook my head.

"I saw your messages with him and ended up tossing and turning all night, couldn't sleep at all.

"I kept thinking, 'Why didn't he just delete those chats? What if I stumbled across them?' But then I realized that he honestly didn't care if I found out.

"Zander did a lot for my family. My parents would never let me divorce him. And with all the power he's got in Roseburg, even if I tried to sue him, it'd be pointless."

She gave an indifferent smile, like she was talking about someone else's story.

She added, "Oh, and I noticed he sent you a bunch of money at first, but you never claimed any of it.

"I'm really curious. Why didn't you ever spend his money?"

My eyes flickered, my throat felt parched, and for a second, I just couldn't say anything.

To be honest, I had this super naive thought.

I always thought I'd only feel okay taking someone's money if I was really sure I wanted to be with them forever.

Lauren nodded, looking like she was deep in thought.

She said, "But that's exactly what he banked on. He knew you were innocent and easy to sway, so he had you wrapped around his finger. To him, messing with you was no big deal.

"All it took was a little money, and you'd do anything to pay him back. No matter how out-of-line his demands got, you'd never turn him down.

"Emersyn, take a guess. How much do you think Zander spent to marry me?"

I bit my lip and took a wild guess, "150 thousand dollars?"

"Nope, 1.5 million dollars," Lauren replied. "See? Compared to that, what he did for you seems pretty insignificant, doesn't it?"

She gave a wry, self-mocking smile.

She said, "He was willing to spend all that money to marry me, but look at me now. He tossed me aside like yesterday's trash.

"I'm just telling you, he's not as amazing as you think.

"You're still young. Don't let your whole life be decided for you, like mine was."

"Oh, and one more thing," Lauren said, scrolling through her phone and pulling up a photo for me.

I took one look and my stomach dropped.

She'd snapped a picture of Zander's photo gallery.

And in Zander's gallery, there were hundreds of explicit photos, some showing my face, some not, all of them of me.

And every single one of those photos? They were all of me.

Lauren looked at me and asked, "Did you send these yourself, or did he just take them behind your back without you knowing?"

My face turned pale.

Freaking out, I knocked over my latte by accident.

Not long after Zander gave me that Cartier diamond ring, he went on a business trip for a whole month.

We hadn't seen each other for over ten days when, one night, he called me for a video chat.

On the call, Zander, who was always so serious, actually let down his guard and acted sweet with me for the first time.

"Emersyn, come on, turn on your camera and let me see you, okay?" he coaxed, his voice softer than ever.

I knew I should have said no.

But he kept coaxing me, and I just couldn't resist.

So, just like he asked, I turned on my camera.

I turned on my camera.

I did all those daring, provocative moves for him right on camera.

I even went along with what he wanted, writing his name on my collarbone with lipstick.

His breathing grew heavy, and his voice went all husky as he said: