Chapter 1

I made no attempt to soothe my swollen eyes and went home in the same shirt Yvonne Jones had splashed with red wine.

She was such a spoiled rich girl.

All it took was a few cutting remarks dismissing the photo as a shoddy AI-generated fake and a declaration of my unwavering love for Jason to send her into a fit of rage.

By the time I got home, the smell of dinner was already wafting out of the kitchen.

Jason Lane held a battered pot in one hand and reached for a bottle of seasoning on a crooked shelf with the other. He grinned when he noticed me.

"You're home early today. Dinner's not quite ready yet."

The cooking fumes filled the kitchen, masking the redness in my eyes.

"Okay," I said, lowering my head. "No rush."

I'd been wondering why Jason had kept up his act for three whole years.

When we first got together, he was a rich young man who never lifted a finger around the house. I'd come home after a late shift at the club just to find him waiting for me to cook for him.

Then one day, my blood sugar dropped, and I collapsed in the kitchen. I nearly knocked over the gas canister.

Fortunately, Jason was home that day, and we avoided a disaster. He barely spoke to me for the rest of the day, though.

When I'd finally recovered, I smiled and asked if I'd scared him.

For once, he didn't lean in to kiss me. Instead, he gently cupped my cheek and asked, "You're exhausted, aren't you? How about letting me take care of you from now on?"

After setting a plate of steaming paella on the table, Jason eagerly came over and took my hand to lead me to it.

That was when he finally noticed how red my eyes were.

"What happened?" He frowned. "Did a customer cause trouble again? Who the hell thinks they can get away with—"

He cut himself off.

I sneered when he wasn't looking.

I knew that Jason had pulled some strings at the club where I worked. After a customer nearly took advantage of me a year ago, he had asked one of his "friends" to arrange for me to work.

I now worked eight-hour shifts with no overtime and no customers who thought they could do whatever they wanted to me.

There should have been no reason for me to come home looking so miserable anymore.

"Something happened today," I began slowly. "I met someone strange. She offered me a million dollars to leave you. She said you're actually rich, and that we're from completely different worlds."

"R-Really?" Jason asked, his body tensing up. His voice shook. "Did you accept?"

I scoffed inwardly. He was such a bad actor. If he really had nothing to hide, he would've denied it on the spot.

"I didn't," I whispered.

Relief spread across his face. I looked up at him, my eyes brimming with tears.

"Tell me something, Jason. Have you really been lying to me for the past three years?"