Chapter 1

"Adam Richmond has already enrolled."

Hearing this, my head went blank, and I blurted out instinctively, "That's impossible!"

I took a moment to compose myself and held out my acceptance letter. "This is my enrollment notice."

The person glanced at it and scoffed. "That letter was sent six months ago. If it were really yours, why would you only show up now?"

A surge of anger churned in my chest as I gripped the acceptance letter tightly.

Looking back, right after my mom passed away, my dad, Arnold Richmond, had been pushing me to enroll at the Elysian Academy of Fine Arts in Valoria and to marry a fiancée I had never met.

Of course, I resisted. I had argued with Dad every step of the way, but in the end, his bodyguards forced me onto the plane.

Still, I refused to compromise. Once I landed, I didn't step foot in the school at all. Instead, I spent half a year traveling the world.

Who would have thought that Dad would call so suddenly yesterday? His tone was icy as he said he was coming to see me, and he even threatened that if he couldn't find me, he would break my legs.

Panic set in. I knew I couldn't hide any longer, so I rushed to finalize my enrollment, only to be met with this news.

Since I couldn't finalize my enrollment, I had no choice but to stay in the villa Dad had previously bought for me.

On the way, I kept wondering who could have the audacity to impersonate me and enroll in my place.

When I arrived at the villa, I entered the code, but the screen flashed with a glaring message that read, "Incorrect Password".

I tried several times, but none of them worked.

Suddenly, a voice came from inside, "Who's out there?"

My heart skipped a beat as a sense of dread washed over me.

The door opened, revealing a woman with delicate features.

Then, a man's voice came from inside, tinged with confusion, "Erica, who's that?"

My heart sank at the name. That was my fiancée, Erica Wright, whom I had never even met.

From behind her, a tall, slender young man stepped out.

He looked about my age. His face seemed familiar, but I couldn't immediately place where I had seen him.

I froze at the door for a moment, then asked the woman, "Are you Erica Wright? Who is he?"

Erica gave me a cold, scrutinizing look. "This is my fiancé, Adam Richmond. Who are you? Why are you here?"

Rage surged through me. He was the one who had impersonated me to enroll and had moved into my house.

Erica froze for a second, then let out a snort of laughter. "You've got some nerve! Everyone knows this is the house Mr. Arnold bought for Adam."

I shouted, "I'm Adam Richmond!"

Erica's gaze swept from my hair down to my worn T-shirt and dusty boots. She shook her head in disgust.

"Adam Richmond is a gifted artist, known for his handsome, refined looks and the kind of presence that turns heads. And you? In that shabby state, how dare you call yourself the heir of the Richmond family? You're nothing but a beggar pretending to be someone else!"