ONE

I.V

Chapter One: A Blind Date?

Pov: Sarah 

The shrill sound of my 6:00 a.m. alarm drilled into my skull like an angry mosquito on steroids. I groaned, burying my face deeper into the lumpy pillow for one last rebellious second before dragging my exhausted body out of bed.

In the bathroom, the mirror didn’t lie. Dark circles hung under my eyes like heavy luggage. At twenty-two, I looked closer to twenty-seven on a bad week. I let out a bitter laugh that echoed off the cracked tiles.

“What a pathetic life,” I muttered.

After a rushed shower and brushing my teeth so hard my gums stung, I stood in front of my tiny wardrobe. Faded black T-shirt. The only pair of jeans without holes. Same old Sarah. Same tired eyes. Same empty future staring back.

I was about to boil water for my daily punishment of instant noodles when the doorbell rang—sharp, impatient.

Frowning, I opened the door.

Claire stood there looking completely wrecked. Eyes swollen and red, mascara streaked down her cheeks like war paint after a lost battle. The usual bubbly, sunshine energy that followed her everywhere had been switched off.

Without a word, she pushed past me and marched straight into my tiny apartment like she owned it.

I quickly glanced down the hallway to make sure she wasn’t being followed, then locked the door and hurried after her.

“Claire, what’s wrong? Why are you here this early?” I asked, concern cutting through my sleep fog.

She spun around, fresh tears already brimming. “Why weren’t you answering my calls?! I thought something bad happened to you!”

I raised my hands in surrender, offering a small laugh. “Relax, I was just getting ready for work. Phone’s on the shelf. Sorry.” I studied her face. “But you didn’t drag yourself here at dawn just because I missed a few calls. Spill it.”

Claire wiped her tears with the back of her hand, smearing more mascara. “Sarah… My dad arranged another blind date for me. Tonight.”

Her voice cracked. “But I already promised Rand I wouldn’t go on any more dates. I love him, Sarah. I can’t lose him.”

I frowned. “What about your mom? I thought she was on your side.”

She groaned and collapsed dramatically onto my unmade bed. “Mom agrees with everything Dad says. I’m trapped in this rich-girl-prison nightmare.”

I watched her pace my small room like a caged animal, ranting about her controlling father, her mother’s blind loyalty, and how Rand was the one. When she finally stopped to catch her breath, I asked the obvious.

“So… what’s the plan? You know you have to show up, right? Unless you want Daddy to cut off your allowance again.”

That was when Claire’s entire expression changed.

She grabbed both my hands, eyes suddenly wide with desperate hope. The pity in her gaze hit me like a truck, pity mixed with guilt and calculation.

“Actually… I do have a plan,” she said softly. “But it’s not for free. I’ll pay you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Pay me for what?”

She bit her lip, reading my face carefully before dropping the bomb. “I want you to go on the blind date in my place. I’ll pay you a thousand dollars. Please, Sarah.”

I stared at her as if she had completely lost her mind. I snatched my hands away. “What? That’s ridiculous!”

Claire stepped closer, her eyes shimmering with fresh tears—real ones this time, full of pity and pleading. “Sarah, please… I know how crazy this sounds. But you’re my only hope. Rand would be heartbroken if he found out. I can’t do this to him.”

I started pacing the tiny room, hands raking through my messy hair. I stopped, turned to her, mouth open to refuse again—then paced even faster, my bare feet slapping against the cold floor.

“I can’t pretend to be you, Claire. This is insane. What if he recognizes I’m not you? What if—”

“I’m going to pay you,” she cut in, voice steady and tempting.

I froze mid-step.

“What?” I asked, barely above a whisper.

Claire pulled out her phone, waved it at me, and tapped the screen. My own phone vibrated on the shelf almost instantly. I picked it up with shaky fingers.

$1,000.00 has been transferred to your account.

My eyes widened. One thousand dollars. That was five months of rent. Groceries. Electricity that didn’t get cut off. Maybe even new jeans that weren’t from 2019.

I turned to her slowly. “All I have to do is show up… and politely reject him, right?”

She shrugged, a small, relieved smile breaking through her tear-stained face. “Of course. All I want is Rand. No one else.”

Before I could even form another protest, my phone vibrated again, confirmation of the transfer. Claire winced at my stunned expression, then pulled me into a tight hug.

“Thank you, Sarah. I love you.” She kissed my cheek, the scent of her expensive perfume wrapping around me like guilt. “You’re a lifesaver.”

She grabbed her bag from my desk, suddenly looking like the bright, confident Claire again, not the broken girl who had shown up twenty minutes ago.

“Ah, yes,” she added casually as she reached the door, “if you find him hot and actually appealing… you know you can keep the guy.”

With a wink and a click, she was gone.

I just stood there in the middle of my tiny apartment, heart hammering.

What the hell have I just done?

My fingers raked through my hair again as the full weight of the decision hit me. My knees felt weak. I was a second away from collapsing onto the bed when my phone started ringing.

I snatched it up. My boss’s name flashed on the screen.

Oh shit.

I answered with a trembling voice.

“You either get here in the next fifteen minutes,” he snarled, “or you can kiss your job goodbye!”

He hung up before I could say a word.

I stared at the phone, heart sinking into my stomach.

Another day in paradise.