Chapter 1

Vivian’s POV

Nathan's voice was low and rough through my phone, carrying the kind of quiet authority that always made my stomach flutter.

I lay beneath the sheets with the phone pressed to my ear, smiling as I listened to him talk about his day. 

Even after two years of talking almost every day, his voice still had a way of making me feel as though I was the only woman in the world.

“You have no idea what you do to me, sweetheart,” he murmured.

My cheeks grew hot, but I couldn't stop the smile tugging at my lips.

Nathan had a way of making me feel special, and hearing how much he cared about me made it difficult to remember that he wasn't actually in the room.

“Don't get quiet on me now,” he said, his voice softening. “I want to hear you. Tell me what's going through that beautiful head of yours.”

I laughed softly, feeling embarrassed by how easily he could make me blush.

“You always know what to say.”

“Because every time we talk, you give me another reason to want to keep talking to you.”

I pressed my face into the pillow, smiling like a fool.

Then his voice settled into its usual calm, although there was still a trace of warmth in it.

“By the way, I've sent your allowance for the month. Check your account when you get a chance.”

I lifted my head immediately. “Nathan, again? You already send me so much money every month. You really don't have to keep doing this.”

“Money isn't my problem, sweetheart. I have more than enough of it, and I'm going to spend it on my woman if that's what I want to do.”

His confident response left me momentarily speechless.

“I'm serious,” he continued. “I work hard for what I have, and I don't need permission to spend my own money. If there's something you need, tell me. If there's something you want and I can get it for you, I will. You don't have to feel guilty every time I do something nice for you.”

“But I don't want you thinking I expect you to keep sending me money.”

“Have I ever given you a reason to think that?”

“No, but…”

“Then stop worrying about it, baby. I know what I'm doing.”

I sighed, unable to argue with him, and he gave a quiet chuckle that made me smile again.

The truth was that Nathan could probably buy everything I had ever dreamed of without making a noticeable dent in his bank account.

I knew he was thirty, a billionaire, and the owner of a thriving technology company based in Colorado.

I'd picked up those details over our two years of talking, although he rarely discussed his business in depth.

He had never revealed the full extent of his wealth, but I knew enough to understand that the man on the other end of my phone lived in a world far removed from mine.

Sometimes, I still couldn't believe how I had ended up here.

I had joined a dating app hoping to find someone I could talk to without being judged, only to fall hopelessly in love with a billionaire who had never seen my face.

It would have been funny if it weren't so terrifying.

Nathan had never seen my real face, and there was a reason I had gone to such lengths to keep it that way.

At twenty-one, I was a plus-size woman weighing about 209 pounds, with curves that people in my family treated like a crime.

I had spent years listening to Rosalie mock my body, watching her parade around as the pretty sister while I became the punchline of every cruel joke.

When I created my dating profile, I used my real name but chose an anonymous display picture instead of uploading a photograph of myself. 

I wasn't ready to let a stranger see what I looked like, especially when I had spent so long believing that my appearance was the first thing anyone would judge me for.

Nathan's profile had an anonymous picture too, and neither of us had made revealing our faces a condition of getting to know each other. 

We discovered that we liked the same movies, enjoyed similar music, and could spend hours arguing playfully about the smallest things. 

What began as casual conversations gradually became something neither of us wanted to lose.

I had never planned to fall in love with a man I had never met in person, but somewhere along the way, Nathan had become more than a name on my phone. 

He had become the person I wanted to tell everything to, the one whose messages could brighten my worst days, and the man whose opinion mattered to me more than I wanted to admit.

My thoughts were interrupted when Nathan's amusement faded and his voice grew serious.

“There's something we need to talk about, sweetheart.”

My smile slowly disappeared.

“What is it?”

“Us. We've been doing this for two years, and I don't think we can keep pretending that talking through a phone is enough. I've never seen your face, and every time we video call, your camera is off. I've respected your reasons for keeping it that way, but I want things to change.”

My fingers tightened around the phone.

“I want to meet you,” he continued. “I want to see you standing in front of me, hold you in my arms, and finally spend time with the woman I've been falling in love with for the past two years. I'm not asking for anything unreasonable, am I?”

I couldn't answer because, deep down, I knew he wasn't asking for anything unreasonable at all.

Two years was a long time to love someone through a phone screen.

Part of me wanted to say yes.

I wanted to hear his voice without the distance of a phone between us, to see the expression on his face when he finally held me, and to discover whether the connection we shared at night would feel just as real when we were standing in the same room.

But the thought of meeting him terrified me.

Would he still want me when he realised what I looked like?

“Sweetheart, are you there?”

His voice pulled me back from my thoughts.

I swallowed hard, fighting the tears gathering in my eyes.

I could tell him how insecure I was about my appearance and give him the chance to decide whether he could accept me, but the thought of watching his affection turn to disappointment was almost unbearable.

What if he had imagined someone completely different? 

What if the moment he saw me, he regretted every sweet thing he had ever said? 

What if all those late-night conversations and promises meant nothing once he stood in front of me?

If I ended things now, at least I could hold on to the memories of how he had made me feel without having to watch his expression change when he finally saw the real me.

It was cowardly, and I knew it, but fear had a way of making the worst decision feel like the only one you could survive.

“Nathan, I think we should say goodbye.”

The silence on the other end was immediate.

“What did you just say?”

I closed my eyes, trying to steady my voice.

“I think we should stop talking.”

“Why? What happened? A moment ago, we were fine, and now you're telling me goodbye without giving me a single explanation. Talk to me, sweetheart. Whatever is going on, don't shut me out like this.”

“I'm sorry,” I whispered.

“Sorry for what? You're frightening me, baby. If I've done something wrong, tell me, but don't throw away two years of our lives without giving me a chance to understand.”

My tears slipped down my cheeks as I stared at the anonymous display picture on my dating profile.

For a moment, I considered telling him everything. 

I could explain how much I feared being judged for my appearance and how difficult it was for me to believe that someone like him could genuinely want someone like me. 

Whatever happened afterward, at least I would have given the man I loved the chance to understand.

But I couldn't bring myself to do it.

“I'm sorry, Nathan. Goodbye.”

I ended the call before he could say anything else, then opened my banking app and began returning the money he had sent me over the past two years.

I had kept the allowances he transferred untouched, afraid that spending them would make me feel as though I was taking advantage of him, and now I returned every payment I could account for.

I couldn't bear the thought of him believing I had stayed because of his money, not when the truth was that I had fallen hopelessly in love with him.

With trembling fingers, I opened his contact and stared at his name for several seconds, remembering every late-night conversation, every promise, and every moment he had made me feel like I mattered.

Then I blocked him.

I wanted to believe that was the end of us, but knowing Nathan, a man who was used to getting whatever he wanted, I doubted he would take no for an answer.