Chapter 1

I had barely replied to the message when Nathan walked out with the woman in the wedding gown on his arm.

The moment our eyes met, panic flooded his face.

But the photographer had already set up and started shooting. I was told to help the bride adjust her gown.

"Careful, assistant. If you damage it, you can't afford to pay for it."

The secretary trailing behind the couple barked the order at me, her tone dripping with condescension.

I bit my lip, avoiding Nathan's burning stare, and carefully smoothed the bride's train.

Twenty-five million dollars was an astronomical figure to someone like me.

I was truly terrified of being poor!

The moment the shoot wrapped, Nathan tossed his suit jacket aside and strode toward me.

"Stella, I didn't want to hide this from you.

"Chloe's been walking on eggshells with the Ashford family. The wedding, the photos, it's all just to put her at ease."

I listened to every word and almost laughed at the absurdity.

"So you knew who I really was all along, and you pretended to be poor just to ship me overseas for her sake. Is that it?"

Guilt flickered across Nathan's eyes. He reached out to pull me close.

I sidestepped him and met his silence with a level stare.

"Stella, don't make this hard for me, okay?"

His voice caught, and he looked at me with the same tenderness he always had.

Behind him, Chloe floated over in her sweeping cathedral-train gown and looped her arm through his with practiced ease.

"You've been with Nathan for three years already. Can't you just let me have the ceremony? It's only a formality."

Her voice was sweet and syrupy, but her eyes glinted with the superiority of someone tossing scraps to a beggar.

I took in Chloe's couture gown, elegant as a rose in full bloom.

Then I looked down at my own shirt, faded almost white from countless washes. The irony almost made me laugh.

"Fine. But I want to go back to the Ashfords."

I swallowed the sting behind my eyes, and my voice came out stubborn.

Nathan frowned, disappointment coloring his voice.

"Stella, when did you become so materialistic?"

I stared at him in disbelief. He suddenly felt like a complete stranger.

Once upon a time, Nathan had fought countless underground boxing matches for me.

He'd come home to our cramped, run-down apartment with cuts on his face still oozing blood.

But his eyes would shine as he pressed a debit card into my hands.

"I've saved enough to send you abroad!"

After moving abroad, I worked while studying and sent home everything I earned beyond my living expenses.

For years, I pushed myself until my body started breaking down, but I never dared stop.

And now, all I wanted was to go back to my real parents.

In Nathan's eyes, that made me materialistic.

"Stella, this was always your place. I'll give it back."

Tears cascaded down Chloe's face. She grabbed my hand, her voice brimming with sincerity.

But the moment she leaned in close, I heard the smugness she'd buried under that performance.

"Stella, you'll spend the rest of your life in the gutter. Stop dreaming of anything better!"

The next instant, Chloe stumbled in her heels and crashed to the floor with a cry of pain.

The emerald bracelet on her wrist cracked against her skin, and blood welled up from the gash.

"Chloe!"

Nathan's eyes went wide with panic. He scooped Chloe into his arms.

The look he turned on me was pure ice. He ground out an order to the bodyguard behind him, barely containing his fury.

"Lock her in the isolation room. Let her cool off for a few days.

"Stella, I am so disappointed in you!"

Nathan didn't give me a chance to explain.

The bodyguards grabbed me and hauled me away while I watched Nathan carry Chloe out without looking back.

When they threw me into the pitch-black isolation room, terror crashed over me in waves.

I was claustrophobic. The old Nathan, no matter how busy he was, always made it home before dark to be with me.

I wrapped my arms tight around my knees and curled into a ball.

"Nathan, I'm so scared..."