Chapter 1

After hanging up the phone with my father, Iris Fulton came back with a signed IOU in her hand.

"Jas, I'm sorry. I owe another ten million this time. I'm completely useless."

Her acting was flawless. The confusion that reached deep into her eyes used to always earn the same response from me.

"It's okay. We'll work hard together and pay it all back eventually."

But this time, I just stared silently at the bracelet peeking out from beneath her sleeve. The piece looked plain and unremarkable, but I'd seen it featured in a magazine. It was worth 160 million dollars.

Iris owned a bracelet worth 160 million but supposedly couldn't repay a debt of ten million. I was completely broke, yet I'd been planning to borrow from loan sharks for her.

My genuine love for her had become the confidence she needed to toy with me without restraint. When she noticed me staring at the jewelry on her wrist, Iris leaned into my arms without the slightest change in expression.

"It's a fake, Jas. When I have money, I'll buy you whatever you want."

Because she knew I was poor and couldn't recognize luxury goods, she barely had to think before lying to me. I looked away, only to catch another message popping up in the group chat on the tablet I'd been shielding with my body.

"So what's the plaything selling this time? His flowers? His house? Himself?"

"If Iris trained him, he's gotta be good. I'll take the first night if he's available."

The messages that followed were flooded with vulgar comments and people chiming in with agreement.

In the three years we'd been together, I'd bailed her out of bankruptcy twice. The first time, I sold the house my grandmother left me. Iris held me close and promised she'd give me another home.

Instead, we lived in a basement apartment with a 400-dollar monthly rent for two years before she came back with another IOU, this time for two million. I still didn't blame her. I took out the money my mother had saved for my future wedding and covered what she owed.

She cried and said that by accepting my money, she was already my wife, and she'd love me forever. Every promise she'd ever made me was a lie.

The constant notification sounds pulled her attention to her phone. She glanced at me, and only after confirming I wasn't watching did she relax enough to unlock her phone and scroll through the group messages.

Within moments, her brows drew together and her mouth pressed into a tight line.

Her fingers moved across the screen, and the tablet immediately showed what she'd posted in the group. "Everyone shut up! Just sit back and watch the show."

Iris set down her phone. After a long silence, she pressed herself against me again with that familiar cloying affection.

"Jas, I promise this is the last time. Once we pay off this debt, I'll marry you. How does that sound?"

The earnest expression on her face struck me as absurd. How valuable must I be for a wealthy heiress to go to such lengths to deceive me? She was even willing to promise marriage.

Earlier, I'd still wanted to confront her, to ask if any of this was worth it. Now I couldn't even muster the energy.

I pushed her away calmly. "The thing is, Iris, I don't have any money left."

Iris froze, clearly not expecting that reaction from me. She expected me to scramble for solutions, to find some way to pay off her debts.