Chapter 4

I took a deep breath and looked at Vicky with the utmost seriousness.

"Fine. I'll be honest with you. But I didn't intentionally keep this a secret from you, Vicky. I just didn't really know how to bring it up."

Vicky's face lit up with excitement. Her gaze burned into me as she urged me to continue speaking.

"The truth is, I come from a wealthy family, and I used to be rich."

She exclaimed immediately, though I could see she was trying her best to keep the corners of her mouth from curling upward. Instead, she feigned shock and gave me a playful, mock-reproachful look.

"Why didn't you just tell me sooner?"

Her tone was thick with barely concealed delight.

I sighed and feigned a look of helpless resignation on my face, saying, "I just wanted to keep it low-profile. My parents did leave me quite a bit of money after they passed away."

Vicky couldn't hold back her smile anymore. She grabbed my arm, her face beaming with excitement as she exclaimed, "Okay, okay! I get it, Colin. You just didn't want to flaunt your wealth.

"So, exactly how much did your parents leave you?"

I looked at her ecstatic expression and found it amusing. I asked, "Why are you so happy just learning that I came from a wealthy background? Do you just love my money more than you love me?"

Her smile immediately froze. She suddenly realized she'd been too brazen and open about her delight, so she quickly adjusted her expression, replacing it with a gentler, more tender smile to avoid arousing my suspicion.

"Of course I married you for you, Colin. I didn't even know that you were a wealthy heir before I married you, after all.

"I'm just really happy for you. There's no need for you to work so hard anymore now that you're rich!"

She leaned toward me as she spoke, batting her eyelashes. Anyone would think we were a lovey-dovey couple in the honeymoon stage of our relationship, but I knew she was just masking her true intentions behind her sweet talk.

I knew full well she was only humoring me because she believed I was rich. The moment she believed I was broke, she'd turn on me in an instant.

I frowned lightly and looked at her with feigned affection in my eyes.

"Would you still love me even if I had no money?"

She nodded at once, professing her devotion. "Of course!"

I pretended to look relieved. "Thank God. That's good to hear."

She hooked her arms affectionately around mine and said, "Since you're rich, Colin, shall we just go and purchase a car now? That way, it'll be much more comfortable for us to go to work.

"Oh, and we should get a bigger place—maybe a house. This apartment is just too small for the both of us.

"There's also this dress I saw in the boutique that I really love but couldn't bring myself to buy it…"

She continued rattling on, fantasizing about her ideal life. Every word was a prompt for me to foot the bill for her, yet she was completely oblivious to the coldness forming in my eyes.

"So, what do you think, Colin?"

She turned to me, puzzled, when she realized I hadn't responded in a long while.

I sighed, pretending to be troubled, and replied, "It's true that my parents left me a huge inheritance. However…"

I pretended to hesitate, and Vicky grew anxious.

"What is it?"

I let out another sigh and slowly said, "I've spent it all. I'm also in six million dollars of debt now."

Vicky stared at me in complete disbelief. She'd even forgotten about her facade completely.

Ever since I realized Vicky was absolutely certain of my status as a secret wealthy heir, I knew she wouldn't believe me if I insisted otherwise.

So, I might as well just admit it.

Rather than denying my status as a wealthy heir, it would be more convincing to tell her I'd squandered my inheritance.

"Vicky, you said you'd still love me even if I had no money, didn't you?"