Chapter 1

"Supporting what dream?"

Adrian Blackwood asked, raising an eyebrow as he walked out of the bathroom. Hair at his temples was still damp, and a faint trail of steam followed him.

I waved my hand. After the butler, Walter Briggs, left, I smiled at Adrian and said, "Southon College recently has an initiative. I'm thinking of sponsoring underprivileged students."

He frowned almost imperceptibly before stepping closer to pull me into his arms.

"You're too kind, Evelyn Sterling. Instead of using your dad's money to help strangers, why don't you have him invest in my family's new venture?

"I'll give you a grand wedding once this project takes off."

We had been together for five years. Every single year, he spun empty promises of a wedding.

When I was younger, I didn't care much about when the wedding would happen. But now, I couldn't help but ask, "In that case, what kind of wedding do you have in mind—"

Before I could finish, his ringtone cut me off. He glanced at the screen, and his expression immediately shifted into one of panic.

Adrian was usually a calm, stoic man. This was the first time I had ever seen him lose control.

He stepped away to take the call, completely ignoring my presence as he raised his voice at the person on the other end of the line.

"Poppy! What did I tell you? Your focus needs to be on your studies right now!

"I didn't sponsor your college studies so that you could fool around and date men. You need to keep your distance from your classmates since you have no idea what kind of people they really are!"

His tone was harsh as he lectured his undisciplined adopted sister over the phone—Poppy Blackwood, the delicate Poppy he raised.

Yet a different emotion was secretly hidden within his voice. It was jealousy.

I lowered my gaze and mindlessly pushed the food around on my plate.

When Adrian finally hung up, his expression was grim. He grabbed his coat and headed straight for the door.

"Poppy hasn't been focusing on her classes lately, Evelyn. I need to head back and talk some sense into her.

"I can't stay with you for our anniversary tonight, but I promise I'll make it up to you later. You don't mind, do you?"

It was supposed to be a question about how I felt, but he forced it out as a flat statement.

Knowing his secret already made me sick to my stomach. I had wanted to give him a chance because today was our fifth anniversary, but it seemed that he blew it.

What a waste of the chef I hired and the perfect meal he prepared.

"Of course, I don't. Go ahead," I said, smiling faintly as I watched Adrian leave in a hurry without trying to stop him.

For some reason, I thought about the countless times I had watched him walk away over the years. Not only had he grown increasingly cold and dismissive toward me, but he would also abandon me at major events without a second thought, all over some trivial issue involving Poppy.

Before this, I told myself I had loved him for years, though I knew this was strictly a corporate marriage alliance and that he was just using Dad's power and wealth to push his family business to the next level.

I knew better than anyone that love would never last forever, and only mutual benefits truly mattered. As a high-society heiress, I was willing to turn a blind eye as long as he kept up appearances.

That was until word reached me that he had secretly been sponsoring a poor college student behind my back.

Adrian was not a charitable man. Yet for an adopted sister who brought zero value to his life or business, he spent all the money he had earned since starting his business buying her favorite necklace, taking her to Arborburg to see the northern lights, and flying her to Gabota to watch the wildebeest migration.

He had pulled every string, swallowed his pride, and groveled to me just to secure her spot in a college exchange program.

Everyone said he was keeping a mistress in a gilded cage, but Adrian himself said that he was nurturing a delicate poppy that belonged solely to him.