Chapter 1

Vienna got down from the bus and walked to a convenience store nearby, where she bought some snacks to eat with a bottle of water. She sat down near the store to have them.

She had once been a princess who wouldn't eat anything unless it was prepared by the best chef, but now she didn’t even have enough money to eat a proper meal in one day.

She blamed Alan for her misfortunes. If it hadn’t been for him, her life and her family wouldn’t have been ruined like this.

Three years ago, she had been the well-known fiancée of the great and wealthy Clinton family.

Even though her family wasn’t that rich, the title of Alan's fiancée commanded respect for her anywhere she went, and their wedding date had been set.

Until she brought in Benita, someone she thought of as her best friend, whom she had met at a club when she was harassed by a group of guys.

Benita had helped her, and after she told Vienna that she was an orphan with no means of help, Vienna decided to take her in and let her live with them in their house.

That was the biggest mistake she had ever made, and Benita took everything from her. Vienna really loved Alan, but he believed Benita and chose Benita over her.

Because of Alan's grandfather's wish to get him married to secure his position, and because of the promise between their grandfathers, he decided to get them engaged immediately.

Vienna had had a crush on Alan since she was ten years old, but he hadn’t noticed her at all.

When she heard about the engagement between the two of them, she happily accepted without considering the fact that he didn’t like her at all.

Alan had paid her little to no attention. He always ignored her and told her that he didn’t acknowledge their relationship, but Vienna hadn’t given up.

Then, three years ago, while she was still in school, she received the news that her father had been arrested and taken to the police station.

She quickly left school and rushed over. Her father had been reported for fraud and embezzlement of the company's funds, as well as manipulation of the company's accounts.

Vienna was speechless. Her dad might have liked money too much, but she knew he wouldn’t do such a thing.

The case dragged on, but they couldn’t bail him out. All their money and everything else was seized.

She quickly ran to meet Alan for help. She knew that just a word from him was enough to clear her father's name.

She first went to his company, but he wasn’t there. Then, she went over to his house.

The security stopped her from entering and sent her out rudely. She was surprised and taken aback by their actions.

She waited for a long time and also tried calling him on the phone, but it was unreachable.

She waited until night, and then she saw him coming out with Benita beside him.

She was surprised and wondered why Benita, of all people, was with him and was even allowed to touch him.

She walked over to the two of them and tried to keep her calm.

"Alan, I’ve been waiting here for you for a long time now. Your security wouldn’t allow me in," she said, looking very tired.

Benita held his hand more tightly and closer, and he also reciprocated.

Vienna swallowed hard and decided not to be bothered by it, since she had more important issues to discuss with him.

"Can we talk, please? It’s urgent," she said again.

"There’s nothing for us to talk about. If you want to talk about your dad, I know about it. And also, don’t ever come here again. No matter how shameless you are, you should still have some self-respect. Shouldn’t you?" he said in a very mean and annoyed tone.

Vienna tried to say something, but couldn’t.

"What does he mean?" she thought.

"Why are you here?" she asked, directing the question to Benita.

"Why am I here with my boyfriend, in his house?" Benita asked with arrogance written all over her face.

Vienna felt her body tremble. She suddenly developed a throbbing pain in her head and held it.

"Have you lost your mind? What nonsense are you saying?" Benita asked aggressively and turned to Alan.

"Alan, say something," she screamed and held his hand. Alan shoved her away, and Benita pushed Vienna to the floor.

They both walked away after instructing the security guard to throw her out.

Vienna stood up from the floor and dusted off her clothes. She was devastated, and tears started to fall from her eyes.

She slowly walked away from there and went back to meet her mother.

When she got there, she was informed that her mother had collapsed and had been taken to the hospital.

She quickly took a cab and rushed to the hospital immediately.

She asked the nurse in charge about her mother and was directed to the right room.

She entered the room and saw her mother lying unconscious on the bed, with her younger sister Vanessa sitting beside her.

Vienna moved over to her side and sat beside Vanessa, then held her mother’s hands.

"Vanessa, what happened?" Vienna asked, concern etched on her face.

Vanessa looked up at her, tears streaming down her face.

"Mom collapsed and was taken to the hospital. And it’s all because of you and your stupid obsession with Alan!" Vanessa exclaimed, her voice shaking with anger.

Vienna was taken aback by her sister’s words.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, feeling a sense of trepidation.

Vanessa’s eyes flashed with anger.

"Your dear fiancé is responsible for Dad’s arrest. And not just that, he also blacklisted our family from the business world, and his company announced that his girlfriend is Benita, that useless girl you brought home."

Vienna was stunned. She didn’t want to believe what her sister was saying, but judging by what had happened so far, it seemed to be the truth.

It was so strange that her father had been arrested all of a sudden.

Alan had never allowed her to come close to him before, but today, she saw him holding hands with Benita.

She felt her legs become weak and unable to carry her body. She slowly slid down and sat on the floor.

"This can’t be true," she screamed, her voice echoing through the hospital room.

Vanessa’s expression didn’t change.

"You should have stayed away from Alan. Now, look at what’s happened to us."

Vienna’s eyes welled up with tears as she realized the truth.

Benita had used her, and she had fallen for it. She had trusted both her and Alan, and they betrayed her.

Just then, the doctor came in to check on their mother.

"I’m afraid your mother’s condition is critical. We need to run some more tests to determine the cause of her collapse."

Vienna nodded, still trying to process everything that had happened.

She felt like her world had been turned upside down. She had lost everything: her family’s reputation, her fiancé, and her dignity.