Chapter 1: The Desperate Choice

The icy drizzle of the autumn rain tapped relentlessly against the glass wall of the private VIP room inside the prestigious St. Jude Memorial Hospital. Inside, the rhythmic, hollow beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound cutting through the heavy silence.

​Chloe Vance sat on the small wooden chair beside the hospital bed, her pale fingers tightly holding her mother’s weak, frail hand.

​"Miss Vance?"

​The soft voice of Dr. Evans broke her focus. Chloe turned her head, her tired, dark-ringed eyes looking up at the senior physician standing in the doorway.

​"How is she, Doctor?" Chloe asked, her voice raspy from exhaustion.

​Dr. Evans sighed, stepping into the room with a thick medical file in his hands. "The experimental treatment is working, Chloe. Her heart function has stabilized by fifteen percent since yesterday. But as we discussed... the specialized medication is imported directly from Switzerland. The hospital pharmacy cannot release the next dosage without full upfront payment."

​Chloe felt a familiar, suffocating knot form in her chest. "How much?"

​"Sixty thousand dollars for the first phase," Dr. Evans replied gently, looking at her with genuine pity. "And the payment deadline is at midnight tonight. If the account isn't cleared, the administration will have no choice but to halt the administration of the specialized drugs."

​Sixty thousand dollars. To the elite families of the city, that was pocket change spent on a single dinner or a bottle of vintage wine. But to Chloe, whose father's business had collapsed into bankruptcy three years ago, it was an impossible mountain.

​"I... I understand," Chloe whispered, forcing a faint, trembling smile. "Thank you, Dr. Evans. I will settle the account before midnight."

​As soon as the doctor left the room, Chloe pulled out her phone. Her hands shook as she dialed the number of Julian Hayes—her fiancé of two years. She held the phone to her ear, praying desperately that he would pick up.

​The line rang four times before a woman's soft, giggling voice answered instead.

​"Hello? Who is this?"

​Chloe froze, recognizing the flirty tone instantly. "Where is Julian?"

​"Oh, Chloe?" The woman laughed mockingly. "Julian is in the shower right now. We're celebrating his new promotion at the resort suite. Is there something you need? Or are you calling to ask for money again?"

​"Tell Julian to call me back immediately," Chloe demanded, her voice shaking with rage and humiliation.

​"Don't bother, Chloe," Julian’s voice suddenly came through the line, having taken the phone from the woman. His tone was dismissive, cold, and arrogant. "I told you last week, my family’s funds are tied up in real estate. I can't keep throwing cash at your mother's hopeless hospital bills. We're done."

​The line went dead with a sharp beep.

​Chloe stared at her phone screen in disbelief as tears finally spilled over her eyelashes, hot and bitter against her cold cheeks. Her fiancé had abandoned her at her lowest point.

​With time rapidly ticking toward midnight, Chloe knew there was only one place left in the city where that amount of money existed—the Sterling Mansion.

​Two hours later, Chloe stood in the opulent, dimly lit hallway on the top floor of the Sterling estate. Her clothes were slightly damp from the rain, making her look small and vulnerable amidst the grand marble columns and golden chandeliers.

​Five years ago, her mother had married Richard Sterling, a wealthy real estate tycoon. But Richard had passed away eighteen months ago, leaving his vast empire entirely in the hands of his only biological son—Lucas Sterling.

​The massive double mahogany doors at the end of the hall clicked open.

​A tall, broad-shouldered man stepped out into the dim light, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his crisp black dress shirt. He had striking, sharp facial features, a sculpted jawline, and obsidian-black eyes that seemed to see right through anyone who dared look at him.

​Lucas Sterling. Her cold, formidable stepbrother.

​"You're late, Chloe," Lucas said, his voice deep, smooth, and commanding. He didn't look surprised to see her standing outside his private study.

​Chloe swallowed hard, stepping into the warm, cigar-scented room as he gestured for her to enter. "Lucas... I wouldn't be here if I had any other choice. My mother's hospital account—"

​"Sixty thousand dollars," Lucas interrupted smoothly, walking over to his glass bar cart and pouring himself two fingers of amber whiskey. He swirled the liquid in the crystal glass, his dark eyes locked onto her trembling form. "Dr. Evans called my office two hours ago."

​Chloe blinked, surprised. "You already know?"

​"I know everything that happens in this city, especially when it involves my family's former name," Lucas replied, coldness lacing his words. He set his glass down on the mahogany desk and leaned back against it, crossing his long legs. "Your fiancé left you high and dry, didn't he?"

​Chloe bit her lower lip, fighting back the sting of shame. "I need a loan, Lucas. I will sign a promissory note. I will work three jobs, I will give you whatever interest rate you want—"

​"I don't need your interest, Chloe," Lucas said, his dark eyes narrowing as he took a step toward her. The sheer presence of his six-foot-two frame seemed to consume the entire room, forcing Chloe to take a step back until her shoulders touched the wall.

​Lucas placed his hand on the wall right beside her head, trapping her in his shadow. The subtle scent of expensive cologne and rich woodsmoke enveloped her senses.

​"I don't offer loans to family," Lucas whispered, his thumb lightly reaching out to trace the curve of her jaw, sending a sudden, electric shiver straight down her spine. "I make offers."

​Chloe’s breath hitched as she looked up into his mesmerizing, dangerous eyes. "What... what offer?"

​Lucas leaned down, his lips brushing dangerously close to her ear as he delivered his terms.

​"Be my fake fiancée for six months. Move into my penthouse, attend every corporate gala on my arm, and convince the Sterling board that I am settling down." Lucas pulled back slightly, looking down into her wide, shocked eyes with a dark, unreadable smirk. "In exchange, I will clear all of your mother's medical bills... and give you five million dollars when the contract ends."

​Before Chloe could even wrap her mind around the outrageous proposition, heavy footsteps echoed outside the hallway, and the study door was forcefully thrown open!