Chapter 1

The night before Brandon Sandler left on a business trip, he told me to stay home and wait for him. He said he had a surprise for me.

I lost myself in the warmth of his gentle smile, blind to the cold shadow buried deep in his eyes.

Not even in my worst dreams did I imagine that the “surprise” I’d been so excited to receive would be the news of his engagement to another woman in Lumiere.

For a moment, my mind went blank.

Over the past five years, Brandon had handled rumors with skill, and nothing like this had ever surfaced before.

My fingers trembled as I scrolled through the trending news. The longer I read, the more panic consumed me, and I threw my phone aside.

I told myself to stay calm, to wait patiently at home for him.

Finally, the next day at noon, Brandon returned.

I rushed to greet him in excitement, only for a girl to step out from behind him.

The moment I saw her face, everything I’d built inside me crumbled into ruin.

I no longer knew how to keep lying to myself.

My voice shook as I asked, “So this is the surprise you were talking about?”

Brandon chuckled and pulled the girl into his arms. “Isn’t it obvious? I thought one night was enough for you to process it.”

“Why?” I demanded as I clutched Brandon’s sleeve.

“Do you remember the girl who died after a botched surgery performed by your father, because he was drunk?” Brandon’s face darkened, his voice filled with venom.

“That was my sister! She was only seven years old.”

My mind snapped awake. I stared at Brandon, my head buzzing.

I was stunned.

“So… you kept me by your side because of that?” I asked, my voice shaking as I tried to process what he said.

“What else?” he sneered. “Why do you think I just happened to save you from being assaulted at that bar?

“Of course, it was all part of the plan.

“You’re so stupid and naive. I gave you the barest kindness, and you clung to it like it meant something. You were even in love with me,” Brandon finished with a mocking laugh.

Each word he spoke cut like a knife, slowly shredding me from within.

What a perfect scheme. He’d been gentle, made me believe I was cherished, only to shove me off the edge just when I felt safe.

My heart forgot how to beat, and in that moment, I realized I was nothing but a joke to him.

“Since that’s the case, your revenge is complete, isn’t it?” I asked as I forced myself to stand tall.

“We’re even now.”

Brandon’s eyes darkened with fury.

He let out a cold laugh as he grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him.

“We’re far from even, Tiana. You’ll spend the rest of your life atoning for your sins.”

Blood pounded through my veins as I struggled to break free.

“I won’t!”

“That’s not up to you. Don’t forget, your mother’s life is still in my hands.”

I stared at him. I never imagined he would stoop so low as to threaten me with that.

The cold glint in his eyes made me shiver, and all resistance crumbled in that instant.

“What do you want from me?”

Brandon released me and wrapped his arm around the girl beside him.

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll be in charge of Leslie’s meals and wardrobe. Serve her well. If she’s not satisfied, I can’t guarantee I won’t have a few words with the hospital.”

“I’ll leave everything in your care, Tiana,” Leslie Paxton smiled sweetly and leaned into Brandon’s embrace.

The two of them looked so affectionate, like the perfect couple.

A dull ache throbbed in my chest as I stood before them in shame.

That night, I curled up in a tiny storage room, bitterness welling up inside me.

It was the new place Brandon had assigned to me, the only place he now deemed me worthy of.

Sleep didn’t come easily. When it did, it brought nightmares I hadn’t thought about in years.

Back then, after the medical accident my father caused, our family became a public target. Unable to endure the harassment, he jumped to his death.

My mother lost her mind, fell down the stairs, and became paralysed.

In one night, my family was destroyed, and I was no longer the carefree little princess I had once been.

To pay for my mother’s expensive treatments, I had no choice but to work at a bar until those so-called gentlemen pinned me down and tried to assault me.

At the critical moment, Brandon had saved me.

He gave me five years of affection when he pulled me from the abyss.

Yet now I find out that everything had been orchestrated from the very beginning.

The act of saving me was a lie.

His love was a lie, too.

As the dream shattered, I plunged back into the mire.

But this time, no one was coming to save me.