Chapter 1

1.

My best friend, Harper, dumped Carter, the heir to an old-money Wall Street family, and immediately flew off to Paris.

As Carter's best friend, Julian dragged me to a private members-only club to console the heartbroken man.

Watching Carter, clutching a glass of whiskey and sobbing like a child who'd lost his favorite toy, Julian just smirked. He didn't even bother to adjust the cuff of his expensive, custom-tailored suit.

"Come on, man. She was just a trophy. Let her go."

"Cut your losses. You can find girls like that all over New York."

Seeing him so relaxed, so cold and rational, I quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

For the past few years, I've been Julian's "permanent companion"―or to put it more bluntly, his kept woman. He set me up in a penthouse on Central Park West, and I've managed to save up a considerable fortune. I heard he was about to get engaged to the daughter of some shipping magnate, which was perfect. It was time for me to leave.

That night, I booked a first-class ticket to Paris to find Harper.

But I decided I should at least tell him to his face.

However, when I landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport and turned on my phone, notifications exploded like a bombing raid:

【What do you mean it's over? Are you serious right now?】

【Then what were the last three years? Just a transaction?】

【Answer me, Chloe.】

【Please, don't leave me.】

Rewind to a few hours earlier, when Julian and I went to comfort Carter, who had just been dumped by my best friend.

As soon as we walked into the private club in SoHo, Julian frowned and whispered to me:

"Since you're so close with Harper, try to talk some sense into her. If you're going to break up, make it a clean break. Block him, cut off all contact, don't leave him with any false hope."

"Dragging this out doesn't do anyone any good. Especially my patience."

I nodded guiltily, putting on my most obedient face.

He had no idea that the only reason Harper broke up with this spoiled trust fund baby was because I told her to.

To be precise, it was because Harper was drunk and complaining about Carter:

"I asked him to get me an Oat Milk Latte from Starbucks, and the asshole brought me an Almond Milk Latte."

"Don't think I don't know that almond milk is his Ivy League ex-girlfriend's favorite."

"He's still hung up on her after all these years. Ugh, men."

I was painting my nails at the time and coolly replied:

"Then dump him."

So, the next day, Harper cleanly broke up with Carter, took the hefty breakup settlement she'd amassed over the years, and flew straight to Europe.

Just a moment ago, she sent me a selfie from the streets of Paris:

【Girl, the male models here are insane. Average height 6'2". Get over here NOW!】

I was still a little hesitant, debating whether to give up the stability of my life as a kept woman in New York, when Julian returned.

He saw me curled up on the leather sofa, staring at my phone, and frowned slightly.

"Carter's been getting wasted at the club every day. I'm going to go get him."

"Want to come?"

I nodded obediently, like a docile Persian cat.

"Okay."

Inside, I was panicking, silently apologizing to Carter about a million times.