Chapter 2

2

"Now that he knows, just tell him the truth," Lucas drawled, sauntering over with hands in his pockets.

"You're the heiress of the Kane Corporation. You don't need to play house with a beggar anymore."

Standing side by side, their glittering wealth blinded me.

The metallic taste of blood surged up my throat.

"Was it fun, Sierra? Did you enjoy trampling all over my dignity?"

My eyes burned, but my heart burned worse.

"Do you know how much I earned tonight acting as their dog? Ten grand. Twenty if I beat the beast."

Twenty thousand dollars―not even enough to buy the diamond bracelet on her wrist.

Yet I had been ecstatic, thinking it would cover this month's rent and her next round of chemo.

Every sacrifice I had made felt like a poisoned needle stabbing straight into my chest.

"I'm so sorry, Darren. I can explain everything."

"Enough, Sierra. Drop the fake act," Lucas interrupted coldly.

"Since he saw us, the game is officially over. Let's spell it out for our little scholarship boy so he stops dreaming above his station."

Lucas sneered as he revealed the truth.

Back when we started college, I had beaten Lucas in a prestigious national business competition, stealing his spotlight.

He had tried to recruit me to his team, but I turned him down, leaving him with second place―and a bitter grudge.

"I thought you were untouchable, but all it took was Sierra snapping her fingers to turn you into her loyal little pet."

Their entire trust-fund circle had placed bets on whether Sierra could seduce me.

How pathetic.

I had avoided dating because I was juggling three jobs to survive, but Sierra had pursued me relentlessly.

She showed up at my cheap diners, ran next to me on the track, and even applied to the same summer shifts.

Then came the night she was cornered in a dark alley by thugs.

I threw myself into the fight, taking blow after blow until my face was bloody, just to protect her.

She had cupped my battered face and kissed me, whispering, "Darren, I knew you wouldn't leave me. You saved my life, so I'm yours forever."