Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When Mason confessed his feelings to me, the scholarship kid living off financial aid, his lifelong friend Valerie laughed in my face.

"His monthly allowance is more than your grocery budget for an entire year," she sneered. "You don't seriously believe he actually loves you, do you?"

I did believe him. I believed him because Mason looked into my eyes and said the words himself.

Back then, I was hopelessly naive. I genuinely thought that through sheer hard work, I could bridge the vast chasm between our worlds.

That illusion shattered the day Valerie lost her diamond brooch.

Mason looked at me with the exact same cold contempt as everyone else in the room.

His tone was detached and dismissive. "I can provide for you, Melanie. You don't have to resort to stealing. It's pathetic."

I desperately tried to explain, but the disappointment in his eyes only deepened.

After transferring schools, I blocked his number, wiped his existence from my life, and walked away forever.

Yet, seven years later at an elite charity gala, Mason lowered his arrogant head. With bloodshot eyes, he choked out, "Where have you been all these years? I've been looking for you everywhere."

***

Valerie's heirloom diamond brooch went missing in the private VIP lounge.

By the time I arrived, she was clinging to Mason's arm, tears streaming down her flawless cheeks.

"It was the eighteenth birthday gift you gave me," she sobbed softly. "It means everything to me, Mason."

Mason sighed gently, pulling her slender frame into his embrace to comfort her.

Our wealthy classmates gathered around, offering endless words of sympathy in a picture of seamless harmony.

That harmony only made sense if everyone chose to ignore the fact that Mason was my boyfriend.

The moment I stepped inside, the entire room fell dead silent.

Their gazes shifted toward me, instantly hardening with disgust and mockery, as if my very presence was an offense.

A flicker of confusion crossed my mind.

Before I could speak, a classmate broke the tense silence, shouting aggressively, "Melanie, just hand over Valerie's brooch! You're a grown woman, so stop acting like a filthy thief!"

I froze in disbelief. Valerie buried her face deeper into Mason's chest, weeping even harder.

She peered out at me with wide, pitiful eyes. "Melanie, I'll give you anything you want... but that brooch is special. Please, can you just give it back to me?"

I looked at her calmly and said in a quiet voice, "Could you please step out of my boyfriend's arms first?"

Hearing my words, Mason furrowed his brows in irritation. "Can't you see how upset Valerie is right now?"

The corner of my mouth twitched in bitter irony, while a subtle gleam of triumph flashed across Valerie's face.

Mason and Valerie had grown up together in the same elite circles of high society. Everyone considered them the golden couple, a match made in heaven.

To everyone's utter shock, Mason had chosen me instead. A year ago, he had publicly asked me to be his girlfriend.

I was the ugly duckling who had crashed their pristine, glamorous world, becoming the single flaw in Mason's otherwise perfect life.

After we started dating, Valerie deliberately kept her distance out of supposed consideration.

Her withdrawal made Mason furious, and he had even confronted her, demanding to know why she was pulling away.

Valerie had replied with a soft sigh, "I just don't want Melanie to get the wrong idea."

Mason had scoffed in response. "Melanie is sensible. She's not petty like that."

There were countless times when I wondered if Valerie was his real girlfriend instead of me. They shared the same background, the same pedigree, and the same refined tastes.

They possessed an unspoken chemistry that I could never penetrate.

Whenever they talked about equestrian clubs, European vacations, or gallery auctions, I was completely shut out.

I spent sleepless nights studying those topics just so I could contribute to their conversations next time.

Yet, the moment I finally understood, they had already moved on to another world I couldn't comprehend.

Seeing me space out, Mason's irritation flared, bringing a suffocating chill into the air.

"Melanie, return the brooch to Valerie," he commanded coldly. "I know you've been struggling with money lately. I can give you an allowance, so there's no need to degrade yourself like this."

I looked straight into his eyes and denied it firmly. "I didn't take it."