Chapter 1

When the school announced the need-based scholarship, Chloe, who wore designer clothes every single day, suddenly burst into tears during the assembly. “My father is drowning in debt, and my mother has cancer. We can’t even afford bread for next month.” The entire class bought it. I bought it.

I willingly gave up my spot for her. But the next day, as my mother trudged to the construction site in a fever to scrape together my tuition, I saw Chloe’s family stepping out of a luxury SUV, arms full of shopping bags from high-end boutiques, grinning like they’d just won the lottery.

Her family’s supposed poverty was nothing but a performance―staged solely for me.