Giles Weiss's first love was back, and he couldn't wait to announce it on social media.

@Lissa Perry — I finally waited long enough for you.

His buddies flooded the comments with likes.

"Giles dated twelve stand-ins, and the real deal is finally here."

"@Ivy Gilbert — Number Twelve, take the hint and get lost."

How charming.

Giles Weiss was the first man who'd ever dared treat me like a placeholder.

I thought of the deal I'd made with my father.

"Ivy, you change boyfriends every three months. That kind of instability tells me you're not ready to run this company."

"Maintain a stable relationship — even just for one year — and I'll name you heir to the Gilbert Group."

For that, I'd reined myself in. Committed fully. Dated Giles like I meant it.

Seven days. I was seven days away from the one-year mark, and he wanted to dump me early.

I scoffed. Not a chance.

The relationship? I couldn't care less.

But the inheritance? That was mine, and I intended to claim it.

……

The front door swung open while I sat on the couch reviewing financial reports.

Giles walked in holding Lissa Perry's hand. The moment he saw me, the smile on his face froze.

"Why are you still here?"

He frowned, irritation dripping from every word.

"Was my post not clear enough for you?"

I set down the tablet and looked up at him.

"Did you forget something?"

"This is my apartment. The ten-thousand-dollar monthly rent? I'm the one paying it."

Giles's face flushed red.

He was a musician. Talented, sure, in a marginal sort of way, but broke. In the eleven months we'd been together, I'd covered the rent, picked up every dinner tab, and even bought him his guitar.

Giles cleared his throat, then jutted his chin out stubbornly.

"I won't need your money anymore. I'll pay for it myself!"

Lissa glanced at me with open disdain, then draped herself against Giles and cooed.

"Our Giles just signed with Gilbert Media. He's going to be huge. This little rent is nothing to him."

Gilbert Media.

My father's company.

If I hadn't put in a word with the department head, Giles wouldn't have gotten within a mile of that contract with his level of talent.

And now, before the man had even made it to shore, he was already hacking apart the boat that carried him?

Interesting. Truly interesting.

I kept my expression neutral and spoke evenly.

"Say whatever you like. The lease is black and white — it doesn't expire for another seven days. Until then, I have every right to stay."

Only one thought occupied my mind.

I could not move out.

If I did, my father would find out that Giles and I had fallen apart.

I just had to keep up the act.

Seven days. That was all.

Giles assumed I was clinging to him. He raised an eyebrow, smug and dismissive.

"You think squatting here will make me change my mind?"

"You're Number Twelve. Nothing more, nothing less."

I took a long look at Lissa Perry.

Twenty-six years old, poured into a tight dress that left little to the imagination. Curves in all the right places, sure.

So this was the great love of his youth?

Tacky taste.

Giles didn't spare me another glance. He pulled Lissa toward the bedroom.

"Stare all you want — that's your business! I'm with Lissa now. If you want to play audience, be my guest!"

The bedroom door stayed open.

More accurately, Giles left it open on purpose.

Soon enough, sounds drifted out. Lissa's breathy giggles. Giles's exaggerated groans.

Disgusting.

My fists clenched.

Not from heartbreak. From rage.

I was Ivy Gilbert, the sole heiress of the Gilbert family. When had my life come to this — reading someone's mood, listening through walls like some discarded afterthought?

I shut the door to the second bedroom and put on my headphones.

Seven days.

I could endure it.

It was exactly the thing I'd been dreading.

The next day, Dad called.

"Ivy, my birthday is the day after tomorrow. Bring your boyfriend to the party."

My heart sank.

"Dad, you know I told him I was just a regular office worker making thirty grand a year. If I bring him to your party, he'll figure everything out."

Dad laughed.

"I'm not going to blow your cover. Just tell him you're bringing him to a business event. It's been almost a year now. I want to see for myself how things are between you two. If you've really found the one, I'll be happy for you."

I went quiet.

There was no way to refuse.

For as long as I could remember, Dad had rarely asked anything of me. He'd built his company into an empire, yet he'd never once pressured me into anything. The only condition he'd ever set was the one-year pact.

"Fine. I'll bring him."

That evening, Giles and Lissa came home.

When they pushed open the door, they both froze.

The dining table was covered with dishes I'd made, all of Giles's old favorites.

"What's this supposed to mean?" Giles frowned at me. "Playing the dutiful little wife now? Trying to win me over?"

I ignored the jab.

"I have something I want to discuss with both of you."

"There's a client hosting a birthday party the day after tomorrow. Everyone's expected to bring a plus-one."

"Giles, I need you to play the part of my boyfriend for one day. After that, I'll move out by the end of the month, just like I promised. Clean break."

Giles shook his head reflexively.

"No. I can't do that. I won't do that to Lissa."

I pulled a bank card from my bag and set it on the coffee table.

"A hundred thousand dollars. For one day."

The living room went silent.

Giles stared at the card. His Adam's apple bobbed.

I knew he needed the money. After signing with Gilbert Media, the company had enrolled him in a training program that came with a hefty fee. He needed this.

"But..."

He looked at Lissa, hesitant.

"It's fine." Lissa spoke up, wearing a magnanimous smile. "Giles, just think of it as doing her a favor. A clean break is the right thing."

Behind that smile, her eyes glinted with calculation.

"But a hundred thousand isn't enough. Add another fifty."

I nearly laughed out loud.

This woman drove a harder bargain than I did.

"Done."

I agreed without blinking.

Giles looked at her, then at me, and finally nodded. The expression on his face suggested he was making some tremendous sacrifice.

I rolled my eyes internally.

A hundred and fifty thousand for one day of your time, and you're acting like the victim?

Dad's birthday gala was held at the Gilbert Grand Hotel, as always.

The room was full of industry insiders, suppliers, and business partners. Giles and I blended into the crowd without drawing attention.

After making the rounds with the other guests, Dad came over to find me.

I made the introductions, keeping my tone professional.

"Mr. Gilbert, this is my boyfriend, Giles Weiss."

Dad clasped Giles's hand and looked him over.

"Sharp-looking young man. I hear you're in the music business?"

"Yes, I signed with Gilbert Media." Giles's voice carried a hint of deference. "One of your subsidiaries, actually."

Dad shot me a meaningful look.

The message was clear: You pulled strings for him?

I pretended not to notice.

Dad patted Giles on the shoulder. "It's good for a young man to have ambition."

Throughout the gala, Giles played his part well enough.

Near the end of the evening, I excused myself to the restroom.

"Sorry I'm late."

I froze.

Lissa stood in the doorway, all smiles.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.

"What are you doing here? Tonight is my arrangement with Giles. This has nothing to do with you."

Lissa folded her arms, a knowing look in her eyes.

"I'm here to blow your cover."

My heart slammed against my ribs.

She watched me squirm, then covered her mouth with a laugh.

"That Mercedes you drove here tonight—that's at least a sixty-thousand-dollar car."

"You make, what, five grand a month? There's no way you can afford that. You've got some other income stream you've been hiding from Giles, don't you?"

Greed flickered behind her eyes.

I frowned slightly.

That Mercedes was already the most understated car I owned.

I had no choice but to offer an explanation.

"I bought it on a loan. I need it for work—"

"I don't care how you bought it."

She cut me off.

"Give me the car, and I keep your secret."

I stared at her for a few seconds.

This woman was even greedier than I'd imagined.

When I didn't respond, she let out a cheerful little laugh.

"Fine. Then I'll walk right in there and tell everyone that you dragged your ex-boyfriend to this party just to put on a show for a business deal. That you're nothing but a fraud—"

She turned to go inside.

I grabbed her arm.

"Don't—"

She looked at me, wearing the satisfied smile of someone who'd already won.

"So Mr. Gilbert is a major client of yours, right? Then just take the loss and keep me quiet. How do you expect to do business if you're this stingy?"

I rolled my eyes.

Let her think whatever she wanted.

But she was right. The only option was to pay the price and make this go away.

"Fine. The car is yours."

Right in front of her, I completed the vehicle transfer through the online system.

Ten minutes later, Lissa's phone buzzed.

She glanced at the screen and smiled, satisfied.

"Thanks so much."

I looked her dead in the eye.

"Does Giles know this is who you really are?"

She shrugged, unbothered.

"The girl he loves is the eighteen-year-old Lissa, not the twenty-six-year-old me."

"Sooner or later, he'll figure out that the real thing can never live up to the memory."

"So I take what I can get while I can. I'm not like you—lovesick and stupid, renting apartments and burning money for a man who doesn't care."

She left.

Her retreating figure looked utterly unburdened.

I stood there for a long time without saying a word.

She was right. And she saw the world more clearly than I did.

I went back to the banquet hall. Dad had his phone out.

"Giles, let me add you on social media. We should keep in touch."

Panic shot through me and I sprinted over.

If Dad saw the relationship announcement on Giles's profile, everything would fall apart.

"Mr. Gilbert, Giles's phone died. Maybe next time."

I leaned close to his ear and whispered.

"You're a major executive. Adding a junior employee looks a little odd, don't you think? People will talk."

Dad paused for a moment.

"Fair point."

He put his phone away.

Giles looked confused, but he didn't call me out.

On the drive home, Giles sat in the passenger seat in total silence.

I knew he was angry, but I couldn't figure out what had set him off.

The second we walked through the door, he ripped off his suit jacket and hurled it onto the couch.

"So this is what you really are. Shameless."

I stared at him, stunned.

"You were way too cozy with Mr. Gilbert tonight. What, did you sell yourself to land the deal?"

I frowned.

So that was what this was about. He'd gotten the wrong idea.

But I didn't feel like explaining.

"Why? Jealous?"

Giles let out a cold laugh.

"Jealous? Please." He sneered. "You're just number twelve. I'd rather not taint what I had before you."