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."

There it was again. Number twelve.

If it weren't for our one-year agreement, I would've slapped him across the face.

"Giles, what about you, then?"

He looked confused.

I stared at him, a cold smile on my lips.

"You've dated twelve women and that doesn't make you dirty?"

"You used every single one of us as a stand-in and that doesn't make you dirty?"

His face turned an even deeper shade of red, his voice climbing.

"That was loyalty to love! Loyalty to my heart! Lissa is the only woman I've ever loved. Everyone else was just passing through!"

Loyalty to love.

He made playing with people's feelings sound so poetic, I almost wanted to give him a standing ovation.

I'd dated my share of boyfriends. Giles was number fifty.

The reason I cycled through them every two or three months was simple: every single one of them, without exception, asked to borrow money.

My rule was clear.

Ask for money, and we're done.

I loved dating, but I wasn't anyone's fool.

I could look any of them in the eye with a clean conscience.

But Giles? He waved the banner of "loyalty to love" while doing the most despicable things imaginable.

He was clearly furious. He yanked out his phone, hands shaking with emotion.

"Lissa's the only one I love. I'm posting it right now. Announcing our engagement on social media!"

My heart clenched.

"No!"

The word flew out of me before I could stop it.

"Just give me four more days!"

Giles shot me a bewildered look.

I forced myself to calm down, keeping my voice as casual as I could manage.

"I'm in the middle of signing a contract with the Gilbert Group. Four days is all I need, and it'll be done. After that, I'll move out. We agreed on this. A clean break."

Giles stared at me, his eyes brimming with contempt.

"You'd use a relationship for profit? You're disgusting."

I didn't care what he thought of me.

I just needed to get what I wanted.

I lowered myself even further.

"Giles, I've been good to you this past year, haven't I? I paid the rent. I covered every meal. I even bought your guitar. I'm not asking you to do anything. Just four days. You don't have to lift a finger."

I brought up everything I'd done, thinking he might feel some shred of gratitude.

Instead, it only deepened his disgust.

"Number twelve! How long are you going to keep hounding me?"

That was when Lissa came out of the bedroom.

She'd obviously heard every word. She leaned against the doorframe, watching me with open amusement.

"What contract? How much is it worth?"

I made up a number on the spot.

"Twenty million for the contract. A million-dollar bonus on top."

Lissa's eyes lit up instantly.

"So if we play along, what's in it for us?"

It hit me then.

She wanted money. Again.

I gritted my teeth.

"I'll split the bonus with you. Half. Is that enough?"

I paused.

"You two are getting married. That's not going to be cheap."

Giles was about to refuse, but the word "married" gave him pause.

It was true.

He hadn't made it big yet. Where was the money for a wedding going to come from?

He was on the verge of nodding when Lissa suddenly cried out.

"No! I want the full million!"

Both Giles and I froze.

Lissa's eyes reddened as she turned to him.

"Giles, my mom has heart disease. The doctor said we need to have half a million ready. And after the surgery, there's recovery, home care nurses... I didn't know how to tell you..."

Her voice cracked, and the tears spilled over.

"I was going to sell a kidney on the black market if I couldn't come up with the money."

She wept, tears rolling down her cheeks like rain on pear blossoms.

Her acting was terrible.

But Giles bought every word.

He pulled her into his arms, his voice aching with tenderness.

"Lissa, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't want you to worry..."