During my cousin Monica Bleuthe's birthday party, my boyfriend, Grayson Chapman, who claimed to be on a business trip, suddenly appeared holding her hand and toasting the crowd.

We were stunned when our eyes met.

Monica hugged his arm intimately. "I forgot to introduce him to you, Ella. This is my boyfriend, Grayson. He's the CEO of the company we worked with last time."

Grayson approached me and lowered his voice to say, "It's just a misunderstanding. I'm only pretending to be Monica's boyfriend."

We had been in a relationship for four years, and he had never allowed our relationship to go public. He even refused to let me attend any high-end parties with him because he thought I was just an ordinary employee who was not glamorous enough to be introduced to anyone.

He had no idea that my father wanted me to gain valuable work experience away from the family business. I hid my identity so that I would be better equipped to take over my family business one day.

If I had married Grayson, he would have enjoyed a portion of my family's fortune. Unfortunately, that was no longer possible.

Everyone was toasting each other in the hall when I saw Grayson Chapman hold Monica Bleuthe's hand and take a drink on her behalf. He had told me more than once that his stomach couldn’t handle alcohol. He had never drunk on my behalf in the four years we had been together, not even when I got dead drunk while entertaining clients.

Just as I was about to ask him about it, Grayson threw me a warning glance. "This is just a misunderstanding. I'm only pretending to be Monica's boyfriend. It's no big deal that I'm having a drink." He lowered his voice when explaining it to me.

My knuckles turned white from gripping my wine glass so hard.

Monica was unhappy to see Grayson whispering to me. "Ella, do you know each other?"

A gentle smile appeared on Grayson's face. "There's nothing between us. She's just a subordinate of mine."

Everyone in my family knew that I was gaining work experience at another company, and that included Monica, which was why she said nothing.

Grayson came to Monica's side and looked at me questioningly when he saw me in haute couture. "Do you know each other?"

Monica acted like we were close. "We're cousins, and we have a close relationship."

Close relationship? Monica had always loved comparing herself with me and wanted everything I had. She even tried to get my parents to take her in as their daughter so that she could inherit the fortune that was supposed to be mine. I did not expose her and only sneered quietly.

Grayson looked relieved to hear those words. Even though we were from the same family, there was still a big gap between our families' circumstances. He probably thought that I could come to the party because of Monica, when, in fact, my father was the head of the Bleuthes.

Monica leaned on Grayson's shoulder coquettishly when she saw me staring at Grayson. "Why are you staring at my boyfriend that way, Ella? Do you have a crush on him?"

I almost laughed out loud with anger. "Don't worry. A man like him isn't worth a second glance from me."

Monica got mad when she heard my retort. She was about to say something when Grayson suddenly stepped forward to grab my wrist. "What do you mean by that?"

I slowly took a sip of my drink. "It means exactly what it sounds like, Mr. Grayson. Please have some dignity. You're hurting my wrist."

That was when Grayson realized he had lost his cool in public with so many people watching. He quickly released me.

Monica's mother, who was my aunt, looked unhappy as well. "Why do you need to say things like that, Ella?"

My uncle berated me, "You can't say that about Grayson even if you're jealous of Monica. You should apologize to him!"

I ignored them. They could not do anything to me anyway. After all, they were aware of my real identity.

Monica glared at me and suddenly changed the topic, "Didn't you say you have a boyfriend of four years, Ella? Why didn't you bring him with you? Is it because he's too embarrassing to show in public for being penniless?

"Well, that explains things. That's probably the reason why you keep staring at my boyfriend. You must really want someone like him."

I looked at Grayson. He knew the reason very well. After all, he was the one who told me to keep our relationship a secret. He always refused to take me to meet his family, even going as far as to reject me when I asked him to marry me.

He met my eyes, but did not say anything to stand up for me. Instead, he held up Monica's hand out of spite and announced out loud, "I, Grayson, am Monica's boyfriend, and she's the only woman I'll ever love in this life!"

Everyone turned to look at him when he made the announcement, and they applauded. I bit the corner of my lip as my face turned pale. This was how I was treated for sacrificing so much in four years of our relationship. My boyfriend refused to go public with me, and was even pretending to be a couple with another woman.

"Look at how loving they are, Ella. You shouldn't think about snatching her boyfriend."

"It doesn't matter if your boyfriend is dirt-poor. You should bring him home to meet the family. No one would mind!"

Just as I was about to explain, Monica acted like she suddenly realized something. "Oh, I almost forgot how you always loved having fun. You probably have lots of lovers and must be wondering which one of them to take home."

Everyone started sniggering when she said that.

My aunt looked at me with disdain, "Ella, you should take good care of yourself even if you enjoy going around town like that. It'd be horrible if you contracted some disgusting disease at such a young age."

My uncle started to lecture me sternly as well, "Don't you know that our family would want you to find someone of an equal social status, Ella? How would your parents feel if you end up pregnant with a bastard child?"

They were slandering me in front of so many other influential families and high-ranking individuals. This was no different than insulting me in public. I gripped hard on the stem of my wine glass and looked at Grayson, who was silent throughout.

"Why aren't you saying anything, Grayson? Aren't you the one who knows best what I'm usually like? Why don't you tell them if I'm someone who enjoys fooling around or if my boyfriend is a penniless man?"

Everyone turned to look at Grayson, and so did I. I stared at the man who had been by my side for four years.

When I started working in his company, I was diligent and even worked late nights just to complete projects. I was never absent when I was needed to entertain clients or attend networking events.

One could say that I played a major role in the success of Grayson's company. He was the person who knew best how hard I worked.

However, he chose to look away and avoid my eyes. It took him a long time before he finally said, "She doesn't fool around, and she does have a boyfriend of four years. That guy isn't some penniless loser…"

Monica shook his arm anxiously when she heard his answer. "Why do you know so much about her, Honey?"

"It's because her boyfriend is…" I held my breath as I waited hopefully for his answer, but Grayson continued to avoid my eyes and looked into Monica's eyes instead. "It's because her boyfriend is my friend, Edwin."

I wanted to say something, but nothing came out of my mouth. It had been four years, and Grayson still chose to avoid this topic because he thought I was not good enough for him. It suddenly made me feel like this was all a joke, including myself.

"He's right. It's Edwin." Since Grayson had put it that way, I decided to go along with him and become Edwin's real girlfriend. "We've been together for four years, and we're about to get married soon."

Several commercial partners who knew my family well were surprised. "Your boyfriend is Edwin? I knew it. Edwin and Ella grew up together. There's no way Ella would ever fall for someone else when Edwin is such an outstanding young man."

"I remember Edwin used to have a crush on Ella, but no one has seen him since he left the country four years ago. I didn't realize you're already together."

No one seemed surprised by it. Grayson was the only one who was taken aback when he heard their words. "What are you saying? They grew up together?"

The man who made the statement jumped in shock when Grayson grabbed him to question in disbelief.

"That's right. What's wrong? It's not a secret. Why are you reacting like this?"

Grayson quickly released the man and looked away in embarrassment. "N-Nothing."

He was quite upset with those words and wanted to ask me about it but did not have the chance.

Edwin Monaco's family was highly regarded in the business circle, and Edwin himself was known as a genius entrepreneur for achieving such great success at a young age. Grayson had blurted the name of a random entrepreneur who was well-known in the business circle without realizing that I might know him, and even grew up with him.

When Monica heard Edwin's name, a hateful look flashed in her eyes, but there was nothing she could do about it. "Why didn't you tell me that you're with Edwin now, Ella? No matter what, we grew up together."

I continued with the lie, "That's because he left the country right after we got together. We've been busy all this time, and never got the chance to tell anyone else about it."

Everyone got curious and came asking more about my relationship with Edwin. I smiled and answered every one of their questions.

As for Grayson, all he did was continue to stare at me. His teeth almost broke from clenching them too hard when he heard me tell all the funny stories that happened with Edwin.

"What nonsense is this, Ella? No couple would live in different countries right after they start dating. You need to make up a better lie than that."

I was about to retort when an exclamation was heard from the doors of the event hall. The crowd moved aside to reveal Edwin's tall figure coming toward us. "Sorry, everyone. I'm late because my flight was delayed."

The man whom everyone had been talking about walked up slowly to me. "It's been a long time, everyone, and that includes you, Ella. Did you miss me?"

I never thought I would see Edwin again under such circumstances. "Why did you suddenly come back?"

Edwin had dark rings under his eyes and looked like he had just rushed over right after his plane landed, but he still smiled when he replied, "I didn't tell anyone because I wanted to give everyone a surprise. The party hasn't ended, has it?"

I smiled. "No. You came at the right time." I circled my arms around his arm without another word and mimicked Grayson in making my announcement, "I'm taking this opportunity to inform everyone that Edwin and I have been together for four years, and we'll be getting married very soon!"

This time, everyone's applause was for me. I leaned in close to Edwin's ears to whisper an explanation as he tried his best to maintain calm despite being surprised by my actions.

Edwin was amused. "I didn't expect you to prepare such a wonderful surprise for me."

I blushed from the embarrassment, but to Grayson, it looked like I was whispering affectionately to Edwin about something intimate, which made me shy.

Grayson turned red with rage. "Aren't you going to explain this, Ella?"

Before I could say anything, Grayson leaned over to clutch his stomach as his expression contorted with pain. Monica quickly helped him to the table and started searching for painkillers in a fluster.

She was almost crying. "Why were you so silly, taking that drink on my behalf when you have a weak stomach?"

I added sarcastically, "Yeah. Why would you drink when you have a weak stomach? Serves you right for being in pain right now."

Grayson was infuriated. "Aren't you concerned to see me sick, Ella?"

I found this funny. Every time he suffered from such stomach cramps, I was always by his side to take care of him. I would get him food and medicine, and take care of his everyday needs. This time, he got sick for another woman. What did that have to do with me?

"Why should I be concerned about you? You're not my boyfriend. The only person I'm concerned about is Edwin."

"You…" Grayson was so furious that he did not even care about his stomach cramps as he quickly swallowed a few painkillers and grabbed my hand to leave the hall. He stopped only when he came to a garden without anyone else around.

"Are you done, Ella? All I did was help Monica out today. She's a proud person, and I just wanted to give her a livelier birthday party. Did you think about our future when you acted that way just now? You're just an ordinary employee. Do you really think you can marry someone like Edwin? Even if he likes you, there's no way you can be together when you come from different worlds!

"Be a good girl. Once this party is over, I promise to marry you if you give me some time, but you're not allowed to behave so intimately with Edwin from now on!"

All I did was bite down hard on my lip when I listened to him. I waited until he was done before slowly saying, "Is that all you want to say to me?"

Grayson was taken aback when he saw how red my eyes were. "You're allowed to cheat on me in public and act intimately with another woman in public, but I'm not allowed to? I even have to tolerate your behavior just because there's a status gap between us?"

He tried to explain in a fluster, "I didn't cheat on you. All I did was pretend to be her boyfriend. You shouldn't create a fuss over this—"

I slapped Grayson. "It's over between us, Grayson. Let's break up."