He stayed silent. Just when I thought he wouldn’t answer, he leaned down and kissed me.

I thought that meant yes, so I clung to him and pulled him into another long, breathless night.

By our third year together, Isabella came to the Bennett estate.

She revealed she’d been switched at birth by her adoptive parents. A DNA test confirmed she was the true Bennett heiress. She moved into my bedroom, while I was cast out of the family.

Overnight, I went from the pampered heiress of the Bennetts to the daughter of an abusive gambler.

Adrian didn’t know about my fall from grace.

At that time, his upgraded drone model had just succeeded. I gave him a break and booked flights for his family to Miami.

After being thrown out of the estate, I rushed to Miami to find him—only to overhear him talking with a friend.

“Adrian, you’ve been with Sophia Bennett for so long. When are you going to make it official?”

He fell silent.

“Do you even like her?”

“Not really.”

My blood froze, though I forced down the ache in my chest.

That night, I went to him again, desperate. We spent hours together, but afterward, as I traced the hard lines of his abs, I made my decision.

“Adrian, we’re done.”

He stayed silent again.

But he must have been relieved. No longer would he be treated like a dog at my beck and call.

I left, tossing my phone into the trash, and returned to my biological parents’ home.

I knew Adrian was destined for greatness—he was smart enough.

What I hadn’t expected was that he’d end up with the real heiress.

At 3 a.m., I curled up in the nightclub’s breakroom, catching a nap before my shift ended. By 5 a.m., I had to set up my food stand for the office crowd’s breakfast rush.

Business was good as usual, and just as I was about to close up, another customer ordered fried rice.

“No scallions. More onions. Two eggs. And absolutely no shrimp—our boss is allergic to seafood.”

My hand froze mid-motion. That was exactly Adrian’s habit. He too was allergic to seafood.

I laughed bitterly. What was I even thinking?

I cooked quickly, plated the food, and handed it over.

As I packed up my cart and got on my motorbike, a voice stopped me.

“Did you make this fried rice?”

It was Adrian’s voice.

I pulled my mask higher and croaked a reply.

“Tastes good. Who taught you to cook like this?”

“My mom.”

He sneered. “Oh? Since when did my mom become your mom, Number 18?”

I lowered the brim of my cap and insisted he’d mistaken me for someone else.

“Sophia Bennett, you kept me for three years. Then you tossed me aside, ended it like it was nothing. Did you really think I was just your dog?”

I trembled. He had recognized me.

“Sophia, do you really think you’re so powerful? Disappearing on me like that? You’re the dog here, with that stubborn temper you’ll never change.”

He was using my own words against me.

The next second, he yanked off my mask. Our eyes locked, the tension between us swelling like a rising tide.

“Adrian, what are you doing? Hurry, or you’ll be late for the board meeting!”

Isabella Bennett’s voice came from behind, shattering the strange tension.

“Are you hiding from me?”

Adrian Walker ignored Isabella, turning to stand by my side, blocking her view.

Was he afraid Isabella would see me?

“Why else? Mr. Walker, you’re a big shot now, standing with the real heiress. Why would you bother with this fake’s ex? Besides, you never really loved me, did you?”

For a moment, Adrian’s expression faltered. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end said nothing. Instead, he pulled out a card from his pocket, slipped it into the basket of my motorbike, and walked back to Isabella.

I watched as Adrian and Isabella walked side by side toward the stretch limousine parked at the curb.

A perfect couple—handsome man, beautiful woman. Their love must be strong.

Suddenly I felt like a rat in the gutter, spying on someone else’s happiness.

From that day on, Adrian kept coming to the nightclub, urging me to quit. He said this wasn’t a decent job.

Of course I knew that. But my gambling-addicted father owed Mr. Davis money, and I was nothing but collateral to pay off his debt.

“Sophia… I’ll give you a hundred thousand dollars a month.”

I froze. What did he mean?

“Two hundred thousand. Three hundred thousand… Five hundred thousand. Is that enough? If not, I can add more.”

Clink! The bottle slipped from my hand and shattered. I stumbled back in shock. He… wanted to keep me, just like I once kept him.

Life was a cruel cycle. Everything from the past now pierced me like knives. I shut my eyes, letting silent tears fall.

“I apologize for what I did before. Please, just let me go.”

I wiped my tears and fled, broken.

Curled up in the tiny breakroom, I cried until I lost my strength.

I loved him. After all these years, I still loved him. But now, I was no match for him.

And his hatred for me… was only natural.

I stared at the card in my hand. At first I wanted to return it, but after some hesitation, I went to Mr. Davis’s office.

“There’s two hundred thousand on this card. My father’s debt is cleared.”

With the debt settled, I went back to my small apartment and packed away everything of mine. For my biological father, I had done more than enough.

It was time to start a new life.

In my closet, I found a family heirloom pendant—the Walker family’s gift to their future daughter-in-law. I had forced it from Adrian years ago. I decided to keep it as a memory.

I booked a flight three days later. From then on, I would be free.

But before leaving for the airport, I realized my ID was still being held by the nightclub.

When I went back to retrieve it, I saw Adrian at the bar counter, asking questions. I quickly hid in the shadows.

“Excuse me, why hasn’t Sophia Bennett been coming to work?”

“She resigned.”

“When?”

“Three days ago.”

I slipped out the back door.

“Sophia Bennett!”

I froze. Looking up, I saw Isabella in a luxury dress standing on a raised platform, arms crossed, gazing down at me with disdain. Her smug smile made my blood boil. I met her stare with equal arrogance, and her smile faltered.

“Sophia, I suggest you stay away from Adrian. He’s my boyfriend now.”

I laughed coldly.

“Isabella, what are you so proud of? Everything you have is secondhand. Our parents were mine first—and so was Adrian.”