When my family went bankrupt one day, my two childhood friends betrayed me by buying my parent’s mansion and giving it to their crush. I, Elizabeth Wilson, humbly begged them to help me get my house back. After all, that place was the place that gave me an amazing life.

Despite my pleas, my friends just responded by looking at me coldly while I bowed to them during such heavy rain.

“Elizabeth, you’ve already lived long enough in your house. You must know that Caroline has never lived in a mansion like this because of her tragic life. So, just let her live here from now on.”

Caroline Sewell, their unrequited love, mercilessly said that I deserved to be homeless. What that evil woman said was cruel even though she tried to fake it as a joke. Not only that, my former childhood friends even mocked me

In the end, they even dared to sigh as they said mockingly, “Elizabeth, you’re really weak.”

Then, they left me £5 for compensation after what they had done to me. And that was it.

After that, I called my father in desperation.

“Daddy, can I still be engaged with Lord Dupont?”

***

When my family was declared bankrupt, it rained heavily. In fact, I quickly went back to my home even though I studied in another city. Then, I found out that my parents had already moved away.

However, my two childhood friends, Anthony Morrow and Matthew Blatt, were standing at the door of my mansion. As soon as I saw them, it felt as if I found my savior. I couldn’t hold back my tears as they flowed down like rain from my cheeks.

Immediately, I ran towards them. Just as I was about to ask for their help, I couldn’t help but notice there was a young woman who was drying off her hair from the rain. That young woman was their new friend, Caroline Sewell.

The reason why I knew Caroline was because Anthony and Matthew frequently mentioned this girl in our chat group. Her generosity, brightness, poverty and self-reliance gradually became a constant topic between us. Obviously, it made me curious.

After all, what kind of young woman could attract the attention of two distinguished young men like them? But it seemed that her ordinary life was the reason. It moved these two young men who were born into the golden spoon.

When the three of them heard my footsteps, all of them turned their backs at the same time. As soon as Anthony and Matthew saw how messy I looked, they looked embarrassed. However, I paid no mind to it as I immediately told them what I really needed to say.

“Anthony, Matthew, you know that my family just went bankrupt. Can you please help me? Please help me to keep my mansion at least. This mansion was left to my family by our ancestors. I’ll definitely pay you two back,” I begged them.

However, Anthony turned his head to the side while Matthew just smirked as he coughed on my face twice. Both of them refused to answer me. It was Caroline who then answered my plea.

“I’m so sorry, Elizabeth. I love this mansion so much! Mr. Morrow and Mr. Blatt bought this mansion for me,” she replied.

When I heard it, I couldn’t help but stop walking and stood firm against the rain. In fact, I didn’t even move forward, letting the rain wash over me before my porch. After that, I looked at Anthony.

This was the man who used to laugh together with me, read works of literature with me and would give everything to me. I forced myself to look at him. After all, I wanted to see whether there was a hint of shame on his face or not.

“Anthony, is Catherine telling the truth? You know how important this mansion is to my family, but you’d rather buy my mansion and give it to her?” I asked him.

Yet, Anthony just frowned. It made me upset, but I held back. As I suppressed my body that trembled so much due to my fury, I turned my attention to Matthew.

I asked him, “Matthew, you only knew her for just one month while the three of us grew up together. Does someone like her really need to live in such a huge mansion like this?”

I would never expect that I would overestimate myself. When the two men heard me angrily asking them, Anthony was the first one who showed that he was upset to hear it. That was a huge shock to me.

“Elizabeth, you’d better keep your tongue. Why can you live in this mansion, but Caroline can’t live here?” Anthony coldly asked me.

Meanwhile, Matthew quickly rushed towards the rain. The man then grabbed my wrist, pulling me towards him as he whispered, “Elizabeth, Caroline is rather sensitive. Please don’t get mad at her. Why don’t you go talk to Caroline? Who knows that you two can be friends?”

That finally made me realize that I was the weaker one in this situation. Caroline, who stood on the stairs and looked offended as she was being comforted by Anthony in his arms, was the stronger one. Yet, I didn’t care even if I hurt her feelings.

If this were in the past, both men would definitely accompany me all night and spare no effort to make me happy. Yet, it was different this time. That really hurt me.

Caroline took over my place in their hearts, which felt hurtful. However, I knew that I had to let that go. I couldn’t help but think of my parents who would have to sleep on the floor in a underground slot that I could only afford.

“Anthony, Matthew, please. Let me keep my mansion. Just consider this as a debt that I owe you. This mansion really means a lot to me. Can you give this mansion to me?” I asked both Anthony and Matthew.

I was still hoping that I would still have a place in their hearts even just a little bit. Oh, how wrong I was because I knew that the result would be different. Their reactions really broke my heart.

Anthony stood from the stairs and he looked down at me as he said, “You’ve already lived in the mansion long enough, Elizabeth. Caroline hasn’t even lived here yet. She always tells us that she envies you. Don’t you think you should just give this mansion up and let her live there for two days?”

These two rich men pitied Caroline who came from a lower-class family, but they had no idea that my condition might be even worse than Caroline’s. I knelt before them, lowering my posture as I hoped that my childhood friends would pity me. This was the only thing I could do.

“Please. My family just went bankrupt. My parents are living with me in the underground flat that I can only afford. Just consider me getting my mansion back as a loan from you. At least, give us a place to stay,” I told them, begging these two men to hear my plea.

However, Matthew then dragged me before he then stopped. When the man saw me crying like this, he retracted his hand as he looked at Caroline who was on the top of the stairs. Her eyes were red as she cried.

She then weakly said, “Forget it. Besides, I never deserve to live in such a good house anyway. I’d better give this mansion to Elizabeth who needs it more than me.”

When Caroline said that, I was surprised because I might be able to get my mansion back. I looked at Anthony to confirm it. Instead, the man hugged Caroline.

The man told her as he said, coaxing her, “No need to worry, Caroline. There’s nothing you don’t deserve. You deserve the best things in the world. I’ll just give Elizabeth some money, so her family won’t starve.”

Not long after Anthony said it, a thunderstorm came. The loud sound from the thunder really hurt my eardrums. Caroline immediately covered her head with her hands and rushed towards me, letting her body wet because of the rain. Then, the woman held my arm.

“Elizabeth, just come inside and sit, okay? I’ll ask the servants to make you a cup of hot tea. I still have £5 here. Just take it. I think it’ll be enough, right?” she asked.

This woman dared to act as if she owned my mansion, mocking me before my very own mansion. Immediately, I knew what she meant. Yet, I knew that both Anthony and Matthew would hate me if I pushed Caroline away.

When I saw Caroline’s eyes as her body was wet with the heavy rain, I knew her true intention. Her eyes were malicious. That woman was waiting for me to push her away so that she would be the only person in their heart.

After that, I could see Caroline frowning. It was clear that she was getting impatient. She then kept wiping the rain off her face with Anthony’s handkerchief, trying to show off to me and telling me that she was the unrequited crush of both men.

Eventually, I stood up after a long time and took the money. I even forced myself to smile even though I was upset. After all, I needed the money.

“Thank you for your generosity, Miss Caroline. But I won’t go inside. Let’s meet again someday,” I told her as I reached for the money.

However, I was shocked to feel how tightly Caroline’s grip on the money when I was reaching out to take the money. It seemed that this woman didn’t expect that I, who was usually arrogant, would accept such humiliation. Anthony wanted to get mad, but he quickly went downstairs amidst the heavy rain.

The man then said in a worried tone, “Elizabeth, why don’t you go inside first? We’ll think of a way for you.”

Caroline was still holding my hand, not letting me go. After she heard what Anthony had just siad, the woman wanted to make it look like I pushed her down. But I held her hand tightly, letting her twist her own waist as the rain got heavier, which made the whole scene look very ridiculous. I no longer cared, though.

So, I let out the smile that I would often give to both Anthony and Matthew.

“It’s okay. One day, people will regret it,” I told them weakly.

As soon as I said it, I turned my back and walked into the rain. Anthony and Matthew seemingly wanted to keep me, but I heard Caroline’s fake cry. Soon enough, they lost their intention to keep me from the rain.

Without further ado, I left Belgravia with my parents and returned to Bath where I finished my studies while working.

The place where I live, an underground flat, was dark and damp. From then on, I, who was born on the golden spoon, left my privileged life. Ever since that humiliation, I promised to never feel that kind of humiliation ever again.

It was five years later when I met again with both Anthony and Matthew. They had become very well-known in London’s upper-class society. They were known for their cold reputation, which attracted lots of women in society.

Despite there being lots of women chasing them, Anthony and Matthew were only nice to Caroline. Who in London’s upper-class society had no idea about that woman? The young woman who initially came from a very poor background had been supported by these two young men. She had become very arrogant and domineering as she shamelessly spent her money.

Nobody dared to offend Caroline. After all, the arrogant young woman had two people who supported her. Both Anthony and Matthew were willing to help Caroline vent her anger to anyone who dared to offend her.

But that wasn’t for long.

As soon as I stood on the stage, everyone’s eyes were focused on me. I wore a beautiful red silk dress, which attracted their attention. Then, I humored all the guests at this party as I toasted with all of them. All of them acted very politely, but I knew that they expected me to come to them.

It was at this moment Caroline bumped into me as she held a wine glass, trying to ruin my dress.

When the woman met my eyes, she seemed to get shocked as she quietly called me, “Elizabeth?”

Meanwhile, the wine had seeped into the corner of my skirt, which made the color darker than the rest of the dress. After that, she quickly crouched to wipe the stain as quickly as she could. When she did that, it attracted everyone’s attention.

Obviously, both Anthony and Matthew still hadn’t changed her jealous nature. After that, I just waved my hand calmly, asking her to get up. Meanwhile, the woman just looked at me as if she looked down at me.

She definitely planned to humiliate me as she asked, “Elizabeth, didn’t your family go bankrupt and leave Belgravia? How come you’re here?”

Caroline thought that a few cruel words from her would make everyone ignore me. But the woman would never expect that everyone would look at her in disapproval. It was her time to get her karma.

I softly responded as I didn’t wish to spoil the party atmosphere, “Excuse me, Ma’am. It seems that you don’t really watch TV. My name is Lizzy Burton.”

Lizzy Burton was my new identity. I was the current top star in the entertainment industry. Each of my moves clearly became the focus of everyone. Caroline seemed perplexed, so she quickly apologized to me and ran behind Adrian and Matthew, not talking until the end of the party.

As for me, I went back to the lounge and changed my red dress into a bright green dress before participating in the party again. Just when I joined the party again, I met both Anthony and Matthew who were shocked to see me.

Without further ado, Anthony grabbed my shoulders and shook them slightly as if he was in disbelief.

The man asked me, “You’re … Elizabeth. Where have you been all these years?”

I quickly stroked his hands away and let out a subtle smirk as I told him, “Excuse me, Mr. Morrow, you’re holding Adrian Dupont’s wife now. Are you sure you want to get close to me here, where everyone can see us?”

Anthony quickly let his hands off me like they had been stabbed. The man just hung his hands awkwardly in the air as if he were in a dilemma. But it was a testament to how powerful Adrian’s name was. In fact, that really helped me.

Besides, Adrian Dupont was the top rich man in London’s upper-class society. The man was known for being very cold and ruthless. Yet, Anthony seemed to be undeterred. Instead, he looked at me intensely as if he wanted to make me fall in love with him.

Caroline, who had been hiding behind both Anthony and Matthew, seemed to hesitate for a while, but she then mockingly remarked, “Didn’t the rumors say that Mr. Dupont has no interest in women? Instead, you shouldn’t get close to unmarried men just because your man doesn’t love you.”

Immediately, Matthew glared at that woman as he walked towards me sincerely.

The man then said, “Elizabeth, we thought that you could still afford a decent life despite your family being bankrupt. But we didn’t expect that you would be homeless at all. We’ve been looking for you all these years. So, why are you in London?”

I just looked at these two men. However, my eyes betrayed me as they gradually reddened. Eventually, I just left in silence.

Unfortunately, I sprained my ankle because of how high my heels were when I passed by Anthony. I immediately fell. Just when I was about to hit the floor, Anthony quickly reached out and hugged my waist tightly. I couldn’t help but lean in his arms before I forced myself to endure the pain rather than letting myself lean on his body, which made me slightly frown.

On the other hand, Caroline was furious when she saw it. Without further ado, the woman forcibly let me out of Anthony’s arms. It caused me to really fall to the floor this time, hurting my ankle.

Matthew acted fast by pushing Caroline away and crouched to check my condition. Obviously, my ankle had turned swollen due to Caroline. His expression became grim.

The man then scolded Caroline as he angrily asked, “Caroline, why are you acting like this? Elizabeth just lost her balance for a while, so Anthony helped her. But you’re making her fall to the ground.”

After that, Matthew helped me to stand up. I just waved my hand, refusing his help. Instead, I forced myself to walk away while I endured the pain.

When I left, I looked back at those three people. I actually wanted to tell them something, but I stopped. But it surely caught their attention. After all, both Anthony and Matthew never stopped looking at me throughout the dinner party.