Back in the cramped rental, I didn't turn on the lights.

By the glow of the streetlamp outside the window, I sat on the couch and kept scrolling through the old phone.

Noah must have been in too much of a hurry when he switched to his new phone, or maybe he figured I didn't understand any of this tech stuff. He hadn't even signed out of his cloud account.

I opened his cloud drive.

Inside was a folder called "Debt Transfer."

When I opened it, there was a scanned agreement.

I zoomed in and read the words on it clearly.

It was a joint and several liability guarantee, for three million.

In the guarantor's field, my name was signed.

My hand shook before I could stop it.

Three years ago, the project Noah was in charge of had a serious accident. He pulled several all-nighters in a row and nearly collapsed and died at the construction site.

I got the call and rode the hard-seat train through the night, more than ten hours, to reach his city.

At his hospital bedside, he held my hand and cried like a child.

"Jules, I'm going to prison. The company wants me to pay back three million. Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?"

It broke my heart. I emptied out every bit of savings I had and borrowed from everyone I could.

Later he told me the company had agreed to let him pay in installments, but they needed an immediate family member or a fiancée to sign as guarantor.

I signed without a second thought.

I thought I was saving his life.

Looking back now, it was a death warrant.

The folder also had a few bank statements and screenshots of internal emails.

So it turned out there had never been any accident on that project at all. Noah had teamed up with the contractor and pocketed the three million himself.

He'd shifted the debt onto my head, and he himself, with that money in hand, became the "promising young talent" in Miss Pruitt's eyes.

The phone suddenly rang. A video call from Noah.

I took a deep breath and pressed accept.

On the screen, Noah wore a well-tailored suit, his tie knotted without a single flaw.

He sat in a luxurious hotel suite, a huge floor-to-ceiling window and the glittering city night behind him.

"Baby, are you home yet? Why don't you have the lights on?" His voice was as gentle as ever.

"Just got in. A little tired," I said calmly.

"Did you have fun at the reunion? Did all your classmates envy you for having such a good husband?" he asked, smiling, his eyes full of self-satisfaction.

"It was fun." I looked at that hypocritical face.

"Good. That two hundred thousand I just sent you, hold onto it for now. Buy whatever you want, don't be so frugal."

He paused, and his tone turned a little rueful.

"I'm still with a client on my end. Tonight might be an all-nighter. Get to bed early, be good."

"Okay, don't wear yourself out," I said, going along with him.

"Oh, right, Jules." He suddenly lowered his voice.

"That installment repayment from three years ago, there's a hundred thousand due this month. All my money's tied up in the project right now. Could you cover it for now with the two hundred thousand I just transferred you?"

I looked at him and felt a wave of nausea.

He'd not only saddled me with the debt under my name, he wanted to use the money he'd tossed me as a handout to fill the hole he'd dug himself.

"Fine, I'll go to the bank tomorrow and transfer it," I said flatly.

"Baby, you're the best. Once this project's done, I'll make it up to you, I promise." He blew a kiss at the camera.

The call ended.

I sat in the dark, listening to the wind howling outside the window.

Make it up to me?

What are you going to make up for my six years of youth, and the three million in debt on my back?

I opened my laptop, packaged up all the evidence from the old phone, and sent it to my personal email.

Then I dialed a number I hadn't called in a long time.

"Hello, is this Lawyer Finch? I have a joint and several liability guarantee I need you to look at for me."

The sound of pages being flipped came from the other end.

I looked at the night outside the window, my eyes cold as ice.

The next morning, first thing, I went to the bank.

But I didn't move the money into the account Noah had named.

That two hundred thousand, plus the last thirty thousand in savings on my card, I moved all of it into a safe investment account.

I'd barely walked out of the bank when Minnie called.

"Jules, where are you? Noah's friend Lewis Lambert came looking for you."

Lewis? Noah's college roommate, and one of the few friends the two of us shared.

"I'll be right back."

Back downstairs at my rental, Lewis was standing by the flower bed, smoking.

When he saw me, he stubbed out the cigarette and hurried over.

"There you are, sis — you're finally back," he said, all worry on his face.

"You needed something?" I looked at him.

"Noah asked me to check on you. That thing on the phone yesterday, don't take it to heart." Lewis sighed.

"It's not easy for Noah, breaking into that circle. Every day he's got to read the mood of those rich kids."

"That Miss Pruitt is spoiled and difficult. For the sake of the company, all Noah can do is grit his teeth and play along."

"You're the only one in his heart. Whatever you do, don't make a scene with him."

I looked at that sincere face of his.

How had I never noticed before that everyone around Noah was such a good actor.

"Play along?" I let out a cold laugh.

"That's right, sis, Noah's had it so hard. He called me in the middle of the night, said he felt like he'd wronged you."

Lewis pulled a nice little box out of his pocket and handed it to me.

"Noah asked me to bring you this. Said it's a gift to make it up to you."

I took the box and opened it.

Inside was a silver necklace, the pendant a cheap little rhinestone heart.

A necklace like this, at one of those trinket shops on the street, wouldn't go for more than fifty dollars.

And what I'd seen yesterday on the old phone, the custom diamond ring Noah had made for Miss Pruitt, was worth six hundred and eighty thousand.

"Tell him thanks for me." I closed the box and tucked it into my pocket.

Seeing me take the gift, Lewis visibly relaxed.

"Good that you get it, sis. Noah says once he gets through this stretch, he'll bring you to the big city to enjoy the good life."

"Fine. I'll wait." I said it calmly.

After Lewis left, I took out the old phone and opened the chat log between him and Noah.

Last night, eleven o'clock.

Noah: 【Lew, go steady that bitter shrew Julia for me tomorrow. Don't let her cause trouble at a moment like this.】

Lewis: 【Relax, Noah. She's so easy to sweet-talk. Just buy some little gift for a few bucks and say a few soft words, that's all it takes.】

Noah: 【Right. Once Nari and I are married and I take over the Pruitt company, there'll be plenty in it for you.】

Looking at those words, a chill ran through me.

So it turned out I'd been played for a fool by them for six years.

Everyone had been laughing at me, and I was the only one dreaming about a future.

I went back into the room and started packing.

There wasn't much to pack, really. A few pieces of clothing washed pale, a few old books.

I threw that cheap necklace into the trash.

Then I booked a ticket to the city where Noah was.

Since he was so eager to bring me to the big city to enjoy the good life, I'd go see it for myself.

See how this "promising young talent" of his bowed and scraped in front of the Pruitts.

See just how grand and glorious that lavish wedding of his really was.

I picked up my suitcase and locked the door of the rental.

The train tore along the rails, the scenery outside the window sliding backward in a blur.

I looked at the message Lawyer Finch had sent to my phone.

【Miss Fox, that guarantee document is legally binding. But if we can prove Noah misled you into signing it through fraud, and that the money ultimately flowed into his personal account, we stand a good chance of winning.】

I replied with one word: “Okay.”

The transfer records and internal emails on the old phone were the best evidence there was.

When I reached Noah's city, I didn't go find him. I checked into a budget hotel near his company instead.

That evening, Noah called.

“Babe, did you transfer the ten grand?” There was a trace of urgency in his voice.

“Yes.” I lied without a flicker.

“Good. Jules, why have you been so cold lately? Are you still mad at me?” He started putting on the wounded act.

“No. I'm just a little tired.”

“Stop being so lifeless all the time. I'm out there grinding every single day, isn't that exhausting enough? Can't you cut me a little slack?” His tone edged into irritation.

“Fine. I'll cut you some slack.”

“Right, my mom's having a minor surgery next week. Do you have any money on your end? Send her twenty grand first.” He demanded it like it was his due.

I gripped the phone tighter.

Every month he dropped tens of thousands buying Miss Pruitt bags and jewelry, yet he expected me to pay his mother's medical bills out of my meager salary.

“I don't have any money left.” I said it calmly.

“How can you have no money? Didn't I just transfer you two hundred grand yesterday?” His voice climbed.

“Wasn't that two hundred grand used to cover the compensation payment? Did you forget?” I shot back.

The other end went quiet for a moment.

“Fine, fine, I get it. You really are getting more and more unreasonable.”

He hung up in a huff.

I looked at the screen going dark, and the corner of my mouth curved into a cold smile.

The next day, I went to the ground floor of the Pruitt company building.

Noah was now the general manager of a subsidiary under the Pruitt Group.

I sat in the café across the street and watched Noah step out of a Porsche in a sharp suit.

Miss Pruitt was on his arm, and the two of them walked into the building laughing and talking.

I took out the old phone and photographed the whole scene.

Then I opened Noah's messages and found Miss Pruitt's account.

I didn't add her. I just quietly looked through her feed.

The most recent post was a photo she'd shown off of a diamond ring and a marriage certificate.

The caption read: 【For all the days to come, it's only you.】

Underneath were Noah's like and comment: 【Babe, I'll love you for a lifetime.】

I stared at that glaring red booklet, and the last ripple in my heart went completely still.

I compiled every piece of evidence on the old phone into a single document.

It included proof he'd embezzled company funds, the debt-transfer agreement, a side-by-side of the cheap necklace he'd given me and the diamond ring he'd given Miss Pruitt, and those unspeakable chat logs of his.

I set the document to send on a timer.

The send time was fixed for noon tomorrow.

That was the auspicious hour of Noah and Miss Pruitt's grand wedding.

Once it was all done, I leaned back against the chair and let out a long breath.