Liam was always so cold and detached. I rarely saw him so emotional. I remembered Adam then.

They seemed to have a grudge.

I followed him to the villa. He told me where the bathroom was. I didn't move. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you afraid I'll force myself on you?"

He was smiling. I felt utterly ashamed.

Yeah, how could he.

A man like him had countless women. Why would he?

When I came out after the shower, he was waiting for me. There was a plate of spaghetti in front of me. It looked delicious, but I didn't eat it.

I asked him, "Mr. Williams, how did you get that jade pendant?"

Adam sat loosely beside me and said casually, "I saw you at the pawnshop and bought it. You were crying when you sold it. If it's so precious, why sell it?"

I didn't know what to say.

It was left to me by my sister.

Even in the toughest times, I never thought of selling it. But how could I bear to let Liam suffer?

Not long ago, he told me his grandma was seriously ill and needed a hundred thousand dollars.

"Alice, help me. Or my grandma will die."

He looked so anxious. His eyes were teary, and my heart softened immediately. I said hesitantly, "But I only have a little over ten thousand in savings... I'll borrow some."

I sent countless messages and only borrowed five thousand. Seeing Liam's troubled look, I touched the now blackened red string around my neck and said through gritted teeth, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

"Alice, you're so good."

Liam hugged me.

His body had a pleasant smell, which reassured me.

I had no family left in this world. Liam was my boyfriend. I wanted to give him everything good and couldn't bear to see him troubled.

But I was a joke.

The one and only in the world.

I took the jade pendant and carefully put it around my neck. "Mr. Williams, I will repay you," I said.

"I don't want money. You know what I want," Adam said.

Adam said, gently touching my cheek.

Unlike Liam's slightly cool body temperature, his fingertips were hot. My body trembled.

I instinctively turned my head, but I quickly realized I couldn't repay this money.

I mustered up the courage and gently grabbed his coat.

Adam threw me onto the bed.

When he pressed down on me, I was so nervous that I couldn't stop trembling.

The unfamiliar aura made me shiver. I clenched my teeth. After a long time, he finally sighed softly.

He pinched my chin.

"So nervous?" he asked in a low voice.

His eyelashes brushed my cheek, making me even more nervous. For some reason, I suddenly started crying. The tears kept flowing.

"Do you hate me that much?" Adam asked, sounding a bit helpless.

"I... I'm just scared."

I knew it was lame of me, but I couldn't control it. Adam reached out and gently wiped my cheek. His palm was broad and warm.

For some reason, I was quite afraid he'd get mad and hit me.

But then his tone suddenly softened, "It's my fault for scaring you so much."

What was he saying?

I widened my eyes, feeling a gentle kiss fall on my lips.

I never knew a kiss could be so gentle.

Because Liam rarely kissed me.

Honestly, it's embarrassing to say, but I was the one who pursued Liam.

I saw him being beaten up at the bar entrance for not being able to pay, so I took him home.

He looked at me profoundly and suddenly smiled. "You like me?"

His smile was so bright that I was stunned.

Then, somehow, we ended up together.

I liked Liam a lot, even though his temper was a bit strange.

He would get angry for no reason and sometimes look at me impatiently. I thought it was because his parents had died when he was young.

We were the same kind of people.

In this world, we would be each other's only lover and salvation.

Looking at Liam was like seeing myself, yet we were so different.

I didn't want him to walk the path I had taken but to live in sunlight and love.

So, when he said he wanted to drop out of school, I immediately offered to support him.

Liam raised his eyebrow and said, "You'll support me? Do you know what you're saying? Do you have that much money?"

"No matter what, you have to stay in school."

He suddenly smiled and gently patted my head. "Alice, you're so good to me."

But I never expected to become such a big joke.

I was his doormat, just a joke for his idle moments.

Thinking this, I suddenly felt a destructive courage. I didn't care about giving myself to Adam since no one in this world loved me anyway.

My hands trembled as I tried to take off my clothes, but Adam laid me down on the bed.

His forehead touched mine as he said, "Sleep."

"You... You don't want to..."

"I'm not that bad," he said.

I thought Adam would leave, but he lay on the bed holding me.

I was not used to sleeping with him. Liam and I had never slept together.

Adam had a crisp scent. His arms were so tight around me, making me uncomfortable.

He said hoarsely, "Sleep."

I didn't know what would happen if I didn't sleep, so I quickly closed my eyes.

I didn't understand why Adam let me go. Maybe he had too many women and suddenly found me boring.

Even I didn't expect to fall asleep so quickly.

And that's how I ended up living in Adam's villa.

I didn't know what my status was and didn't dare suggest leaving. After all, I owed him a hundred thousand dollars.

I wasn't naive enough to think that sleeping with him for one night would clear my debt.

When Adam wasn't around, I cleaned his house thoroughly. I thought he would be happy, but he frowned and grabbed my hand. "What are you doing?"

"You... You don't like it? Or do you think I didn't clean well? I'm sorry."

I knew I was clumsy.

Although I came from a poor background, I was not good at housework and was always scolded by my dad as worthless.

Liam was very clean and needed his clothes washed every day, so I naturally helped him with that. One day, as usual, I ironed his clothes, and he suddenly got furious.

"Alice, did you do this on purpose? Don't you know this fabric can't take high heat? Do you know how much this costs?"

Although I didn't know what had happened, I quickly apologized and never dared to touch Liam's jacket again.

I didn't expect someone to care not if I did well but if my hands were hurting.

I looked at Adam's long eyelashes and suddenly understood why many women liked him.

I lowered my eyes, not knowing why my nose started to sting.

My phone suddenly rang.

I didn't expect Liam to call me.

I hadn't decided what to do and instinctively answered the call. Liam asked condescendingly, "Are you done making a scene?"

I was angry.

He deceived me but still felt justified in accusing me of making a fuss.

I didn't know how to respond for a moment. Adam grabbed the phone and said, "Don't call Alice again."

Then, he blocked Liam's number.

Adam's actions were so smooth, almost childish. I stared at him in shock. He shrugged and said, "You broke up, didn't you?"

Before I could react, he said, "I'll take you home."

"I'll walk myself," I said politely.

His expression changed but quickly returned to normal.

"Alright."

Adam had a driver take me home.

When I opened the door, I was stunned. I didn't expect Liam to be waiting at home.

I hadn't seen him in a few days. His clothes were wrinkled, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

He watched me cautiously and visibly relaxed when he saw I was alone.

He sat back down and waved me over. "Come here."

The Liam in front of me had shed his former facade and only showed the arrogance of someone in power. I couldn't understand how he dared to treat me like this.

Tears welled up again, but I just looked at him calmly. "This is my house. Please leave."

Liam frowned. "Why are you living at Adam's house? What did you do? Did you sleep with him?"

"He's not as shameless as you."

Liam suddenly sighed in relief, then impatiently said, "What right do you have to be mad at me? Didn't you know my identity and deliberately get close to me? We're all playing a part. How are you any better than me?"

"Playing a part?

So, this is what he thought of me all along."

Everything suddenly had a reasonable explanation, and I felt completely drained.

I looked at him tiredly. "I'll say this once. I never knew your identity. You overestimate me.

"I was foolish to think you were a poor student. I couldn't afford college before. It's my lifelong regret, so I didn't want you to give up on your studies.

"There was never any hope in my life. I hoped to be your power, but I was wrong. You don't need me.

"Liam, do you think playing with me is fun? Do you know how it feels to work every day, not being able to buy a new piece of clothing, and never daring to have lunch with colleagues? You even tricked me into selling my sister's only keepsake...

"You weren't wrong. I did sleep with him. He redeemed my sister's keepsake. I couldn't repay the money, so I had to do it.

"I'm not like you. I can't do such heartless things. Leave. We're done."

Liam glared at me angrily and raised his hand.

I thought he would slap me and instinctively took a step back. He paused for a moment, then stormed out angrily.