Chapter 1

For seven years, I was in a committed relationship with Liam. Then, I decided to marry him at any cost.

My family found out, probably because someone tipped them off.

When my parents were starting out, they got mixed up with some pretty shady people on the wrong side of the law.

They were obsessed with climbing the social ladder, and they wanted to use me as a bargaining chip for a marriage alliance with a wealthy family.

When guilt-tripping me about "raising me" didn't work, they threatened Liam’s life.

As if that wasn’t enough, I was diagnosed with a terminal illness around the same time.

I caved. I blocked Liam on everything and cut all ties.

Three years later, I was dying, wasting away in a cheap rental in the slums.

I never expected to run into Liam again.

He was a successful entrepreneur now, his arm wrapped around his beautiful, elegant fiancée. He looked at me and said, "Chloe, the only thing that could make me happier than my upcoming wedding to Avery is attending your funeral."

I forced a bitter laugh, gripping my medicine in my hand. With red-rimmed eyes, I looked at him.

"My love, as you wish. I really am going to die."

During a livestream interview, a reporter asked Liam, "Mr. Liam, you started with nothing and achieved all of this. Who are you most grateful to?"

Everyone’s eyes turned to Avery, the elegant beauty standing by his side.

Just as everyone expected Liam to say her name, he curled his lips into a cold smile and said, "Chloe."

The room fell deathly silent.

Liam quickly clarified, "Chloe was my first love. We were together for seven years."

"Back then, I was just a broke guy trying to start a business, and the family she came from was already well-established. To earn their approval, I worked myself to the bone. I drank until I ruined my stomach. But in the end? Chloe dumped me without a second thought."

"So, I’m very grateful to her. If she hadn't been so shallow and ruthless, I never would have found the true love of my life, Avery."

He took Avery’s hand, knelt down, and presented a ring. "Darling, will you marry me?"

The next day, the #1 trending topic in the city wasn’t Liam’s high-profile engagement.

It was: "Chloe: The Gold-Digging Trash Who Got What She Deserved."

My background, my current state, everything was dug up. The photo in the article was of me, bald and emaciated, maliciously edited to look even worse. The comments were flooded with hate.

Even at the hospital, people pointed fingers at me.

They said my family deserved to go bankrupt, and that a piece of trash like me deserved to die of a terminal illness.

It wasn't hard to guess that Liam was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

In the three years since we broke up, his love had curdled into hate. My parents' bankruptcy was his handiwork.

I didn't have money for treatment, so my condition deteriorated rapidly. I was surviving on the cheapest painkillers. Walking was a struggle, so I kept my head down, shuffling slowly through the hospital lobby.

Suddenly, I was hit by someone. I fell to the floor, and a woman’s sharp gasp echoed in my ears.

"Are you blind?"

"Do you have any idea how much this bag costs—wait? Chloe?"

I looked up. It was Avery.

Her coffee had spilled all over her designer bag. The anger in her eyes quickly shifted to amusement and mockery. "Well, if it isn't our local celebrity! Look at you. Even if we sold you for parts, you couldn't pay for this bag. Tell you what—wipe it clean, and I won't hold it against you. How about that?"

I struggled to get up. "You ran into me."

She narrowed her eyes and smiled. "What? Realized Liam was a rising star and now you're regretting it? Can't stand seeing us together, so you’re trying to scam me?"

She leaned in, whispering right by my ear, "You pathetic wretch. You looked down on him and dumped him first! Liam has never been able to let that go, so I’m here to teach you a lesson for him!"

She grabbed my hand, trying to force me to wipe her bag. But before I could touch it, the rest of the steaming coffee in her cup splashed onto my hand.

I instinctively recoiled, knocking the cup over, and the rest of the hot coffee splashed all over Avery.

Before I could process what happened, a heavy slap landed on my face.

"Chloe, stay away from my fiancée!"

I was knocked to the ground, clutching my swollen cheek. I looked up in a daze to see Liam standing in front of Avery, shielding her.

My heart felt like it was being ripped apart.