Chapter 1

Claire Whitmore brought her childhood sweetheart and fiancé,Adrian Calloway,to meet Lenara Beaumont,her best friend of ten years.

Lenara was a top-tier gold digger who had never believed in love.She firmly believed that every man in the world would eventually cheat.

From the moment they met,Lenara and Adrian did not get along.Adrian disliked her love of money,while Lenara did not believe his sweet promises of love.

Although they couldn't stand each other,they managed to get along for Claire's sake.

That all changed when Claire returned home early after spending six months abroad on assignment.She happened to witness Adrian protecting Lenara in public and claiming that he was her boyfriend.

Soon,one painful truth after another came to light.Lenara was pregnant.Adrian had drugged Claire,and behind her back,the two had slept together in the very house where Claire and Adrian were supposed to start their married life.

Instead of breaking down or making a scene,Claire remained calm.She withdrew her investment,replaced their wedding photos,and,on the day of the wedding,replaced herself as the bride with Lenara.

Then she left for Westmere without looking back.

On their wedding day,both Adrian and Lenara shed tears of regret.

***

My best friend,a top-tier gold digger,had never believed in love.She always said that all men were the same and that cheating was simply in their nature.

So when I first brought my childhood sweetheart,Adrian,to meet her,she curled her lips in disdain and coldly warned him.

"You say you only love Claire?Please.I'd sooner believe pigs could fly than trust a man's promises.No man stays faithful forever.It's only a matter of time before he cheats."

"Adrian,if you ever betray Claire,I'll make sure you regret it for the rest of your life."

Adrian's mother had been driven to her death by her husband's mistress years ago.

Because of that,he hated women like Lenara more than anything.To him,they used their bodies as bargaining chips and treated men like walking ATMs.

Adrian's face immediately turned cold.

"I swear I'll never betray Claire for as long as I live.As for someone like you,I feel disgusted just looking at you.Claire is too innocent.Stay away from her from now on."

What should have been a pleasant first meeting ended with Lenara throwing a bowl of barbecue dipping sauce all over Adrian before storming off.

That day,Adrian said the harshest words he had ever said to me.

"Claire,you're the eldest daughter of the Whitmore family.Don't you think you're lowering yourself by being friends with someone like her?She's nothing but a gold digger who'll go running after whoever has the most money.You can't buy her loyalty.She's only clinging to you because you're rich."

No.

That wasn't true.

Lenara's mother had taken her own life after falling into heavy stock market debt.Her father had been a gambling addict for years,leaving the family buried in debt.

She hadn't become that way because she wanted to.

She simply had no choice.

I cried so hard that I could barely get the words out as I defended her.

"When I was in high school,someone spread a horrible rumor about me.I almost fell into depression,but she stood up for me.She took on several guys all by herself."

"She got that rose tattoo on her chest to cover the scar from the knife wound she suffered that day."

"Those men were the ones who insisted on giving her money.She was just too beautiful.It was their fault,not hers..."

In the end,Adrian's heart softened.He pulled me into his arms and let out a helpless sigh.

"Baby,what am I supposed to do with you?"

From then on,whenever Lenara ran into trouble,I would step in to help.

Adrian always looked annoyed,but he quietly took care of things for me.He stopped mocking her to her face,though he still refused to say more than a few words to her.

Lenara wasn't any kinder to him.She always found something to criticize about him,and the two of them couldn't stand being around each other.

Still,somehow,they managed to get along without any major trouble for all those years.

That lasted until six months ago.

Adrian and I had just gotten engaged when I was sent abroad by my company for a six-month assignment.

Before I left,I asked Adrian to look after Lenara for me.

He was clearly reluctant,but after I begged,pouted,and sweet-talked him for long enough,he finally agreed.

Six months wasn't a short time,but it wasn't that long either.

By late fall,I had finished my work ahead of schedule.I secretly returned home,hoping to surprise Adrian.

Wearing sunglasses and holding a bouquet of sunflowers,I had just reached the entrance of the Calloway Group when I saw Lenara and Adrian walk out of the building side by side.

I was about to sneak up behind them and shout to see if I could scare them when,suddenly,an elegantly dressed middle-aged woman rushed forward like a madwoman and slapped Lenara hard across the face.

"You slut!How dare you seduce my husband."

It all happened so suddenly.The coffee in Lenara's hand spilled all over the ground,leaving her looking completely disheveled.

It was lunchtime,and there were plenty of employees coming and going through the entrance.Their scornful looks felt like needles pricking into her.

Just as the wealthy woman raised her hand to slap Lenara again,Adrian suddenly yanked Lenara behind him and shielded her completely with his broad back.

"Do you realize it's against the law to hit someone in public?And who exactly is your husband?"

The woman put her hands on her hips,trying to sound intimidating despite her nervousness.

"My husband is Julian Hargrove,the general manager of the Calloway Group.This homewrecker knew he was married and still went after him."

Adrian didn't even let her finish.He grabbed Lenara's wrist and pulled her to his side,his voice turning icy.

"Then do you know who I am?I'm the president of the Calloway Group.And she's my girlfriend.You claim she seduced your husband?A man like that isn't even worthy of her."

"You came to my company and hit my girlfriend in front of me.Go home and wait for Julian to be fired."

"As for you assaulting someone in public,I'll have our legal team sue you for everything you've got."

The woman went pale when she heard that.Her legs gave out,and she collapsed onto the ground.

Adrian swept a cold gaze over the crowd.His voice was icy.

"Anyone who dares gossip about what happened today will end up just like Julian Hargrove."

Then he turned to Lenara.He raised a hand and gently wiped the thin streak of blood from the corner of her lips.

Lenara naturally buried her face against his chest.

I stared at them,standing so close and holding each other so naturally.A cold,heavy ache filled my chest,making every breath hurt.

My fingers went numb,and the bright yellow sunflowers slipped from my hand and fell to the ground.

"Ms.Whitmore."

Someone in the crowd spotted me and called out.

Adrian and Lenara turned around at the same time.Only then did they finally see me standing frozen in place.