Grace Lawrence pondered the idea she had gotten from Jesse. The idea did sound crazy, and her pride also came into play with it, but she had no other way. Her mind could not find a way to persuade Cody, who insisted on rejecting her. She was sure nothing could persuade Cody to fence himself off as high as the Berlin Wall to separate himself from her.

Just the thought of that man being so wary of her made her extremely upset, and her pride droop at Cody's attitude towards her. The man had put her out of her mind. In the end, Grace decides to use Jesse's idea as a way out. If she had to regret Jesse's idea later, let it be her right to regret it, but now she was going to do it.

Grace drove her car to the building where Jesse's agency was located. Today, she learned of Cody's schedule from Jesse, who checked the man's schedule for her. As if he really wanted to help her, Jesse prepared many things that he could do.

"You're coming?" greeted Jesse, looking at her once the door in the room opened.

Grace quirked a faint smile that appeared to be a laugh at herself. "What else can I do but this?"

Jesse smiled so cheerfully. "Are you asking for small talk, or do you not know?"

Grace sat where she was, watching the models through the one-way glass connected to Jesse's room. She observed every talent Jesse had there, but her eyes couldn't move from Cody, who even stood out among the other professional models.

"You can choose anyone, though. That's if you want," Jesse said, getting up from his seat and taking the same notice as Grace. "Did any of them catch your eye? I can help you get closer to them if you want."

Grace turned her body toward Jesse. "I've made my choice since yesterday. I proposed to him yesterday and have no intention of proposing to anyone else. Don't make my feelings worse by having to propose to more than one guy."

Jesse laughed with satisfaction. She didn't mean to have fun on top of Grace's pain and confusion. But for the first time, she could see Grace dizzy with something else she wasn't interested in, and the situation was quite amusing. "So you're sticking to your choice. Stay with Cody?"

Grace nodded. "I guess it would be even weirder if it wasn't Cody. I mean, I'm dating him-"

"It's fake. Of course," Jesse interjected before Grace could finish her sentence. The girl walked over to the table where she had been sitting. She sat down casually watching Grace with her eyes.

"Yeah. Thank you for making that clear," Grace replied sarcastically.

"I'm happy to remind you."

Grace looked at Jesse quizzically. "Oh my God," she said, hoping Jesse would find another time to play a trick on her.

"So here it is." Jesse pulled out a medicine from the back of his drawer. He placed it on the table, drawing Grace's attention, who immediately went to it. "Just what you need, no need to thank me. I emphasize again, I'm happy to help."

Grace stared with narrowed eyes. She hated the way Jesse spoke, but she ignored that by taking the medicine Jesse took out and observing it. "What's this?"

"Stimulant," she said cheerfully and smiled mischievously.

Grace widened her eyes with her mouth open. "Are you crazy?"

"What do you want me to give him? Candy, chocolate, or cake. He's not a kid who can be persuaded with that," Jesse said, annoyed that Grace did not appreciate his efforts.

Grace shook her head. Although she thought she had met the wrong friend, she remembered that a person is a reflection of who they meet. But Grace was an exaggerated reflection for her. "But this is out of line. This is a crime!" Grace tried to stay within the bounds of reason.

She tried to retain her humanity. At least she wouldn't manipulate others to that extent.

Stimulant? Oh, my God.

Grace backed away, putting the drug back on the table. Holding it made her afraid of herself.

"Setting him up was a crime from the start." Jesse gave her a stern look. "Don't make me look like a criminal mastermind alone when I only tried to help."

Grace shook her head. "This isn't the kind of help I meant!" she quickly retorted.

"So what kind?"

"You could do something else, a little pushy for example? Using weakness as a threat. You know money can do a lot these days," Grace argued.

Jesse squinted at Grace, his eyes moving up and down, assessing the girl and then looking disgusted. "That method is more disgusting than making him lose consciousness. If you use your method, take advantage of his weakness. And then making her helpless, that's more inhumane and torturous," she objected.

Grace didn't understand what the difference was with using the drug. In the end, Cody would still be helpless because he had to take responsibility.

Seeing the look on Grace's face that she didn't understand her words. Jesse put the medicine back on the table where he first put it. "At least he still has the choice to take responsibility or run away when he does something he doesn't realize. But if you threaten her with her weakness, you don't give her any choice but to accept and agree to whatever you want."

"So you think this is better?" Grace still felt it was a bad choice.

"It's sleeping pills. It's not what you think. I'm kidding." Jesse got up from her seat, but her mood had changed. "I'll make her a drink here. You wait at the hotel I booked. Let me take him there."

Grace sat down on the sofa, momentarily relieved. But she also felt disappointed in what she'd said. Jesse's words that her way was more disgusting rang in her mind. Thinking back, she also realized that her thoughts were disgusting, as Jesse had told her.

The worst act is forcing someone to make them helpless and accept what they are told. It was like she was oppressing a weak person, and her actions didn't give any justification for her attitude.

After pondering Jesse's words for a long time, Grace was awakened by her phone ringing. Jesse's name appeared on her phone screen, indicating that Jesse was calling her.

"Where are you? Cody's almost here, but the room's still empty." Jesse's voice sounded on the other end.

Grace stood up and quickly walked out of Jesse's office. "I'll be there in a minute," she muttered, turning off the call between them.

Starting the car, Grace headed towards the hotel Jesse was referring to. Strangely, she didn't understand why Jesse had decided on that hotel as the place for them to carry out their plan. Of all the hotels, why did it have to be the Grand Diamond Hotel? Grace couldn't guess her friend's thoughts.

Even if she had the time, she still couldn't solve her confusion at how Jesse's sometimes overly simple yet troublesome brain worked.

"I got here first," Grace said to Jesse, who was waiting by sitting back and staring at the view through the room's glass wall.

Jesse turned her body by pushing back the chair she was sitting in, facing Grace. "Take off your clothes," she commanded.

Grace was frozen in place, staring at Jesse stiffly. Suddenly, being asked for her rights seemed to surprise her greatly. A part of her felt like she was in a very low position. She questioned what she was doing there and whether she even had to go that far.

"You want me to take off my clothes?"

"You can't lie beside him with your clothes on, right? Who would believe it."

"Do I have to go this far?"

"Use your underwear, I don't know if that will be enough or not. What we need is for him to believe that you've slept together. So you should at least take off your clothes, except for your underwear."

Grace stayed where she was, watching the place. Staring at the space that would be the site of her lies and guilt.

"I chose this place because here I can make sure that no news about you will get out. Since this place belongs to Mr. Lawrence, who would dare to spread the news out of his own house. Even his workers wouldn't dare to do so, so you can rest easy."

Grace finally understood the reason and the explanation Jesse gave her. "Worst of all, Mr. Lawrence will be the first to know what I did."

"That's the most awkward thing. The workers here probably wouldn't do it if they knew you were his daughter." Jesse checked his cell phone. "They've arrived. I'll have them undress him immediately and lay him on the bed. You go and take your clothes off."

"They'll probably think you're the one sleeping with Cody," Grace said with a small smile.

"They're used to seeing me with men. That's why they must know that Cody is not my taste," she said confidently.

Grace didn't understand. She admitted that Cody's appearance was not a simple thing that could be overlooked. "Cody's not bad."

"He is." Jesse nodded. "He's just not my type. I like guys with oriental faces, and he looks European."

"You're right." As Grace walked out of the room, she took off her clothes one by one, leaving only her underwear on.

Before leaving, Grace stood in front of the mirror, which clearly showed her reflection. She watched the mirror silently, then walked out wearing the bathrobe she had gotten there.

"You ready?" asked Jesse who was still there.

Grace smiled. "I'm not going to do it," Grace said, looking at Cody lying on the bed asleep.

"Maybe you'll do it when he wakes up. Like you said, Cody's not bad." Jesse returned Grace's words.

Grace laughed as she climbed the bed slowly. Then, she took off the robe she was wearing before sharing the blanket with Cody, who had also stripped off his clothes.

Jesse, who was watching the two of them intimately lying next to each other on the bed, smiled meaningfully. Then her eyes moved to sweep the floor around the bed. "Something missing?"

"What?" asked Grace, who rested her head on Cody's chest.

"Where are your clothes?" she asked, spreading Cody's clothes on the floor.

"I left them in the toilet," she said, settling Jesse in confusion.

Then, I immediately walked to the center Grace mentioned and returned with the clothes. And he did the same with Grace's clothes. "Okay, now it looks more real. I'll go first. Let me know when the show is over."

Grace smiled as Jesse left the place. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. Grace lost consciousness because the embrace on her body felt so comfortable or because she was so tired of her thoughts. But as if not allowed to enjoy her sleep, Grace was made to wake up from the shock she felt.

Her head, which had been resting on Cody's firm chest, was pushed away by the man and fell on the pillow. Even so, Cody's quick tug made her startle and wake up.

"What am I doing here?" she asked Grace.

Grace looked at him, the blanket covering her body down to her waist, exposing her upper body, which was only wearing a bra, seemingly sticking out due to her slanted sleeping position. Away from her consciousness that was forced awake, Grace, who did not realize her clothes, looked at Cody.

"What do you mean?" she asked, simply remembering that she was pretending.

"Why are you here with me?"

Grace got up from her lying position, then sat up and brought herself closer to Cody. "Did you forget?" she asked, still in the role. "We spent the night together-"

"You're lying!" Cody cut him off and started putting on his clothes, which were on the floor.

"What do you mean I lied? You can see where we are right now!" Grace said emotionally, making her appearance easier to believe.

Before she could make Cody believe her, the door to the hotel room opened, revealing Nash Lawrence standing there with a worker who opened the door but did not enter the room. "What are you doing Grace!" Nash Lawrence's voice boomed through the room, leaving Cody stunned.

"Dad, I can explain." Grace tried to get out of bed by wrapping her arms around herself.

But Lawrence moved in another direction. He was pointing at Cody in a different corner. "You have to take responsibility. You have to marry her!" Nash said to Cody.

Cody stood in panic for a moment. But afterward, he managed to control himself. "Nothing happened with your daughter and me. I'm sure of it. You can ask her directly if you don't believe me-"

Cody was about to walk out, but his steps stopped. He was startled by the loud sound of a loud slap echoing. The man suddenly turned around and stared in surprise.

Grace landed on the bed because of the hard blow from Nash's palm that pushed and made her body sway. "I asked you to get married because I didn't want something like this to happen and spread out. But you just did! What do you think you're doing, Grace?!" he snapped at her loudly.

Grace was frozen there. She didn't move as the slap on her cheek heated up, and her jaw hardened. It wasn't just her cheek that was hurting; her feelings and ego, too, were hurt.

Nash stared at her sharply at the mess with an inexplicable annoyance. "You should clean things up before any news about this gets out and is picked up by the reporters. I've had enough of your attitude so far." After saying that, Nash moved out past Cody with a sharp glance.

Are you okay?" Cody approached her, kneeling and checking on her.

But as Grace pushed away Cody's hand on her shoulder and tried to help her up, Grace gave Cody a cynical look. "Do I look okay to you?" she spoke in a sarcastic tone, then felt frustrated afterward. Once she realized what she did to Cody; Grace didn't understand why she was taking out her frustration on the innocent Cody.

Even though Grace knew Cody was innocent, she inwardly denied it and kept blaming him to cover up her shame and save her ego. She had never been treated this badly in front of others, but this time, she was getting treated badly right in front of the person she was persuading for her plan.

Cody looked at her doubtfully. She certainly didn't look fine to him. That's why he asked about her condition, making sure before he left. He felt bad about leaving Grace as if nothing had ever happened. "Get up and put your clothes on first." Cody held her arm and helped her up.

Grace looked at him with an unfriendly face but still let him touch her. After ensuring she was balanced on both feet, Cody picked up Grace's clothes and gave them to her. "I'll get something to treat your cheek." He left after putting Grace's clothes on the bed, then turned and left the room.

Grace stared intently at the back, then turned to stare at the bed once it was no longer visible. "What's he doing?" murmured Grace as she pulled the covers off her body and began to put on her clothes one by one.

Grace got out of there fully dressed. Then she stood in front of a mirror. Her hand moved up to touch her cheek, stroking it softly with an empty gaze. Now she understood what Cody meant. "So he saw me being slapped hard by Dad?" Grace breathed softly. Then she turned away from the mirror.

At the same time, Cody returned with a small container and a cloth. They stared at each other for a while until Grace continued walking and sat on the sofa. Cody, who saw her stiffly, followed her and sat there as well.

Putting the container on the table, he dipped the cloth in ice water and wrung it dry. Only then did he sit down facing Grace. "Hold on a second," Cody said, holding the cloth to Grace's cheek.

Grace glanced at him flatly. She pressed Cody's wrist to get off. "What are you doing?" she asked the man coldly.

Cody stared at her, his hands stopping stiffly at Grace's cold glare. "I want to compress it; your cheeks are red."

"That's why." Grace made an offended face at him. "Why do you care? What do you have to do with my wound? Why don't you leave? Didn't you want to leave earlier?" she raised her eyebrows. Her neck slightly moved her head, pointing towards the door.

Cody ignored her. He returned to dipping the cloth, wrung it out, and pressed it against Grace's cheek. "How could I do that? Leaving you in that state-"

"You feel guilty." Grace already felt bad enough.

For the longest time, Grace couldn't understand why her father was so hard on her and why he was never satisfied with her. Why did he demand so many things, but today, he did something that made Grace's immunity to him useless? Nash made Grace feel like her lifelong efforts were nothing and that she didn't matter.

Grece stared at Cody, who stared at her awkwardly; she watched Cody's face, reading the guilt on that face. She recalled that her father asked Cody to take responsibility for her, which meant Nash accepted Cody. "If you feel sorry for me, then take responsibility."

Cody wrinkled his face, lowered his hands, and looked at Grace with a stunned look. "I told you I didn't do anything. I have no reason to marry you." He almost got up from where he was, but Grace held him back.

Grace pulled on his arm, making him sit up, and then held Cody's shoulders against the back of the sofa while she bent her knees right next to his thighs. Cody was automatically held there because if he forced himself up, Grace would be sitting on his lap, making their distance even smaller.

"Even after what happened, you still want to say that you didn't do anything to me?" she brought her face closer to Cody, who looked up at her.

Grace slowly lowered her head, getting closer to Cody's face. The corner of Grace's eye caught the movement that Cody made. The man looked distressed. He was upset and moved his shoulders, pressing deeper into the back of the sofa only to back away. Grace ignored that and kept moving forward.

She then moved closer to Cody's ear, touching the back of the sofa that held his arms upright and supported his body. "Are you sure you didn't do it?" she whispered, then glanced at Cody's reaction.

Cody gulped, then looked at Grace with an agitated gaze. "I'm sure nothing happened between us." He said it with his eyes, which showed emotion more clearly.

Grace looked at her coldly. "Then let's see." Grece approached him more boldly, the distance between their lips growing thinner.

Cody gasped as he could feel Grace's breath brush his face warmly. His hands moved up. He tried to hold Grace's shoulders and make her move from there because he had calculated what would happen, but Grace acted first.

Grace pressed her lips against Cody's, her hands that had been holding her body against the back of the sofa now wrapped around Cody's neck. She dropped her weight on Cody's body. Under her body, Cody was still trying to escape, but as Grace acted more wildly by crushing her lips and moving her other hand to grope Cody's body, the man's defenses were released.

Cody pressed Grace's neck deeper into him and began to return the licks on her lips while Cody's hands that were behind Grace's body moved up and unhooked the bra behind her body with ease.

In between their kisses, Grace smiled. Her eyelids opened, and she peeked at the expression on Cody's face that had changed. That innocent man no longer had the same look in his eyes, his eyes like someone drowning in pleasure. Grace kissed him, then stopped. She released her embrace on Cody's neck, then stood up straight with her knees still on the sofa, curbing the free movement of Cody's thighs sitting there.

Grace smiled. "You're a normal guy." She smiled contentedly while Cody stared at her, puzzled, the Adam's apple in his throat moving up interestingly. "You took it off just like before." Grace lied, but her lie made Cody hesitate and think of something.