"Leo," Renee chimed in. She had been quietly watching the drama unfold, but now she looked at Leonardo with downcast eyes. "Should we step outside and give you and your fiancee some time alone to talk things through?"

"She's not my fiancee!" Leonardo snapped and instinctively shoved me away.

I lost my balance and fell straight backward, my lower back slamming hard against the table behind me. The glass on the edge slid off and shattered on the floor. Shards flew across the tile, grazing Renee's delicate ankle.

She let out a soft, dramatic gasp. "It hurts…"

Leonardo's face paled instantly. He dropped to his knees to check her wound before scooping her up in his arms. "Let's find a doctor."

Meanwhile, I was left clutching my lower back, the sharp pain anchoring me to the spot.

Inside the hospital room, their friends—all too eager to suck up to the golden couple—grabbed a bucket of filthy mop water and splashed it all over me.

"Vanessa, don't think that just because you were willing to give up the credit for your designs, you get to act all high and mighty in front of Renee. To us, and to Leonardo, you're nothing but a dog."

"Look at how panicked Leonardo got over a tiny scratch on Renee. Have you ever been treated like that in all your years of groveling? Do yourself a favor and leave quietly, or you'll just end up embarrassing yourself even more."

The room erupted into a chorus of mocking laughter. Every word was a calculated jab meant to belittle and degrade me.

I wiped the filthy water from my face, my voice calm and unruffled. "I'm not going to get in their way, because I never actually liked Leonardo anyway."

That single sentence left everyone in the room rooted to the spot.

Just as they were gearing up for another round of insults, the door swung open, and Leonardo walked in. Seeing the mess on the floor and me drenched from head to toe, his brow furrowed in irritation.

"What the hell is going on here?"

No one expected him to come back, let alone get angry over me, his so-called devoted lapdog.

After a long pause, someone forced out a nervous laugh. "Leo, come on. We were just joking around with your little pet."

"This is your idea of a joke?" Leonardo's expression darkened. "Even if she's a dog, she's still mine. No one else gets to lay a finger on her."

His voice dropped, cold and dangerous. "Anyone who laid hands on her, slap yourselves. Don't make me do it for you."

This time, I was the one caught off guard. Since when did Leonardo possess a conscience? Since when was he this decent to me?

As the sound of rhythmic slapping filled the room, Leonardo draped his jacket over my shoulders and led me out.

I followed him out of the hospital room, completely bewildered.

Then, his phone buzzed again. It was Renee.

"Leo, where did you go?" her voice whined through the speaker, soft and cloying. "I'm scared of being alone in the hospital. Can you come back and stay with me? Please?"

Leonardo hesitated, his gaze flickering toward me. "Vanessa, can you find a doctor on your own?"

I looked down at my drenched dress and scraped palms, and a smile bloomed across my face. "Of course I can."

At that, Leonardo looked as though he had just been granted a pardon. He let out a visible sigh of relief. "Then just head home once you're done."

I nodded. "Alright."

I skipped the doctor and went straight home.

As soon as I stepped inside, I called the private investigator I had hired years ago to track down the recipient of the heart transplant.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Richardson. We made a critical error in the initial investigation. Leonardo wasn't the only one involved in the car accident that day. His best friend, Adrian Jenkin, was there too."

He added, "After the heart transplant surgery, Adrian and his family moved to Northwell. They haven't been back since."

The voice on the other end sounded genuinely apologetic. Silence stretched between us for a long moment before I finally found my voice.

"I see. Please continue tracking his exact whereabouts. As soon as you find him, book me the first flight out. I want to see him as soon as possible."

…

I had always been frail. After the emotional toll of the day, my body finally gave out.

I didn't know how long I lay unconscious in my apartment. In the haze, I felt a warm hand gently brushing my forehead. The touch was achingly familiar—like my late boyfriend, Neil Thatcher.

Whenever I fell sick, Neil would stay up all night by my side, patiently coaxing me to take my medicine before watching me drift off to sleep. The memory made tears spill uncontrollably from the corners of my eyes.

I reached out, gripping that hand like a lifeline as I murmured, "Neil…"

The next second, a searing pain shot through my wrist. I bolted awake, my eyes meeting Leonardo's livid stare.

"Vanessa, who is the man you were calling out for?" he demanded.

I lowered my gaze, my heart sinking with quiet disappointment. "Just an old friend. I was dreaming about my childhood."

Though suspicion still lingered in his eyes, he chose to believe me in the end. He didn't know anything about my past lover or why I had pursued him so relentlessly.

But after witnessing my devotion over the years, he was convinced that a lapdog like me couldn't possibly have room in my heart for anyone else.

"What are you doing in my house?" I asked.

Leonardo stiffened slightly. "You gave me your door code before. I called you several times, but you didn't answer, so I came over."

He abruptly shifted the topic. "There's a dinner between our two families tonight. I hope you—"

"Don't worry," I cut him off. "I know what I should do."

I knew exactly why he was here in such a rush. This so-called mercy mission had nothing to do with concern. He just needed me to play along tonight.

All these years, I had mistaken him for someone else. I supposed it was my own fault for holding on so long. Tonight's performance would be my way of making it up to him.

I forced myself out of bed and applied delicate makeup to conceal the sickly pallor of my skin.

Leonardo went downstairs first to wait for me in the car.

When I opened the passenger door, a strange scent mixed with perfume hit me, making me feel inexplicably nauseous.

Renee was sitting in the front passenger seat, beaming at me. "Leo said tonight was important, and he wanted the woman he loves by his side. You don't mind, do you, Ms. Richardson?"

I replied coldly, "I thought this was a private dinner between our families."

Leonardo glanced at me, clearly uncomfortable. "There will be a lot of people there tonight. Renee just got back to the country. She wants to make the rounds and meet people."

He cleared his throat. "Besides, my parents actually like you. You could put in a good word for Renee while you're at it."

I watched them from the back seat, acting affectionate as ever, and felt absolutely nothing.

"Alright."

Only Leonardo would have the audacity to ask his fiancee to put in a good word for his first love at a family dinner. Once again, it proved that he could never be the man I loved.

When I arrived at the venue, I realized this wasn't just some private gathering between our families. Instead, the Zellers were hosting a full-blown gala under the guise of my family's name.

Over the years, they had leveraged the Richardson family's influence to court business partners and amass an enormous fortune in a short span of time.

They wanted me there merely as a mascot to lend them credibility so that no matter what the Zellers did, the Richardson Group would always be there to pick up the tab.

Amidst the din of the crowd, Renee looked at me with a smug glint in her eye. "Vanessa, isn't it boring sitting there all by yourself? Why don't you come play Truth or Dare with us!"

Before I could even open my mouth, the group swarmed me, effectively trapping me in their circle.

They spun a beer bottle on the table, and as if on cue, the neck pointed straight at me. Renee fanned out a deck of cards, signaling for me to pick one.

I flipped a card over. There was only one question written on it: "Is the person you love most in this room?"

"Oh, come on. Is that even a question? The answer is a total given," someone joked, their eyes immediately drifting to Leonardo, who was standing nearby.

"Exactly. Everyone in this circle knows Vanessa is Leo's most devoted lapdog. She obviously loves Leo the most!"

Just when everyone thought the question was far too simple, I slowly shook my head. "No. He isn't here."

The room fell into stunned silence. Even Leonardo, who usually couldn't care less about me, had his face turn sour immediately.

As for me, having finally spoken my truth, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. The masquerade was finally over.

I grabbed my bag and turned to leave. I just wanted this absurd farce of mistaking the wrong person to end as soon as possible.

Leonardo caught up to me in a few quick strides, his voice sharp with confusion. "Vanessa, what was that supposed to mean?"

I looked at his irritated expression and opened my mouth to explain, but he cut me off before I could get a word out.

"Are you throwing a fit because Renee came along? Or are you still holding a grudge because I didn't go with you to see the doctor and take you home the other day? Or is it because I lied about today being a family dinner?"

He didn't believe for a second that I meant what I had just said. To him, I was just being jealous and sulking.

"None of that matters to me," I said softly. "It's not worth getting angry over."

My lack of fire only convinced him further that I was jealous, and his gloom lifted slightly.

"You're acting like a child. You know how much I hate it when women play these games. Don't be mad. I told you I'd go see Mr. Richardson with you, and I keep my word. We'll go visit him tomorrow, okay?"

"Whatever," I replied dismissively.

By tomorrow, there was no guarantee he'd even be able to find me.

As I turned to walk away, he called out again. "No hug? I thought listening to my heartbeat was your favorite thing."

I pushed his hand away. "No thanks. I don't need to hear it anymore."

Leonardo froze, completely blindsided. In the past, hearing that would have felt like a relief. But now, it left him with a strange, gnawing sense of irritation.

He turned and stormed off.

He expected me to chase after him, but by the time he finally looked back, I was already gone.

Early the next morning, my phone rang. It was the private investigator.