"Ivy, your dad and I have reached out to top elite families across four different cities. All their eligible sons will show up, and you'll draw lots to choose your fiance."

Listening to her parents' commanding tone over the phone, Ivy Bennett rubbed her temples and sighed helplessly. "Didn't I tell you I have a boyfriend?"

"That delivery guy?" Richard Bennett and Evelyn Alger snapped. "You're an heiress who's destined to inherit Bennett Group. He's not your equal in any way. How long have you been pretending to be poor just to date him? We don't approve of this relationship!"

"I've made up my mind no matter what you say, and I won't agree to this marriage draw," Ivy said, taking a deep breath. With that, she ended the call.

Then, she hopped onto her electric scooter and rushed to her part-time job at the bar before changing into her uniform. As she carried a tray of drinks to the VIP dining room, she was welcomed with a burst of chatter.

"Did you hear? The heiress of Bennett Group is drawing lots in two weeks to choose her fiance! Did you sign up?"

"It's the Bennett family we're talking about; of course, we did."

She heard someone laugh and ask, "What about you, Julian?"

Ivy froze at the door. Peeking through the crack, she noticed that Julian West, who was supposed to be out delivering food, was leaning lazily against the leather couch. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit and wore a luxury watch worth millions of dollars, exuding the arrogance of a man in power.

Casually swirling the wine glass in his hand, he replied, "My dad signed me up. I'll just go through with it."

"Damn, none of us will stand a chance if you show up. Ms. Bennett will surely choose you!" his buddies groaned.

"Even if she chooses me, I'll just turn her down. There's someone I love," he replied indifferently.

Silence fell over the room before someone cautiously asked, "Are you saying that… you haven't gotten over Sophia?"

Julian didn't respond, but his expression darkened.

"No wonder you went after that gig gal!" another said, as if everything suddenly made sense.

"Sophia ran off with that painter, so you found yourself a poor bumpkin just to get back at her, right? I heard that she works ten jobs a day just to save up enough money to marry you. She probably doesn't even realize her savings can't buy a collar for your dog.

"Hell, she doesn't even know her relationship with Julian is just part of a revenge plan to piss off Sophia!"

The room erupted in laughter.

Ivy went cold all over, and what made it worse was that Julian merely sipped his drink and said nothing.

Unaware of her presence, the people in the room kept making crude jokes. "I've never had a taste of a poor bumpkin, Julian. Once you're done playing with her, why don't you give her to me? I wanna try too."

Julian's expression turned cold at the words. His sharp gaze swept across the speaker, throwing daggers. "Touch her and see what happens. She's mine, and even if I don't want her anymore, no one else is allowed to lay a finger on her."

The man paled in terror and began apologizing profusely, while the rest of the group scrambled to ease the tension.

"Don't get so worked up, Julian. We wouldn't touch her even if someone paid us to. It was just a joke; that's all!"

Ivy couldn't bear to stay another second. She turned and fled, stumbling away.

Wandering the rainy streets with no destination in mind, memories flooded her mind.

She was the only daughter and heiress of the Bennetts, which meant that she grew up pampered, adored, and protected.

Four years ago, she ran away from her home in Hampson City and arrived in Joburg City, just because she was unwilling to be forced into a marriage alliance. To force her to yield, her family cut her off financially, and she started working to support herself.

She was bullied while working her part-time jobs, and it was Julian who had stepped in to help her. That was how they met and gradually grew closer until they fell in love…

Throughout all these years, they supported each other through hardship. Life was tough but sweet.

Julian didn't have much money, but he gave her everything he had.

When they were together, she never had to peel her fruits or pick the bones out of her fish. There was always an umbrella in her bag when it rained, and he gave her endless small surprises.

They lived in a hundred-square-foot rented apartment. After long nights of passion, he would hold her tight and promise he'd save up enough money to marry her.

She trusted him, and because of him, she refused to return to the Bennetts. She figured that since their backgrounds were mismatched, she'd give up her title as an heiress just to stay with him forever.

But it turned out that while she was pretending to be poor, so was he. The little moments she had thought were real and the happy future she had been dreaming of were all a lie.

She had given up everything for him, but to him, it was all just a game. Everything was just a revenge plan to get back at the woman he loved.

The pouring torrential rain soaked her to the bone, drowning her heart in grief.

After some time, she picked up her phone and called her parents. "I'll draw the lots, Dad."

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Richard, barely able to contain his excitement, said, "Have you thought it out?"

"Yeah. I just have to wrap a few things up here, then I'll go home," she said softly.

"Great! I'll make the arrangements right away!"

"But I have one condition."

"Name it."

"All the elite families may participate except for the Wests."

Again, Richard paused.

"I don't care who I marry as long as it's not him," she whispered. With that, she ended the call and turned to walk back toward her rented apartment.

Just as she reached the stairs, someone suddenly threw a sack over her head. And before she could react, fists and kicks rained on her.

She couldn't fight back or see who it was. All she could do was curl up and shield her head before blacking out from the pain.

Eventually, they dragged her away and tossed her into a freezing river.

As water rushed into her nose, she heard someone sneer. "Ms. Lane sent us. You don't have to know who she is, but remember that Julian belongs to her. You don't deserve him. You'd better disappear, or we won't go as easy on you next time."

As Ivy sank into the icy river, her consciousness slowly slipped away. She thought she was going to die, but when she opened her eyes, she was met with a blinding white light.

The sharp scent of disinfectant filled her nose. Lying on a hospital bed, every inch of her body ached as if she'd been run over.

"You're awake? How do you feel?" a nurse asked as she stepped in to change her bandages.

Ivy's throat was dry, yet she managed to choke out in a hoarse voice, "W-Who brought me here?"

"A kind stranger," the nurse said with a sigh. "What happened? How did you end up in the river for no reason?"

Ivy closed her eyes as the voices echoed in her ears.

"Ms. Lane sent us. You don't have to know who she is, but remember that Julian belongs to her. You don't deserve him."

She said nothing, and the nurse didn't press either. The latter quietly left after dealing with her wounds.

The ward fell into an eerie silence as Ivy lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her phone sat silently at the head of the bed. There were no messages or missed calls. Julian wasn't even searching for her. He might not have even realized she had gone missing.

The corners of her lips tugged into a bitter smile as she figured that he was probably off seeing Sophia Lane.

Well then. From now on, they could go their separate ways. He would continue being the heir of the Wests while she'd go back to being the heiress of the Bennetts.

…

Most of Ivy's injuries had healed after a few days in the hospital. While she was handling her discharge procedures, a sudden commotion broke out in the lobby of the hospital.

"Move aside! Make way!" A line of bodyguards pushed through the crowd and cleared a path.

When Ivy looked up, she noticed Julian striding in, carrying a woman. He wore a sharply tailored black suit with his luxury watch flashing coldly under the lights. Everything about him radiated aloof elegance, and he was a far cry from the delivery man he pretended to be.

"Where's the director? Clear the entire floor and get the best orthopedic specialist here—now!" he coldly commanded.

Frozen in place, Ivy stared at the lady in his arms. Dressed in a designer dress, her ankle was swollen and red.

She whimpered softly as she nestled closer into his chest. "Julian, it hurts…"

The sight stabbed Ivy straight through the heart like a dagger. So, that was his first love, Sophia.

Ivy suddenly remembered that when she twisted her ankle last winter, Julian had gently helped her with applying the ointment. Back then, she truly believed he loved her.

But now, Sophia had just sprained her ankle, and he was frantically commanding every doctor in the hospital to tend to her wounds. The kind treatment he had given Ivy wasn't even a fraction of what he gave Sophia.

Ivy clenched the discharge papers and turned to leave, but Sophia suddenly asked, "Julian, who's that lady? She's been staring at you for a long time."

Julian halted and followed her gaze. When he spotted Ivy, he frowned slightly.

"Wait here," he murmured to Sophia before walking over. "Ivy, what are you doing here?"

"I wasn't feeling well, so I came in for a check-up," she calmly replied before tossing him the question, "What about you? Who's that lady in your arms?"

Julian's expression shifted slightly, but he soon regained his composure. "Don't get the wrong idea. I ran into her while delivering takeout, and I'm just sending her to the hospital."

Delivering takeout? Ivy glanced at his suit and priceless watch, feeling utterly absurd. Now that Sophia was back, was he still unwilling to come clean? Was he addicted to this lying game now?

She was about to expose that she knew all about his lies and his pretending to be poor. But before she could speak, Sophia cried out in pain in the ward. "Ouch! It hurts!"

Julian paled and hurriedly said, "You head home. I'll be busy the next few days and won't be back." With that, he turned and sprinted toward the ward.

He didn't look back once as he rushed to Sophia's side and carefully gathered her into his arms. "Where does it hurt? Hang in there. The doctor's on the way."

Ivy stood frozen, watching him anxiously fuss around. Then, she chuckled softly. "Since you insist on putting up an act, do it to your heart's content," she murmured under her breath.

After leaving the hospital, Ivy went to all her part-time jobs to resign and settle her final pay.

"Why are you suddenly quitting? Weren't you saving up to marry your boyfriend?" the owner of a convenience store asked, puzzled.

She calmly replied, "Not anymore. He's not good enough for me, so I'm going home to inherit my billions."

Stunned, the owner assumed she was joking, but she said nothing and walked away.

The last stop was the hotel. When she handed in her resignation letter, the supervisor looked troubled and grabbed her hand. "There's a welcome party for an important VIP tonight, Ivy. We're really short-staffed, so could you do me a favor and work just one last shift?"

Ivy recalled that four years ago, when she had run away from home and arrived in Joburg City penniless, it was this supervisor who had taken her in.

After a moment of silence, she finally nodded.

Before the dinner party began, she changed into a server's uniform and joined the others in setting up the champagne tower.

"There's gonna be a major occasion tonight. I heard it's a welcome party personally hosted by Mr. West for Ms. Lane. The whole party costs over a whopping hundred million dollars," one of the servers whispered beside her.

Ivy froze and nearly dropped the glass. The West and Lane families?

She abruptly looked up and scanned the ballroom, only to realize that the venue was filled with familiar faces. They were all Julian's friends and the same people who had been in the VIP dining room, who had laughed and called her a poor bumpkin.

Her breath caught, and her fingers went ice-cold.

Just then, the grand doors of the ballroom swung open. "Mr. West has arrived!"

The crowd stirred, and all eyes turned to the entrance.

Ivy looked up and saw Julian walking arm-in-arm with Sophia, surrounded by admiration. He was dressed in a sleek, black suit and wore a noble expression, a stark contrast from the delivery man Ivy knew.

In a dazzling gown, Sophia clung to his arm with a radiant smile, looking all the more like a beloved princess.

"Thank you for this dinner party, Julian," she said sweetly, gazing up at him with affection in her eyes.

Julian looked down at her and smiled. "As long as you like it."

Standing frozen in a corner of the ballroom, Ivy's heart felt as if it had been crushed by an invisible pair of hands. Just as she turned to leave, someone bumped into her hard.

With a loud crash, the tray of wine bottles she was carrying shattered onto the floor.

Julian looked over at the sound. His eyes widened the moment they landed on her. Striding over, he quickly grabbed her wrist and asked, "Ivy, what are you doing here?"

Ivy met his eyes and replied calmly, "I work here."

Then, she scanned his expensive suit and asked, "What about you?"

Without missing a beat, he said steadily, "I'm just working part-time too. The suit's borrowed."

At his signal, one of his friends immediately jumped in and echoed, "That's right! Today's welcome party is for Ms. Lane. Since he ran into her a while back and couldn't afford to compensate, he's working it off now by pouring drinks. Plus, he can't show up in rags, right? This was an old suit of mine, and I gave it to him out of pity."

Ivy gave a faint, bitter smile as her heart went cold. Even now, he was still putting on an act and doing it so well.

Just then, Sophia heard the commotion and walked over. She glanced around the broken glass bottles and sighed in mock regret. "Oh no! This is my favorite wine, and each bottle costs a thousand dollars."

Then, she looked up at Ivy and smiled sweetly as she continued, "Since you broke ten bottles, how are you going to pay for them?"

Before Ivy could answer, Julian stepped in front of her and said, "I'll pay. One more debt doesn't matter."

Then, he turned to Ivy and softly reassured her, saying, "Don't be afraid. I've got you."

For a split second, Sophia's smile faltered before she affectionately slipped her arm around Julian's. "Alright then. You'd better 'work hard' to pay me back."

Throughout the dinner party, Ivy stood by the champagne tower and watched Julian as Sophia ordered him around.

"Julian, feed me a strawberry.

"Julian, wipe my mouth.

"These heels are killing me. Hold me for a second, Julian."

Every time he leaned in to help, Ivy caught the look of indulgent tenderness in his eyes. It was the same look he'd had years ago when she sprained her ankle and he carried her on his back across three streets.

When Sophia spilled red wine on her chest on purpose and Julian grabbed a napkin to clean it up, Ivy felt as though a dull knife was slowly and mercilessly sawing into her heart.

She couldn't bear to watch any longer and turned to leave the ballroom. Then, she headed to the dressing room to change back into her clothes.

But just as she stepped out the back door of the hotel, Sophia and two burly bodyguards blocked her way.

"Ivy, you've known about Julian's true identity all along, haven't you? You also know that he got close to you just to piss me off, right?" Ivy said, sneering.

Ivy clenched her fists and said nothing.

Taking a step forward, Sophia shot her a look of disdain and viciously continued, "Since you know he loves me and is just fooling around with you, why haven't you left him? You just want money, don't you? Fine. I'll help you earn some." Her lips curled into a cruel smile.

With that, she gestured to the bodyguards.

Before Ivy could react, one of them clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her into a black car.