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.