Contract Over: Heiress Unmasked

Chapter 6: Who Do You Think You Are?

"What?" I looked up at Zander, my brows furrowing in genuine confusion.

Zander stood there, his ego clearly writing a script where I was still his devoted puppet. He probably thought I was just playing hard to get, holding onto his 'gift' out of spite. He softened his voice, offering a sliver of unearned warmth. "Look, I was a bit harsh at the store. Don't be mad anymore, okay?"

I sighed, meeting his gaze with a flat, tired expression. "I'm not mad, Zander."

"Right. Playing the 'silent treatment' card now?" He rolled his eyes.

"Think whatever you want."

His patience snapped instantly. "Dammit, Chloe! I’ve already apologized. What more do you want from me?"

I didn't stop packing. My voice remained a calm, steady rhythm against his rising temper. "I don't want anything from you. Not even an apology."

Zander stared at me for a long beat, his eyes searching mine for a flicker of the old devotion. When he didn't find it, his expression shifted to something more demanding. "Fine. Where’s the gift?"

"What gift?" I asked, folding a silk camisole.

"Yuzhou saw you buying a luxury watch today," Zander snapped. "You bought it to suck up to me after our fight, didn't you? Well, I’m back. You can stop the drama and hand it over."

I opened my mouth to tell him it wasn't for him, but he barreled on, his voice dripping with condescension. "That's enough, Chloe. If you keep pushing this, it's not going to be cute anymore."

I couldn't help it. A short, dry laugh escaped my lips.

"What’s so funny?" he growled, his eyes darkening.

"You are," I said, meeting those handsome, treacherous eyes. "I did buy a watch. But it wasn't for you. And I don't recall doing anything wrong that requires me to 'bow down' to you."

"Not for me? Then who the hell is it for?" His fists clenched at his sides, the veins on his neck pulsing with sudden fury.

"None of your business."

"None of my business?" Zander stepped into my personal space, his shadow looming over me. "I’m your boyfriend! You’re out here buying expensive gifts for other men and you think I don't have a right to know?"

I looked at him, truly seeing the hypocrisy for the first time. "Aren't you Seraphina’s boyfriend? I saw you two picking out rings today."

His anger flickered, replaced briefly by a guilty shadow. "I told you, it’s not like that." His voice lost its edge, turning defensive. He was a man who enjoyed the thrill of the chase but lacked the courage of his convictions.

He liked Seraphina’s fire and her boldness, but he also liked my gentle nature and my 'manageability.' He wanted the moon and the stars without losing the earth beneath his feet.

"My mother asked me to take Seraphina ring shopping," he explained, his voice gaining speed as he crafted the lie. "It wasn't for her. My mother just bought a new silk dress and needed a set of jewelry to match. She trusts Seraphina’s taste. I only went along to help. I didn't explain at the shop because I wanted to see you get a little jealous. I wanted to see if you still cared."

"Jealous?" I felt a chill settle in my bones. "You actually enjoy hurting me?"

"Chloe, I'm sorry..."

"I heard your apology," I cut him off, my voice like ice. "I just don't accept it. And the watch? It really isn't for you."

"Then who?" he roared.

"My fiancé."

Zander let out a harsh, mocking bark of laughter. "My god, Chloe. You’re really going this far to force a proposal? You think if you tell me there's another 'fiancé,' I’ll suddenly drop to one knee and beg you to marry me?"

He shook his head, looking at me with a mixture of pity and disappointment. "I thought you were smarter than this. I thought you understood the gap between us—the bridge you can't cross. I thought you were the 'sensible' one, but this constant pressure to marry into my family... it’s pathetic."

I stared at him, speechless. The sheer, blinding narcissism of this man was a marvel.

Zander didn't wait for a reply. He turned on his heel and slammed the bedroom door so hard the frames on the wall rattled.

I shook my head, a bitter smile touching my lips. I had planned to end it properly—to tell him I was the heiress of the Chloe family from Jiang City and that I was returning home to marry Elias. But he hadn't even given me the breath to say it.

Maybe I had given him too much confidence. For three years, I played the part of the perfect, submissive girlfriend. I never checked his phone, never threw tantrums, and gave him everything he asked for—except for the one thing I kept for myself. He must have mistaken my kindness for desperation.

He didn't know that a year ago, I had overheard him on the phone with his mother, Monica.

*"Don't worry, Mom,"* he had said. *"I know she’s not 'wife material' for a family like ours. I’m just having fun. I’m not a total i***t; I know the difference between a fling and a marriage."*

That day, the girl who loved him died. I stayed because I was lonely in this cold city and I wasn't ready to go back to the gilded cage of my own family. I used him for companionship, just as he used me for a placeholder. But finding out I was just a 'substitute' for his precious Seraphina? That was the final straw.

The doorbell rang, sharp and insistent.

I opened it to find a woman who looked like a walking advertisement for old money. Monica Grant stood there in a navy silk cheongsam, draped in sapphires that cost more than a suburban house. She looked at me as if I were a stain on her expensive rug.

"You must be Chloe," she said, her voice dripping with practiced elegance and cold disdain.

She walked past me into the living room without an invitation, her eyes conducting a swift, judgmental tour of the space. She settled onto the sofa, crossing her legs with feline grace.

"I’ve heard all about your little 'stunt' today," Monica said, her gaze landing on me like a weight. "Let’s be clear, dear. A girl like you? You really think you have what it takes to marry into the Grant family?"

**Hook:** *I leaned against the doorframe, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across my face. Monica Grant wanted a fight? She had no idea she wasn't talking to a social climber. She was talking to the woman who could buy and sell her entire bloodline before breakfast.*