Chapter 1
On the night I attended the exclusive high-society charity gala, the underprivileged student I sponsor suddenly posted a new update on her i********:.
Mr. Hayes says I'm his little princess who just turned 18.
In the photo, the girl I sponsor was wearing the proposal gown my fiancé had personally designed for me, snuggling shyly into Mr. Hayes' arms.
His face wasn't visible, but the mole on his Adam's apple was far too distinctive. It was my fiancé, Howard Hayes.
I stared blankly at the photo, just about to take a screenshot to confront him.
In the next instant, I suddenly noticed the heirloom emerald pendant left to me by my grandmother appearing on the auction stage.
I narrowed my eyes, snapped a pic of it, and sent it to Howard.
Kara: This is mine, isn't it?
Kara: Why did the host introduce the donor as Giana?
Kara: Tell me, if I call the police right now, who's gonna end up in jail... you, or Giana?"
The moment the message showed it had been successfully sent, Giana's face appeared on the big screen as the donor. Right beside her was Howard, looking completely smitten.
Everyone was murmuring, trying to figure out which wealthy San Francisco family Giana was the beloved daughter of.
I shot to my feet and marched over to Howard.
"Ignoring my messages? Does that mean you're just going to answer my question to my face instead?"
I stared at the man in front of me with a half-smirk. He glanced down at his phone, and his face instantly turned ghastly pale.
"Why so quiet? You gone mute?"
My figure appeared on the big screen, and the young lady of the Reed family, who had organized this charity auction, immediately came over.
Her probing gaze darted back and forth between me, Howard, and Giana.
"Kara, are these two friends of yours?"
Rachel Reed obviously held far more respect for me than she did for Howard.
"President Hayes is a rising star here in San Francisco, and he was kind enough to donate quite a few items to my auction for free today. Same with Miss Andrews. That emerald pendant she donated was appraised by experts at 60 million dollars."
With that, she thanked Howard again.
"President Hayes, we really appreciate you going out of your way to contribute today."
I gave a cold, empty smile, looked at Howard's stiff expression, and stepped forward to link my arm through his.
"More than friends. He's my fiancé."
As the future head of the Davis family, even entering a marriage alliance with Howard would already be marrying beneath me.
To spare Howard's fragile ego, we had kept our relationship a secret ever since we started dating. I never could have guessed my consideration would just push him to cheat on me.
When Giana heard what I said, she jerked her head up and stared at me bitterly, her eyes brimming with barely concealed jealousy and calculation.
I met her scrutiny calmly, feeling thoroughly disappointed in her at the same time.
I had sponsored her so she could change her fate through education. Who could have guessed she'd rather cut corners and leech off others instead!
By now, the look in Rachel's eyes as she glanced at Howard and Giana had grown noticeably charged.
She asked Giana tentatively, "Which family are you from, Miss Andrews? We're all very curious about you popping up out of the blue like this."
That short question left Giana so flustered her face burned bright red.
Seeing this, Howard brushed my hand away and stepped in front of Giana, his face dark with displeasure.
"Miss Reed, don't you think that's very rude?"
Look at him putting on such a self-righteous act.
Seeing the adoration written all over Giana's face, I let out a cold sneer, "You're the one being rude, Howard. If I remember correctly, the dress Miss Andrews is wearing is the engagement proposal gown you designed for me. Miss Andrews is your date, after all. How do you even have the nerve to make her wear second-hand clothes?"
The moment those words left my mouth, Giana's face drained of color instantly. She bit her lip and looked at Howard with a pitiful, wronged pout.
Howard gave her a reassuring look, then yanked me aside.
"Kara, how can you target her like that?! I only brought her here to give her a taste of the high life because I felt bad for her, that's all."
I stared at him meaningfully, holding his gaze until he shifted uncomfortably, then said slowly, my voice icy, "Fine, it's just a dress. I can let that go. But the emerald pendant my grandmother left me, you, thoughtless little thief went and stole it. I expect you to pay me back a hundred, no, a thousand times over. You heard it just now, it's valued at 60 million. So how many hundred million do you owe me?"
Howard's jaw tightened.
After a long moment, he ground out through clenched teeth, "I get it. I'll get it back."
