Chapter 1

At the age of 18, Elizabeth Farley had to sell herself to a man ten years her age to pay for her mother's medical bills. She even came to know about his real identity much later. Spencer Cooper, head of Cooper Corporation, was a name spoken with respect and fear in the business world. He was a man renowned for his keen instincts and ruthless tactics. Yet with her, he was unbelievably gentle. His adoration of Elizabeth was so profound that it birthed the cruel illusion of being loved. She had once casually mentioned that she liked the cake from a dessert shop in Springbrooke. By the next morning, he had bought the entire shop, assigning its ovens and staff to bake solely for her. When she had a fever in the middle of the night, he abandoned his international conference and flew back immediately. He even sat by her bedside for hours, patiently changing the cold towels on her forehead. On her 20th birthday, he took her to see the northern lights. Beneath a sky lit with cascading ribbons of light, he took her hand, kissed her fingers, and said, "Little one, from now on, I'll spend every birthday with you." She believed him. Until one day, a stranger asked to meet her. "Allow me to introduce myself," the woman said. "My name is Courtney Gallagher. I'm Spencer's ex-girlfriend. "He proposed to me seven years ago. But I chose my career and left the country. We haven't spoken since, but I know him. I know that when I return, he'll come back to me." With that, Courtney slid a check across the table toward Elizabeth. "I'm planning to get back with him. But before that, I need to clear out the woman in his life. 50 million dollars should be enough for a kept woman like you. Take it, and leave him." Elizabeth's throat tightened. She had never known about Spencer's past, nor had she ever asked about it. She had loved him since she was old enough to understand what love was. He was the only one for her. But now she knew that he had once loved someone else. Thinking back on the time they had spent together, Elizabeth gathered the courage to say, "It's been years. Maybe Mr. Cooper has already moved on…" "You don't understand how much he loved me," Courtney chuckled. "How about we make a bet?" She lifted her phone and continued, "I'll text him. I'll tell him that I'm back, but my car broke down, so I need a ride. You'll text him and say you're in a car accident. Let's see who he replies to first." Courtney then glanced up and added in a winning manner, "If he answers me first, you can take the money and leave. If he answers you first, I'll walk away." A storm of emotions swirled through Elizabeth—anxiety, fear, and doubt—but a fierce resolve swept them away. "Okay," she replied. The moment both messages were sent, every passing second ticked by excruciatingly slowly. Elizabeth stared at her phone as her thoughts scattered with memories of Spencer surging in her mind like a film reel. She recalled the way his eyes softened with concern as he massaged her stomach when she was experiencing period cramps; the way he pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of her lips beneath a sky of falling snow; the way he pinned her against the window walls on New Year's Eve… Scene after scene flickered vividly before her eyes, each one tugging her thoughts further away until a sudden ringtone shattered the silence. Elizabeth snapped back to reality just in time to see Courtney smiling victoriously as she picked up her phone and placed the call on speaker mode. "Send me your location," Spencer's voice came through the phone, low and cold. He had barely spoken for a few seconds, yet his words echoed in Elizabeth's chest like a death toll, tearing through the fragile hope she had been holding onto. She clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and her breath caught in her throat as she bit down hard on her lip. It was like her body was bracing for impact, or simply forgetting how to breathe. Courtney, who was obviously pleased with Elizabeth's reaction, drawled into the phone, "Are you sure it's not too much trouble? Do you have more important things to handle?" There was a pause on the other end of the call, then he finally replied casually, "No. Tell me your location." Courtney's smile deepened as she ended the call and slowly sent him her location. Elizabeth's mind went blank as she stared at her phone, which remained still. The light in her eyes gradually dimmed, and she squeezed out some broken sounds from her throat. "Did he… used to love you that much?" Courtney chuckled. "Of course! Do you want me to tell you the details?" She listed them one by one, savoring every word. "He took me to see the northern lights and promised he would spend every New Year with me. "He bought an entire dessert shop just because I liked their desserts. "He used to hate cats. But when I took in a stray, he let it sleep in the master bedroom." Elizabeth felt a chilling ache sink deep into her bones. It turned out that everything he had done for her had only been a reflection of someone else. All along, he had only been remembering Courtney through her. "You lost the bet. It's time for you to leave," Courtney said as she pushed the check toward her. "You're right… I lost." Just four simple words drained every ounce of strength from Elizabeth's body. She reached out with a trembling hand, the skin torn and bloodied where her nails had dug in, and took the check. Her eyes were shut tightly in despair as her voice sounded hollow and numb. "I'll disappear from his sight. Just as you wished." Getting the answer she had come for, Courtney chose not to linger. She turned on her heel sharply against the floor and left without another glance toward Elizabeth. Silence once again fell like a shroud. Elizabeth bit down so hard on her lip that blood bloomed across the skin. She forced herself to swallow the storm of emotion rising in her chest. Then, dragging her exhausted body forward, she gradually left the cafe. Just as it reflected her emotions, the rain outside was pouring down in torrents. Nevertheless, she walked straight into it as if she could no longer feel a thing. However, she didn't notice the sleek black car that sped by until it was too late. A wave of water surged up and soaked her completely in the process. The car window soon rolled down to reveal Courtney. Her smile was mocking as she said, "Oops! My bad. I just thought you looked a little too dry to be a proper drowned rat." With that, she drove away with a smile without waiting for a reply. The rain kept pouring as Elizabeth trudged back to the villa, drenched and defeated, every step heavy with the weight of everything she had just lost. At that moment, her phone suddenly rang. It was a call from one of her professors. "Ms. Farley, have you made your final decision about the exchange program? Are you really giving it up?" The sigh on the other end brought her drifting thoughts back into focus. She stared out at the curtain of rain outside the window, then shook her head slowly and spoke steadily. "No. I'm going. I'll go alone."