The Heiress Who LiedChapter 2

Victor looked as though he had just heard something amusing.

He tilted his head. "I'm better looking than you, and I'm richer than you. Isn't it only natural that Rose would choose me?"

Just as he seemed ready to say more, an assistant hurried over. "Ms. Whitehall, the reporters outside are still waiting for an interview."

Rosalind nodded. "Wait for me, Sam."

She released me, turned to Victor, laced her fingers through his, and walked toward the door.

"Jayden, take him away."

Jayden dragged me out through the venue's back door and took me back to my rented apartment.

Before he left, he tried to talk some sense into me. "Sam, a person needs to know their place. Someone like Rosalind is beyond your reach.

"Vic can post a couple of random videos and rack up 1,000,000 followers without even trying. He's already out of your league in every way. What do you even have to compete with him?"

When he saw how lost and defeated I looked, Jayden seemed to want to say more. In the end, he stopped himself and left in silence.

I sank onto the couch and stared blankly around the apartment.

I came from a single-parent household. My greatest dream had always been to have a home of my own.

The day we rented this apartment, Rosalind hugged me tightly. Her heart seemed to ache for me as she made a solemn promise. "Sam, we'll have a home of our own. I promise."

After that, she worked as a barista every day after her regular job, all so she could save enough for her dowry.

But no matter how much she saved, it was never enough.

Then one day, Rosalind got into a car accident while delivering food in the rain and ended up in the hospital.

With red-rimmed eyes, I told her I didn't need her to contribute anything toward our future home, but Rosalind immediately covered my mouth with her hand.

"Sam, I love you. I don't want money to come between us. I want to contribute my share. Just wait a little longer. I'll save enough," she had claimed.

Only now did I understand. The future home had never been what she couldn't save enough of. It was her sincerity toward me.

My tears struck the floor. I picked up my phone to cancel the lease, but a trending news notification suddenly appeared.

[Wedding of the Century! Even the Wealthy Elite Can Find True Love!]

The article meticulously detailed the lavish assets Rosalind had brought into her marriage with Victor: a luxury yacht, a luxury cruise ship, an entire floor of a luxury condo building downtown, company shares, and more.

A fresh wave of humiliation swept through me as the truth finally sank in.

Then I heard a sound behind me. Rosalind stood in the doorway.

The moment she saw the open suitcase, her pupils contracted sharply. "Sam, are you leaving?"

My nails dug into my palms as I clenched my teeth. "What else am I supposed to do? Stay here and let you keep jerking me around?"

She rushed over, snatched the suitcase away, and wrapped her arms tightly around me. "I won't allow it!"

An unfamiliar scent reached my nose. Then I saw the source clearly: a faint trace of men's cologne lingered on Rosalind's collar.

I shoved her away and shouted, unable to contain myself, "Wasn't today's humiliation enough for you?"

Rosalind sighed at the sight of my hysterical expression. "Sam, you blame me for not telling you the truth. But when have you ever amounted to anything?"

I froze.

Rosalind's expression remained gentle, but every word that left her mouth was merciless. "Vic inherited the family business as soon as he graduated. He can give me real support and bring in new business partnerships. And you? What can you give me?"

Two years ago, I had considered dropping out of school to find a job that paid better.

Rosalind had been the one to tell me that I was only young once and shouldn't sacrifice my future for money.

"Sam, do whatever you want to do. I might not come from money, but I'll work hard and fight alongside you!" she had claimed.

I spent every spare hour outside class doing work-study jobs. During the busiest stretch, I worked 18 hours in a single day.

But now, the casual disdain in her voice ground my self-respect into dust.

In the span of just a few hours, my best friend and the woman I loved had told me the exact same thing.

I wasn't good enough.

My tears struck the floor as I stared at her, utterly lost.

Something like pity softened Rosalind's eyes. She reached out as if to hold me, but perhaps she remembered how I had resisted her moments ago.

Instead, she changed course and gently shook my arm. "But I don't care. Sam, I love you for who you are. I still have some things to deal with over the next few days. Once I'm done, I'll come get you.

"Vic has a proud temper. Calm down a little, and don't butt heads with him."

Rosalind wore the confident expression of someone certain I would never leave.

Before she walked out, she kissed my forehead.

I stood there until my legs went numb and I could barely feel them.

Only then did I open my email, pull up the offer for a government-sponsored PhD program abroad, and accept it with trembling hands.

The government-sponsored scholarship covered everything. I wouldn't face any financial pressure.

I had once considered giving it up for Rosalind. Now there was no need.

I stared into the pitch-black night and didn't sleep at all.

Early the next morning, someone pounded urgently on my door.

The moment I opened it, a bucket of foul-smelling dirty water hit me square in the face.