Chapter 1

Every holiday, Ethan Carter would "lend" me to his single friends so they could bring me home and satisfy their parents' nagging about marriage.

He said it was just friends helping each other out.

His friends were more than happy to oblige.

But I didn't always come back in one piece.

Some families looked down on where I came from, saw right through the charade, and by the end of the night had screamed me out of their houses.

Every time I tried to refuse, Ethan would pull me into his arms and murmur softly against my ear.

"It's just dinner with them. Once this is over, we'll get married."

And so, for five years, I never spent a single holiday with Ethan.

This Thanksgiving, I got slapped across the face in front of everyone. Again.

I went looking for Ethan with red-rimmed eyes, but outside his door, I heard someone ask him:

"Bro, you really don't mind Emma being taken home by us?"

Ethan took a drag of his cigarette, his tone lazy and unbothered.

"Why would I mind? Every time you guys take her off my hands, I get to bring Sophie home for the holidays."

Someone laughed in agreement.

"You're a genius. One move, two birds. And if it ever blows up, you can just say she was the one messing around with other guys first."

I stood outside the door, unable to process what I'd just heard.

Then came Christmas break, and I was assigned to accompany his friend Adrian Blake home.

Adrian's mother gave me an emerald bracelet—an heirloom passed down only to the future daughter-in-law of the Blake family.

If it had been before, I would have quietly returned it.

But that time, I froze for a few seconds, then slipped it onto my wrist.

When I got back from the Blake estate, I pushed through the front door and found Ethan sitting in the living room.

He smiled at me like he'd been waiting a long time.

"You're back? Must've been exhausting."

But I felt no warmth at all, because his friends were there too.

Their eyes darted over me, gleaming with anticipation, like they were waiting for a verdict.

"She actually didn't get hit this time?"

"Damn, that means Sophie wins. Ethan, you bet wrong."

Ethan didn't respond, just glanced at me with mild surprise.

"Fine, I lost."

The words were light, throwaway. But they sent a chill through my entire body.

So that's why they were all gathered here. They'd been betting on whether Adrian would hit me.

I numbly pulled my gaze away and turned to leave.

But Sophie suddenly grabbed my wrist.

"What's that on your hand?"

Her voice cut off mid-sentence.

The others' faces changed too.

"Is that the Blake family's emerald bracelet? The one worth over a million dollars?"

"The one they only give to their future daughter-in-law? What exactly is the Blake family trying to say?"

Even Ethan's eyes locked onto my wrist, suspicion flickering in his gaze.

It was only then that I finally understood why Adrian had that knowing look in his eyes when he gave me the bracelet.

But Sophie suddenly shrieked:

"Did you steal it, or did you con them out of it?"

At those words, Ethan's expression slowly relaxed.

"Emma, I told you I'd marry you, and I will. There's no need to pull something this low just to spite me."

The others acted like it all made sense now.

"I knew it. There's no way the Blake family would actually want her."

"They probably just offered it to be polite, and she actually thought she deserved it."

Sneers like these had never stopped—not since the day I went from being a charity student funded by the Carter family to being Ethan's girlfriend.

Ethan never personally looked down on my background.

But he never once stopped anyone else from doing it either.

He even volunteered me to accompany his friends home.

The soup that was thrown on me. The ashtray hurled at my head. The days I was someone's punching bag, someone's outlet for rage—all of it happened with his silent permission.

I used to think he had his own difficulties.

I thought he couldn't shield me from everyone.

But today at the Blake estate, Adrian's father had casually mentioned that a few days ago, Ethan had brought Sophie home to the Carter family.

He'd publicly acknowledged Sophie as his fiancée.

Adrian's father had even spoken of it with admiration for the younger generation.

"That Carter boy has backbone. Shut down every objection."

And in that single moment, I finally understood.

When you truly care about someone, you pave the way for them. Willingly.

"Enough, knock it off."

Ethan stubbed out his cigarette and, for the first time, cut them short.

"Emma, the Blake family isn't that simple. I'll return the bracelet for you."

He reached for my hand, but I covered the bracelet with my other palm.

A flash of surprise crossed Ethan's eyes.

"What? You don't want to give it back?"

"I'm not feeling well," I said. "Must have eaten something bad."

My stomach was churning in waves.

Ethan looked at me carefully.

For a split second, I was thrown back to the way things used to be.

There was a time when all I had to do was mention feeling unwell, and Ethan would drop everything to take care of me.

But now, all he did was curl his lips into a dismissive smile.

"Can't handle the fine dining at the Blake house?"

He slipped the bracelet off my wrist and patted my shoulder.

"Go rest."