1 After my family went bankrupt, I was forced into a cruel game. If Liam Burwell, the scholarship kid, spent ten thousand dollars on me within a set time, a group of rich kids would pay off my family’s debts. I used every trick in the book to make him fall in love with me. But just as we were two hundred dollars away from the goal, he vanished, leaving behind a single, devastating note. “I’m done with this charade.” The next day, intimate photos of us—photoshopped, but damning—were all over the internet. My reputation was destroyed. Soon after, crushed by debt and shame, my parents took their own lives. Five years later, I was assigned to be his fiancée’s private ski instructor. … My heart hammered against my ribs the moment my eyes met Liam’s. I quickly looked away, grateful for the ski goggles and mask that hid my face. But Liam’s gaze was fixed on me, intense, as if trying to see through the tinted lenses. The beautiful young woman beside him, Kathy, playfully flicked the ID badge hanging around my neck. "Kate Miller." I had changed my name after my parents died. It was a name Liam wouldn't know. "Liam, honey," she cooed, "I remember your ex-girlfriend's last name was Miller, too." At the mention of my old self, Liam’s gaze fell, his expression unreadable. Then he reached out and affectionately ruffled Kathy's hair, not denying it. Kathy, seizing the opportunity, recounted the story of how I, the manipulative gold-digger, had tricked the poor, earnest Liam. "That's just horrible!" someone in their group exclaimed. "People who play with others' feelings are the worst." I glanced at Liam. He must have truly hated me, not even offering a single word to defend my past self. If I could, I would have wished none of it had ever happened. Kathy nudged my arm, her eyes glinting with scorn. "What do you think, Kate?" I just nodded quietly. "Yes. You're right." Sensing the tension, another friend tried to lighten the mood. "Well, thanks to her, Liam learned how to handle his rivals so ruthlessly." A cold, humorless smile touched Liam’s lips. "Don't even mention her. It's disgusting." My feet faltered. A sharp, secret pain lanced through my chest. "Exactly," Kathy chirped. "She'd better not show her face again. If she does, I'll definitely teach her a lesson." The group started to move on. Liam noticed I had fallen behind and walked back to my side. "Miss Miller," he said, his voice now formal and detached. "Kathy is new to skiing. Please make sure she’s safe. Don't let her get hurt." He was looking at Kathy’s retreating back as he spoke, his eyes filled with a profound tenderness. But once we were on the slopes, Kathy ignored my advice. She insisted on going to the advanced trail, and I had no choice but to follow. I saw her lose control, careening toward the edge of the run. I lunged forward, tackling her, using my own body to shield her as we tumbled off the trail and into the deep snow. I landed hard, a blinding pain exploding through me. It felt like every bone in my body had been shattered. I begged her to call for help, but she just brushed the snow off her designer ski suit and stood up. "Miss Miller, as an instructor, crashing off the trail… that doesn't look very good for your reputation, does it?" I looked up, confused by her words. "Oh, stop pretending," she sneered, her face twisting with malice. "You're his ex-girlfriend, aren't you? Iris Miller." "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You only appeared here to try and seduce Liam again, didn't you?" I tried to push myself up but collapsed back into the snow, the pain making my lips go white. "You're mistaken," I stammered, my voice trembling. "This is just my job." 2 In the distance, Liam’s voice called out. Kathy flashed her phone at me. The screen showed her chat history with him. [Liam, honey, this instructor is insisting on taking me to the advanced trail. I’m so scared.] She used my shoulder to climb back onto the trail, then ran, sobbing, into the arms of the approaching figure. Liam's voice was tight with suppressed fury. "Where is she?" Kathy sniffled. "She got scared of taking responsibility… and just abandoned me. She ran away." Liam’s voice softened with concern. "Don't worry, Kathy. I'll make her pay for this." Their voices faded as they walked away. With the last of my strength, I dialed for the ski patrol. I woke up in the clinic to the resort manager screaming at me over the phone. "They demand a face-to-face apology and compensation for damages, or they're suing you!" Years of suppressed emotions erupted. "It wasn't my fault!" I shouted, my voice raw. "Kathy was the one who insisted on going to the advanced trail!" There was a long silence on the other end. He was probably shocked. I had always been submissive, a pushover. But I had my pride. I would not admit to something I didn't do. "Let them sue," I said, and hung up. A nurse, seeing I was awake, told me I needed to go settle my bill. Leaning on crutches, I made my way downstairs, only to run into Liam, who was picking up medicine for Kathy. I gave him a cool glance and tried to walk past, but he blocked my path. "Iris, you…" Hearing my real name, the name he used to whisper with such affection, almost brought tears to my eyes. I cut him off. "I'm not giving back the ten thousand dollars." The subject was a raw nerve. His hand shot out, clamping around my wrist like a vise. "Iris, do you even have a heart?" Five years ago, my family went bankrupt. To pay off the debts, I agreed to a cruel game. A group of rich kids despised Liam for his quiet pride and wanted to see him brought low. Ten thousand dollars was nothing to them, but to Liam, it was his family's income for an entire year. He worked every spare hour at part-time jobs, just to buy me a bracelet I’d pointed at. I told him a family member was sick, and without a second thought, he transferred his entire tuition for the next semester to me. But the day before the bet was over, he found out. He discovered that my affection was all part of a wager. He confronted me, broken, and I didn't know how to answer. I just told him I would explain everything the next day. But the next day, he never came. All I received was the jar of paper stars he’d made for me. And I had been planning to tell him that day that my feelings had become real. That I had truly fallen in love with him. "Don't touch me!" I yanked my arm away. I wanted nothing to do with him now. At the payment window, the cashier informed me I had insufficient funds. My humiliation was on full display. I clutched my phone, numbly scrolling through my contacts, realizing there was no one I could call. Liam watched me, a cruel, mocking smile playing on his lips. "Beg me, Iris. Just say you were wrong, and I'll give you the money." 3 My nails dug into my palms. Just as I was about to speak, his phone rang. Kathy's voice, saccharine and sharp, came through the speaker. "That Kate Miller woman won't admit to anything. She says she's not afraid of us suing her." She paused, then her voice took on a tearful quaver. "She… she even sent me threatening messages. She called me a bitch." A bitter laugh escaped my lips. When would I have possibly had time to threaten her? But Liam didn't even bother to verify her claims. He just sentenced me on the spot. I felt like I was looking at a complete stranger. I pulled out the bank card—the one with the ten thousand dollars—and paid the bill. I had kept it all these years, intending to give it back to him one day. It seemed I had been sentimental for nothing. My leg was injured, and I walked slowly. Liam caught up to me easily. I forced a smile, speaking before he could. "Liam, you're so pathetic, aren't you? One little wave from me and you’d come crawling back. Did you really think a girl like me would ever be short on cash?" His expression faltered, a flash of anger in his eyes. He thrust a folder at me, scattering papers across the floor. "Don't flatter yourself, Miss Miller. You forgot your medical report." The papers lay scattered around my feet. I silently knelt, picking them up one by one. After leaving the hospital, I went back to my small rented apartment. I’d been fired from the resort and was now facing a lawsuit. My budget was so tight I couldn't even afford a lawyer. To make money, I found a job as a bartender at a high-end cocktail lounge. And in a private room, I saw him again. Liam. He was sitting with the same group of rich kids from all those years ago, laughing and talking as if they were old friends. I kept my head down, trying to blend into the shadows. But then they started reminiscing about our university days. I lost focus for a second, and a drink sloshed onto one of them—Zack. "Watch what you're doing! Didn't you see you spilled that on me?" I didn't speak, just grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe the stain. "Do you know how much this suit costs? Can you even afford to replace it if you ruin it?" He knocked my hand away and tilted my chin up, his eyes widening in recognition. "Iris?" At the sound of my name, every head in the room turned to me. "Well, well, the great Iris Miller. How did you end up working at my family's bar?" "What, wasn't the ten grand you scammed off Liam enough?" With a few words, they absolved themselves of any part in the original cruelty. Liam glanced at me, his expression unreadable, then coolly looked away. His silence was permission. It was an endorsement of their mockery. "You didn't track us down on purpose, did you? Hoping for a handout?" "Hey, we're old classmates. Here's ten bucks for your trouble." "I was always closer to Iris. I'll give her fifty." Laughter filled the room as bills were tossed haphazardly onto the table. I finished mixing the last drink and slowly stood up. "Your drinks are ready. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving." 4 "Who said you could leave?" Liam's voice cut through the air. He swirled the drink in his hand. "Bring me one of every cocktail on your menu." I stopped. The eighteen-year-old Iris would have walked out. But I needed the money. I forced a standard, professional smile. "Of course. I hope you'll be paying your tab, Mr. Burwell." I mixed and served drink after drink, until my arms ached with exhaustion. At his signal, the others silently drank them down. My phone, sitting on the bar, lit up. I reached for it, but I was too slow. A drunk Zack snatched it, reading the message aloud. "Miss Miller, I'm sorry, but we don't have any lawyers who can take your case with this budget." "Iris, darling, can't even afford a lawyer?" My hand tightened around a glass. I looked up and met Liam's surprised gaze. Suddenly, I felt a wave of profound, suffocating shame. "Give it back!" "Don't you guys know? The Millers went bankrupt because her father was having an affair…" They piled on, their vicious, baseless speculation directed at my parents. I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed a bottle and smashed it over the speaker's head. "Shut your mouth!" Liquid dripped from my fingers. My right hand was shaking uncontrollably with fear. The man, his reason gone, lunged at me, his hands closing around my throat. The taste of blood filled my mouth. Suddenly, he was gone. Liam had kicked him square in the chest. He glared down at the man, his voice lethally calm. "What do you think you're doing?" Sensing his rage, the others scrambled out of the room like rats fleeing a ship. I gasped for air, steadying myself on the table as I stood up amidst the wreckage. "Mr. Burwell, your friend started it. I won't be paying for a single thing." Liam let out a short, incredulous laugh. "Is that all you have to say to me? Iris, are you really that desperate for money?" I turned my back to him, wiping away a tear before it could fall. I cleared my throat. "It has nothing to do with you." It wasn't until I left the room that I realized my hand was covered in cuts from the shattered glass. I remembered a time when the smallest scratch would have sent Liam into a panic, rushing me to the clinic. I would laugh at him for overreacting, but he would just look down, his expression serious. "Iris," he had said once, "you're all I have." His quietness wasn't aloofness; it was a deep-seated insecurity. He had spent the first twenty years of his life being abandoned. I was the first person to choose him, to stay. He had wanted to lay the entire world at my feet. So when he found out it was all a lie, his hatred was as fierce as his love had been. Now he was surrounded by love and adoration. I should be happy for him, shouldn't I? So why couldn't I smile? I didn't go to the hospital. I just wrapped the cuts myself. The next day, there was a knock on my door. A man in a sharp suit handed me a business card. He was a lawyer. "I don't need one, thank you." 5 I tried to close the door, but he blocked it with his foot. After some pressing, he admitted that Liam had sent him. I pushed him out and said calmly, "Tell him I don't need his help." But he refused to leave. Just then, I got a call. The retainer I had paid to another lawyer was being refunded. They didn't dare offend Mr. Burwell. No lawyer in the city would take Kate Miller's case. The man outside my door spoke again, his timing perfect. "Miss Miller, rest assured, I will not report any details of our conversations to Mr. Burwell." With nothing left to lose, I agreed.
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