It was a terrible day. I drove to a quiet, old cemetery and chose a headstone that looked appropriately tragic. I sat on the grass, hugged the cool marble, and just let myself dissolve into tears. Turns out, the grave belonged to a trust fund playboy. His mother, Mrs. Worthington, saw the genuine desperation in my breakdown. She approached, quiet as a ghost, and pressed a bank slip into my hand. Five million dollars. “Sweetheart, if you spend it, just ask your Aunt Clara for more.” (I was quickly given a new 'aunt'.) “You’re not like those other vultures. I like spending money on you.” I hadn't even figured out how to politely refuse the funds when Mrs. Worthington called. “Sweetheart, my son isn’t dead! You two can be reunited!” Good news: The playboy, Ryder Worthington, had been missing for a year and had total amnesia. He wouldn’t be able to call me out. Bad news: I actually knew him. After all, I’d spent three years dating his uncle. 1 The crowd had barely dispersed before I cornered Ryder in his family’s opulent sitting room. “I need to be honest with you,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “I’m not your girlfriend.” He sighed, a long, drawn-out sound of obvious relief. “Well, that explains it.” “I was just… crying at your gravestone. Your mother mistook me for someone who actually cared.” “I knew it,” he said, leaning back. “I mean, I just didn’t think I’d ever date someone like you.” He immediately sensed the faux pas. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Look, I’m not saying you’re unattractive. You’re actually beautiful, in a… very clean-cut, innocent way. Just not my usual flavor.” He flipped through a checkbook with a casual air. “Let’s be frank. How much do you want to walk away?” He glanced up. “I heard my mother offered you five million. The fact that you haven’t touched a cent—is that a sign you think you deserve more? Don’t get greedy, sweet thing.” I knew this type of man. They were conditioned to believe every problem, including a person’s dignity, could be solved with cash. Still, his bluntness hurt. Ryder had a reputation. His temporary partners were all glamorous, high-maintenance beauties. He’d tired of yacht parties and street races, so he'd gone exploring in a foreign rainforest and suffered an accident. They hadn’t found him for six months, so the Worthington family had given up and held a funeral, burying an empty casket. Now that he was back, safe and sound, the entire family was thrilled. They’d all cooed over me. “Audrey, we were so worried after seeing how distraught you were at the cemetery. You two must promise to never be separated again.” They all believed I was his dedicated, secret girlfriend, so heartbroken I could only hold his tombstone and cry. But I wasn't. I was just having a bad day and picked a random tombstone. Bad luck chose Ryder Worthington’s. Worse luck, his mother showed up to mourn that very day. I was finishing up my crying jag when she embraced me. “Sweetheart, I’m so moved you haven’t forgotten him.” She patted my back. “It’s okay. Ryder may be gone, but I’ll take care of you.” The entire thing was a colossal misunderstanding. Maybe I should have just taken the money and left. I held out a trembling hand. “Five hundred dollars?” I asked sheepishly. “I had to take the day off work. Call it compensation for lost wages.” Ryder’s face broke into a smirk, though he fought to contain his laughter. “Audrey, is it? You clearly don’t know who I am. My gifts start in the six figures.” I gave a weak, awkward smile. “I wasn’t actually dating you, so no need for you to break the bank.” He agreed readily enough. But as he went to transfer the money, his expression shifted. He glanced nervously at me, turned his back, and pulled out his phone. “Mom, why did you freeze my credit cards?” he hissed, keeping his voice low. His mother’s reply was a roar I could practically feel vibrating through the room. “Why do you think, you idiot? The minute you disappeared, every one of those tramps vanished. Only Audrey remembered you!” Ryder was speechless. “She’s a rare, good girl,” Mrs. Worthington continued. “You are not going to break her heart. If you want to spend money, you use Audrey’s card. I’ve raised her limit to ten million.” Ryder hung up, turning back to me, his tone suddenly laced with an oddly appealing, boyish plea. “How about we fake it for three months?” he suggested. “You can’t just stand there and let me become a pauper.” 2 Ryder Worthington was undeniably beautiful. His features were perfectly sculpted, not a flaw to be found. His eyes, though sharp, carried a constant air of casual indifference. When he wasn’t smiling, he looked like he saw right through everyone. But when he did smile, there was a fleeting resemblance to someone I used to know. I quickly looked away. “Mr. Worthington, I truly don’t want to cause you trouble, but I have a genuinely unavoidable situation that prevents me from cooperating…” He cut me off, resolute. I wrestled with the decision. Money? Or dignity? I chose the former. “If I absolutely have to play your girlfriend, can we keep it strictly between you and your mother? And when we break up, it’s going to be entirely my fault.” The deal was sealed. Ryder promised I would only ever meet his mother and no one else in the family. He was totally unreliable. On the third day of being his fake girlfriend, he took me to a high-end department store. He pointed his finger at a display case. “That one, that one, and that one. Box them all up. Three of each.” I was astonished. Ryder explained, completely unconcerned. “Can’t be helped. If I shortchange any of them, they’ll raise hell.” I nodded knowingly, then swiped the credit card. Watching nearly a million dollars vanish in a single transaction left me reeling. A smooth, familiar voice spoke from right behind me. “Feeling better? What are you doing out already?” My body went instantly rigid. I fought the urge to turn, but Ryder clamped onto my wrist. He smiled playfully at me. “Come on, say hello to Little Uncle.” I heard a tremor in my own voice as I uttered the single word, my mind blank. “Alistair.” Seven years had passed, but Alistair Worthington’s face was almost unchanged. Still defined by elegant, clean lines, deep-set eyes, and a shade of black so intense it seemed to swallow the light. His gaze swept over my face, lingering for only a second. But his expression was perfectly neutral, as if he didn’t recognize me at all. I shrank back into a corner of the velvet sofa, watching the two of them converse easily. When Alistair had walked past me, I’d caught the faint scent of cedar and sandalwood. The same cologne he always wore. A wave of dizziness washed over me. After all these years, how was it possible that I still remembered such a minute detail? Human memory was a terrifying, vicious thing. It was like the storm I’d been waiting for had finally arrived, but I’d forgotten my umbrella. I stood there, feeling exposed and weak, yet there was a strange, grim relief. The storm had finally broken. Alistair’s eyes fell upon the mound of designer boxes piled on the counter. “Why so much?” Ryder didn’t hide anything. “You know how they are. They love to compete with each other.” Alistair looked at his nephew with a familiar, weary patience. He cleared his throat and asked, as if simply making conversation, “Audrey… is she okay with this?” 3 Ryder hadn't actually introduced me by name. But Alistair had said it, and Ryder didn't even notice. Ryder clapped me lightly on the shoulder. He grinned at his uncle. “Don’t worry. She’s very obedient.” Alistair finally looked at me. His gaze was intense, almost burning. “Audrey, are you ‘obedient’?” Caught completely off guard by Alistair’s sudden focus, my mind went blank. I could only offer a mumbled response. “Yes. I have no objections.” The atmosphere suddenly felt suffocating. Ryder seemed to sense a shift but couldn’t place the cause. He scratched his head, then picked up one of the handbags and handed it to Alistair. “Little Uncle, they said this is a limited edition. Only three in the country. Take it for your girlfriend.” Alistair raised a single, questioning eyebrow. “My girlfriend?” Ryder blinked, confused. “Didn’t Mom tell me? You and your girlfriend are getting officially engaged next month.” So, Alistair had a fiancée. A sharp, momentary pang of bitterness struck me, then immediately flattened out. Hiding behind Ryder, I watched Alistair turn and walk away. I thought, Seven years, and neither of us stayed still. That’s good. After we finished with the shopping, Ryder was supposed to take me to dinner, but his phone rang. A syrupy, feminine voice called out, “Babe!” He broke into a look of indulgent affection. As he was leaving, he checked with me. “I’m not dropping you off, Audrey. You can get home on your own, right?” “Of course,” I said. But it was rush hour. Ride-share apps were slow to assign a driver. I stood outside the mall for a while. The cold wind bit through my thin coat, and I shivered. My phone chimed unexpectedly. A message from an unknown number: “Get in the car.” I looked up and saw a black Roll-Royce Cullinan parked nearby. The window rolled down slowly. Moonlight traced the sharp lines of Alistair Worthington’s face, his eyelashes casting a shallow shadow. My composure shattered. My phone buzzed again. “Don’t make me wait.” When I still didn’t move, the phone rang. His voice, when he spoke, was impossible to read. “Do you really want me to wait? Or is it that you’re scared of me, Audrey?” Then, the final blow. “You weren’t so cowardly when you dumped me seven years ago.”
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