Chapter 1
Ian Zahn’s footsteps were unsteady as he staggered into a hospital, clutching the 500 thousand dollars that he’d gotten by selling his kidney. His ashen face broke into a satisfied smile.
500 thousand dollars was enough to cure Leila Sutherland. It was more than worth it to exchange one of his kidneys for her life.
He was weak after his surgery, but he endured it as he clumsily jogged to Leila’s ward. He saw her from the window in the door—she was so fragile that his heart ached for her.
“Lili, that pathetic boyfriend you picked up isn’t here. Who are you putting on this act for?”
“Shut up! I’m refining my acting skills—how else will I continue tricking him?”
A familiar laugh rang out, and Ian paused as he reached for the doorknob. Tricking… him?
The people in the ward cheered.
“As expected of Lili! All you needed to do was forge some medical records to pull a fast one on that idiot. He really thinks you have cancer!”
“I heard he even withdrew all his savings for her. Do you guys know how much that was? A mere 60 thousand dollars!”
“Damn, that’s it? Lili spends hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single night at the bar—60 thousand dollars is nothing to her! I can’t believe he had the gall to give that to her!”
Ian was so stunned by the conversation that his limbs went numb. Leila had lied to him about having cancer?
Inside the ward, Leila dropped her weak act and lifted the sheets, deftly hopping out of bed. One of the people with her quickly grabbed her a chair. Her face, which always had a bright smile when she was with him, now seemed unfamiliar.
“Alright, that’s enough. He’s broke, so it’s surprising enough that he gave me all his money, even if it’s just 60 thousand dollars,” she said.
Her friends started teasing her.
“My, my. You’re not feeling bad for him, are you? Connor’s gonna throw a fit if he hears about this.”
“How can that be? At most, Lili’s just pitying him. She only hid her identity as the Sutherland heiress to date that broke guy because she wanted to get back at him for what he did to Connor. Connor is the one she loves—think about how she squatted in the slums for two years for his sake!”
“That idiot has to thank Connor, if you ask me. He wouldn’t have gotten the chance to meet someone of Lili’s status if not for Connor!”
Ian trembled uncontrollably as he listened from outside the hospital ward. His mind was a mess.
Leila played with her fingers. “I just didn’t expect it to be so easy to spend all his money. I should’ve pretended to be sick ages ago. Connor should be happy now.”
Her heartless words dashed the remnants of Ian’s hope. The blood drained from his already ashen face, and he swayed on his feet.
A passing nurse asked, “Sir, do you need any help?”
He snapped to his senses. When he saw that the people in the hospital ward were about to come out, he hurriedly thanked the nurse before ducking into a nearby restroom, barely able to remain on his feet.
He looked at his pale reflection in the mirror as Leila’s cruel words reverberated in his mind. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected Leila, whom he thought was a broke student like him, to be the Sutherland family’s heiress! Their relationship was nothing but a lie!
The sweet memories of their time together and the harsh reality mingled in his mind.
Ian and Leila had met by accident. Two years ago, he’d worked part-time at a barbecue shop. A drunken customer had been harassing Leila. She’d asked the owner for help, but he’d ignored her.
Ian couldn’t stand it when he saw the drunken customer becoming bolder by the second. He’d grabbed a beer bottle and smashed it on the guy’s head.
This had pissed the guy off, and he’d summoned a group of men, wanting to beat Ian up. It was at that critical juncture that Leila had stood before him and held up her phone, threatening to call the police.
Ian’s heart had skipped a beat at the sight of her back. It was a cliché, but her protectiveness had been precious to him, an orphan. Furthermore, despite being a petite woman, she’d been brave enough to face a group of burly men.
Later, he’d learned that Leila was an orphan and needed to work three jobs a day, just as he did. She hadn’t even gone to college after graduating from high school because she couldn’t afford the tuition.
They had similar backgrounds and slowly grew closer as time passed. Eventually, they started dating.
Ian had moved out of his college dorm and into a cheap, tiny apartment in the suburbs with Leila—he wanted to make more money so they could get a place of their own as soon as possible.
Life was tough and tiring, but Ian had never complained. He only felt like the future looked bright.
However, a month ago, Leila told him she had cancer and needed a lot of money for treatment. At that point, they’d already been dating for two years. To him, she’d long since become his only family in the world. There was no way he could sit by and watch as an illness took her life.
To pay for Leila’s treatment, he’d withdrawn all the money he’d saved over the past four years—60 thousand dollars. However, she’d told him she would need about 500 thousand dollars to be properly cured.
When Ian had seen her lying in bed, looking weaker than he’d ever seen, he’d suppressed his fear and done something extreme—he’d gone to the black market and sold his kidney for the money.
He thought the money would be enough for her recovery and that their lives would return to being as hopeful as they had been.
He never would’ve expected this whole thing to be a lie!
Leila’s identity was a lie, and so was her cancer. Ian even started doubting that their first meeting two years ago had been a well-orchestrated act.
His face had become wet with tears without him even realizing it, and the weight of the 500 thousand dollars in his bag felt like a mockery of his stupidity.
He couldn’t believe he’d given up a kidney over a liar.
As for the other person Leila and her friends had mentioned—Connor… The only person Ian could think of who fit the bill was Connor Jensen, who was a year younger than him.
When Ian was in his sophomore year, the college had organized a public speaking competition. The champion would be awarded a cash prize of five thousand dollars.
He’d worked himself to the bone preparing for the competition just so he could get the cash prize to pay for his tuition. Thankfully, his hard work hadn’t gone to waste.
He remembered Connor placing second.
When they’d gone on stage to accept their prizes, Connor had leaned close to him and whispered, “No one has ever dared steal my thunder.”
Ian thought that was just something harsh Connor had said because he resented having come second. He never would’ve expected to have to pay such a heavy price for that.
Ian dried his tears and pulled out his phone, calling his professor, Lance White.
Half a month ago, Lance had told Ian about the opportunity for their faculty’s students to further their studies abroad. He’d wanted to recommend Ian for a spot.
However, Ian had been obsessed with making more money to treat Leila. He’d rejected Lance’s kindness without hesitation.
Now that he knew the truth, there was no point in him throwing his future down the drain for Leila’s sake. He didn’t want to continue playing this game that Leila and her high-society friends seemed to enjoy.
“Professor White, I want to further my studies abroad.”
