Chapter 2

Nora White POV

I was a lawyer who had been recruited directly by Kingsley Law Firm.

I had no background, no connections, just a score that ranked first in the state bar exam and top performance for two consecutive years since joining.

Because I was poor, because I came from a small town, I didn't fit in with the people around me.

Behind my back, my colleagues called me a tool. Strong professional abilities, but not one of them.

Then one afternoon, someone anonymously posted a document to the firm's internal work group chat and tagged everyone.

The title read: "The Secret to Miss White's Rise to the Top: Every Step Has a Price Tag."

The document was meticulously crafted, with neat formatting and a combination of images and text.

It listed chronologically everything I had received since dating Liam.

The limited edition handbag he gave me on our first date: eighty-six thousand dollars.

The presidential suite he booked the first night we spent together: twenty-three thousand dollars per night.

The monthly living expenses he transferred to my account: fifty thousand dollars.

Every single item had a screenshot, a price tag, accurate to two decimal places.

And at the bottom was a set of photos.

These were photos Liam said he wanted to take that belonged only to the two of us after we got together. I had hesitated for a long time before agreeing.

Now these photos had been cropped and spliced together, arranged at the end of the document with a line of text below:

"Full version available. DM for access. Two hundred dollars per set."

The moment the document was posted, it exploded throughout the entire firm.

In less than ten minutes, even the chat groups in neighboring departments were circulating it.

I stared at the screen, my ears filled with nothing but ringing.

I had returned all of these things.

I had the receptionist send back the handbag the very next day, and I returned every single transfer.

He knew I wouldn't accept them. So later he changed his approach, buying things and placing them directly on my desk or at my apartment door, making it impossible for me to return them.

But the document only showed screenshots of what I received.

Not a single record of what I returned.

The voices of several female colleagues leaked through the half-open door of the break room.

"So that's how she became number one in performance."

"Mr. Hunter personally led her through projects, funneling all the resources her way. Who wouldn't be number one?"

"Did you see those last few photos? Tsk, I really didn't expect that. Usually she walks around with that cold face like everyone owes her money, but behind closed doors she's quite open."

"Come on, that's called investment. Didn't you see how high the return rate was?"

The laughter wasn't deliberately suppressed. Iit even carried a kind of intentional casualness.

I stood outside the door holding my water cup, the surface of the water trembling slightly.

I didn't go in.

When I turned to leave, my cheeks burned fiercely, but my steps didn't falter.

Those photos, transfer records, hotel bookings, no one except Liam himself could have obtained them.

I walked straight toward Liam's office.

Before I could push the door open, my hand froze on the handle.

The door wasn't fully closed, and voices from inside leaked through the gap. It was Liam on the phone with someone, on speakerphone.

"The document spread! Everyone at Kingsley has seen it. Nora White is completely finished now. The partner nomination is definitely over."

"But that's not even the worst part. She still doesn't know that you only pursued her to use her as a stepping stone. You never really looked at her, never even touched her. If she found out, she'd probably collapse on the spot."

"But then again, the Hunters and the Whitlocks are bitter enemies. If you want to be with Miss Whitlock, you'll definitely have to go through some trouble."

The person on the other end of the phone spoke in a frivolous tone with laughter in their voice.

"Didn't you promise Nora you'd take her to meet your parents next week? Are you really planning to keep up the act?"

Liam's voice came through the door, unhurried.

"Of course it's an act. The Hunters won't let me marry Vivian, so I'll bring home a woman who doesn't meet their standards and see where that leaves them."

"Once they give in and approve Vivian, this pawn will have served her purpose."

I stood outside the door, completely still.

My blood seemed to freeze all at once. The cold spread from my fingertips to my limbs, then lodged in my chest, making even breathing painful.

So from beginning to end, I was just a pawn.

Him holding an umbrella for me in the rain was fake.

Him showing up on time at my office every day when I worked late was fake.

When everyone else ignored me, the fact that he was the only one to sit beside me, that was fake too.

All of it was fake.

I released the door handle and took a step back.

I don't know how I made it back to my workstation.

The way people around me looked at me had completely changed, from two years of disdain to naked contempt. Some even couldn't hold back a laugh in my direction.

I didn't look at anyone.

I sat down and opened my computer, clicking into my email.

At the top of my inbox was an email from two weeks ago, from a top-tier law firm in London.

They had seen my case report at an international arbitration conference and reached out with an invitation. The annual salary was five times what I currently made, with a full relocation allowance included.

I had looked at this email many times but never replied.

Because I couldn't bear to leave.

I couldn't bear to leave Liam.

I stared at that email on the screen for a long time.

The office lights were blindingly white, and people were still whispering in the hallway.

I moved my cursor to the reply button.

My finger hovered for three seconds.

Then I clicked.