Chapter 2

The socialites in his circle always laughed at me for having zero self-respect.

Easy for them to say. They weren't me.

They were heiresses born with trust funds and family empires. Even if they walked away from a man, a powerful dynasty had their backs.

I had nothing.

Julian and I first met at a high-profile charity gala.

Back then, he was already the golden heir of New York, but he suffered from a secret torment: chronic, crippling insomnia.

Because he had watched his mother leap to her death from the family terrace as a child, he was left with severe psychological scars.

The Sterling family had hired the world's best doctors and therapists, but nothing worked.

Until that night, when by some twist of fate, I ended up talking with him for hours.

For the first time in years, he fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

In the end, Julian's grandfather came to me in person.

"Natalie, you're the only one who can help Julian sleep peacefully."

"I need you to stay by his side."

My job was straightforward: keep him company so he could rest.

No emotional attachments, no prying into his private life, no crossing boundaries.

I took the paycheck; he got his sleep.

Strictly business.

As the years went by, Julian grew to trust me completely.

Whenever he couldn't sleep, I would lie quietly beside him, keeping him company through the endless, agonizing nights.

When he woke up gasping from violent nightmares, I would hold his hand and sit with him until dawn broke.

During those years, there was no Chloe Bennett, and none of the calculating games that came later.

It was just him and me.

Leaning on each other in the dark.

I knew that with my background, I could never become Mrs. Sterling.

And yet...

When his fingers tangled in my hair...

When his lips met mine and he whispered sweet nothings in the dark...

When he spent six figures just to fill my entire penthouse with fresh imported roses...

A faint, foolish glimmer of hope couldn't help taking root in my heart.

That illusion lasted until my twenty-fifth birthday.

That day, I went to his corporate office to ask him out for a birthday dinner.

Just as my hand reached for the doorknob, his voice drifted through the crack in the door.

"Her?"

Julian let out a light, dismissive chuckle.

"She's just a woman I keep around to help me sleep."

"I've given her more than enough money over the years."

"She's sensible. She knows her place."

My mind went blank with a deafening ringing sound.

In a split second, I plunged straight from heaven to hell.

It was at that exact moment I woke up.

No matter how well Julian treated me, no matter how deep my feelings ran, in his eyes, I was merely a paid mistress who could never be introduced in the light of day.

He would never love someone like me.

And he would never truly be mine.

I also knew Julian would never let me walk away willingly.

He was born possessive and controlling. What belonged to him, no one else was allowed to touch, even if he grew tired of it.

I refused to keep drowning in this dead-end arrangement.

Before he grew completely sick of me, I had to pave my own way out.

That was when Chloe Bennett walked onto my radar.

She was vibrant, youthful, and instantly caught Julian's wandering eye.

I deliberately leaked inside info to her, coaching her behind the scenes into the exact archetype Julian craved.

Just like that, they grew closer and closer.

Chloe did everything she could to tear me down, desperate to clear the board and become the true Mrs. Sterling.

And the more she bullied me, the guiltier Julian felt toward me.

The guiltier Julian felt, the larger the compensation checks grew.

Large enough for me to wrap up my "gold-digging" career early, long before my youth and looks faded.

Buzz.

My phone screen lit up.

The final wire had cleared!

Staring at the eight-figure sum, a genuine smile spread across my face.

The lingering bitterness in my heart vanished in a heartbeat.

This was perfect.

She got Julian.

I got the bag.

Everyone got what they wanted. Win-win.