I thought Julian Sterling was faking bankruptcy and a disability just to force me to break off our engagement. So, I kicked his wheelchair over and demanded money from him. He kept up the act until he couldn't anymore. After Julian made his comeback, he accepted an interview. The reporter asked, "It was said that your legs had almost zero chance of recovery. How did you manage to stand again?" Julian’s voice trembled with emotion. "Because of my fiancée." The reporter sighed, touched. "Your wife stayed by your side during your lowest moments. That's true love." Julian gritted his teeth. "No. She thought I was faking it and forced me to stand up!" 1 Unlike the "old money" debutantes of Manhattan, my family is new money. We struck it rich overnight. Even though we have cash, I never fit in with the Upper East Side princesses. Growing up, they excluded me, overtly and covertly. They didn't welcome me, and honestly, I didn't care for them either. But I always held a grudge. It wasn't until I got engaged to Julian Sterling that my status in the socialite circle truly changed. The Sterling family is old money. True aristocracy. Not just rich—wealthy. As the heir to the Sterling empire, Julian showed terrifying business acumen and IQ from a young age. While his peers were partying in college, he had already founded his own company. Most importantly, being engaged to Julian brought me a lot of perks. The compliments from the circle, the way those mean girls hated me but had to suck up to me—it was satisfying. Of course, some couldn't hold back their whispers. "What is she so smug about? Julian doesn't actually like her. It's just for his grandfather. Chloe is the one he truly loves." "Whether he actually marries her in the end is still up in the air." I sipped my tea calmly. So what if he has a "white moonlight"—a first love he can't forget? Julian is only going to marry me. 2 I enjoyed everything Julian brought me until news broke that Sterling Corp had gone bankrupt and Julian was paralyzed. Some people kicked him while he was down. Others watched silently. But for the trust fund babies who only knew how to party, it was just a show. Tiffany, who had always been my nemesis, insinuated loudly at a brunch, "The Sterling family has stood for a hundred years. How come they go bankrupt as soon as they get engaged to her? Maybe she's a jinx." Her little minion giggled. "Maybe it's fake. Just a ploy to get rid of her." "I heard Chloe is coming back from Paris." Their theories were ridiculous, but I believed them 100%. I hadn't heard a whisper of trouble before this. Suddenly bankrupt? It was obviously a trap. Want to get rid of me? Ha. I'm going to cling to him like a ghost. 3 I skipped dinner and rushed straight to the Sterling estate. From a distance, I could hear the voices of the usual trust fund jerks, arrogant as ever. "Julian, you still think you're the high-and-mighty heir? You're a cripple now. If I told you to bark like a dog, I'd be doing you a favor. Don't be ungrateful." "Didn't you love telling us to get lost? Now look who's lost." "Bro, he's a cripple. He couldn't get lost if he wanted to. Useless trash." They laughed in a pack. The subject of their ridicule sat expressionless in a wheelchair, his eyes indifferent, as if they weren't talking about him. I curled my lip in a sneer. What a coincidence. I show up just in time to see him being bullied. Does Julian think I'm stupid? It's too scripted. Bravo. To break off the engagement, he staged a whole play. Even pretending to be disabled. It would be a waste if I didn't play along. My heels clicked on the pavement. The group turned at the sound. Liam, the leader of the pack, whistled maliciously. "Yo, look who it is. Miss Harper. Here to return the ring?" I glanced at him coldly. "Get lost." He exploded instantly. "Everyone knows your family is just nouveau riche trash. What are you proud of? New money and a cripple—a match made in heaven." Slap. I slapped him across the face, shaking my stinging hand. "Did you learn to shut up now?" "You bitch!" Having been bullied by those mean girls for years, I took self-defense classes. I couldn't beat a pro, but I could handle these hollowed-out party boys. I kicked Liam in the knee. He dropped to the ground. I threatened coldly, "Apologize to Julian." "Don't be stubborn. Your father still has a deal with my family." He gritted his teeth, unwilling. "You're only in it for the money anyway. Now that he's a cripple, why would you marry him?" So that was it. They were trying to force me to break the engagement. After all this setup, the motive finally came out. I lowered my eyes to hide my emotions. "None of your business. I don't love his money. I love him." "No matter what happens, I won't abandon him. I've decided he's the one I'm spending my life with." Liam reluctantly apologized to Julian. "Julian... sorry." Behind me, where I couldn't see, Julian's eyelashes trembled violently. His hands gripped his thighs, clenching the fabric of his pants tight, then releasing. 4 "You don't have to go this far. We haven't even met that many times. They're right. I'm a useless person now." "The engagement..." Before he could finish, I covered his mouth. "I said I've chosen you. It's just a small setback. We'll get through it." I looked at his legs. "What did the doctor say? Can they heal?" Changing the subject, Julian's gaze fell on his legs, a shadow passing through his eyes. He pursed his lips. "The doctor said there's a 10% chance I'll stand again." I played along, holding his hand. "Even if it's 10%, we can't give up. I'll stay with you. I believe you'll stand again." I'm not breaking the engagement. I'm going to haunt you. He looked at me deeply, as if finally making a decision. "Okay." In the rehab center, he stood up and fell down over and over again. Hands on the ground, the frustration in his eyes was thick enough to drown in. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He bit his lip until it bled. It was pathetic and messy. From the sidelines, I watched coldly. It must be hard for a healthy person to act disabled. Great acting. Very convincing. To play along with his "bankruptcy," I convinced him to move into my apartment. "It's easier for me to take care of you." Julian's voice was hoarse. The emotions in his eyes were turbulent, but I couldn't read them. To fast-track our "bonding," since he was playing the cripple, I treated him like one. I cooked for him, went to rehab with him, and played the supportive partner when he was down. I defended him against anyone who looked at him wrong. As time went on, it seemed to work. Julian visibly began to trust me. One day at home, he tried to stand but fell. He looked devastated and punched his own leg hard. I walked over, held his hand down, and spoke gently. "Take your time. Don't rush." He calmed down slowly and leaned his head on my shoulder. "I promise I'll give you a good life." That was the best line I'd heard in a while. Seeing him like this, the farce should be ending soon, right? 5 Monday. Julian went for a checkup. I didn't want to watch his performance, so I made an excuse and had the driver take him. Lying in bed scrolling on my phone, I saw the messages in the group chat. The mean girls were at it again. "I told you Julian loves Chloe. As soon as she came back, he went running to her." "The bankruptcy is probably fake. The disability is even more impossible. He looked fine to me." "He really went to great lengths to get someone to break off the engagement." So Julian wasn't seeing a doctor. He was seeing Chloe. I stared at the messages coldly. In our circles, who doesn't have a "white moonlight"? It's normal. And I don't even like Julian. I'm just in it for the status and power. As long as he doesn't bring it up, I can pretend it didn't happen. I sat in the living room waiting for Julian. From noon until sunset, until the last ray of light vanished from the horizon. Julian finally came back. He turned on the lights and saw me on the sofa, concern filling his face. "What happened? Why didn't you turn on the lights?" I rubbed my temples, exhausted. "Nothing happened. I just didn't want to." Silence fell. Julian sat in his wheelchair, looking like he wanted to say something. I asked first. "Do you have something to say?" His gaze was restrained, as if making a difficult choice. "I'm a cripple now. I can't give you anything. It's better for you if we break the engagement." Better for me? Even breaking up is "for my own good"? What a saint. He's just a shameless scumbag. I'm not a pushover. Since he won't take the easy way, he can eat dirt. He forced my hand. Under Julian's nervous gaze, I stared at him coldly. "To marry your first love, you faked a disability and bankruptcy." "You want to dump me to run off with Chloe? Dream on! Where's your money? Give it to me!" "You've been living off me these past few days. You owe me double!" Julian looked blank, sitting helplessly in his wheelchair. "What first love? I don't have one. And the bankruptcy isn't fake, it's real..." Still acting. I lost my patience completely. "I don't care if it's real or fake. If I don't see five million dollars by tomorrow, you're dead." He grabbed my hand, begging. "Can you give me a week?" Fake. I knew it. I shook off his hand. "Fine."
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