Chapter 3
Her angry shouts were followed by the music cutting off. Everyone seemed to turn and stare at me. Seraphina’s kick sent me stumbling back, twisting my ankle.
I didn’t want to make a scene or confront her in such a humiliating state, so I bit back the pain and bowed repeatedly, apologizing profusely.
But Seraphina didn’t recognize my voice. And today, she lacked the approachable demeanor she always had when pretending to be poor.
“What good is bowing now? My shoes are Chanel! Do you think a pathetic pauper like you can just step on them? So goddamn disgusting!”
Julian’s lazy chuckle drifted over.
“What? Away from Liam, and your good patience is gone? That pathetic loser only scorned you once, and your heart’s already broken?”
He continued, “Well, a bet’s a bet! Break up with him already and marry me according to our engagement! You’re a high-society heiress; stop humiliating yourself with this pretend marriage!”
Julian spoke casually, but his words grated on my ears.
“Male supporting character, get lost! The female lead only loves the male lead! Even if she breaks up with him, she won’t marry you! You scheming jerk!”
“My heart aches for the female lead. She’s being hounded by the male supporting character because of the family engagement, and she has to fake marriage to hide it from the male lead. She’s already going through so much; male lead, can’t you be more understanding?”
“Ugh, what’s wrong with a fake marriage? If it were real, the male lead might be ruined by the male supporting character’s revenge! The female lead is just protecting the male lead…”
My breathing hitched. My heart plunged into an abyss. Even… even our marriage was fake?
In their words, Seraphina seemed to love me beyond measure.
But everything she did was based on lies and deception; there was no trust whatsoever. Even my genuine desire to marry her was part of her scam.
At this point, I seriously doubted if Seraphina had even an ounce of sincerity towards me.
“What pretend marriage? Liam and I are truly in love!”
The woman solemnly retorted to Julian. “This time his mom was genuinely sick, so I’m not going to hold it against him. After all, I’ve pretended to be poor and sick for five years, and he never left me. This doesn’t count!” She added, “One last test! I’m definitely going to win the bet against you. Afterward, I’ll bring them back to the Vance family, and Liam won’t have to suffer another day.”
The bullet comments flooded the screen, all praising how much Seraphina loved me, but I found it utterly laughable.
“Sera, no matter how much you love Liam, it won’t change the fact that he’s a commoner! The Vance family will never accept him, just like you’ll always despise that stepping on your shoes!”
Julian’s long fingers pointed directly at me, his tone mocking and playful.
Following his hand, Seraphina finally bothered to look down at me, her gaze undisguisedly cold. “He doesn’t even compare to my Liam.”
Hearing the man’s blatant contempt, I let out a bitter laugh.
The bullet comments suddenly went awkward.
“Female lead, shut your damn mouth! That’s your husband! Stop the abuse!”
“Too late! The male lead heard everything they said, oh no!”
“Holy crap! Have mercy on our female lead! Imagining from her perspective, realizing the stepping on her shoes is her Liam, she must be freaking out with guilt!”
“Chill! The male lead definitely won’t expose the female lead; he spoils her so much. He’ll protect his wife’s dignity…”
I sneered. No way. I wouldn’t play this ‘pretend-poor’ game with Seraphina anymore. Reaching up, I pulled off the mascot head, ready to tell her I wanted a divorce.
But Seraphina turned her head, sitting back on the sofa, as if even a glance at me disgusted her.
Seeing this, Julian lit a cigarette for her, then casually glanced at me, scoffing: “Fine, fine, all poor people are the same, aren’t they? Unlike your Liam, who’s so ‘noble’ in his poverty, so ‘dignified.’ So, you’ll test him one more time? I’ll be waiting for your good news.”
One more test? Had they even asked me?
My hand was already untying the straps of the mascot head. I was so tired; I just wanted to say my piece and be done with it. But the next second, a stack of brand-new bills exploded at my feet.
It seemed Seraphina wanted to prove to Julian that poor people would do anything for money. She looked down at me, a cold sneer on her face, and commanded: “Want those bills? Get on your knees and pick them up! I’m bestowing this upon you.”
As her words fell, I didn’t hesitate. Under her disdainful gaze, I slowly bent down. Seeing my action, Seraphina turned to Julian, pouting.
“Tsk! See? As long as the money’s right, what dignity do these poor folks have? They’d even sell their lives for me. How disgusting, right?”
But I was only bending down to take off the mascot head. Seraphina continued to mock me: “If it were my Liam, he’d never bend down. He’d never grovel for money like this. So, Liam truly loves me; whatever I say, he’ll believe—”
“Believe what?”
Seraphina’s words were interrupted by my calm question.