Chapter 1

"We' re done, Ava."

Ethan' s words hit me out of nowhere. We were supposed to be celebrating our graduation, our future.

Instead, he stood in the doorway of the penthouse he' d just led me into, looking like a stranger.

"This is for you," he said, his voice flat, gesturing around the ridiculously luxurious apartment. "The penthouse. The sports car in the garage. And there' s ten million dollars in an account I set up for you."

He slid a black credit card and a set of keys across the marble countertop.

"A thank you for the past four years," he added, his eyes avoiding mine.

I just stared at him, my mind refusing to process the words. A thank you? Four years of my life, of loving him, reduced to a payoff.

"What are you talking about, Ethan? A thank you for what?"

"I' m getting married," he said, finally looking at me. His face was a cold mask. "A family alliance. It was arranged. It has nothing to do with you."

Nothing to do with me. The four years we spent together, the life we planned, suddenly meant nothing.

Just last night, we were in my small, cheap apartment near campus. He had held me so tight, his voice thick with emotion as he whispered my name over and over. He' d made love to me with a desperation that I had mistaken for passion.

I thought it was a celebration of our new beginning.

Now I knew it was a goodbye.

This morning, I woke up alone. He was gone. No note, no text, just an empty space in the bed next to me.

I tried calling him all day, but his phone was off.

Then, a man in a crisp suit, a lawyer, showed up at my door. He handed me an envelope with the keys and a deed, explaining that Mr. Hayes had left me these gifts.

He used his last name. Mr. Hayes. Not Ethan.

It felt like a slap in the face. A transaction.

I stood there in the massive, empty penthouse, the lawyer' s words echoing in my ears. He thought money could fix this. He thought he could buy my silence, buy my acceptance.

"You have to be kidding me," I muttered to the empty room.

The irony was crushing. He had no idea.

I remembered a few months ago, we were joking about the future. I had nudged him, saying, "What if I told you I could buy your family' s struggling company ten times over and you' d never have to worry about a thing?"

He had just laughed, ruffling my hair. "Oh, Ava. You and your wild imagination. That' s why I love you."

He thought I was just a poor, smart girl, working my way through college on scholarships. He had no clue that the scholarships were a front, that my quiet life was a choice. That I was Ava Riley, the sole heir to Riley Tech.

He didn't know that the ten million dollars he left me was pocket change.

But that wasn't the point. It was never about the money.

It was about him. It was about us.

Why would he do this? The Ethan I knew, the man who championed the underdog, who hated the arrogance of the rich, would never agree to a forced marriage for money.

Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

I looked at the keys in my hand, then at my phone.

My fingers flew across the screen, dialing a number I hadn't used in years.

"Noah," I said, my voice cold and steady. "I need you to find someone for me. Ethan Hayes. I want to know everything. Especially who he' s engaged to."

A moment of silence on the other end, then a calm, professional voice. "Consider it done, Miss Riley."

I hung up. The heartbroken girl was gone.

It was time for Ava Riley to come back.