Chapter 1

When I saw Liam again, the Wen family was ruined. I was no longer the high and mighty heiress I once was. But Liam? He was soaring, radiating raw power and confidence. It was a high-stakes game between adults, fueled by the lingering grudges of our youth, igniting the ashes of our messy past.

“The former Miss Wen is so down on her luck now?”

“How about you spend a night with me? I might consider investing in you.”

Liam let out a short, mocking laugh, dripping with ridicule.

Liam was right to hate me.

After all, our breakup was a messy disaster, or rather, I unilaterally made it a disaster for him.

So, it was only fair that he'd come back for revenge now.

“Aria, if you're begging, at least look the part.”

Liam’s eyes, sharp and arrogant, flicked down, and he knocked the wine glass from my hand.

I’d known Liam since we were teenagers, so I knew how fiercely proud he was.

And I, too, used to be just as arrogant.

But where was my dignity now?

I picked up the glass again, refilled it, and bowed low, my posture humble, almost pleading.

“Mr. Shen,” I pleaded, “what happened before... it was all my fault. Please, you’re a big man, don’t stoop to my level.”

“I’m here to apologize to you. For old times’ sake…”

Liam, sprawled carelessly on the opposite sofa, leaning back into the cushions, scoffed.

“Old times’ sake? And you have the nerve, Miss Wen, to even bring that up?”

“Is it the ‘old times’ sake’ when you treated me like a stray dog, Miss Wen? Calling me over, then kicking me out whenever you felt like it?”

Meeting Liam’s calm, deep eyes, I couldn’t utter a single word in my defense. I just chugged the wine in my hand.

After all, I truly had wronged him back then.