Chapter 5

The next morning, before I even fully woke up, Chloe dragged me to a television studio.

She had invested in a reality show called Life Reversed, which featured guests whose lives had undergone drastic transformations.

Chloe told me that going from a billionaire prince to a stray dog on the street made me the perfect candidate.

Marcus Evans was also on the show as a guest.

He had climbed his way up from a dirt-poor background to become a rising tech mogul.

Right now, media outlets were practically fighting to interview him.

With a few movie investments under his belt, his public popularity was through the roof.

I knew that the gap between Marcus and me was like heaven and earth.

The moment our matchup was announced, the live stream's viewer count exploded, instantly hitting the top trending spot on Twitter.

The first round was a "Friendship Challenge."

The host announced, "When life turns upside down, the people around you change too. Our viewers want to know if that's true.”

“Guests, please scroll randomly through your contacts and call three people to borrow a hundred thousand dollars. You have three chances. Whoever fails the challenge gets a punishment!"

Marcus went first and cleared the challenge on his very first call.

He was the golden boy right now; countless venture capitalists were waiting in line to throw money at him.

Having a chance to lend him cash on live TV was something people fought over.

After breezing through the task, Marcus gave a gentle, humble smile to the camera:

"To be honest, the only reason I'm here today is thanks to Chloe Miller's financial support back then. She was just a college student, but she gave me hundreds of dollars every month to help me get through school.”

“She is the kindest person in this entire world. None of my success would exist without her."

His heartfelt speech set the audience ablaze.

The live chat flooded the screen at lightning speed:

"Now that's a real man! Never forgets the woman who helped him."

"Marcus is so gorgeous and loyal! An underdog triumphing and getting the girl. I ship Marcus and Chloe so hard!"

"Chloe has amazing taste. Investing in your own future husband is top-tier."

The reality show had practically turned into a romance show.

Fortunately, the host steered things back on track and signaled that it was my turn.

Hesitantly, I unlocked my phone. Following the rules, I swiped down my contacts blindly and let my finger stop on a random screen.

The screen immediately mirrored onto the giant stage display.

The first contact was a guy who used to call me his brother. I dialed the number, only to hear the automated tone informing me that I had been blocked long ago.

The studio audience, caught off guard, suddenly burst into laughter.

I kept my head down, a bitter taste in my mouth.

Ever since my family went under, my so-called brothers had vanished into thin air. I had learned the harsh reality of the world long ago.

The second contact was a supplier I had personally helped in the past.

I thought he might show some gratitude since I had once saved his company from ruin.

Instead, the second the call connected, a barrage of vile curses came roaring through the speaker.

"Borrow money?! Keep dreaming! You arrogant rich pricks deserved to lose everything!"

"To you scumbags, suppliers like us were lower than dirt! You piece of trash! Rot in hell!"

"Your old man choked us with ridiculous contract terms back then. Would it have killed him to relax the quality standards a little?! Good riddance that he's dead!"

I had stayed silent through all the insults.

But the moment he cursed my father, my temper flared.

"Shut your damn mouth! How did my dad ever wrong you?! You tried to deliver defective materials, and my father didn't sue you into the ground—he gave you a second chance to resupply!"

My dad had always been an honorable, fair businessman. I refused to let anyone drag his name through the mud.

The live broadcast instantly fell into chaos.

Chloe ordered the crew to cut the audio feed immediately.

She marched over to me, her expression colder than winter ice. "Who the hell do you think you are, Julian? You ruin my show, and you think you can afford the damages?"

She waved for the crew to resume filming.

The host hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Julian, you still have one last chance. Who is 'Z'?"

On the screen, my next contact was simply saved under the letter "Z."

I kept my head down, frozen.

My hesitation fueled endless speculation among the studio audience and the online chat.

Everyone assumed I was just terrified of losing again.

None of them knew that "Z" stood for Chloe.

The last letter of the alphabet. She was the very last thing tying me to this earth.

If I called Chloe, there was no way in hell she would lend me money. Was I supposed to dial her number just to publicly humiliate myself?

To push me further into the dirt, Marcus suddenly reached out and tapped the dial button on the screen.

Panicking, I locked eyes with Chloe for a fraction of a second and slammed my hand down to hang up the call.

At that exact moment, an incoming call lit up my phone.

It was Sarah.

She had somehow rushed into the studio.

The second the call connected, her clear voice echoed through the speakers, stunning the entire room:

"I'll lend it to you. Whatever amount you need, I'll give it to you."