Chapter 2

Naturally, that was when everything went wrong. The old man walked straight past me and headed for the supposed male lead.

He scolded the punk.

“Noah! Are you bullying people again?”

Then his face softened as he turned to Ethan.

“Don’t be afraid, young man. I’ve spoiled Noah rotten, but he doesn’t mean any real harm.”

His bodyguards went around me too, as if I didn’t exist.

Seriously, even a dog should know better than to be an NPC in a billionaire romance.

Now what? The top of the world didn’t seem very welcoming.

The comments became even more merciless:

[Phew. The billionaire just walked right past the random extra who saved his life. That’s so mean. exhales]

[Our precious male lead really is blessed. Born to be rich.]

[Am I the only one who feels bad for this poor background character? She spent two thousand dollars on his checkup, and he won’t even look at her.]

[Stop. You’re hurting me. This is exactly how I do all the work at my job just for somebody else to take the credit.]

…

Right. Exactly zero people cared about me.

While they were talking, I raced back into the booth, whipped out my enormous sack, and coolly shoveled the money inside.

Both eyes were on duty—one standing guard, the other keeping watch. My ears stayed pricked for any movement outside.

I’d drunk the wine for the male lead. Taking a little money wasn’t unreasonable, right?

The sack was a bit big. A hundred thousand dollars didn’t even cover the bottom.

My eyes swept around the room before landing on three unopened bottles of red wine.

Well, hello. Château Lafite, 1982.

My eyes lit up. I rubbed my hands together with a delighted grin.

“Hey! What are you doing now?”

I hadn’t even touched a bottle when Noah’s voice exploded beside me. I turned and found him staring at me with eyes as wide as headlights.

I lurched sideways and accidentally kicked the sack toward his feet. The opening fell apart, exposing a flash of cash.

I froze. We stared at each other.

It was awkward, but all my brain could do was play that stupid line: My name isn’t Hey, it’s— Oh my God, brain, stop.

[Oh, hell. I have thin skin. The secondhand embarrassment is killing me.]

[Unbelievable. She actually went back for the money? Have some backbone. Is she really throwing away her dignity for cash?]

[Honestly, Noah’s just an awkward kid who can’t admit his feelings. He clearly recognized her but refuses to say so. If she sweet-talks him a little, he’d probably give her a whole house.]

I stared at the lines drifting past. My mouth fell open wide enough to fit an egg.

Oh, wow. How was I involved in this now?