CHAPTER 1: CHAPTER 1: THE GAME OF PRETENDING TO BE POOR

10:00 PM.

After finishing her tutoring gig, Clara Sterling, dressed in a clown costume, under the guidance of the staff, entered a private room.

Her roommate, Lynch Lynch, works part-time at this club, and tonight her boyfriend suddenly came to see her, so Lynch asked Clara to fill in for her.

She said there was a group of rich heirs and heiresses having a party here, and as long as she wore a clown costume to entertain them, she could earn a thousand in ten minutes, plus tips.

It was literally like picking up money.

As soon as Clara Sterling entered the private room and looked up, she suddenly saw a familiar face, and her steps came to an abrupt halt.

"Isaac, aren’t you tired of your game of pretending to be poor? So many girls like you, why did you choose a pauper?"

Isaac Sutton curled his lips, "You don’t understand. Those girls who say they like me only want my money, but my Clara truly loves me. Clara Sterling works three jobs just to let me eat and dress a bit better, can they do that?"

The man speaking was her boyfriend of more than two years, Isaac Sutton.

Ten minutes ago, he had just told her goodnight.

A game of pretending to be poor?

Clara Sterling’s mind exploded with a "buzz."

Isaac Sutton had told her that his family only gave him five hundred a month for living expenses, not enough to eat, and he could only eat plain rice with free soup.

As he said, to let Isaac eat and dress better, she took on three part-time jobs.

In her senior year, classes were few; she worked at a bubble tea shop during the day, served at a street food stall at night, and tutored kids on the weekends.

She had almost no time to rest.

She couldn’t bear to buy a dress that cost two or three hundred, but she would give away sneakers worth more than a thousand.

She always ate the cheapest vegetarian meals at the cafeteria, and whenever she went on dates with Isaac, she would take him out to meals costing a few hundred, each time footing the bill herself.

Whenever she was too tired to continue, she would think of Isaac Sutton.

He would say with deep affection, "Clara, I love you so much, I want to give you a home."

He would say with a face full of guilt, "Clara, you’ve suffered following me. When I have money in the future, I’ll make sure you live a good life."

For the past two years, Isaac Sutton was her motivation to keep going.

But it turned out, it was all just a game to him.

A boy spoke up, "Isaac, I heard you plan to meet each other’s parents with Clara Sterling this winter and get married after graduation next year. You’re not serious about her, are you?"

Isaac Sutton leaned back on the sofa, gently swirling a glass of red wine in one hand and holding a cigarette in the other.

"Of course not; she’s from a single-parent family and lacks fatherly love. She wants to get married quickly for a complete family. I just go along to make her happy; it’s not like I’d actually marry her."

"Oh, I see." That person laughed, "I was wondering why she’s so in love. You pretend to be so poor, yet she dated you for two years, didn’t spend your money, and even supported you. Turns out she was lacking love since childhood in a single-parent family."

After these words, Isaac Sutton’s friends started discussing noisily.

"Exactly, you’re the Crown Prince of the Sutton Family. How could you possibly marry someone as poor as Clara Sterling, not in the same league?"

"Right. It would be a joke if young master Sutton took a liking to such a pauper."

"Girls lacking fatherly love are the easiest to deceive. A few sweet words and she’s head over heels for you, hahaha."

"Only Quinn is worthy of you."

"Quinn will be here soon. If she finds out you had a girlfriend in college, how will you explain?"

Isaac Sutton smiled, "Didn’t Quinn leave me to study abroad for three years? If she finds out, she finds out. Use Clara Sterling to make her jealous."

"If Clara Sterling knows you bought a thirty-thousand-dollar bag for Quinn just like that, she’d cry her eyes out."

"Yeah, yeah. You’ve pretended to be poor and deceived Clara Sterling for two years, eating her food and using her money. She even worked three jobs to support you. If she finds out you’re lavishly spending on another woman, she’d go mad with anger."

Isaac Sutton’s smile faded, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Clara won’t find out."

He didn’t know that Clara Sterling was standing right in front of him.

The clown costume was heavy and stuffy.

Clara Sterling felt she could hardly breathe.

Her heart felt like it was being torn open, raw with blood, unbearable pain.

Then someone else spoke up, "Isaac, you mean to keep hiding it?"

Isaac Sutton said seriously, "I haven’t had enough fun yet. If any of you dare tell Clara Sterling, don’t blame me for turning against you."

"But then again, although Clara Sterling is a bit poor, she’s indeed beautiful, with fair skin and a great figure, even I feel tempted. Isaac, you’ve got good taste."

"Of course." Isaac Sutton sipped his wine with a smile, "Even for fun, I wouldn’t look at someone ugly."

"You’ve been dating her for two years; you must have slept with her?"

"Not yet." Isaac Sutton snorted, "I’m just playing around. Why touch her? Girls from poor families are the most straightforward. If I take her body, it’ll be hard to shake her off later. Troublesome."

The group laughed uproariously.

Clara Sterling opened her mouth with difficulty, but couldn’t utter a word, tasting only blood.

She had bitten her lip too hard just now.

Someone said playfully, "When you’re tired of her, let me have a go? You don’t want to sleep with her, but I would. Not sleeping with such a beautiful girl would be a waste."

Isaac Sutton’s face darkened, his gaze swept over like a knife, his eyes cold as ice.

Realizing he was angry, the person said apologetically, "Don’t be mad, Isaac. I was just joking."

Isaac Sutton kept a stern face, enunciating each word, "I warn you, if you dare touch Clara Sterling, I’ll destroy you."

"No, no, I was wrong, Isaac. I wouldn’t dare."

Just then, the door of the private room opened, and a woman dressed like a wealthy heiress walked in.

The woman, clad in a Chanel suit, with luscious brown wavy hair, oozed femininity.

"What are you talking about?" The woman smiled and sat down beside Isaac Sutton.

Isaac Sutton adjusted his expression and said sourly, "You remember to come back, huh? I thought you’d forgotten about me long ago."

Quinn Hughes laughed alluringly, "How could I? You are the one I can’t let go of."

"Really?"

"Truer than gold." Quinn Hughes leaned in and kissed Isaac Sutton’s lips.

Isaac Sutton didn’t push her away.

Clara Sterling stared blankly at this scene, her heartbeat seemingly stopping at that moment.

The men coaxed, "Quinn, when do you plan to get back together with Isaac? He’s waited for you for three years."

Quinn Hughes pulled away from Isaac Sutton’s lips, smiling as she flipped her hair, "Depends on how he behaves."

Then she looked at the clown costume, "What’s this?"

"Brought in to entertain you." Isaac Sutton finally looked at the silent clown standing in front of him for a long time.

Clara Sterling stood unmoving.

"Why are you standing there? Dance." Isaac Sutton said impatiently.

Clara Sterling snapped back to reality.

Before coming, her roommate Lynch Lynch repeatedly exhorted her to do a good job with this gig.

If it were messed up, not only would she not get paid, but Lynch would also be fired.

Clara Sterling didn’t want to implicate her roommate, so she forced through her pain and grievances, performing as a clown to please another woman in front of her boyfriend.

As she danced, Clara Sterling saw Isaac Sutton holding and kissing that woman again.

The two kissed passionately like they were in love.

Clara Sterling’s tears fell uncontrollably.

At this moment, she felt that the person under the clown costume was the real clown.

Clara Sterling didn’t know how she walked out of the club.

It was already cold in Crestwood in December.

Light rain started to fall outside.

The cold wind penetrated through her collar and sleeves, chilling her to the bone, but she didn’t feel it at all.

Clara Sterling aimlessly walked in the rain, like a wandering ghost.

Her phone vibrated several times before she finally took it out, slow to realize.

It was a call from Auntie Walsh next door.

Clara Sterling answered numbly.

"Clara, come back quickly, something happened to your mother!"