Chapter 6

So the new CEO Lana had been talking about was Jonathan Sinclair!

Kylie felt an immediate headache coming on.

First, Jonathan caused her to lose her part-time job. And now, Jonathan had become her new boss.

She had a feeling that Jonathan had come here to mess with her on purpose—how else could it be such a coincidence?

Was her full-time job next? Would she be fired from here too?

The thought made Kylie's heart race with panic.

She got up and headed to the breakroom to get some water, hearing her coworkers discussing Jonathan along the way.

"The new CEO is young and promising. I also heard he's still single!"

"No way, I just saw online that he has a fiancee."

"Really? Is it one of those rich family arranged marriages?"

"Wow, being his bride must be amazing."

When Kylie heard Jonathan had a fiancee, her brow furrowed.

When had Jonathan gotten engaged? They had just broken up a week ago, and she hadn't heard anything about a fiancee in the past three years.

Kylie's mind went blank for a moment, and she didn't even notice the water in her cup spilling over. The liquid pooled on the floor before she snapped out of her trance.

Without hesitation, she grabbed her phone and typed "Jonathan fiancee" into the search bar.

Soon, various news articles appeared on her screen.

[Jonathan Sinclair's Mysterious Fiancee Spotted at Jorundale Airport]

[Jonathan's Fiancee Is a Local Woman Returning From Overseas]

Kylie clicked through the articles, all of which were dated on the same day as her birthday.

And then she saw the picture of Jonathan's fiancee.

Her name was Zoey Whitfield, and she was a woman of mixed heritage.

What shocked Kylie even more was how much Zoey looked like her. They looked almost exactly the same!

At that moment, everything clicked into place for Kylie.

The trope of the "stand-in" from the novels had become her reality.

She had been the stand-in. For three years, she had been nothing more than Zoey's substitute.

That was why Jonathan had discarded her the night Zoey returned to the country.

Of course, now that the real deal was back, what use did he have for the stand-in?

Jonathan was Kylie's first love. Perhaps that was why she could never shake the complicated emotions she had for him.

The thought of him touching her, of her being in his arms, made her heart ache with a bitter, unspoken pain. Perhaps he had always been imagining Zoey instead of her.

In that instant, Kylie felt utterly foolish.

Jonathan would never love her. How could she have ever believed that this man, so high above her, could have feelings for her?

Kylie comforted herself. Since she had initially gone for the money, there was no point in talking about love. After all, one shouldn't be too greedy.

Jonathan was just her sugar daddy, a passing figure in her life. He was never someone to spend her life with.

Her brother was the only man in this world who truly mattered to her.

Thoughts of Kevin, lying in the hospital bed, sent Kylie's mind spiraling back to three years ago.

That accident had torn her family apart.

Her apartment building had caught fire in the middle of the night. The entire family had been asleep when the fire broke out, and by the time they woke up, the flames had already spread.

Kylie had screamed as she tried to escape, but the heat pushed her back. Kevin had rushed out immediately, holding her close to protect her without hesitation.

They had pounded on their parents' door, but there was no response.

With Kevin shielding her, Kylie had managed to escape the blaze. But he had run back in, trying to save their parents.

By the time the firefighters arrived, the fire was already out of control.

Kylie had watched in horror as her parents were carried out, their bodies lifeless. Meanwhile, Kevin had collapsed, unconscious from smoke inhalation and exhaustion.

In an instant, she had lost both parents, and her brother was left in a coma.

After their parents' death, the small family business they had owned had collapsed under the weight of debt from the fire.

In one night, all the burdens of the family had fallen onto Kylie's shoulders.

To cover Kevin's medical expenses and pay off the debts, Kylie had turned to working part-time at a nightclub.

It was at the nightclub that she had met Jonathan—and become his lover.