Chapter 4

Brad's frown deepened.

My heart skipped a beat as I suddenly remembered the message Anne sent last night. What did she call Brad again?

Darling?

As the reigning champion of stand-ins, I thought her choice of words might be worth borrowing.

I took a deep breath, letting the words roll around in my mouth before speaking. "B-Brad… darling?"

Thank heavens, his brow smoothed out.

So this is what Brad likes?

"The day after tomorrow at 8 PM, dress up nicely. You're coming with me to a dinner party," Brad said, his tone laced with authority.

I was startled. This wasn't how things went in my past life.

8 PM? What a coincidence.

Thinking about Brad's sour mood all morning, it clicked. My Oscar-worthy performance must have set off Anne's alarm bells. She must have ratted me out to Brad.

Crap.

Seeing me clam up, Brad spoke again. "$50,000 has been wired to your account."

I nearly teared up at the power of cold, hard cash. My anger toward Anne melted away.

"Brad, darling~ What kind of dress do you like? Off-shoulder? Crop top? Long or short? Any color preference?"

This time, I was determined to make Brad feel right at home with my service!

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I knew Brad wouldn't parade me around in public.

The parties Brad attended were always high-class affairs.

He probably just found out about my planned escape that day and wanted to keep me under his watchful eye.

In my past life, I would have argued with Brad, complaining about how being his girlfriend wasn't respectable.

Now, I was fully aware of my role as Brad's arm candy.

Sure enough, a sleek black stretch Porsche Cayenne pulled up slowly at the entrance of the banquet hall. Brad instructed me to exit the car separately from him.

Brad was the center of attention.

I didn't want to be blinded by the flashing cameras either.

I got out of the car five minutes after Brad left.

Walking into the banquet hall, I was smacked in the face by luxury.

I'd never seen anything like this before. Like a country bumpkin in a palace, I couldn't help but gawk at everything.

Anne was at the entrance, dressed to the nines. As soon as she walked in, her eyes locked onto Brad as if she had a built-in GPS.

I was baffled. Why was she here?

Brad would never invite both his side pieces to the same party.

"I heard Mr. Halter is announcing his engagement tonight?"

"Yeah, three years ago, the CEO said he'd hand over full control of Halter Group to Brad as soon as he got married."

"Why's that?"

"Happy wife, happy life - good for business. After Miss Clark split three years ago, Brad went on a rampage through the city..."

Two well-dressed men whispered nearby.

Announcing an engagement?

In the distance, Anne lowered her head, fiddling with her phone.

"Buzz buzz—"

"How's everything going?"

I have to say, money really does talk. I hired a bunch of street thugs to rough up that lowlife. They also conveniently took his phone while he was taking an involuntary nap on the ground.

Anne looked around, as if checking for people who shouldn't be there.

I lowered my profile, slipping into a corner.

I replied, "Everything's under control."

Anne smiled, her tone light, "That Lindsey Harper's a looker. Lucky you."

My fingers turned white as I gripped my phone, but I sent back a drooling emoji.

Sure enough, Anne's expression visibly relaxed. Her gaze turned to Brad, who was surrounded by people in the center of the room, looking confident.

Piecing it all together, I realized she wanted to push me out and marry Brad herself.

Trying to take advantage of my sugar daddy?

As if I'd let that happen.

I looked down at myself with a pained expression.

What a shame for this $210,000 custom gown.