Blurb：
Stella Ford’s life turned upside down when Liam Carter, her childhood sweetheart, decided to break up with her over money. Little did he know, Stella’s wealthy family had been pretending to be poor just to make him feel secure. Her mom, a former socialite, gave up luxury to live in a run-down apartment next door to Liam’s family. Now, Liam thinks his family’s newfound wealth makes him too good for Stella, even eyeing Vivian Shaw as his “upgrade.” But Stella is relieved—no more pretending! Dive into this hilarious tale of secret riches, fake poverty, and a breakup that backfires. Will Liam discover the truth? Will Stella’s mom’s crazy plan finally pay off?
Content：
My childhood sweetheart wanted to break up with me because my family was too poor.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank god we were only pretending to be poor, not actually poor.
He had no idea that my mom, worried he might feel insecure, had been making me act broke this whole time.
It was exhausting. Finally, I didn’t have to pretend anymore.
Liam Carter was basically my mom’s impulse-buy arranged fiance for me from when we were kids.
She saw him toddling down the street and decided he was so ridiculously handsome that he had to be her future son-in-law.
To make sure I could “win his heart” from childhood, my whole family moved out of our luxury penthouse downtown and into a run-down apartment right next to his.
Liam and I naturally became childhood sweethearts.
After befriending the Carters, my mom ditched her spa days, her golf games, her bridge club.
Instead, she spent all her time with Liam’s mom, hitting up discount grocery stores for day-old bread and clearance eggs.
She gave up her life as a wealthy socialite for this future son-in-law.
I told my dad, “If Mom’s craziness got posted online, the internet would tear her apart.”
Dad didn’t say anything. He just quietly put away his Rolls-Royce key fob and pulled out his Vespa scooter keys to drive me to school.
Fine. Dad and I? We had zero say in this family.
I asked Mom once, “When can I finally be myself around Liam?”
She said adolescence is when self-esteem is most fragile.
“What if Liam finds out we’re rich and feels insecure? What then?”
Whether Liam would feel insecure or not, I didn’t know. But I was about to lose my mind.
One night, I just couldn’t take it anymore.
I stormed into their bedroom.
“Mom,” I demanded, “Is Liam your secret love child or something?”
“It’s okay if he is! Just let Dad and me move back downtown.”
“We’ll accept him!”
That only earned me a parental beatdown. My butt hurt for days.
Thankfully, my day of liberation finally arrived.
It was the day when Liam developed wandering eyes.
After school, Liam suddenly refused to ride the city bus with me.
“Stella, you know my family’s place back home got bought out for development, right?”
He held up three fingers.
“Three million dollars.”
“So, starting today, I won’t be riding the bus anymore.”
“You get what I’m saying, right?”
Honestly? I didn’t. I just blinked at him.
“Okay, cool. We can Uber then!”
Liam hissed impatiently.
“It’s not about the ride-share.”
“Then what’s it about?”
His tone suddenly felt cold and unfamiliar.
“Mom said we’ll be moving out of this dumpy neighborhood soon.”
“Face it, Stella. My family’s new money now. Upper crust. And you? Where are you at?”
“Where am I?” I echoed, confused.
Liam sighed like I was painfully slow.
“Didn’t want to spell it out, but you’re kinda forcing me. Seriously, how dense can you be?”
“Look, everyone deserves to aim higher, right? You can’t exactly blame me for wanting to upgrade.”
“So, Stella? You get it now?”
After all that, it finally clicked.
Liam thought his family’s sudden windfall meant his girlfriend wasn’t good enough for him anymore.
He wanted to break up.
“Okay.”
My easy agreement clearly surprised him. He’d expected a fight.
I leaned in, suddenly curious.
“So, who’s this ‘upgrade’?”
“Vivian Shaw.”
“I think, realistically, she’s the one on my level now.”
Ah. Vivian. The beautiful, popular rich girl. Head cheerleader type.
“Alright.” I pulled out my phone. “I agree to break up. But you have to tell my mom yourself.”
Liam frowned. “Stella, we’re not kids. Seriously?”
I stood my ground. “If you don’t tell her, she won’t believe it.”
He hissed again. “Fine. Breaking up with poor girls is always messy.”
Poor? Was he calling me poor?
The call connected, and Mom sounded thrilled to hear Liam’s voice.
“Liam, honey! Come over for dinner tonight?”
“Your mom’s been MIA lately. Calls unanswered, texts ignored. What’s she up to?”
Liam hesitated, maybe feeling a flicker of guilt.
“Mrs Ford, I called to tell you something.”
“I think at this stage, we need to focus on our studies. Getting distracted by relationships isn’t smart.”
“So, Stella and I have decided to part ways peacefully.”
“Peacefully?!” I yelled into the phone. “Liam, stop sugarcoating it!”
“Mom! He’s dumping me because his family got a payout, thinks I’m not good enough now! He’s chasing Vivian!”
Liam abruptly ended the call.
“Stella!” He snapped. It was probably the first time he’d ever raised his voice at me. “Couldn’t you keep it classy? Now I look bad in front of your mom!”
I stared at him, confused. “Seriously? Whatever. Point is, it’s done.”
“Fine! Starting tomorrow, I’m officially pursuing Vivian. Make sure you tell everyone at school we’re over.”
As I watched Liam walk away, I felt a weird sense of relief.
Thank god Mom made me pretend to be poor. How else would I have seen his true colors?
But honestly? The best part was knowing the act was finally over.
No more bus rides.
I splurged that day, hailing an Uber Lux home.
Mom was waiting, practically vibrating with anxiety.
“What happened with Liam? Did you two fight?”
I shrugged. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? His family struck gold. Now we’re too poor for him.”
Mom refused to believe it.
“Impossible! Liam’s not like that!”
“Maybe he’s terminally ill? Doesn’t want to burden you? That’s why he made up an excuse?”
I rolled my eyes. “Lay off the romance novels, Mom. They’re rotting your brain.”
She doubled down. “We’ll sell everything! We’ll get him the best care!”
Before I knew it, she was dragging me across the hall to Liam’s apartment.
We knocked forever before Mrs Carter finally answered.
Seeing us, her expression tightened.
“You are home,” Mom chirped, oblivious to the chill in the air. “We were supposed to hit the discount market for eggs today. Why didn’t you answer?”
Mom seemed completely unaware Mrs Carter wanted nothing to do with her.
“Liam called today saying he and Stella broke up. Is everything okay? Did something happen?”
For some reason, Mrs Carter turned icy.
“What could be wrong? Are you wishing something bad on Liam?”
“Breaking up means he’s lost interest. Simple as that.”
She started to close the door, then paused, adding with a nasty edge,
“Oh, forgot to mention. We got a settlement for the family property. Three million dollars.”
“We picked up a new Porsche today. Moving to that fancy gated community next week. You know, the one where condos go for a mil?”
“So, let’s just leave this little chapter behind, shall we? No need to stay in touch.”
The door slammed shut.
I swore I heard Mom’s heart crack.
She still couldn’t believe she’d misjudged them, until she saw the red exclamation mark next to Mrs Carter’s name in her contacts.
That night, she shook me awake.
“Stella? Let’s move back downtown.”
“The penthouse. The concierge. The rooftop spa… I miss them.”
I shot out of bed, beaming.
Finally! Mom had seen the light! Dad and I had been waiting years for this.
We packed the Rolls-Royce Phantom that very night and sped back to the penthouse.
No more pretending.
My designer clothes, my luxury bags, my limited-edition collectibles… I was coming home!
The next day, I walked into class wearing limited-edition sneakers.
At the sight of me, Vivian snorted loudly. Everyone turned to look.
“Stella’s wearing the same kicks as Vivian.”
“It took me only a nanosecond to spot the fake.”
“Buying knockoffs? No wonder Liam dumped her. So pretentious.”
“Word is she begged when Liam told her they were done. Pathetic.”
“Yesterday she had on those cheap Payless specials, today it’s two-grand sneakers? They must be fake!”
Vivian decided to play generous.
“It’s okay, guys,” she simpered, putting on her best ‘understanding’ face.
“Maybe Stella just doesn’t know any better.”
I swatted her hand away. “Who the hell doesn’t know?”
Losing face, Vivian’s smile tightened, but she kept up the act.
“Why are you being so mean?”
“If you’re upset because Liam likes me now…”
“I could always say no to him.”
Seriously?! Who said I was upset?
Liam appeared like her knight in shining armor.
“Stella,” he said, his voice dripping with condescension. “After all these years? I know your style.”
“You’re an expert on dollar-menu burgers and cafeteria mac and cheese. Since when are you into sneakers?”
The class erupted in laughter.
“Remember when she argued with that old lady over fifty cents? Talk about broke behavior!”
“Think wearing Vivian’s shoes makes you popular? Or trying to win your ex back with fakes?”
“Copying the queen bee? You’ll always be the knockoff version.”
Maybe the three million gave him delusions of grandeur. Liam decided to quiz me.
“Okay, since you claim you ‘know’ sneakers…”
“What’s the founder’s name? His birthday?”
The brand and model name were on the tip of my tongue. He wasn’t asking about that? He wanted the founder’s birthday?!
Furious, my cheeks burned. Before I could unleash hell, Liam mistook my anger for embarrassment.
“Enough,” he declared. “I know the breakup hit you hard.”
He pulled his meal card from his pocket.
“There’s five hundred bucks on here. It should cover you for the semester.”
When I didn’t take it, he shoved it into my hand.
“Stop playing dumb. I know you need it. Consider it… severance pay.”
I rolled my eyes so hard they almost got stuck and tossed the card back at him.
I sat down at my desk and realized Liam had already moved.
He was now sitting next to Vivian, claiming it was for “tutoring”.
Yeah, right.
Everyone knew his game.
Since Liam moved, no one else wanted to sit by me. Except one girl, Bella Rossi, the scholarship kid.
She quietly moved her stuff to the desk beside mine.
As Bella packed, Vivian leaned against her old desk, smirking.
“Sitting with her? You know what that means, right?”
Bella moved next to me anyway. I asked her why.
She said she couldn’t stand Liam and Vivian using their money to bully people.
Honestly? That stung a bit.
Because I was probably about to flex my wealth harder.
At lunch, Bella led me through a maze to the cafeteria’s back door.
The lunch lady (clearly Bella’s mom) looked stressed when she saw me.
“Bella, honey, I only packed one portion. Why’d you bring someone?”
Bella quickly took the plate.
“It’s okay, Mom. I don’t eat much. We can share.”
“She’s had it rough too, getting picked on. Every dollar counts.”
At the makeshift table, looking into Bella’s hopeful eyes, I couldn’t bear to disappoint her.
I quietly slid my own meal card – freshly loaded with ten grand yesterday – back into my sleeve.
I picked up my fork, promising myself this was the last ‘poor’ meal.
Tomorrow, everyone would know about my loaded card!
I’d barely taken a bite when a familiar voice cut in.
“Stella. Give me back the card.”
I looked up. It was Vivian, icy as ever.
“What card?”
“The meal card Liam gave you today. Don’t think you can keep things that aren’t yours.”
“It can’t be. I’d handed that card back immediately.”
One of Vivian’s minions slapped my tray. Bella’s carefully divided chicken drumstick tumbled to the floor.
“Stop lying! I saw Liam shove that card into your desk!”
Furious, I jumped up. As I did, the meal card hidden in my sleeve slipped out and clattered to the floor.
Vivian’s minion grabbed it lightning-fast.
“Ha! Told you she had it! Liar!”
“That’s my card!”
The minion ignored me, sprinting to a payment terminal.
“Holy crap!”
Before I could stop her, a shriek came from the register.
“What?! How much money is on this thing?!”
The minion gaped at Vivian. “Liam only said five hundred!”
“This has… ten thousand dollars?!”
Vivian’s face went through a kaleidoscope of emotions. Shock, disbelief, maybe even jealousy that Liam would ‘give’ me so much.
She snatched the card back and stormed off.
I didn’t chase her.
Ten thousand dollars? That would count as robbery.
After they left, Bella stared mournfully at the chicken on the floor.
I hauled her up, marched to the register, and paid for two giant chicken sandwiches, shoving one into her hands.
“Eat up. Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
Bella chewed thoughtfully.
“Ten grand on a meal card? Your ex must’ve really liked you.”
I sighed. Oh, Bella, you sweet, naive kid.
Later, Liam cornered me after school as I went for my dad picking me up in the Rolls.
“What did you say to Vivian at lunch?”
“She threw my card back at me and won’t talk to me!”
“She just said yes to me yesterday! Are you trying to ruin this?!”
I texted Dad to wait by the entrance, and that I had to handle something.
“Stella! I’m talking to you! Show some respect!”
I pocketed my phone, pulled out his meal card and returned it.
“Vivian gave you my card.”
“I told you I didn’t want yours. You shoved it at me.”
Liam hissed impatiently. “I’m asking about Vivian! Why is she mad?!”
“I don’t care about the damn card!”
Seriously?! Why was he asking me? Shouldn’t he ask his girlfriend?
Speak of the devil. Vivian herself walked past, deliberately bumping my shoulder hard.
“What the f**—” I started.
Vivian cut me off with a fake apology. “Oops. Didn’t see you there.”
She tried to walk away, but Liam grabbed her arm.
“Honey, please don’t be mad.”
“I have zero feelings left for Stella.”
“Honestly? I never really did. Our moms pushed us together.”
“And now? My family’s flush. We’re the perfect match.”
He finally said it. I wished I could record this for Mom.
Vivian was still pouting. “If you dislike her so much, why give her ten grand?”
“Ten grand?” Liam looked genuinely confused.
My phone buzzed. Dad was texting: the Rolls was drawing a crowd. He was getting social anxiety. I needed to hurry.
Done with their drama, I called Liam a few choice names and sprinted for the car.
On the way home, Dad asked which Michelin-starred place I wanted.
Meanwhile, Bella texted me a link to the school’s gossip app.
“Stella! Someone posted on the campus wall saying you’re a sugar baby!”
Someone was really watching me. Within five minutes of getting into the car, photos of me climbing into the Rolls were plastered online.
Comments flooded in:
“Guy looked old enough to be her dad. Desperate much?”
“Rich ex dumps her, so she finds a sugar daddy? Classy.”
“Driving a Rolls-Royce to school? She wants people to know she’s kept?”
“Liam and Vivian are the real power couple. Stella’s sugar daddy probably smells like mothballs.”
Bella texted: “Stella, is that really your boyfriend?”
I replied: “That’s my DAD!!!”
Once Bella knew it, she immediately tried defending me online.
“Stop spreading lies! That’s Stella’s dad’s car!”
The trolls turned on her too:
“Two broke liars.”
“I’ve seen Stella’s dad! He rides a scooter! No way he drives a Rolls!”
“Maybe her dad became a chauffeur? Borrowing the boss’s ride to flex?”
Hearing me sigh, Dad asked what was wrong.
I showed him my phone. “Dad, they’re saying you’re my sugar daddy.”
Dad stared at me. “Kid, are you speaking English right now?”
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