She fell deeper and deeper for me—
so far that she openly acknowledged Evan Cole as her boyfriend.
Within just a year, she couldn’t wait to get engaged.
When Richard Cole and Kathy Cole heard the news,
they completely lost it.
They never expected their useless younger son
to win the twisted affection of Vivian Lowell—
the notoriously unstable heiress of Lowell Enterprises.
They rushed from the Cole Household to New York City that very night,
carefully choosing a private restaurant for the meeting.
I didn’t want to go.
They threatened me over the phone:
“What do you think Vivian Lowell will do
when she discovers you’re a fraud?”
Their words pierced right into the darkest corner of my fear.
Because over this past year…
my manipulation and schemes had slowly melted into sincerity.
I had witnessed her vulnerability,
the way she took off her armor only in front of me.
She treated me like her only source of light.
If she ever learned the truth—
she would shatter.
So I went.
Inside the private booth, Kathy crossed her arms and sneered:
“Climbing high and pretending you don’t know us anymore?
Without us dragging you home, you’d still be a pathetic nobody!”
“Now that you’ve made it big, you want to cut us off?
Absolutely not!”
I held back my anger.
“We agreed when I left the Cole Household—
all ties severed.
I’m not legally part of your family anymore.”
She scoffed.
“Really?
You’re impersonating your brother Aiden Cole.
How can you NOT bring benefits back to the Cole family?”
“Or do you want Vivian to learn that you’re just an impostor
leeching off her?”
I lowered my voice.
“The Cole family has already taken a lot from Lowell Holdings this year.
You’ve revived your failing company.
And she still hasn’t reclaimed that debt.
What more do you want?”
Richard slid a contract toward me, shamelessly proud.
“Get her signature.
A $500 million deal—should be easy for you.”
“Secure this project and we promise you:
You’ll live above everyone else for the rest of your life.
Aiden will never set foot back in the States.”
I glanced through the contract and laughed.
“Ninety percent profit to the Cole family,
risks all on Lowell Holdings?
Dream on.”
“I won’t be your pawn anymore.
Come after me again—bear the consequences.”
I stood and left them screaming behind a slammed door.
That night, Vivian wrapped her arms around me.
“Didn’t you say you cut ties with them?
Why meet them?”
I forced a calm tone.
“They heard about the engagement. Came to stir things up.”
Vivian nodded, though disgusted by their actions.
She believed she should thank them—
for sending me into her life.
“If you don’t like them,
I can make sure they disappear.
Permanently.”
I shook my head.
“They’re still my parents in the end.”
The hovering live comments reacted:
【Sigh! He’s still too soft-hearted. The Cole family won’t stop here!】
But I thought silently:
Then I’ll never give them another chance.
For the next three months,
I drowned in engagement preparations and bliss.
Calls from the Coles went unanswered.
They didn’t dare step foot into the Lowell Estate,
so the turbulence quieted.
Until the day before the engagement.
Vivian, who should’ve gone with me to try on the suit,
was suddenly pulled back to Lowell Enterprises for urgent matters.
Just as she arranged a driver to take me home—
I ran straight into Richard and Kathy.
Right into their trap.
