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My Boyfriend Lent Me to His Boys, So I chosed the Richest Heir
Novelix
Completed
My Boyfriend Lent Me to His Boys, So I chosed the Richest Heir
Chapters (4)
第1章
For five years, my boyfriend has been lending me to his friends as their fake girlfriend.
I thought he was helping them get through family dinners and holiday parties.
Then I overhear the truth.
Every time Adrian sends me away with another man, he brings Vanessa home.
Everyone has seen me on the arms of his friends.
So I’ll be the cheater.
This time, Adrian sends me to Julian Whitmore.
He expects Julian’s family to humiliate me.
Instead, Julian’s mother puts their family heirloom bracelet on my wrist.
This time, I keep it.
-
For five years, my boyfriend has been lending me to his friends as their fake girlfriend.
Whenever one of them needs a respectable date for a family dinner or holiday party, Adrian sends me.
He calls it helping out his friends.
Some families look down on me the second I walk in. One woman threw wine in my face. Another had me escorted out before dessert.
Every time I try to refuse, Adrian gives me the same gentle smile.
“Just one dinner, Claire. After this, we’ll finally get married.”
So for five years, I haven’t spent a single major holiday with my own boyfriend.
Last Thanksgiving, I come home after being slapped by one of his friend’s girlfriends.
My cheek is still burning when I hear voices from the living room.
“You seriously don’t care that we keep taking Claire out?”
I stop outside the door.
Adrian laughs.
“Why would I? Every time one of you takes Claire, I get to bring Vanessa home.”
Someone whistles.
“And if Claire finds out?”
“Everyone already knows she’s been showing up as half the guys in this circle’s girlfriend. If things get ugly, she’ll look like the one who cheated first.”
I can’t move.
A week later, Adrian asks me to go with Julian Whitmore to his parents’ anniversary dinner.
Julian’s family is old money, even more established than the Hawthornes.
I expect another uncomfortable evening.
Instead, his parents are polite.
Before we leave, his mother opens a velvet box and fastens a diamond bracelet around my wrist.
“This has been in our family for three generations,” she says. “The women who marry into the Whitmore family wear it.”
Normally, I would return it in private.
This time, I leave it on.
When I get back to Adrian’s place, he is waiting in the living room with his friends.
One of them laughs.
“Well, she made it back without getting thrown out.”
Another snorts.
“I had fifty bucks on Claire getting kicked out before dinner.”
Vanessa smiles from the couch.
“Looks like I won.”
Adrian looks me over.
“Fine. I was wrong.”
They were betting on whether Julian’s family would humiliate me too.
Adrian doesn’t look guilty. He just looks bored that he lost.
I turn away.
Vanessa suddenly grabs my wrist.
“What is that?”
The room goes quiet.
Someone stares at the bracelet.
“Is that the Whitmore family bracelet?”
“The one Mrs. Whitmore only gives to women marrying into the family?”
Even Adrian’s expression changes.
Vanessa recovers first.
“Did you steal it?”
She raises her voice.
“Or did you trick them into giving it to you?”
Adrian relaxes almost immediately.
“Claire, I told you I’m going to marry you. You don’t need to pull something like this just to prove a point.”
The others catch on.
“Why would the Whitmores want some scholarship girl in their family?”
“They probably let her try it on, and she took it seriously.”
I met Adrian in college through a Hawthorne Foundation scholarship.
After we started dating, the jokes never stopped.
Adrian never calls me poor.
He just never stops anyone else from doing it.
And he keeps sending me out with his friends.
I used to tell myself he couldn’t fight everyone for me.
But tonight, Julian’s father mentioned Adrian had brought Vanessa home earlier that week.
As his fiancée.
“Adrian finally shut everyone up,” Mr. Whitmore said. “Told them Vanessa was the woman he chose.”
That was when I finally understood.
Adrian had never been powerless.
He had simply never chosen me.
“Enough.”
He crushes his cigarette into the ashtray and reaches for my wrist.
“The Whitmores aren’t people you play games with. I’ll return this for you.”
I cover the bracelet with my other hand.
Adrian pauses.
“What?”
“I don’t feel well.”
He studies me, then smiles.
“What, their food too rich for you?”
Adrian removes my hand and unclasps the bracelet himself.
He slips it into his pocket.
“Go get some rest.”
第2章
I barely remember making it upstairs.
By the time I reach the bedroom, the nausea has turned into sharp cramps. I hurt too much to go out for medicine.
Some time later, my phone buzzes.
It is Julian.
“Adrian returned the bracelet. You didn’t want it?”
I try to answer, but my voice comes out weak.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think something I ate made me sick.”
He goes quiet for a moment.
“Come downstairs in twenty minutes. There’ll be medicine waiting for you. We’ll talk when you feel better.”
Tears slide into my hair.
Twenty minutes later, I force myself downstairs.
The house is quiet now, but Adrian is still in the living room.
He lifts a small note.
Take care of yourself.
A man’s handwriting.
His face darkens.
“What is this?”
“Medicine.”
“Who sent it?”
I don’t answer.
Adrian picks up the pharmacy bag and throws it into the trash.
“You can’t go one night without some guy taking care of you? You couldn’t buy your own medicine?”
“It’s just medicine.”
Vanessa gets a headache and Adrian drives across town for her favorite tea. If she has to take pills, he brings candy because she hates the taste.
But another man sends me medicine, and suddenly I am the problem.
My silence makes him angrier.
He grabs the glass ashtray and hurls it across the room.
It hits the wall beside me and shatters.
A sharp piece catches my forehead.
Warm blood runs down my face.
Adrian freezes.
I don’t move.
Maybe I’m too tired.
Maybe I’m thinking about the four weddings we were supposed to have.
The first was canceled when the venue fell through.
The second ended before it began when Adrian’s grandfather died.
The third was called off because of a family emergency.
The fourth was postponed because Adrian was too busy with work.
By then, everyone understood.
The Hawthornes didn’t want me.
I became the scholarship girl who spent years trying and failing to marry into their family.
One of Adrian’s friends once asked if I was “not good enough in bed” to make him marry me.
Another cornered me in a bathroom at a party and tried to put his hands on me.
So when Adrian says there will be another wedding next month, I already know what that promise is worth.
He stares at the blood on my forehead.
“Claire.”
I say nothing.
“Why didn’t you move?”
He reaches for me.
“Come here. Let me clean that up.”
Adrian has treated my injuries before.
I used to think that meant he cared.
Now I know he just didn’t want anyone asking questions.
I step away, bend down, and pull the medicine from the trash.
Before he can say anything, a woman’s voice comes from his phone.
“Adrian, stop fighting with her. We’re still waiting for you.”
My fingers stop.
Vanessa.
I look at him.
“Were you on the phone this whole time?”
“Yes.”
So that is why he is still downstairs.
He was about to leave.
For her.
Vanessa’s voice comes through again.
“Are you coming or not?”
Adrian hesitates, then grabs his coat.
“I’ll be back later.”
The door closes behind him.
I go to the kitchen and open the refrigerator.
There isn’t even a bottle of water left.
The shelves are packed with Vanessa’s drinks and desserts.
I close the door, turn on the faucet, and swallow the pills Julian sent me with tap water.
My stomach turns again.
I don’t know how many people heard what happened tonight.
My phone rings.
It is my brother.
His first words are:
“Did you cheat on Adrian?”
Ryan doesn’t let me answer.
“Do you have any idea how many people are laughing at me right now?”
第3章
“Don’t forget who helped me when I was drowning in debt. Don’t forget who’s paying for Mom’s treatment.”
“You need to apologize to Adrian.”
“I didn’t cheat on him. He cheated on me.”
“You should be grateful, Claire. Adrian has done enough for our family. Vanessa is just—”
He stops.
“You knew?”
Ryan says nothing.
“You knew about Vanessa this whole time?”
For one second, I desperately want him to say no.
I need one person in my life who hasn’t been lying to me.
Instead, my own brother says, “If you already know, then why aren’t you trying harder to keep Adrian happy?”
I grip the phone.
“People are already talking about you. Who else do you think is going to marry you now?”
I can barely believe I’m hearing this from him.
“Listen to me,” Ryan says. “Adrian just got me a job. Mom’s treatment costs more every month. Just let it go.”
I don’t answer.
After the call ends, I cancel the ticket I bought to visit Mom.
When I first met Adrian, his family’s foundation paid for my tuition.
Later, he helped my family too.
At first, it felt like love.
Then every favor started coming with a price.
After Adrian helped Ryan out of serious financial trouble, he sent me out as his friend’s fake girlfriend for the first time.
The same week he started helping with Mom’s medical bills, Vanessa began spending more and more time in his house.
Maybe Adrian and I were never equal.
My phone buzzes again.
This time, it is Adrian.
“Heard from your brother?”
I laugh without humor.
“So getting Ryan that job comes with another price too?”
There is a short silence.
Then his voice cools.
“Mason needs you this afternoon. Don’t embarrass me.”
By three, Mason is waiting outside.
He takes me to dinner with his family.
They barely hide what they think of me, but at least no one throws anything this time.
When dinner ends, I follow Mason toward his car.
Someone grabs my hair from behind and yanks me backward.
“You bitch!”
I barely have time to turn before a slap cracks across my face.
My vision blurs.
“I’m Mason’s girlfriend!”
“Maya, what are you doing here?” Mason asks.
“What am I doing here? You’re having dinner with another woman.”
Mason doesn’t explain.
He doesn’t tell her I’m only here because Adrian sent me.
He just lets her hit me again.
Then again.
A kick catches my side, and I go down.
The cut on my forehead tears open.
Blood runs into my eye.
Through the blur, I see Adrian standing across the parking lot.
For one second, his face changes.
He looks shocked.
Worried.
He starts toward me.
Then Vanessa grabs his arm and says something in his ear.
Adrian stops.
He just stands there watching me.
So it isn’t my imagination.
If it were, Adrian would have come to me.
Maya finally leaves with Mason.
Only then does Adrian walk over.
He says nothing as he lifts me into his arms.
Back at the house, he calls a private doctor to clean my wounds.
I lie down and close my eyes.
At some point, I hear Mason’s voice downstairs.
“Adrian, Maya didn’t mean for it to go that far. Tell me what I owe you.”
Adrian sounds almost amused.
“Forget it. I’m the one who sent Claire with you.”
He pauses.
“If you guys didn’t keep taking her out, I wouldn’t get to bring Vanessa home.”
Mason laughs.
“Fair enough. Anything for you two.”
I pull the blanket over my head.
When I wake again, Adrian is sitting beside the bed.
His voice is soft.
“Don’t worry. I won’t send you anywhere until you’re better.”
Then he leans closer.
“When you recover, we’ll get married.”
I look at him.
I don’t ask who he means.
Me?
Or Vanessa?
Because before any wedding happens, Julian walks through the door.
第4章
Seeing Julian at Adrian’s house makes me stop.
So much for Adrian promising he wouldn’t send me anywhere until I recovered.
I get into Julian’s car and go with him to dinner with his parents.
When we leave the restaurant, a familiar voice calls out.
“Julian. Good to see you.”
Adrian’s parents are standing a few feet away.
Adrian and Vanessa are behind them.
Adrian’s expression darkens the second he sees me.
Julian gives Mr. Hawthorne a polite nod.
“I brought my girlfriend to dinner with my parents.”
Adrian’s parents look awkward.
They were never shy about saying I wasn’t good enough for their family.
Now they have to smile.
“What a coincidence,” Mrs. Hawthorne says. “Adrian brought his fiancée to dinner too. Why don’t you join us?”
Julian smiles.
“Sure.”
Adrian’s face gets even colder.
At the table, almost everything Adrian’s family orders is spicy.
I have never handled spicy food well.
Adrian used to order something mild for me.
After Vanessa started spending more time around him, everything slowly changed to what she liked.
I am picking around the peppers when Julian looks at Adrian’s wrist.
“That bracelet. Claire gave it to you, didn’t she?”
I look up.
It is the simple silver bracelet I bought Adrian years ago for his birthday.
He once told me he would wear it forever.
Now he gives a short laugh.
“Some cheap thing. You want it?”
“No, thanks.”
Julian slides the plate of grilled shrimp toward me.
Before I can take one, Adrian hands the entire plate to a server.
“Take this back. It’s too greasy.”
The table goes quiet.
Julian leans back.
“You seem pretty bothered by what my girlfriend eats.”
Adrian’s eyes turn cold.
“Why would I be? I barely know her.”
His father quickly cuts in.
“Anyway, Julian, you should bring your girlfriend to Adrian and Vanessa’s wedding.”
I keep eating.
Strangely, I don’t feel much of anything.
After dinner, Julian offers to drive me back.
Adrian follows us outside.
“Julian, don’t let her fool you.”
His voice is full of disgust.
“You’ve heard the rumors. She’s been seeing other men.”
He doesn’t know the man who sent me medicine is standing right beside me.
Julian starts to speak.
I put a hand on his arm.
“You should go.”
He studies me for a second, then nods.
When he leaves, I turn to Adrian.
“You’re the one marrying someone else.”
His jaw tightens.
“That’s different. Vanessa is just what my family expects.”
The same excuse.
He sends me out with his friends.
He brings Vanessa home.
And somehow, both are supposed to mean nothing.
I laugh.
Adrian stares at me.
“You really think you’re getting into the Whitmore family?”
His voice turns cruel.
“If Julian wants someone outside his circle, he can still do better than you.”
I nod.
Then I say, “You’re the one who sent me to him.”
Adrian’s face hardens.
“Fine.”
Three days later, Ryan calls.
“What did you do?”
My stomach drops.
“The Hawthornes stopped paying for Mom’s treatment.”
My hand starts shaking.
I call Adrian again and again but there's no answer anymore.
Ryan calls back less than an hour later.
“Mom’s in the ICU. Claire, fix this. Apologize to Adrian. Beg him if you have to.”
I keep calling.
Finally, someone answers.
But it isn’t Adrian.
Vanessa.
Her voice is almost cheerful.
“Sorry. Adrian took me away for a few days. He isn’t checking his phone.”
I close my eyes.
“Please put him on.”
She says nothing.
“Vanessa, please. My mom is in the ICU. Just let me talk to him.”
The line goes dead.
Vanessa ends the call just as Adrian walks over.
“Who was that?”
“Work.” She slips his phone behind her back. “You said no business on this trip.”
Adrian nods, though something still feels wrong.
Later, when Vanessa goes down to the beach, he finally gets his phone back.
The moment he unlocks it, his expression changes.
Hundreds of missed calls.
All from Claire.
Then he sees the messages.
At first:
I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please don’t stop Mom’s treatment.
Then:
Adrian, I’m begging you. I’ll do whatever you want. You can send me with anyone you want. Just help my mom.
He scrolls faster.
But three hours ago, the messages stop.
His chest tightens.
Then he sees the last message on his phone.
It isn’t from Claire.
It is from Julian.
Thank you, Mr. Hawthorne.
