Chapter 1

I had been with Damien Rook for five years when he went bankrupt. When we hit rock bottom, we slept in parks and lived off whatever leftovers we could scavenge from the market. I never left him. I kept telling myself he would get back on his feet. On the 100th night in the park, I went to the black market and sold my blood. Then, I used the money to get Damien into a hospital. I sat in the hospital terrified, praying he would get better. Right then, his first love, Celeste Arden, sent me a video. "Here's a surprise." It was a livestream site built for rich kids to prank ordinary people, and my face was pinned at the top. My fingers shook as I tapped on it. In the livestream, I was curled up in the corner of a park, chewing on leftovers I had picked up off the ground, trying to give my weak body something to run on. On the split screen, Damien lounged on a five-star hotel couch, enjoying fine food and wine. "This is insane. Damien said he didn't feel well, and Edith actually went and sold her blood to pay for his treatment." "On the 16th prank, she fell into the ocean. On the 25th, she was hit by a car while trying to save him. How is she still alive?" "Damien vowed that if she lasts till the end, he'd marry her and never touch another woman!" "There's only one month left. Either Damien kills her, or he marries her." "I'm betting 50 million dollars she'll die horribly! This is going to be fun to watch!" ... I crouched in the hospital hallway, hands clasped, praying Damien would pull through. I'd sold my blood to pay for his treatment, but it still wasn't enough. I was still thinking about how to scrape together more cash. But when I saw the IV drip going into his arm, the tight knot in my chest finally loosened. I looked down at my own medical report and let out a sigh. Suddenly, I felt my throat itch and covered my mouth with a tissue to cough. A thin smear of blood stained the white tissue. So, I was coughing up blood now. Maybe I was dying too. But it didn't matter. As long as I could help Damien pull through before I died, I'd have no regrets. After all, someone as talented as him shouldn't die young. It would be such a waste. I had to save him, no matter what it cost me. That was when a text came in from Julian Rook. "Do you really think my brother loves you? Stop dreaming!" I frowned and typed a single question mark. Julian promptly sent some photos, and Damien's face soon filled my screen. In the first photo, Damien was lounging on a couch with one leg crossed over the other. Meanwhile, two women in skimpy outfits were feeding him grapes. Around Damien sat the same group of men who had once been his close friends—the ones he supposedly had fallen out with. Then, I tapped the next photo and saw Julian's face. He was Damien's younger brother. Three years ago, Damien had missed Julian's call because he was with me. After that, Julian showed up furious and took it out on me. Damien had stood up for me then, and that was the day he cut ties with Julian. Soon after, the Rook family cut Damien off. His accounts were frozen, and he lost all support overnight. If it hadn't been for me, Damien would never have ended up sleeping in parks. He wouldn't have fallen this sick either. When I saw the photo, I felt that there was no way Damien could be sitting there, drinking and laughing with his old friends. Suddenly, another message popped up from Julian. "Don't you want the truth? Open this livestream, and you'll understand everything." I stared at the strange link, but my brain didn't even pause to think. My trembling hand moved on its own and tapped on it. "Welcome to Prank World. This episode featured the prankster Damien Rook and the target Edith Trafford." Underneath, a smaller line read, "The prank ends in one month."