Caleb and Liam Novel The Fake Heiress and Her Secret Billionaire

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I found out I was the fake heiress.
I dragged Caleb, the scholarship student I'd been supporting, and cried for three whole days.
Soon they're going to kick me out, and I'll be homeless, starving and freezing. I won't have any money left to sponsor you either.
Ugh, my Chanel bags, my Gucci dresses, my Cartier necklace... Mom, I'm going to miss you all so much...
Later, Caleb disappeared for ten days.
When he came back, he was dressed in a custom-tailored suit, dripping with luxury.
He silently shoved a pile of designer bags and jewelry into my arms.
That's when I realized he was actually from a wealthy heir.
The humiliation of being deceived hit me instantly.
I was just about to smash one of the bags in his face when floating text suddenly appeared before my eyes,,
[Sigh, the villain went back to his scumbag father and got used as a punching bag, all for the heroine.]
[His dad might be the richest man in Manhattan, but he takes all his anger out on his son. Beats him brutally.]
[Once he beat him so badly he lost hearing in one ear. That's why the villain left his trust fund and ran away, ending up broke on the streets. At least he escaped the abuse... and met the kind-hearted heroine.]
[What a shame. The heroine's fated male lead is about to appear, starting the 'fake heiress redemption' arc. Poor villain got beaten for nothing.]
I froze for a moment, then tore open Caleb's shirt. Sure enough, huge, ugly bruises covered his torso.
I've been sickly since I was a kid,
So Mom and Dad spoiled me rotten.
My younger brother, Liam, was also forced, humiliatingly, to be my personal errand boy.
When I threw tantrums and picked on him, Mom and Dad suddenly became experts at finding the ceiling fascinating.
It pissed Liam off so much he'd curse me, saying I'd done too many bad things and karma would come for me.
I just scoffed at that. "That's superstitious nonsense."
Then I went and donated three years' worth of school supplies and basic necessities to kids in Appalachia. I also sponsored a scholarship student in my class.
While stuffing Caleb with gourmet takeout, I'd ramble, "Please bless me with smooth sailing, no bad karma, please."
Caleb was quiet, with that cool, pale complexion and sharp nose.
Most importantly, he was emotionally stable.
He patiently listened to my daily superstitious ramblings without looking at me like I was crazy.
He just calmly did his homework.
Being around him felt incredibly soothing. I started thinking of him as my personal good luck charm against my ungrateful brother's curses.
I sponsored him all through college.
Then, out of nowhere, he said he wanted to get a job to pay his own tuition and end the sponsorship.
My world shattered.
All I could think was [My good luck charm is leaving me! My good luck charm is leaving me!]
No way!
I cried, hugged his leg, and begged him not to leave.
Snot and tears everywhere.
All over his pants.
The grief, the devastation.
Honestly, it looked more like I was the one being sponsored.
Finally, under the bewildered stares of passersby and a few girls muttering "What a jerk" with eye-rolls, Caleb sighed and pulled me up, agreeing to keep accepting my help.
I jumped up, hugged him tight, and slapped his back enthusiastically. "Bros for life!"
For some reason, he looked absolutely miserable.
Like his wife had just run off with his best friend.
Caleb Montgomery.
Sounded like a name straight out of a billionaire romance novel.
Yet he'd been sleeping on the street when I found him.
I couldn't figure it out.
So I stopped trying.
Too exhausting.
Better to save my brain cells for tormenting my idiot brother.

Until that day.
I was rummaging through Dad's study, hoping to find some cool new imported gadgets he might have gotten.
I found a file.
Dated the day before.
Dad had been on a business trip for three days already, probably his secretary must have left it.
It looked like an ordinary file, nothing out of the ordinary.
Except for the bold heading "Paternity Test Results".
I thought, Finally! Dad suspects my idiot brother isn't his!
He even went and got a DNA test.
If it were true, that would be great news.
He could get me a new brother C an obedient, smart, and helpful one.
Perfect.
I eagerly opened it.
But it wasn't about Liam.
It had my name and Dad's on it.
And the result read, "No Biological Relationship."
My world shattered all over again.
Instantly, my blood ran cold.
My hands trembled so badly I nearly ripped the flimsy paper.
And honestly, I did tear it.
Selfish, cowardly, and scared C that's me.
I was terrified they'd breathe a sigh of relief, finally kick out their problem childmeand happily welcome their real daughter home.
The real heiress.
Probably healthy, well-mannered, polite.
Not like me.
Playing queen bee at home every day because I was "sickly."
Talking back to my parents, throwing tantrums, threatening to jump off the roof if I didn't get my way.
Bullying Liam relentlessly.
Making him run errands, take out the trash, fetch my packages.
Making him take the blame for my messes without a shred of guilt.
The absolute worst?
Once, while reading some web novel about switched identities, I had the bright idea to ask Liam, who was massaging my feet at the time,
"What would you do if I turned out to be the fake heiress?"
The moment I said it, Liam's eyes lit up like Christmas morning, practically gleaming. "Really? Seriously?"
"Then start packing and get the hell out of my house!"
He stopped massaging, stopped fetching my water, and immediately called his friends,
"Dude, you won't believe it! My sister's not my real sister! Haha, best news ever! Yeah, that evil witch."
"Finally, no one to bully me! Haha, we have to celebrate big time..."
Furious, I jumped up, twisted his ear, and slapped his mouth. "Fake your ass! I'm your real sister! You actually believed that? You're dead meat tonight, you little brat!"
The satisfaction I felt beating him up then was nothing compared to the regret choking me now.
Probably before Dad even finished announcing I was fake, Liam would have already tossed my luggage out the window.
It made sense now.
How could my decent parents and brother have produced such a spoiled, demanding girl like me?
Turns out, they didn't.
But that wasn't the point right now.
After standing there frozen for what felt like forever,
I carefully taped the paper back together and slipped it into the file.
Looking back, I had been pretty awful. Maybe this was my karma.
Dad was due back from his trip in two weeks.
Let me selfishly enjoy these last fifteen days.
Then, on the fifteenth day,
I'd disappear quietly
Consider it my final apology to this family.

I was completely shattered.
I couldn't accept this brutal reality.
And I had no one to turn to.
So I went to Caleb Montgomery, the scholarship student I'd been supporting.
I reserved our usual private room at the restaurant.
I dragged him inside and cried for three days straight.
I didn't even eat.
The waiters kept peeking in, probably worried I might collapse in their establishment.
They kept bringing snacks and checking on me.
Caleb didn't know how to comfort me, so he just let me wipe my snot and tears all over his shirt.
He didn't show a trace of impatience.
He just sat there, enduring my wailing and tantrums, even skipping important lab work at the university.
He said he'd gotten permission from his professor.
Such a good guy.
I became even more convinced he was my lucky charm, my guardian.
My last safe harbor.
What a shame.
He was going to leave me too.
"Ugh, soon I'll be kicked out, homeless, starving and freezing. I won't have any money left to support you either."
"Ugh, my Chanel bags, my Gucci dresses, my Cartier necklace... Mom, I'm going to miss you all so much..."
"Ugh, my princess bed, my custom-made curtains, my limited edition Disney dolls... goodbye to everything..."
Eventually, I cried myself out.
Curled into a small ball on the sofa.
Still hiccuping softly.
Caleb asked the waiter for a blanket and tucked me in carefully.
He got a warm towel to soothe my swollen eyes.
He gently smoothed my messy hair away from my face.
After doing all this, he sat quietly beside me.
He looked down at me for a long time.
I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
But his fists were clenched tighter and tighter.
Like if he'd made some momentous decision.