Riches in Disguise

I snorted, "Yeah, right. Felicia's the only one I love. Even though she's missing, I'd never betray her for another woman."

All three of them looked lost when I mentioned Felicia. She had been missing for

a long time now. Gradually, rumors started spreading on campus, with some people making wild stories about her.

Now, almost everyone believed she was dead.

Not me, though.

Felicia might look like an ordinary woman, but she was actually the missing heiress of a powerful family.

The people who took her that day were not ordinary, and no one could find a trace of them even until now.

So, I had a feeling that Felicia had been taken back to her rightful family.

I refused to believe that her family would be cruel enough to harm her after she'd grown into such a wonderful young woman.

I was sure we would meet again in the future.

A sudden ringtone broke my train of thought. I turned to see Benjamin answer his phone.

"Hello?" he greeted, his face lighting up with joy. "Tiff? Is tomorrow my birthday? Oh, I've completely forgotten!"

"Of course we must celebrate, especially since you remembered it for me! Don't worry about it. I've got plenty of friends at school, and my pocket's full enough."

Hearing this, I exchanged glances with Matthew and Liam.

None of us had realized it was Benjamin's birthday tomorrow.

Now that we knew, we were definitely going to have a feast tomorrow.

"What! You're coming here to celebrate with me? N-No, you don't have to make such a long trip for-Wait, you're already on the train?" Benjamin yelped.

"Why did you decide that on your own? N-No, I wasn't yelling. I'm just worried about you," he stammered. "Fine. I'll pick you up at the station tomorrow."

Benjamin hung up and let out a loud groan. "I'm completely doomed!"

We were puzzled by his words.

"What's wrong? Your sister is just coming over to celebrate your birthday. Why are you being so dramatic?"

"B-Because I lied to her!" Benjamin's eyes were red.

He stood up nervously and stammered, "M-My family is quite poor. My mom passed away when she gave birth to my sister, and my dad is disabled. He doesn't have a degree and can't make much doing manual labor."

He explained, "I told them that I was doing great at school to keep them from worrying. I even told them I earn a lot from part-time jobs and am living comfortably. But now that my sister's coming, she'll discover everything!"

I exchanged glances with the other guys, understanding what was troubling Benjamin. Personally, I didn't think it was such a big deal. His sister was old enough to understand his struggles.

He just needed to explain everything clearly to his sister, and they could work together to keep this from their father. That way, their father wouldn't have to worry.

Trying to cover up a lie with another lie would just be an endless circle. There was no way he could keep the truth from his family forever. But looking at his devastated expression, I knew saying that now would look insensitive.

I thought briefly before saying, "Benjamin, if you really want to bluff your way through, I've got a simple idea. When your sister arrives tomorrow, we'll pretend to be your minions and butter up to you."

"You'll just need to take her to a nice hotel for a meal, and she'll believe you."

Liam nodded excitedly. "Yeah. There's nothing to worry about. A few dishes and desserts at a hotel shouldn't cost more than three or four hundred dollars. We can chip in if it's necessary."

"You guys don't have to chip in!" Matthew waved us off proudly.noveldrama