I Became His Stand-In Lover to Save my Boyfriend

Carrie wanted to play it cool and leave on the exact day the contract expired, but Jared unexpectedly approached her again.

Tomorrow was his friend's wedding, and he had the audacity to ask her to dress up and attend with him.

She rejected him outright. "Just take Karin with you. I don’t mind."

He froze for a moment, clearly surprised by her response.

In the past, she would never have given up an opportunity like this to someone else.

Then, realization dawned on him—she was playing hard to get. He smirked. Who knew what kind of trick she was trying to pull this time?

After all, a person’s nature didn’t change overnight, especially not someone like Carrie, who had once been willing to go through fire and water for him.

"You still need to come as my date," he insisted. "We don’t want people gossiping about Karin. It wouldn’t be good for her reputation."

Carrie laughed inwardly. He was really careful when it came to protecting Karin.

She shot back, "Aren’t you planning to marry her anyway? This would be the perfect chance to make an official announcement."

Maybe she could use this as an excuse to leave early, finally escaping this place where she could no longer bear to stay.

Jared’s tone was cold. "Carrie, I need to make sure you don’t harm Karin. That’s the only reason I’m bringing you along. Don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s anything else. Know your place."

Anger flashed through her eyes, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she turned and stormed back to her room.

At the wedding banquet the next day, Jared held her arm for a few minutes before letting go, leaving her to socialize on her own.

While on her way to the restroom, Carrie unintentionally overheard a conversation between Karin and her friends.

"That Carrie is nothing compared to our Karin. It’s disgusting that she’s still clinging to President Dalton!"

"Obviously, Karin is the future mistress of the Dalton family. We should make sure Carrie is humiliated tonight."

"I’ll slip something into her wine later and send her to the old man’s room. Once she’s caught in the act, everyone will see her as a cheater."

"That way, Jared can break up with her cleanly and be with me. I won’t be labeled as a homewrecker, and I’ll finally get rid of this eyesore. It’s the best of both worlds."

"Are you sure President Dalton is okay with this?"

"Don’t worry," Karin sneered. "He can’t wait to make things official with me. If he wasn’t okay with it, he would’ve stopped me by now. He doesn’t love Carrie."

Inside the restroom stall, Carrie clenched her fists.

Now she understood why Jared had insisted on bringing her tonight.

They were willing to ruin her reputation just to clear the path for Karin.

If she were really caught in bed with another man, the stain on her name would never wash away, no matter how much she tried to explain.

But she couldn’t afford to let them succeed. She had to protect herself—she had to protect Art.

When Karin finally came over to toast her, Carrie smiled sweetly, pretending to chat as she subtly switched their glasses.

Later that night, when Karin was taken to the designated room, her so-called "sisters" hurried off to inform Jared, leaving her behind.

She barely had time to process what was happening before her legs gave out, and she collapsed.

Carrie, standing in the shadows, smirked.

She had already switched the drinks.

Now, watching Karin slump onto the bed, Carrie walked over, dragged her closer to the drunk man, and slipped out of the room without looking back.