Five years ago, diagnosed with cancer, Claire had to break up with her boyfriend Black. To spare him from pain, Claire lied that she was marrying a richer man, and the two parted bitterly. After the breakup, Claire discovered she was pregnant, and passed away shortly after giving birth to Daisy. Daisy was sent to an orphanage, with only a box left from Claire. On Christmas Eve, little Daisy called her father, Black. Unaware of the truth, Black cursed Daisy as a "bastard" and drove her out of the house. Yet soon, unable to bear it, Black brought Daisy back home as she stood in the heavy snow rummaging through a trash can. Black treated Daisy harshly, until Daisy's box spilled open. The moment he learned Daisy was his own daughter, remorse and guilt finally overwhelmed him.

Katherine Woodward, from a once-wealthy Pasadena family, has loved Arthur Riddle for years. Four years ago, at a Hamptons yacht party, she was drugged and slept with a man she thought was Arthur—only to wake beside his ruthless younger brother, Augustus "Gus" Riddle. Branded a gold-digger, she fled and spent four years as a barista, chasing an acting dream. When they meet again, Gus treats her with contempt. But he hides a secret: he was the man that night, has loved her ever since, and has secretly written to her under Arthur's name—paying her rent, arranging auditions, even paying a roommate to watch over her. Katherine's roommate Kylie, an influencer obsessed with Gus, schemes to destroy her. Armed with a cracked smartwatch and a hidden recording, Katherine exposes the plot and walks away with her dignity intact—which only makes Gus want her more.