I thought that was the end of it.

Then one weekend, on a whim, I decided to spend a couple of days at the suburban villa for a little getaway.

I called Alfred. "Where are you right now? I need to go somewhere. Come pick me up."

He hemmed and hawed for a long time before finally answering, his voice careful and measured:

"Ms. Pruitt, I woke up this morning and found the car had a flat tire. I'm at the auto shop right now getting it fixed. The mechanic says it won't be ready until tomorrow."

"Where are you headed? I can call a car for you, if you'd like?"

I frowned, not wanting the hassle.

"Forget it. I'll grab a cab myself."

After hanging up, I hailed a ride to the suburban villa.

But when I arrived at the front gate, I froze.

My Maybach was parked right outside the villa. Completely intact.

I stared at it for several seconds. Once I confirmed it was definitely my car, I quickened my pace toward the front door.

It was ajar.

I pushed it open, and the sight inside knocked the air out of me.

The living room was destroyed.

The coffee table and floor were littered with empty bottles, fruit peels, sunflower seed shells, and cigarette butts. The sofa and carpet—worth hundreds of thousands of dollars—were covered in dirty footprints. In several spots, cigarette burns had eaten black holes straight through the fabric.

My fists clenched at my sides.

I had bought this villa specifically as a personal retreat. Every detail of the décor, every piece of furniture, had been chosen with care. I maintained it meticulously, treated it like a sanctuary. And now these people had turned it into a dump.

My gaze swept the room and landed on the couch directly facing the door.

Cara was sitting there, surrounded by a crowd.

"Cara, you're so lucky to have found such a powerful boyfriend."

"Right? Not just rich, but so good to you. You mentioned wanting roasted sweet potatoes and he ran out to buy them like a puppy."

"When you're a trophy wife, don't forget about us little people, okay?"

Cara's lips curled into a smug grin. She was about to respond when she glanced up and spotted me standing in the doorway.

Her smile vanished. She stood, her heels clicking against the floor as she strode toward me, chin raised.

Crack.

Without a word, she slapped me hard across the face.

"You shameless tramp. You followed my boyfriend here?"

The blow came out of nowhere. I stood rooted to the spot, my cheek burning.

Everyone in the room stared, wide-eyed.

"Cara, what's going on?"

Cara jabbed a finger at me, her face twisted with disgust.

"This is the freeloader I was just telling you about."

"Mooching rides off my boyfriend wasn't enough. Now she's shown up to mooch off his house."

I looked at her in disbelief.

"Who told you this is Alfred's house?"

Cara let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

"He did. Told me himself."

"You pathetic little gold-digger. You found out my boyfriend is the CEO of the company, so now you're pulling every trick in the book to get close to him."

"Bumming rides every day, manufacturing excuses to be alone with him—that wasn't enough? Now you've come crawling to his villa to throw yourself at him?"

"Let me make one thing crystal clear. Alfred told me he only drives you to and from work because you're an employee at his company. He's being generous. Don't mistake his kindness for an invitation."

So that was the story Alfred had fed her.

No wonder Cara had always treated me like dirt.

In her mind, Alfred was the one who owned the luxury car and the villa. He was the CEO.

And I was just some employee who worked under him.

So all this time, Cara had believed I was the one mooching rides in Alfred's luxury car, shamelessly trying to seduce her boyfriend.

What a joke.

Cara turned to her friends and announced at the top of her lungs:

"You want to know how shameless this tramp really is?"

"She parks herself in my boyfriend's car every single day. You literally can't get rid of her!"

"I even left a note telling her to stop riding with him, and she threw a fit and called the cops, claiming he was harassing an employee."

"So my boyfriend had to start dropping me off at the office first, then double back just to chauffeur her around, all to protect the company's reputation."

"I have never in my life seen a more shameless piece of trash!"

My eyes went wide.

So that was why Alfred had been late picking me up every day.

He'd been sneaking off to drive Cara around first, then coming back for me.

Well played, Alfred. Well played.

You want to treat me like a fool? Then don't blame me for what comes next.

I pulled out my phone on the spot and dialed the legal department.

"Get a team to my villa at Peach Blossom right now—"

Before I could finish, Cara snatched the phone out of my hand and hurled it against the floor.

"God, you are unbelievable! How can one person be this full of it?"

"Your villa? This is my boyfriend's house!"

Her friends piled on, sneering and spitting venom:

"Classic gold-digger. Hasn't even landed the rich guy yet and she's already claiming his property."

"Some women are just born desperate. The second they smell money, they're on their knees begging like dogs. Disgusting."

"Cara, you're way too nice. If I ran into trash like her, I'd rip her lying mouth right off her face!"

Their words pumped Cara full of confidence. She grabbed my collar and yanked me close.

"Hear that? Everyone here agrees. You're nothing but trash."

Then her gaze dropped to my neck, and her eyes lit up.

"That jade pendant doesn't look cheap. Let me guess—you spread your legs for some sugar daddy to buy it?"

She grabbed the chain and ripped it off my neck.

The motion was so fast, so violent, I didn't even have time to react before the necklace was in her hand.

The blood drained from my face. "Give it back!"

My sudden panic only made her smile sharpen. She dangled the pendant just out of reach. "This nervous? Must be worth a fortune."

"It's worthless," I blurted, lunging for it. "But it means everything to me. Give it back. Now."

I grabbed for it, desperate.

That jade pendant was a protective charm my mother had given her life to obtain.

I'd been sickly since birth. When I was four, I was hospitalized in critical condition, unconscious and fading. The doctors told my parents to start making arrangements.

My mother refused to accept it. She went to a temple to pray for me.

To prove the sincerity of her devotion, she set out in the scorching heat of a hundred-degree summer and prostrated herself the entire way, one bow for every step, from the base of the mountain to its peak.

By the time she reached the top, her knees were torn to raw flesh, white bone visible beneath the blood. Her forehead was split open, her consciousness flickering. Only then was she granted the jade pendant.

Perhaps heaven itself was moved by what she'd done.

Against all odds, I woke up.

But my mother never recovered.

On her deathbed, she pressed the necklace into my palm and made me swear to keep it safe.

I had treasured it beyond measure ever since, carrying it with me every single day of my life.

It was the thing my mother traded her life for. It was sacred. Untouchable.

I would never let anyone destroy it.

"The more you want it back," Cara said, a cruel grin spreading across her face, "the more I want to smash it to pieces."

Before I could reach it, Cara hurled the necklace at the ground with all her strength.

A sharp crack split the air. The jade pendant shattered into pieces, fragments scattering across the floor.

"No!"

My mother's pendant. The one she'd traded her life for. Gone. Just like that.

The pain in my chest was so sharp I couldn't breathe.

"You're an animal!"

Something inside me snapped. I swung my hand and slapped Cara across the face as hard as I could.

"You bitch!" Cara shrieked, clutching her cheek. "Beat this slut within an inch of her life!"

Her voice pitched higher, eyes wild with fury. "Whoever does the best job gets a million dollars!"

The words hit like a starting pistol. Cara's friends' eyes lit up, and they descended on me in a frenzy of fists and kicks.

"You actually hit Cara? She's about to become the wife of Grandview Group's CEO. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Seriously, it was just a necklace. You probably earned it on your back anyway. Go service a few more men and buy another one. What's the big deal?"

"Shameless whore. You seduce someone else's man and then have the nerve to hit his girlfriend? You must have a death wish."

They beat me to the ground. My whole body shook with rage. I gritted my teeth and forced out the words:

"You're going to regret this."

The room erupted in laughter, every one of them throwing their heads back like I'd told the funniest joke they'd ever heard.

"Oh, that's rich! Cara's boyfriend is the CEO of Grandview Group. What are you? Nobody. You think you can make us regret anything?"

"You're nothing but some bottom-feeder employee who threw herself at the CEO. You already sell your body for cash, and now you're threatening us?"

"A whore should know her place. You take your beating and stand there and take it."

They pinned me to the ground, mocking and humiliating me without a shred of restraint.

Surrounded by her cheering entourage, Cara grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head up. Her face twisted with vicious triumph.

"Regret? I've never regretted a single thing in my entire life." She leaned closer. "Go ahead. Show me what a worthless piece of trash like you can do to make me regret."

The words had barely left her mouth when the roar of engines filled the air. One luxury car after another came tearing up the driveway, pulling to a stop in front of the villa.