"I'm not throwing a tantrum," I said, cutting Mark off.

Slowly and firmly, I peeled his hands off me. I turned and stared right at his face, which now disgusted me.

"You've been putting on a show for two years now, Mark. Aren't you tired? My mom's ring is gone, and so is the last of my feelings for you. How much longer were you planning on messing with me anyway?"

Mark's eyes flickered, but he soon put on the same weak and helpless expression, the one I was very familiar with.

"What are you talking about, Emmy? My legs did end up paralyzed because of the accident. They've only gotten a lot better recently after all the treatments…

"Are you abandoning me? You've always looked down on me, haven't you? You've been thinking about casting me aside all along!"

Once again, he tried to use his so-called paralysis and my supposed abandonment of him to guilt-trip me and try to make me pity him.

His emotional performance did nothing but amuse me. I didn't bother explaining myself. I didn't have the strength to waste any more of my breath on him.

I quietly bent down and picked up the now-empty, stained delivery bag.

Without looking at Mark and the rest of the people who were delighting in my situation, I turned and walked off into the rain.

Rosie's coquettish voice rang out behind me.

"Since she found out, Mark, so be it. Don't tell me you're actually worried about that psycho feeling hurt and upset. Don't tell me that Mark Jamison, the wealthy scion, would actually fall for a deliverywoman."

I didn't hear Mark's response.

Since we'd broken up, I didn't need to do deliveries anymore. I called up the supervisor of the delivery service I worked for, Mr. Dean, and told him I was quitting.

Mr. Dean was stunned. "What happened, Emilia? Why are you resigning all of a sudden? Don't you need to earn money to pay for your boyfriend's medical treatments?"

"He's all better now," I replied, my lips twitching. "He made a full recovery."

"Really? That's fantastic!" Mr. Dean exclaimed, sounding glad. "Now that you two have survived this ordeal, everything will be smooth sailing from now on! I'm sure he'll treat you even better in the future. Your suffering has finally paid off!"

My suffering had paid off, huh?

I smiled bitterly.

That reminded me. It was Mark who introduced me to this delivery job, one that involved me working under all sorts of weather and having to put up with all manner of disrespect and humiliation.

At the time, he said he was trying to help me out. In reality, he simply wanted me to suffer as much as possible to get back at me on Rosie's behalf.

Thankfully, it was all over now.

After packing all my belongings, I went to Cascadia Hotel the next day. It was the most luxurious hotel in the city.

Lugging a few suitcases alongside me, I walked into the hotel looking like quite a mess. I stuck out like a sore thumb in this environment, attracting all kinds of unsavory gazes.

"Oh, my. Would you look at that! If it isn't Emilia Langley, the hardworking Takeout Queen!"

A shrill and familiarly cloying voice rang out beside me.

It was Rosie. She and her gang of good-for-nothing friends were at Cascadia Hotel too.

Without even bothering to stop, I continued to haul my things into the hotel lobby.

However, Rosie wasn't planning on letting up. She led her gaggle of lackeys over, crowding around me as if I were some kind of freak show on display.

"Look who it is!" Rosie said again before covering her nose in an exaggerated manner, as if she'd caught a nasty stench coming from me. "How dare a deliverywoman set foot in Cascadia Hotel?

"Where's security? Security! When did this hotel lower its standards so much that you're now letting any random dog off the streets inside? Look how filthy she's made the place!"

Her friends immediately jumped in.

"I know, right? Look at her. She's all covered in grime. She'd better not mess up the carpet!"

"Have you forgotten, Rosie? She's a pure and righteous little angel who said she doesn't care about riches! But look at her now. Right after dumping her paralyzed boyfriend, she's eagerly running over to a hotel like this to find herself a man!"

Their grating laughs and mockery echoed in the hotel lobby.

After hearing how they twisted things around to slander me, I glared icily at them and snarled, "Move."

"How dare you tell me to move!" Rosie snapped. With a scowl, she lunged forward and gave me a hard shove.

Caught off guard, I stumbled back and crashed into a massive display cabinet filled with bottles of expensive wines and liquor.

After I'd slammed into the cabinet, the impact made it shake so hard that dozens of expensive bottles of liquor, including rare and limited-edition wine, whisky, and other vintage, all came crashing down. The glass shattered across the floor, and the liquor splashed everywhere.

The thunderous commotion drew the attention of everyone in the lobby, and they stared wide-eyed at the mess.

After a moment of silence, they roared with ear-piercing laughter.

"Hahaha! Quick! Look at that beggar. She's made a mess."

"Let's count how many precious bottles of liquor that country bumpkin broke!"

"I spot a bottle of Lafite Rothschild, two bottles of Romanee-Conti, and three bottles of Macallan Rare… Goodness me. How much is that all worth?"

"It's got to be six figures, if not more! Hahaha. She wouldn't be able to cover it even if she sold herself off to the highest bidder!"

"Can't afford to pay up, huh?"

Snickering, Rosie stepped forward and said, "That's easy! She can just get on her knees and lick the floor clean. For every drop she licks up, I'll give her a penny. Is it too much to lick up? Well, I don't care. She can keep licking until we're satisfied. Hahaha!"

Plenty of people agreed with her cruel idea.

"That's right. Get on your knees and lick the floor!"

"Let us see the Takeout Queen work her magic, licking the floors clean!"

A few of Rosie's friends came up to me with vicious grins. They grabbed my arms by force and pressed me down on the floor that was covered in glass shards and liquor.

"Get down! Start licking!"

"Hurry up, or we'll report you to the police and have you sent to prison!"

I was drowning in humiliation and pain. My arms were twisted behind my back. The guys grabbed me by the hair and were forcing my head down.

Using every ounce of strength I had, I whipped my head up and shouted hoarsely, "My name is Emilia Langley! I'm the sole heir to Langley Group! Graham Langley is my father!"

After a beat of silence, even more raucous laughter and jeers rang out.

"Did she just say her family owns Langley Group?"

"She said that the richest man in the city is her father! Has she lost her mind? Did the humiliation make her snap and start hallucinating?"

"Hah! If you're the sole heir to Langley Group, then I'm the president of Meronia!"

Rosie laughed until her sides hurt and her eyes teared up.

"You? The sole heir to Langley Group? I'll have you know that the sole heir to Langley Group is the owner of Cascadia Hotel and the fiancee of my brother, Adrian Shaw!" she declared imperiously. "You know what? You don't even have to get your so-called billionaire father over.

"Go on and call your fiance over, if you can. Have him teach us a lesson, why don't you? Look at you spinning such ridiculous lies at the drop of a hat. You're nothing but a joke!"

Amid the humiliation, a familiar figure showed up—Mark, dressed in a suit and looking like a refined gentleman. His eyes flashed with surprise and pity when he saw me.

"Emmy? Rosie? What's going on?"

After taking in the mess and seeing how I was being held to the floor, he frowned before looking at me.

"How did you get yourself into this situation, Emmy?" he asked with an air of superiority. "Have you caused trouble again?

"Okay. As long as you beg me to help you, on account of our past, perhaps I can help you cover this little bit of—"

He didn't get to finish his sentence before getting interrupted by a commotion at the hotel entrance. The spectating crowd swiftly parted to make way.

"Isn't that Adrian Shaw? He's so tall and handsome!"

"Of course he is! He's from one of the wealthiest and most distinguished families! It only makes sense that he carries himself differently."

A handsome young man dressed in a bespoke black suit came striding into the hotel. His gaze landed on me. When he saw me being held to the floor, looking absolutely miserable, his expression turned dark.

"What the hell are all of you doing!"