The Fall From Grace

Her words stopped me cold.

Back in college, Ariana had told me more than once how much she despised Elliot. She used to say he was arrogant, entitled, and utterly shameless—always throwing his family's wealth around and playing with women as if they were toys. He'd cheated on every girlfriend he'd ever had and even forced more than one girl into an abortion.

And now, that same scumbag had somehow become her boyfriend. I could hardly believe that the sweet, innocent girl who once stood by my side had turned into someone like this.

I didn't want to say anything more. I turned to leave, but Elliot stepped in front of me with a grin. "Don't go, Chase. You're a server, right? Perfect. You can personally serve our table tonight."

Before I could reply, he grabbed my arm and pulled me into their private room, dropping himself into a chair and throwing one leg up onto the table. "Come on, Chase. Start by cleaning my shoes. Let's see how good you are at your job."

The others burst into muffled laughter.

Even Ariana was leaning toward Cleo, whispering and snickering as they watched me.

I swallowed my anger and let out a cold laugh. "Elliot, if you're here to eat, you're more than welcome. But if you're here to cause trouble, I'm asking you to leave—now."

Elliot barked out a laugh. "Hahahaha! Ptui! Don't make me laugh, Chase. Who the hell do you think you are? The restaurant owner?" His smug grin turned malicious.

Cleo immediately chimed in, eager to please. "Exactly! You should feel honored that Elliot's giving you the chance to clean his shoes. Honestly, you should be licking them clean with your tongue. Do you even know how expensive those shoes are? You couldn't afford them if you carried trays for the rest of your life!"

"Yeah! Lick them!"

"Make sure they shine!"

The others immediately joined in, chanting and laughing. A few of Elliot's lackeys even rushed forward, grabbing me and shoving me to the ground. One of them forced my head toward Elliot's shoe.

That was the last straw. "Let go of me! I'm the owner of this restaurant! Are you out of your minds?"

Elliot burst into laughter, doubling over in his chair. "Owner? Hah! Give it a rest, Chase. Look at you—you're dirt poor! A guy in a waiter's uniform claiming he's the boss? What a joke!"

He motioned to his men, and their grip tightened. One even dropped to his knees and pushed my head down against Elliot's shoe.

I was surrounded, humiliated, faces all around me twisted with mockery and glee. Cleo sneered and glanced at Ariana. "Seriously, what were you thinking? How could you ever fall for a loser like Chase? Good thing you dumped him after graduation, or you'd have missed out on someone like Mr. Reid—rich, handsome, and way out of his league."

At that, she tossed Elliot a flirtatious wink.

Ariana's expression darkened at that. She swayed her hips and sank onto Elliot's lap, her voice dripping with possessiveness. "What are you talking about? How could Chase ever compare to my darling babe?"

Then she looked down at me, disdain curling her lips. "I can't believe how pathetic you've become in just three years. Thank God I broke up with you when I did. I'd hate to be the girlfriend of a penniless loser."

Her words hit me like a brick to the chest. So that was it. The breakup three years ago hadn't been because she had to take care of a sick family member back home—she'd been cheating on me with Elliot all along.

Humiliation

I stared at Ariana in disbelief, my face drained of color. "Is that true? What she said—was it true?"

She scoffed, clearly irritated by my question. "What's there to deny? You're broke and pathetic. Of course, I don't want someone like you."

She grabbed a glass of water from the table and threw it straight at my face, her tone filled with contempt. "Look at you—such a disgrace. You're not even worth the dirt under my boyfriend's shoes."

Then, she turned and planted a sweet kiss on Elliot's lips, smiling as if the whole scene was nothing more than a show for her amusement.

Elliot grinned even wider, shoving Ariana aside as he crouched down in front of me. He lowered his voice, taunting, "You see that? Money can move mountains. Even your precious dream girl is just another dog licking my shoes. Hahaha!"

"I'll kill you for this!" I snapped, fury exploding inside me as I struggled to get up.

But the others pressed down harder, forcing me back to the floor. Elliot lifted his foot and stomped down on my face, grinding his heel cruelly. "Go on, lick my shoes clean. Do that, and the 50 bucks are yours. Otherwise, you're not walking out of this room."

"I'm the CEO of Sandhurst Group—you think you're worthy of having your shoes cleaned by me?" Rage surged through me as I glared up at him, my voice trembling with fury.

For a second, I thought my words might shock them into backing off. Instead, they looked at each other—and burst out laughing.

"First, he said he owns the restaurant, now he's claiming to be the CEO of Sandhurst Group! Chase, do you have some kind of delusion? You're unbelievable!"

"Yeah, right! The CEO of Sandhurst is worth billions. You think someone like that would be carrying plates around?"

"Guess that glass of water didn't wake him up. Let's give him something stronger!"

One of them smirked with a nasty glint in his eyes. He disappeared into the restroom and came back holding a basin filled with toilet water, then dumped it all over me. The freezing filth soaked through my clothes.

They all burst into laughter again, pointing at me as if I were a circus act, mocking and jeering without restraint.

That did it.

I couldn't take another second.

I broke free with every ounce of strength I had and yanked out my phone. "Get reinforcement in here—"

Before I could finish, Elliot snatched it from my hand and smashed it under his heel. "Calling for backup? What, you gonna summon the rest of the waitstaff to save you?" he sneered, laughing hysterically.

Dripping wet and shaking with rage, I lunged forward, ready to hit him—but the others pinned me down again, forcing me to my knees.

Elliot's grin twisted into something vile. His pudgy face was gleaming with malice as he crouched down once more. "You want me to let you go? Fine. Bark for me. Say it loud—'I, Chase Levine, am Elliot Reid's dog.' Do that, and maybe I'll let you walk out of here."

"Dream on." I spat at him, pure hatred burning in my eyes. Every nerve in my body screamed to tear him apart.

Elliot wiped his face, laughing coldly. "You really don't know what's good for you. Fine then. I'll make sure you understand you're not even as good as my dog. Boys—do it!"

Instantly, his lackeys grabbed me again. They forced my head toward the toilet bowl, some of them holding me down while one reached for his belt, clearly intending to do something far more disgusting.

The Broadcast of Shame

Meanwhile, Cleo and the other girls pulled out their phones, giggling like it was all a party. Some of them even went live on social media.

Cleo beamed into her camera and said sweetly, "Alright, everyone, send me some gifts! I'm livestreaming a toilet bath—an exclusive human-shower special! Hahaha!"

Viewers, having no idea what was actually happening, began flooding into the stream. The viewer count skyrocketed. Some sick-minded people even started spamming gifts and shouting for a full face reveal.

Seeing that, the girls grew even more excited, shrieking from the sidelines.

"Come on, pour it! Let my followers see the whole thing!"

"Mr. Reid, you're amazing! You just came out for dinner, and you're helping me gain followers! Only a rich heir could pull that off!"

…

Across the room, Ariana wrinkled her nose and leaned against Elliot. "Babe, he's so filthy. This is disgusting."

I was being forced down, my head dunked into the foul water again and again. Each time, I came dangerously close to blacking out. I tried to fight back, but they outnumbered me—too many hands holding me down. I couldn't move.

Then, finally, a voice shouted from the doorway. "Mr. Levine? Mr. Levine, are you in there? Open the door!"

Cleo snapped impatiently, rolling her eyes. "Get lost! There's no Mr. Levine! We're having a class reunion here—don't ruin the fun!"

As she spoke, the guys around me went even further, tearing at my clothes in their frenzy to humiliate me.

"Hahaha, would you look at that! Our top student is wearing an Armani shirt! Where'd you get this knockoff? Not bad quality for fake goods!"

"Hold on, Elliot—how the hell does a broke server afford a Patek Philippe watch? That's a classic model!"

Someone in the group hesitated, the laughter faltering as realization began to dawn. "Wait… could he actually be the restaurant owner? Is he really Mr. Levine?"

A few people instinctively stepped back, unease spreading through the room.

Elliot only snorted. "What, a fake watch scared you idiots? Cowards." He yanked the watch off my wrist and hurled it straight out the window before turning back with a sneer. "Keep going."

But before anyone could move again, the door burst open with a thunderous crash. The restaurant manager and a team of security guards rushed in, their faces going pale at the sight.

"Mr. Levine—are you all right?!"