I honestly thought Casey was actually smelling something bad, so I told Hayden to take the car in for a deep clean and detailing.

However, her behavior only got more ridiculous. She started wiping down my seat with disinfectant the second I got out or put down disposable seat covers before I even sat down.

When I confronted Hayden about it, he just offered a sheepish explanation in private. "Ms. Gray, Casey is just worried the car isn't clean enough and might ruin your clothes, so she's extra careful about hygiene."

I didn't think much of it at the time.

After all, I had too much on my plate. I was managing multimillion-dollar projects every day. I really didn't have the time or energy to sweat the small stuff with some young lady.

It wasn't until this morning, when I saw the note slapped onto my usual seat, that it finally clicked.

Casey thought I was the one hitching a free ride.

I had intended to teach Hayden and Casey a lesson.

But right now, Hayden was practically begging in front of me. "Ms. Gray, I swear, this will never happen again. I'll explain everything to Casey today. I won't be giving her rides anymore. Please, for the sake of my dad's health, forgive me just this once."

Thinking of Arthur, I sighed. "Fine. I won't press charges."

Once the police officers left, Hayden let out a massive sigh of relief. He thanked me profusely and acted incredibly humble.

I didn't say anything else. I just got into the back seat and told him to take me to the office.

After that day, Hayden actually behaved himself for a while.

Casey was nowhere to be seen in the passenger seat whenever he picked me up.

The car was spotless, and any trace of that note had been completely scrubbed away.

His driving remained smooth and solid.

The only issue was that he kept running late, and he always had an excuse ready.

"Ms. Gray, I'm so sorry. There was an accident on the road today, so I got stuck in traffic for a bit."

"Ms. Gray, I'm really sorry. My alarm didn't go off, and I overslept."

"Ms. Gray, a pipe burst at my place, and I had to sort things out with the downstairs neighbors, so I got held up."

While the excuses started sounding a bit flimsy, he was always apologetic, so I didn't push it.

I figured that was the end of it—until one weekend, when I spontaneously decided to spend a couple of days relaxing at my suburban villa.

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

He stuttered and hesitated for a long time before finally saying cautiously, "Ms. Gray, I woke up this morning and found out the car had a flat tire. It's at the mechanic's right now. They said it won't be ready until tomorrow. Where are you heading? Should I call a cab for you?"

I frowned, too tired to deal with the hassle. "Never mind. I'll call one myself."

After hanging up, I took a ride to the villa.

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

Because my Maybach was sitting right there in the driveway, with perfect tires.

I stared at the car for a solid few seconds. Once I was certain it was mine, I picked up my pace and walked toward the front door.

The door was slightly ajar.

I pushed it open, and the sight inside left me entirely speechless.

The living room was an absolute disaster zone.

The coffee table and floor were littered with empty alcohol bottles, fruit peels, pizza boxes, and cigarette butts.

My multimillion-dollar couch and rugs were covered in muddy footprints. There were even several black holes burned right into the fabric by cigarettes.

The moment I saw the mess, my hands balled into fists.

I had bought this villa as a quiet getaway, and I'd poured a massive amount of effort into the interior design and furniture.

I usually took pristine care of the place, and now these people were treating it like total garbage.

I scanned the room, and my eyes locked onto the couch facing the door. Casey was sitting right there.

Casey was surrounded by a crowd of people.

"Casey, you're seriously so lucky. Your boyfriend is loaded!"

"Right? Not only is he rich, but he spoils you rotten. You mentioned wanting fries, and he ran out to buy them instantly."

"Don't forget about us once you become a rich lady!"

Casey's smile reached her ears as she soaked in the compliments. But just as she was about to speak, her eyes darted to the doorway and locked onto me.

Her smile vanished. Striding over in her high heels, she stopped right in front of me.

Without a single word, she struck me hard across the face. "You bitch! You actually tracked my boyfriend all the way here?"

The sudden blow left me momentarily stunned.

Her friends gasped, eyes wide. "Casey, what's going on?"

Casey pointed at me with pure disdain. "This is that car moocher I was telling you about! Hitching rides in Hayden's car wasn't enough for her. Now she's trying to crash his house, too."

I stared at her, utterly incredulous. "Who told you this house belongs to Hayden?"

Casey scoffed. "He did, obviously. You bitch. You're only after Hayden because he's a CEO, so you've been trying every possible way to seduce him, haven't you?

"Freeloading in his car every day to get him alone wasn't enough, so now you show up at his villa trying to sell yourself?

"Let me tell you something. Hayden said the only reason he drives you to work is that you're an employee at his company and he's taking the high road. Don't push your luck!"

So that was the story Hayden told her?

No wonder Casey had treated me like garbage.

In her head, Hayden was a wealthy CEO who drove a luxury car and owned a villa. Meanwhile, I was just some low-level employee working under him.

So Casey had always thought I was constantly mooching rides in Hayden's luxury car and even trying to seduce him.

This was completely absurd.

Casey turned back to her friends, raising her voice. "Do you guys know how shameless this bitch actually is? She glues herself to Hayden's car every single day. You can't even kick her out!

"I literally left a note telling her to stay out of his car, and she threw such a tantrum that she called the cops, claiming Hayden was abusing his employees.

"He had to start driving me to work extra early every morning just to protect the company's reputation, then double back to pick her up separately. I have never seen such a shameless whore in my entire life!"

My eyes widened.

So that was why Hayden had been running late every single day lately.

He was sneaking around, driving Casey to work first before coming back for me.

Such dedication.

Since he wanted to play me for a fool, he couldn't blame me for being ruthless.

I pulled out my phone right then and there and dialed the legal department. "Get a team over to my villa at Utopia Estates right now—"

Before I could finish, Casey snatched the phone out of my hand and smashed it onto the ground. "You crazy bitch, stop faking it! Your villa? This is Hayden's fucking house!"

Casey's friends chimed in, throwing sneers and insults my way.

"Wow, she really is shameless. She hasn't even bagged Hayden yet, and she's already claiming his villa is hers?"

"Some women are just pathetic. The second they see a guy with money, they're ready to spread their legs and beg. It's disgusting."

"Casey, you're way too nice. If I encountered a bitch like this, I would've ripped her mouth apart by now!"

Fueled by her friends' backing, Casey grew even bolder. She grabbed me by the collar. "Hear that? Everyone's calling you a pathetic bitch."

Casey's eyes suddenly locked onto my neck, and they lit up with malice. "This emerald necklace looks expensive. Did you spread your legs for some sugar daddy to buy this too?"

As soon as she said that, she ripped the necklace off my neck.

Casey was too fast and aggressive. Before I could even react, the necklace was already clutched in her hand.

My face fell instantly. "Give that back!"

Seeing my panic, Casey let out a cold smirk. "Why so nervous? This thing must be worth a fortune."

"It's not worth anything," I said, panic tightening my chest. "But it's incredibly important to me. Give it back right now!"

I reached out to grab it from her.

Emerald was my birthstone. That emerald necklace was a lucky charm Mom had given her life to get for me.

I was a sickly child. When I was four, I was hospitalized in critical condition, slipping into a deep coma.

The doctors told my parents to start preparing for a funeral.

Refusing to accept it, Mom went to a sacred mountain sanctuary to pray for me.

To show her devotion, she climbed the mountain in the sweltering 104-degree summer heat, kneeling and praying with every single step from the base to the peak.

By the time she reached the top, her knees were bloodied down to the bone, and she was barely conscious. She dragged herself to the altar, where an old priest pressed an emerald necklace into her trembling hands. "God bless you," the priest said to her.

Maybe God was moved by her sacrifice. I miraculously woke up from my coma.

But Mom collapsed and never recovered.

On her deathbed, she placed the necklace in my hands and told me to never lose it.

I cherished it above all else, keeping it with me every day of my life.

It was something Mom had given her life for and the one boundary no one was allowed to cross.

I couldn't let anyone ruin it.

"The more you want it, the more I want to destroy it." Casey sneered.

Before I could even touch the necklace, she slammed it down onto the marble floor.

With a sharp, brittle crack, the emerald shattered into pieces. Fragments scattered everywhere across the floor.

"No!"

Watching the emerald necklace Mom traded her life for smash into pieces broke something inside me.

My chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe.

"You monster!"

Driven by pure rage, I swung my hand and slapped Casey across the face.

"You fucking bitch, how dare you slap me!"

Casey clutched her red cheek and shrieked at the top of her lungs, "Beat her up! Teach this bitch a lesson! Whoever does the best job gets a million bucks!"

At those words, her friends' eyes lit up with greed. They swarmed me, raining down punches and kicks.

"You think you can touch Casey? She's about to be the wife of Apexion Group's CEO! You're nothing compared to her!"

"Exactly! It's just a broken necklace. You probably bought it with hooker money anyway. Just sleep with a few more guys to buy a new one. Why get so worked up?"

"Shameless whore. Seducing Casey's man wasn't enough; now you're putting your hands on her? You're asking for it."

I was knocked to the floor. My body trembled with rage as I spat out through gritted teeth, "You'll regret this!"

A chorus of mocking laughter erupted in the room, as if I had just told the funniest joke in the world.

"Hahaha! Casey's boyfriend is the CEO of Apexion Group. Who the hell do you think you are to make us regret anything?"

"Exactly. You're just a low-level corporate nobody who tries to sleep her way to the top. You're selling your body, and you have the nerve to threaten us?"

"A whore needs to know her place. Lie down and take your beating."

They pinned me down onto the cold floor, hurling insults and mocking me without restraint.

Surrounded by her cheering crowd, Casey grabbed my hair and said arrogantly, "Regret? I've never regretted a single thing in my life. I can't wait to see how a piece of trash like you is going to make me start!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, a line of luxury cars tore up the driveway and came to a stop right outside the front door.