Chapter 1

At nineteen, Henry Carter coaxed me into making love for the first time.

In the heat of passion, he carved his name on my chest.

Later, I received my acceptance letter from Roynfort Film Academy and gave a speech as an outstanding graduate.

On that day, Henry released a video of us locked in an embrace in bed.

My father had a heart attack due to the shock, and my mother had a mental breakdown.

Overnight, I went from being the best student to a shameless slut.

That was when I realized he had only gotten close to me to take revenge for his first love.

Five years later, we met again. As he wished, I groveled before everyone to apologize.

But he pressed me against the door, eyes red with sorrow, pleading, "Vivian, can we go back to how things were?"

*****

I stood in the middle of a dimly lit private booth, with people all around me.

At my feet were shards of glass mixed with wine. The shards scratched my ankles and stained the white skirt of the woman in front of me.

"What's wrong with you, waitress?" the woman snapped.

I bowed my head and apologized out of habit. "I'm sorry. I'll pay for it..."

Before I could finish, the door to the booth swung open from outside, and an icy voice cut through the noise. "If you can't even handle something this simple, there's no reason for you to stay here."

My eyes widened in disbelief as I caught sight of that all-too-familiar face in the shadows.

Even after five years, just seeing Henry again made my heart skip and stutter.

Suddenly, all those memories crashed over me, suffocating me until I could barely breathe.

I kept my head down, stammering out apologies, hoping they'd let me leave.

But the man standing before me clearly wasn't about to let me go that easily.

"Go get your manager. If you can't even handle basic service, you shouldn't be working here at all," he said.

I shot a panicked glance up at him, only to lock eyes with that icy stare.

My chest gave a sharp, familiar sting.

This job wasn't glamorous, but it was the best I could find.

Ever since Henry publicly blacklisted me five years ago, no company had dared to hire me.

My mother's health was getting worse by the day, and she needed expensive medicine just to get by.

I had no choice but to work at the places Henry had mapped out for me.

Thinking about all this, I clenched my fists and begged, my voice trembling with desperation, "Sir, please, don't fire me. I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you."

Henry let out a cold laugh. "Alright then. Bow your head and apologize. And while you're at it, why don't you lick those stains off the floor?"

The crowd erupted in laughter, all of them just there for the spectacle.

I slowly lay prone at Sophie's feet.

Glass shards pierced my knees, sending pain through my body, but with everyone watching, I still bowed my head.

Once, twice, three times...

I knelt and bowed, numb inside, muttering again and again, "I'm sorry, Ms. Miller..."

My forehead was swollen, and my eyes were bloodshot from the tears streaking down, but I didn't stop.

The laughter and mocking slowly died down.

The booth was so quiet.

I was out of it, and my vision was hazy as I mumbled, "I'm sorry. I'll lick it clean. Please don't kick me out."

I lowered my head, ready to lick the spilled liquor off the floor.

But Henry suddenly kicked the table hard, agitation written all over his face. The glasses rattled, looking like they might crash to the floor.

"Get out," he snapped.

I caught Henry's angry glare and was a bit confused.

Wasn't this what he wanted?

It was just like the night before my dad passed away from a heart attack five years ago. I was at his feet, pleading with him to help my dad.

The doctors said if we could scrape together enough money for the treatment, there was still a chance.

But what did he say to me back then?

He gave a cold, mocking laugh and said, "Look at you now, groveling like a pathetic lapdog."

And then he kicked me out.

In the end, my dad died on the operating table.