Chapter 3
When I finally pulled myself together and returned to the private room, Henry was already sitting in a corner.
The same guy who'd just had me pinned against the sink, kissing me like there was no tomorrow, was now holding another woman close, making out with her.
Thanks to the lighting, I could finally get a good look at the woman in his arms.
She wore a white dress, her silky hair falling over her shoulders. She had a soft smile on her face.
It was Sophie, the girl Henry had always kept in his heart.
My gaze lingered on that white dress for a moment before I looked away.
When I was with Henry, he never allowed me to wear white.
At first, he said white just didn't suit me.
Later, he said I didn't deserve to wear white, and that I'd only ruin it.
Now I realized he just thought I could never measure up to Sophie, and I didn't deserve to wear the same color as her.
Someone in the crowd suddenly said, "Hey, doesn't this waitress look a bit like Ms. Sampson?"
As soon as those words landed, I could feel people staring at me with malice.
Even Henry and Sophie paused their kissing. Henry gave me a look I couldn't read, while Sophie glared at me.
Everyone here had seen that viral video from back then. The man's face was blurred out, but the girl was left completely exposed.
Even her alluring figure and those shy, trembling breaths could be heard loud and clear.
I felt like I'd been dropped into a freezing pit. I couldn't take it anymore, so I lowered my head, just trying to hide from all those stares.
"Since you're a waitress, why not give us a little service?" someone jeered.
Everyone just assumed that hardly any of the staff here were ordinary waitresses.
Whether they were serving drinks or serving something else, that was just the unspoken rule among the elite.
In the middle of all that chaos, one of the rich men yanked me into his arms.
"You know how to drink?" he asked.
He leaned in close, whispering in my ear. His breath scorched my skin and made me want to recoil.
I tried to get away, but the next second, his hands were around my waist, pulling me in even tighter.
Before I could even protest, a parade of brightly colored cocktails was thrust up to my lips, one after another.
I just parted my lips numbly.
The booze burned all the way down, making my stomach twist and cramp, but I kept that fake smile on my face.
"Didn't expect you to down it all. Do you smoke too?" the guy asked.
Looking at his mocking smile, I nodded.
The thick stench of smoke clung to my nose, and for a moment, I was back in that dark, hellish basement.
No matter how much I resisted, Henry forced one lit cigarette after another between my lips.
He kept going until I stopped choking and crying from the smoke.
To him, I was meant to become a smoking, drinking mess.
Back then, his favorite thing was to break my pride and grind me into the dirt.
As the memories slipped away, I reached out and took the cigarette from the man's lips, ready to take a drag.
Then something clacked.
It wasn't too loud or too soft, and it echoed from the table.
Henry casually tossed his lighter onto the table, without a care.
He looked up, his gaze cold and unreadable as he looked in my direction.
My body started trembling, and I couldn't stop it.
The next moment, Henry's icy voice rang out. "Smells awful."
The rich guy laughed awkwardly. "Oh, right. Henry hates smoke. I'll put it out."
In the end, I kept drinking, gritting my teeth and toughing it out until the party finally ended.
Just as I finally let out a sigh of relief, Sophie spoke up with a smug smile. "Ms. Sampson, you got my dress dirty. I could let it slide, but you'll have to be my maid for a whole month."