Chapter 2
After the gala ended, I pulled out the contract I'd prepared ahead of time.
But Jack didn't give me a chance to explain anything. He just grabbed me and dragged me into his car.
He leaned in close to my ear. "Come to my place. We'll talk there."
The lighting was dim, and he reeked of something that made my stomach turn.
The second he pressed against me, every hair on my body stood on end.
I screamed and tried to shove him off, and my hand caught his nose in the struggle.
His face twisted in pain, and he slapped me hard across the face. "You bitch!"
My cheek burned like it was on fire.
He shoved me out of the car, and I hit the pavement hard. Sharp pain shot up from my ankle the moment I landed.
The car engine roared to life and Jack leaned out the window, still yelling. "You should be grateful I even touched you! Worthless slut!"
Growing up, I never had to worry about money. Not once.
But now I was letting men treat me like garbage just to scrape together enough cash.
Those voices from the gala kept echoing in my head.
"Cheap knockoff."
"How embarrassing."
"Washed-up whore."
I closed my eyes.
All I could see was Mom lying in that hospital bed, her face drained of any life.
When I opened my eyes again, a pair of expensive leather shoes appeared right in front of me.
Edward saw the tears on my face and laughed, "Tiffany, is this really all you've got?"
He saw that whole humiliating scene, didn't he?
How embarrassing.
I wiped my tears and pressed my hand against the concrete, trying to push myself up. But I'd underestimated how badly I'd hurt my ankle.
I started to fall and my survival instinct kicked in. I grabbed his arm without thinking.
He smelled like roses, rich, expensive roses.
It was Lily's favorite perfume.
I jerked back and stumbled a few steps away from him.
Edward just stood there watching me, completely still. There was this weird smile on his face, but his eyes were deep and cold, not amused at all.
His gaze dropped to my chest.
The dress had ripped during my fight with Jack, and now there was this gaping tear in the fabric.
Edward's voice dripped with meaning. "I heard you're doing pretty well for yourself these days. Impressive sales numbers."
I could see the contempt in his eyes, and there was something else, satisfaction.
My pathetic struggle to survive was entertaining him.
"You're going to have to beg someone eventually," he said. "So why not beg me instead?
"For old times' sake, I'll go easy on you. It'll be easier than sleeping with Jack, at least."
Old times' sake.
What was he even thinking when he said that?
Edward looked down at me with his chin raised, his words cutting. "Beg me."
I dug my nails into my palm and forced my voice to stay steady. "Leave me alone, Edward. I don't have time for your bullshit."
His eyes went ice-cold in an instant.
He laughed, bitter and sharp. "You'll find out soon enough whether this is bullshit or not."
Edward used to be my fiancé.
We met when we were just kids and spent seven years together. We were really in love, or at least I thought we were.
Getting engaged felt like the most natural thing in the world.
He was this rising star in the business world, and I was the only daughter of the Hayes family.
People in Westbridge's elite circles used to say we were the perfect match.
I never saw him for what he really was—a wolf in disguise.
Everything between us, every sweet moment, every promise—it was all part of his plan to destroy me.
He used my father's connections to climb his way to the top, and then he pushed my dad right off a cliff.
Edward was ruthless, absolutely ruthless.
The day he kicked me out, it was pouring rain. He threw my stuff out of the villa piece by piece, and I just stood there watching.
"You know what?" he said. "The day my family went bankrupt was my birthday. My dad promised to take me to the amusement park, but he never came home.
"You should thank me, Tiffany. I took my time getting here, so you and your family got to enjoy your comfortable life for a few extra years.
"Now it's your turn to know how it feels."
How what feels? Losing everything.
My dad killed himself on what was supposed to be our wedding day.
My mom was downstairs and saw the whole thing happen. She'd always had a weak heart, and this was too much for her body to handle.
Outside the surgery room, I thought about it. I really thought about taking Edward down with me.
But then my mom woke up.
She said, "I have to hold on, Tiff. If I'm gone, you will be all alone, and I can't do that to you."
I broke down completely.
All these years, I'd been running from Westbridge, running from the place where I grew up.
But the nightmares followed me anyway, and I still ended up running into Edward.
*****
Edward always kept his word.
The next day, he showed up at the sales center with Lily on his arm.
He drove up in this flashy Rolls-Royce, wearing a suit that probably cost more than my rent, and my coworkers immediately swarmed him like sharks smelling blood.
Edward looked straight at me and gave me this weird smile, then pointed in my direction. "I want her."
Everyone started whispering.
I'd seen this kind of thing way too many times before.
The past few years, I'd been working myself to the bone just to survive. I said yes to pretty much anything my clients wanted, and it worked. My sales numbers shot through the roof.
But people only saw my face. They didn't see the work.
Someone leaned over to Lily and stage-whispered, "Ma'am, you better watch out for this one. She's got a reputation."
They said it just loud enough for me to hear.
Lily barely glanced at me, like I wasn't even worth her attention.
Edward's mouth twitched into this amused smile, like the whole thing was hilarious to him.
He pulled Lily closer by the waist. "You think she could even compare to my wife?"
Lily leaned into him and gave me this small, satisfied smile. "Shall we go, Miss Sheng?"