Chapter 2

After throwing away everything in the house that had anything to do with me, I took only a few daily essentials and moved into the maid's quarters, as I was still expected to be at Samuel's beck and call, managing his meals and his life.

Once I finished scrubbing the place, I headed into the office. In the elevator, people were already buzzing with the day's hot gossip.

"I heard Ms. Wynn came back today. I'm dying to see her in person. Didn't she win Miss Photogenic at that international pageant?"

"Seriously? Some people have all the luck. Rich, gorgeous... it's like God opened every door and window for her. I'm green with envy."

As they gushed, one unfriendly colleague noticed me huddled in the corner. The mood shifted instantly.

"Well, if she knows what's good for her, she'd better pack up and get out of Reed Corporation before the real Lady of the House shows up."

The others caught on, their words dripping with sarcasm.

"Shameless much? Knowing he's taken and still sticking around."

"Exactly. She thinks Mr. Reed is protecting her? Please. She's just a free sleeping partner to him. She isn't worth a dime."

"A crow doesn't turn into a nightingale."

I had been hired into Reed Corporation as an exception, and their hiring standards were notoriously strict. So my colleagues assumed I must have slept my way to the top.

They looked down on my humble beginnings and never missed a chance to badmouth me behind my back.

There was one time, not long after I joined the company, I went on a business trip over six hundred miles away with a colleague.

That colleague, who had a crush on Samuel, deliberately left me behind on the highway and drove back to the city alone.

My phone was dead, and I was wearing nothing but a thin skirt and a blouse.

I walked along that deserted stretch of road until well past midnight. The wind was bone-chilling, and between the cold and my period cramps, I nearly collapsed by the roadside.

In a daze, I felt someone scoop me up. They wrapped a coat around me and carefully held the water to my lips, calling my name over and over.

When I came to, I was already back in the city. The nurse told me a man had brought me in, paid the bill in full, and left without a word.

After I recovered and returned to work, the atmosphere had shifted. The arrogance and disdain in my coworkers' eyes had been replaced by a stiff, cautious politeness.

One colleague whispered to me later that the woman who had nearly cost me my life had been fired.

When Samuel saw that she had come back alone, with no sign of me, he was furious. He flipped his desk over, sending his computer, pens, and documents crashing to the floor.

He warned everyone in the company that if anyone so much as laid a finger on me, they'd end up six feet under.

From then on, word spread that I was Samuel's girlfriend, and my colleagues started treating me with a bit more courtesy.

But as time went on and they saw a never-ending parade of women cycling through Samuel's life, they realized I was just another one of his toys.

Over time, the courtesy withered away, replaced once again with contempt and disdain.

But it didn't matter anymore. Soon, I'd be leaving Reed Corporation and Samuel for good.

The elevator doors slid open, and I kept my head down as I hurried to the office.

I had a ten o'clock meeting to prep for, one that Samuel was supposed to chair. But he never showed up, and the meeting fizzled out early.

Just as I got back to my desk, my phone buzzed. It was Samuel. "Get to the airport and pick me up. You have thirty minutes."

Samuel was a world-class flirt, but he didn't have a chivalrous bone in him. The airport was at least an hour and a half away, even longer if I hit a snag in traffic.

I instantly drove straight to the airport.