Chapter 3
After being kidnapped as a kid, I learned to keep my family's wealth under wraps.
In university, I dressed and lived just like a regular student, always making sure I didn't look like someone with money.
For the whole two years I dated Chris, I went out of my way to avoid mentioning anything about my family background.
I'd just say my parents ran a small business, and our life was pretty average.
Chris, seeing how vague I was, guessed I didn't come from money, and was thoughtful enough never to bring it up again.
But the truth was, my dad was the owner of a hotel empire, and this hotel, Starmore Hotel was just one out of hundreds our family owned.
As for my mom, she ran a real estate business. Her marriage to my dad was basically a strategic business alliance.
When my parents learned about me dating Chris, they didn't try to stop us.
However, my dad insisted on just one thing: Chris couldn't know about our family's background until they had the chance to size him up and judge his character for themselves.
I had been totally confident then, saying, "Trust me, Mom, Dad—you've got nothing to worry about. Your daughter knows how to pick them. My taste is top-notch.
"Chris is hands down the best guy I've ever met—you're both gonna love him, I promise."
But now, I felt like I'd been slapped across the face, the sting burning deep.
"Let me go!" I tried to free my arm, meeting his furious, almost predatory look head-on, my anger burning just as fierce.
"Chris, you'd choose to trust a stranger over me?" I snapped. "We're done. From now on, you're no one to me.
"Touch me again and I'm reporting you for assault. Now move. I'm calling the cops."
Chris looked at me in utter disbelief, like I had done something heinous.
His eyes were rimmed with red, his lips quivering. It took him ages before he could get any words out.
"Valeria, you're actually breaking up with me?" he choked out. "You cheated, and now you're dumping me?"
We were starting to draw a crowd.
The hotel manager, Kenneth Russo, hurried over to check on what was going on. He walked to Anya and asked her what happened.
Anya looked up at Kenneth, putting on her most pitiful face. "Mr. Russo, it's really got nothing to do with me. This lady got busted by her boyfriend for cheating with another guy in one of the hotel rooms."
The Starmore Hotel was pricey, and with it being off-season, hardly anyone was staying there.
Only a handful of guests were scattered around on the sofas tucked into the corners of the lobby.
Anya's voice rang out loud and clear. As soon as those guests heard what she said, they immediately sprang up and shuffled toward the front desk, pretending they wanted something.
"Hey, can I get a bottle of water?"
"Just checking—do you have any rooms available for tomorrow night? Take your time, no rush."
"Yeah, no rush at all."
They all made up some lame excuse to linger around the front desk, their eyes scanning me and Chris from head to toe.
Chris was a proud man.
Having to endure so many people gawking at him over such a humiliating matter, his handsome face instantly flushed a dark red.
"Let's leave," Chris growled, his voice full of frustration. "Stop making a scene."
There was no way I was leaving with him—I stood my ground, refusing to budge.
I pushed Chris back hard, pulled out my phone and started dialing the police right in front of him.
"Hi, my necklace went missing at the Starmore Hotel. I'm pretty sure one of the staff took it," I said. "It's worth 600 grand."
The moment I dropped that 600 grand bombshell, everyone sucked in a breath.
Anya couldn't help but gasp, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. "Oh my God, 600 grand? Miss, don't joke around. That's enough to buy an apartment.
"If that necklace is really worth that much, why would you just casually wear it around?"
Chris's face went dark, his eyes swirling with a turmoil of emotion as he stared at me.
He sighed, the disappointment heavy in his words. "Valeria, have you lost it? Why are you making up this kind of lie?
"Even if you were seeing some rich guy, there's no way he'd give you a 600 grand necklace. How much longer are you going on with this?
"You realize you could actually get in serious trouble for lying to the cops, right?"
I was at my absolute limit with Chris.
One look at his supposedly handsome face and all I felt was revulsion. "Stop pestering me. Didn't you hear me? We're done. Over. Finished."
Chris acted like he couldn't understand a single word I said. He even tried to shoo away the onlookers.
"Really, it's just some silly misunderstanding," Chris said. "There's no 600 grand necklace.
"Seriously, folks, there's nothing to see here. You can all get back to whatever you were doing."
Turning to Kenneth, he forced a laugh, "Mr. Russo, my girlfriend must've mixed things up. I'll take her out of here now."
I wished I could see what Chris was thinking because I truly didn't understand what he was doing.
"Are you crazy?" I yelled. "This is none of your business now. Just scram!"