Chapter 1
In the loneliest year of my life, I became a sugar mommy to a boy toy.
Later, when I went abroad for treatment, he spent the whole night crying by my bedside, trying to convince me to let him come with me, but I refused.
"Your career is back at home. I hope that when I come back, you'll have become Best Actor," I told him.
Three years later, he was crowned Best Actor, just like I hoped.
But when I finally returned, he wasn't there waiting for me like he said he would. The welcome I'd hoped for never came.
Instead, I found his trophy lover parading around my estate in my clothes, acting like she owned the place.
Wendy Hood spun my white jade thumb ring around her finger.
She sneered, "You should thank me. You're getting a peek at the kind of high society you'd never get close to in your whole life.
"But just feast your eyes, don't touch a thing. If you break anything here, you couldn't afford it in ten lifetimes."
I snatched my ring off her finger and slapped her right across the face.
"I touched it. Now what?" I said, cold and fearless.
*****
Wendy was dumbfounded, totally speechless.
This was a reality show where they filmed inside celebrity mansions.
And right there on camera, I slapped Wendy across the face.
The live chat was exploding.
[Who does she think she is? Coming to Wendy's house and daring to slap her!]
[Where's Wendy's fan club? Are you all asleep? Get up there and slap that bitch back!]
[Hold on! We're already fighting with security. As soon as we get past the line, we'll avenge Wendy!]
"You dare hit me?" Wendy stammered.
She'd always been spoiled, her eyes filled with disbelief, voice trembling on the verge of tears.
"Do you know who I am?" she demanded.
"What's wrong?" The tall figure at the door asked.
A tall and handsome man strode into the room.
Wendy turned and rushed into his arms.
"Payton!" she called out.
Payton Pierce frowned, gently touching the red mark on her cheek. Then he turned, and the moment he saw me, his breath caught.
"You're back?" he asked.
I stared at him, cold and unyielding, waiting for him to explain himself.
The crew member looked a bit anxious.
"Mr. Pierce, do you know this woman?" he asked.
"Yeah, I know her," Payton said.
Payton didn't deny it.
Wendy looked up at him, tears shimmering in her eyes.
Wendy's fan club members stared in disbelief.
"She's just a simp, used to be my fan. After I rejected her, she kept following me around," Payton said dismissively.
When Payton said that, I thought I'd misheard him.
But everyone else visibly relaxed.
"Damn! I thought there was something going on. Scared me for a second, thought that bitch was trying to steal Wendy's man!"
"So funny. Some delusional fangirl actually chased him all the way here."
"Payton fought his way to the top, and he and Wendy built their success together. Does she really think she can win him over just by clinging to him?"
I let out a cold laugh, locking eyes with Payton.
"Fought his way to the top? Please." I scoffed.
He knew well if I hadn't picked him out at film school that year, he wouldn't have even made it into the industry.
When things were at their worst, he showed up clutching the hospital notice about his mom's condition and fell to his knees in front of me.
"Please, help me..." he said, his voice trembling.
I kept supporting him until I left the country for treatment.
Even though I wasn't by his side for those three years, all those coveted roles and connections he got were thanks to my influence.
This top reality show was no exception.
But Payton only hesitated for a second before pulling Wendy into his arms.
"I made it this far all on my own. Do you even know how the entertainment industry works?" he sneered.
I laughed in disbelief, so furious I couldn't help myself.
If I didn't know this business inside out, how would I have known exactly which opportunities to hand him?
"Payton Pierce," I said, my voice icy.
I shot him a warning look. "Get Wendy and everyone else who doesn't belong here out of my house. This is your last chance."
Even after three years, the shadow of my former power still lingered.
He still got inexplicably tense whenever I looked at him with that icy expression.
But it faded almost instantly.
"Looks like you're the one who needs to get out," Payton said, his eyes narrowing.
"This is Wendy's place, not yours," he shot back.
The live chat was cracking up.
[Is this crazy lady for real? The show's all about filming celebrity mansions, and even the producers say this estate belongs to Wendy. Does she seriously think she's Payton's woman, so the mansion is hers too?]
[This is way beyond what sage and holy water can fix.]
[Did you see how confident she was claiming the house was hers? Is there even a cure for that kind of delusion?]
[I'm a psychiatrist. No cure. Just let her be.]
Seeing Payton wasn't backing down, I nodded.
"Someone, take off everything Wendy's wearing and toss her out," I ordered.
"What? You wouldn't dare!" Wendy protested.
My bodyguards didn't waste a second. They hauled Wendy down to the ground.
My velvet gown's zipper was yanked open without a second thought, and Payton stepped in, frowning.
"Stop! You can't just strip her like that. It's illegal!" Payton protested.
"Is it?" I replied coldly.