Chapter 1

When I attended the school heartthrob, Felix Miller's birthday party, he tossed some money at me.

"As long as you slap her, this money will be yours," he said to me.

As I was about to strike, a barrage of messages floated before my eyes.

It informed me that the money belonged to the female lead, Sophie Moore, and so did the villa.

If I, as the villainous sidekick, had hit Sophie, things would have turned out terribly.

She would have been awakened, while I wouldn't have received a single penny and would have ended up with a bad reputation.

Since all the wealth belonged to Sophie anyway, why should I play the part of the jealous rival or fawn over Felix?

It made more sense to directly form an alliance with her.

Impatiently, Felix remarked, "If you don't want the money, there are plenty of others who do."

I gently brushed Sophie's face, saying, "Such a beautiful face, I truly couldn't bear to harm it."

*****

Today was Felix's birthday. As the school prince, his looks were honestly the least of his charms. Everyone knew his family was crazy rich.

Every morning, Felix rolled up to school in a different luxury car, chauffeured by his driver, who always greeted him respectfully.

At school, he tossed money around like it was nothing, and taking the whole class out for a good time was business as usual.

Anyone who'd ever visited his home couldn't stop gushing, claiming they'd never seen a villa so extravagant.

Felix smiled, totally unfazed. "This is one of my many mansions."

With someone like Felix around, it was only natural that he had a whole army of bootlickers at school. I was definitely one of them.

As long as Felix was in a good mood, he'd toss out tens of thousands like it was nothing. With a sweet gig like that, why would I ever give it up?

But among all of us, my gaze landed on Sophie, who was standing not far away.

Sophie was one of Felix's most devoted followers. Honestly, she'd been trailing after him longer than anyone else.

Felix always claimed she was the daughter of his family's maid, and he only let her tag along to school because of that.

The two were practically inseparable, and everyone knew Sophie was totally devoted to Felix. She'd do whatever he wanted, no questions asked.

Whether it was running errands, grabbing his lunch, or even taking the fall for his screw-ups, Sophie never hesitated to help him out.

Sophie was always glued to Felix's side, but everyone knew the truth that Felix couldn't stand her.

Felix always said he couldn't stand people who were so desperate to please him.

So nobody ever took Sophie seriously. Whenever she pissed Felix off, everyone would scramble to make him feel better.

Being Felix's desk buddy put me right in the sweet spot. I had way more chances to get close to him than anyone else.

Whenever Felix walked in with a sour face, I'd throw some praise his way and chat him up a bit, and he'd be smiling again in no time.

Sophie always came over to apologize to Felix, but that gave me another shot to make myself noticed.

Thanks to this connection, I even got invited to Felix's birthday party this time.

Everyone knew Felix was going all out for his birthday this year. There was no way he'd skip the money-fueled games.

"Felix, your villa is so big and insanely fancy." Jenny Flynn was practically swooning, fixing her gaze on Felix.

Jenny's friends were shooting jealous looks at her and Felix.

Jenny was Felix's favorite fangirl. She was drop-dead gorgeous and always knew how to win Felix over.

"This is honestly the most low-key house we've got. It's close to school, so I stay here," Felix said.

Felix was clearly soaking up all the attention, a sly smile playing on his lips. "Since a bunch of you have already been here, I thought it'd be perfect for my birthday party."

The hall was packed with people, and Jenny noticed the maid arranging dishes nearby.

Jenny, trying to impress her friends by bragging about how often she'd been here and all the inside info she had on Felix's family, leaned over and asked, "Felix, is that Sophie's mom?"

"So that's Sophie's mom?"

"She really is the daughter of Felix's family's maid."

Felix frowned, remembering how last time the maid walked by, Jenny had asked about her, and he went with that answer.

Now Jenny was saying it out loud, but thankfully, Sophie never argued with him about it.

Felix slipped back into his usual cocky tone. "Yeah, you had such a good memory, Jenny."

With that confirmation, Jenny shot a look at Sophie, who was standing nearby, and said in a sweet, but slightly mocking tone, "Sophie's mom is working so hard, but Sophie's standing there like a statue. Does she even care about your birthday, Felix?"

Felix's face turned serious at her words. He called out to Sophie, "Go help the maid already."

Sophie hesitated, with uncertainty in her voice. "I..."

Felix frowned, clearly annoyed. "What, you're not even gonna listen to me now?"

"I finished everything the maid asked me to do," Sophie mumbled.

Felix knew that Sophie was always pitching in, honestly.

But with Jenny saying all that, and since he cared so much about her, he couldn't say no.

Just then, Felix's buddies came over, laughing and joking, and caught sight of the scene.

"I heard Sophie set up this whole area for you, Felix. No wonder you can't bear to let her go."

"Come on, Sophie's gorgeous. She's always chasing after Felix. No wonder you wanna look out for her."

"There are tons of girls crushing on Felix. Look at Olivia. She's as pretty as Sophie."

When I heard my name, I glanced back, curious, and ended up locking eyes with Jenny.

Jenny was staring right at me.

Hearing my name, I kept my face blank, not giving anything away.

My eyes lifted, a touch of confusion in them. The soft lighting softened my sharp features, making me look even more stunning. No makeup, but somehow I was even more striking and gorgeous.

"Hey, don't forget. Felix's got eyes only for Jenny, and she's right here."

"Yeah, no doubt, Jenny's definitely the prettiest out of all of us."

Jenny's gaze cooled. "Oh, Olivia showed up too. Honestly, I thought you'd be off working again and skip Felix's birthday party."

Felix's face clouded at her words.

I was always out working, so I never really got to hang out with them.

Now that Jenny mentioned it, Felix was reminded of all the times I'd flaked on him.

I walked over, grinning ear to ear. "I knew your birthday was coming up, Felix, so I've been working and saving up for a while to get you a gift."

Jenny snorted. "Did you really start planning six months ago?"

Felix raised his eyebrows, surprised. "Wow, Olivia, you really went all out."

I gave a shy smile. Twenty bucks was a big deal for me. Of course, I put my heart into it.

Jenny sneered, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Well, let's make sure Olivia's hard work doesn't go to waste this time."

Just then, Sophie walked over, looking a bit unsteady. "Felix, I'm feeling kind of dizzy. I think I need to rest for a while."

"Sophie did all the work setting up this party. Of course, she's worn out. She deserves it."

Hearing everyone sticking up for Sophie, Felix's face fell. "Sophie, it's my birthday. The party's about to start, and you want to bail now? Are you seriously going to leave me hanging like this?"

Jenny quickly stepped in, trying to calm him down. "Felix, don't get upset. Sophie's exhausted. Let her rest for a bit, okay?"

"Tired? Then let's see if we can snap her out of it," Felix said sharply, his tone full of irritation.

Jenny clung to Felix's arm, feigning innocence. "Oh? And how exactly are you planning to do that?"

Felix's interest was instantly piqued. "Jenny, got any ideas?"

Sophie gave Felix a doubtful look, her eyes narrowing. "Felix?"

"Whoa, did Sophie call him coldly?"

Felix's expression soured.

He could tell Sophie was upset, but with so many people watching, there was no way he could back down now. If he let it slide, his whole reputation would get totally wrecked by a maid's daughter.

Felix raised his voice, making sure everyone could hear, "Jenny, what do you think is the best way to wake her up?"

Jenny couldn't hide her grin, but she put on a fake worried face. "Isn't that a little too much?"

"She said she's tired, right? Well, let's make sure she's wide awake," Felix said.

"A little pain ought to do the trick."

"Alright, a slap should wake Sophie up. But honestly, I don't want to dirty my hands on her," Felix sneered.

"Who wants to try?" Felix taunted.

The guests gathered closer, shooting nervous looks at each other. But nobody had the guts to step forward.