Chapter 2

I didn’t get out.

Because Mr. Dawson said the guest tonight specifically requested my service.

If I left, the twenty thousand dollar tip would be gone, and even my base salary would be docked.

I really needed the money.

Mom’s dialysis fees for next month weren’t settled yet, and the landlord had messaged again,催促asking for next quarter’s rent.

So I went to the restroom, quickly dealt with my injury, and returned to that suffocating private room.

When I pushed the door open again, the atmosphere had changed.

After several rounds of drinks, the elites began to shed their pretenses, revealing the rawest human depravity.

They were playing Truth or Dare.

It was a cliché but eternally effective game, especially when fueled by alcohol; it was the best tool to tear away humanity’s fig leaf.

The table was covered with empty bottles—Louis XIII, Hennessy Richard, Ace of Spades…

The combined price of those bottles was enough for me to buy a small bathroom in this city.

Ashley was clearly drunk.

Her cheeks were flushed, and she was practically draped over Dempsey, her eyes hazy and fervent.

She was the star of the night, and the biggest winner.

About to marry Dempsey and become the envied Mrs. Thorne—this made her smug, even a little bit floating.

“Come on, come on! Next round!” Mike, the class rep, slurred, egging them on.

“Who does it land on this time?”

The empty wine bottle spun rapidly on the polished marble table, making a teeth-grinding sound.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the bottle’s neck.

Slowly, the bottle stopped.

Its mouth pointed directly at Ashley.

“Whoa—! The campus queen’s a winner!”

“Truth or Dare?”

Ashley giggled, waving her hand with drunken eyes:

“This lady chooses Truth! There’s nothing I’m afraid to say!”

Mike rubbed his hands with a sly grin, his gaze darting between me and Ashley, clearly wanting to stir up some trouble.

“Alright then, let’s ask something juicy. Ashley, what’s the most disgusting thing you’ve ever done in your life?”

At that question, the private room instantly quieted down a notch.

Everyone was an adult; who didn’t have a secret they wanted to keep hidden?

But since it was a game, the thrill was the point.

Dempsey, who had been resting with his eyes closed, merely lifted an eyelid nonchalantly when he heard the question, making no move to stop it.

In his opinion, Ashley was a pure and kind rich girl. Though a bit spoiled, she would never do anything truly awful.

Ashley hiccuped, her gaze suddenly cutting through the crowd and landing on me, pouring water for guests in the corner.

A malicious smile curled on her lips.

Alcohol numbed her brain, but also amplified the jealousy and malice deep within her.

“The most disgusting thing, huh…”

Ashley swayed as she stood up, her finger pointing straight at me.

“It was seven years ago, on that stormy day, I went to Dempsey’s rental apartment to find him…”

At the words “seven years ago,” my hand suddenly shook, and the hot water in the kettle almost spilled.

Dempsey’s body stiffened slightly too.

Ashley laughed, her whole body shaking, as if telling an incredibly funny joke:

“Dempsey was in the shower that day, his phone on the table. And wouldn’t you know it, this broke girl, Chloe, texted him.”

“Guess what she sent? Hahahaha… She said: ‘Dempsey, please save my dad, I beg you, just fifty thousand dollars… I’ll definitely repay you later.’ ”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, so pathetic, so pitiful.”

“At the time, I thought, Dempsey is so exceptional, how can he be entangled with someone so poor? He belongs to me, to a broader future, not to be dragged into the mud by someone from the bottom!”

“So…”

She paused, a crazy glint in her eyes.

“I replied to a text for Dempsey.”

“I deleted that plea for help, then, pretending to be Dempsey, I texted back two words: ‘Get lost, leave me alone’!”

“Hahahahaha! You wouldn’t believe it, that poor girl actually waited out in the pouring rain all night! I watched her from behind the window, soaked to the bone like a stray dog, watched her fall to her knees crying in despair. It was absolutely hilarious!”

“Oh, don’t you think I did a great thing? If it wasn’t for my move, how could Dempsey have gotten rid of that burden? How could he have achieved what he has today? Dempsey, you should thank me…”

Ashley’s words were cut short by a sharp, shattering sound.

The stemmed glass in Dempsey’s hand had been crushed by his own grip.

Glass shards pierced deep into his palm; blood mixed with red wine dripped through his fingers onto the pristine tablecloth, a shocking sight.

But he seemed to feel no pain.

He just stared at Ashley, his normally cold eyes now bloodshot.

“What did you say?”

Ashley hadn’t realized anything was wrong. She was still basking in her self-congratulation:

“I said I helped you get rid of that broke…”

“Shut up!” Dempsey slammed his hand on the coffee table in front of him, overturning it.

The loud crash made Ashley shriek, half-sobering her up.

She looked in horror at the man before her, like a raging lion, stammering:

“What’s wrong with you? I was just joking…”

“Joking?”

Dempsey swayed as he stood up, advancing on Ashley step by step.

“Are you saying, that night seven years ago, she didn’t run off with that rich guy, Jason? She didn’t text to say she hated my poverty and wanted to break up?”

“Are you saying, she was at the hospital? She was begging me for help?”

His voice grew louder and louder, until he was practically shouting.

Ashley, terrified by his intensity, collapsed onto the sofa.

Dempsey ignored her.

He spun around abruptly, looking at me in the corner.

“Chloe…”

He called my name, his voice trembling, almost a sob.

“Is what she said true?”

“That night… were you waiting for me?”

The entire room fell silent. No one dared to breathe.

I put down the kettle, calmly looking at the truth that had arrived seven years too late. My heart felt surprisingly unmoved.

Too late.

It was really too late.

I took a tissue from my pocket, walked over, and offered it to him.

“Mr. Thorne, wipe your hands. They’re covered in blood. It’s messy.”

Dempsey didn’t take the tissue. He grabbed my wrist.

“Answer me! Chloe! Tell me it’s not true!”

I looked into his bloodshot eyes and smiled faintly.

“What if it is true, Dempsey?”