Chapter 4

Three months ago, Declan had once again claimed a failed venture, needing to repay a large sum of debt.

He’d introduced me to delivery work, claiming it was to “help me out.”

Looking back, it was nothing but a carefully orchestrated scam.

It was to make me suffer, to get revenge for his precious Briar.

Forget it. It’s all in the past now. My life can finally get back on track.

I quit my delivery job and went back to my apartment to pack all my luggage.

The next day, I arrived at The Grand Metropolis Hotel.

It was the city’s top hotel, and one of Grandpa Richard’s many properties.

I dragged my bulky suitcases through the hotel lobby, my rough clothes and worn canvas shoes starkly out of place amidst the luxury.

Suddenly, that irritating voice echoed from behind me. Briar Miller, wearing a designer dress and high heels, walked up.

She strutted like a proud peacock.

“Well, well, isn’t this Aubrey Hayes, the one who jumped into the cesspit the other day?”

I kept walking, but she grabbed my luggage.

“What’s wrong? Declan dumped you, and now you’re so desperate you’ve come to a place like this to hunt for a sugar daddy?”

Her cronies burst into laughter.

Someone even kicked my suitcase over, scattering my clothes across the floor.

I looked at the mess on the ground and calmly said, “Pick them up.”

Briar dramatically rubbed her ear, then stomped her foot down on my white shirt, leaving a clear high-heel mark.

“What? You want me to pick them up? How about this! You kneel down and beg me, and maybe I’ll be in a good mood and pick them up for you.”

More and more people gathered, some starting to chant, “Kneel! Kneel!”

I remained standing still. Briar suddenly reached out to push me.

“What are you pretending for? In college, I couldn’t stand that act of yours. It was so annoying.”

But I was prepared. I turned sideways and dodged her.

She, however, had put too much force into the push and stumbled into the designer bag display rack behind her.

Various limited-edition designer bags tumbled down, some even getting scratched by the metal edges of the display.

*Bang!*

The lobby instantly fell silent.

Briar’s face was ashen. She pointed at me and shrieked, “You… you deliberately pushed me!”

“Oh my god! Those are limited editions!”

“I saw it! She definitely pushed her.”

“Hahaha, how many designer bags did that hillbilly ruin?”

“One Chanel Classic, three Hermès Birkin bags, and several limited-edition collaborations…”

Briar walked up to me, raising her voice. “Those are worth at least five million dollars. Enough to land you in jail for ten years!”

I remained silent.

Briar smugly stepped closer and continued, “I do have a good idea, though. You kneel down and bow to each of these bags. For every bow, I’ll count off one of the bags. How about that? A good deal, right?”

A few people around Briar snickered and closed in.

“Yeah, kneel down and bow! Let’s see how a low-wage earner bows! Hurry up and do it! Or we’ll call the police right now and have you arrested.”

Just then, Declan stepped out of the elevator.

He saw the scene and frowned. “What’s going on?”

Briar’s expression immediately shifted. She tearfully threw herself into his arms. “Brother Declan, she tried to hurt me! She deliberately pushed me into the display!”

Declan glanced at me, then quickly comforted Briar. To me, he said, “Aubrey, apologize to Briar. I can help you…”

I let out a cold laugh. “We have no relationship anymore. I don’t need your help.”