Chapter 2
The bar manager took pity on me and didn’t make me actually lick anyone’s shoes.
He just handed me a flannel cloth and told me to kneel and wipe the customers’ shoes clean.
Drunken patrons insulted me freely, some even stepping on my face with force. But I just calmly polished their shoes until they gleamed.
A group of rich kids in front of me stared at their phones, laughing loudly.
“Holy crap, Mr. Vance must really adore his new favorite! He’s put out a hundred-million-dollar bounty for a matching heart for her!”
“Heard when that girl was diagnosed with heart disease this afternoon, Mr. Vance was so furious he almost trashed the whole hospital. Those doctors nearly peed their pants.”
“A hundred million! Mr. Vance is way too generous. If you ask me, she’s just a little bird, so what if she dies?”
“You don’t know anything. Celeste is different. They all say she looks just like Anya Reed from back in college…”
I froze, my gaze drawn to their phone screens.
Bold black letters clearly stated that anyone who was a match and agreed to donate a heart to Celeste Hayes would receive a one-hundred-million-dollar reward.
If I remembered correctly, my blood type and all my health indicators matched Celeste’s. I had even been dragged by Julian to donate 3000cc of blood because of it.
The screen’s light illuminated my face. The rich kids in front of me looked at me in surprise, then burst into laughter.
“Isn’t that Mrs. Vance? Why aren’t you serving your Mr. Vance’s new darling? How’d you end up here shining our shoes?”
“If you ask me, you should just sleep with us, it’d be better than being the Vance family’s dog.”
Lewd gazes roved over my body, and several hands reached out to touch me.
I recoiled in terror, grabbing a beer bottle, just as I was about to make a run for it, three bodyguards rushed in, kicking the rich kids far away.
Ignoring their angry curses and wails, they turned and grabbed me.
“Madam, it’s time for you to assist Miss Hayes with her bath.”
My expression was numb. I let them drag me into the car.
Outside, thunder and rain raged, just like the day my mother died in my arms—cold and piercing.
The moment the door opened, a sticky, foul-smelling lace thong was flung at my face.
On the sofa, Julian, looking utterly sated after his latest tryst, held Celeste close and lit a cigar.
“Still remember how to come back? I thought you’d be too busy licking shoes to get off the bed by now.”
I ignored his words, simply walking up to Celeste and saying, “Miss Hayes, it’s time for your bath.”
SLAP! My face snapped sideways from the sudden blow.
Julian flicked his cigarette at me, his eyes blazing with displeasure.
“Can’t you speak properly?”
I staggered a few steps before regaining my balance, clenching my fists, swallowing the metallic taste in my throat, and choked out, “Miss Hayes, please allow me to assist you with your bath.”
“No way!” Celeste hid in Julian’s arms, whining, “That disgusting old hag will definitely hurt me on purpose! Let her bathe Little Monster tonight, it’ll be good practice for her.”
Little Monster was Celeste’s pit bull terrier, and it had bitten me many times. What was the difference between bathing it and walking into a death trap?
I shivered uncontrollably, instinctively resisting. “No, I won’t!”
“You won’t?”
Julian stood up, grabbing my hair and pulling me close, humiliatingly patting my face.
“What right do you have to refuse? Don’t you care about your mother’s life anymore?”
截断点