Chapter 3

On shore, Francis' triumphant laughter rang out as he filmed the whole thing. "Yvonne, look! William's expression is priceless!"

Zoey smirked. "Yvonne, your husband is quite entertaining. He talks so tough, but look at how his body danced in the air! I wonder if he's this flexible in bed too?"

Crude laughter erupted from the crowd. Yvonne showed no anger. "Ms. Malcom, don't bother with him. He's just an immature man. I apologize on his behalf. As long as you're happy, the project…"

"Projects are easy," Zoey cut her off. "But I'm still not quite satisfied. If you want to please me, it's simple… Make him drink this entire pool of water. Then, I'll accept your apology."

Yvonne froze.

Zoey pointed at the pool, smiling maliciously. "For each cup he drinks, I'll have my dad invest 100 thousand dollars into your company!"

The crowd burst into laughter. Yvonne's eyes shone with ecstasy. "Ms. Malcom, are you serious?"

"Of course. My word is final."

"Deal!" Yvonne agreed instantly, as though afraid that Zoey would go back on her word. Then, she turned to me, struggling in the water, and shouted with authority, "William! Did you hear that? Hurry up and drink all the water in this pool. That's your apology to Ms. Malcom."

I felt like I was suffocating. For a moment, I even stopped struggling.

Francis fanned the flames. "Yvonne, he's not listening. This won't do. Ms. Malcom needs a good show to watch."

Yvonne snapped. She jumped into the pool and dragged me up, signaling two of her men to hold me despite my complete lack of strength.

"William Guzman! Are you deaf? Drink!" she roared, then filled a champagne glass with pool water and forced it toward my mouth. "It's just water. It won't kill you. One cup equals 100 thousand dollars. You should be happy about it! You're going to drink this entire pool right now!"

Looking at her furious face, I laughed coldly.

But that only enraged her further. "What are you laughing about? You eat my food and live in my house. Why can't you sacrifice a little for me now? Are you still dreaming of being a rich heir? Listen to me. I'm not raising you for free. You owe me, and you're going to pay today!"

She shoved the glass toward my mouth again. Just then, the amusement park manager rushed over with a few security guards, drenched in sweat.

"Ms. Singer! Ms. Malcom! What are you doing? Stop this right now before someone gets hurt!" the manager, Steve Kroll, yelled. His face was deathly pale.

Yvonne waved him off impatiently. "What are you panicking for? I'm just playing a game with my husband. If anything happens, it's on me!"

Steve looked like he was about to cry. "Ms. Singer, this isn't a joke! We received an urgent notice that a distinguished guest of Guzman Group is here. We've been ordered to ensure his safety at all costs."

"Guzman Group?" Yvonne paused briefly, then scoffed. "You must be mistaken! There's no distinguished guest here."

Zoey sneered as well. "Guzman Group? The world's top venture capital firm? Why would a distinguished guest from Guzman Group come here? Don't make me laugh!"

Steve was sweating buckets, while I was barely hanging on. He pointed at me, trembling. "There's no mistake. They said the person is… your husband!"

In an instant, everyone froze.

"No! That's impossible!" Yvonne muttered under her breath. "Didn't his family go bankrupt ages ago?"