Chapter 2

I frowned and shook off Marlene's hand.

"What damages?"

Marlene replied with righteous indignation, "I rear-ended someone on the way here. If I hadn't been rushing over to expose a fake socialite like you, I wouldn't have been driving that fast.

"The front of the car is completely wrecked, and the other party wants me to pay two thousand dollars." She stretched out her hand, palm up, toward me. "So, of course you have to foot this bill."

I felt as though I had just heard the most absurd joke. "Did you hit your head or something? What does your car accident have anything to do with me?"

Hugo, who had remained silent the entire time, finally opened his mouth—but only to side with Marlene.

"Ms. Jillian Vega, Marlene is only looking out for me. She rushed over because she was worried I'd be deceived. At the end of the day, you're not entirely unrelated to this matter either."

Marlene crashed her car and I should pay? What was I, her mother?

I let out a cold snort. "This has nothing to do with me. I'm not going to pay a single cent."

With that, I picked up my bag and turned around to leave.

"Stop her!" Marlene shrieked.

As soon as the words left her mouth, seven or eight burly men suddenly swarmed in through the restaurant entrance.

I frowned and took a step back.

Marlene smiled smugly. "Jillian, did I say you could leave?"

I looked at her expressionlessly. "I leave when I want to. I don't need your permission."

Her smile grew even more insolent. "Sorry to break it to you, but my family owns this restaurant. Without our permission, there's no way you're walking out that door."

Hugo turned to persuade me. "Ms. Vega, maybe it's better to just pay up. Two thousand dollars shouldn't be much for someone like you."

It wasn't much indeed—I could easily drop that on a single meal. However, that didn't mean I would spend it on people like them.

"I won't pay a single cent for something I'm not responsible for."

My gaze swept over the group of burly men without the slightest trace of fear.

"I, the heiress of the Vega family, do not bow to threats."

The moment I finished speaking, Marlene immediately burst into a grating, mocking laugh.

"Heiress of the Vega family? You're really committed to the act, huh? If it weren't for Hugo's sake, do you think someone of your sort would even be allowed through the door of this establishment?"

I couldn't get into this restaurant?

Why, countless shops in Richstead took pride in having me as their customer. In fact, the clothes I wore, the jewelry I donned, and the places I visited would all become the trends in our social circle the next day.

If the Crawford family hadn't chosen this restaurant for the blind date, I wouldn't have come to a tacky place like this even if they'd paid me.

I couldn't be bothered to argue with them any further. My gaze shifted between Marlene and Hugo.

"Marlene, if you've been making things difficult for me because Hugo went on a blind date with me, then let me make it perfectly clear right now—I don't have the slightest interest in the childhood friend you hold so dear.

"I came here today purely to fulfill a task my grandfather assigned me. Hugo and I have always belonged to different worlds, and we won't cross paths again. So, you can relax."

I had meant to clear the air, but Marlene was utterly stubborn and only grew angrier.

"Jillian, what's that supposed to mean? Since when do I need your charity when it comes to me and Hugo? Is Hugo, the man I've been pining for all this time, really worth so little in your eyes? What gives you the right to look down on him?"

Hugo's expression also darkened. "Ms. Vega, what do you mean by different worlds? My family is a well-respected scholarly household in Richstead, so what's with that disdainful tone? You'd better explain yourself right now."

Well-respected? Please. They had their moment a couple of generations ago, but in Richstead, they were nothing close to a prominent family.

If Grandpa hadn't given the word, the Crawford family could toil for another 100 years and still wouldn't be worth sitting across from me on a blind date.

Although I felt nothing but contempt for them, saying it to their faces would truly be impolite.

Thus, I swallowed my anger and squeezed out a smile. "If there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave now."

After all, it was a blind date arranged by Grandpa, so I didn't want to make things too ugly.

I turned around and had barely taken two steps when the burly men immediately closed in and grabbed my arms.