Chapter 2

Sunny might've been kicked out, but I knew this was far from over.

That night, my emotions spiraled out of control, and I developed a high fever. My brothers stayed by my bedside for the entire night.

When I woke up the next morning, Adam was holding a glass of warm water, carefully checking the temperature. "Nance, it's exactly 98.6 degrees. Just take a sip, okay?"

I looked at him coldly and didn't move. My hypersensitivity was never limited to sensory matters. I had obsessive-compulsive disorder with mental and moral contaminations, too.

Yesterday, all three of them chose to blame me for Sunny, and that moment had already been imprinted on my heart forever.

"I'm not drinking it."

I threw off the blanket and got out of bed, walking straight into my dressing room. The custom-made gown Sunny had worn had already been sent for dry cleaning and returned, hanging neatly in the closet.

I picked up a pair of scissors. Right in front of Adam, I cut the million-dollar gown into pieces. Beau and Claude had just reached the doorway when they saw what I was doing. They immediately held their breaths.

I had been like this since I was young. If someone had touched something of mine, no matter how thoroughly it was cleaned, I would feel so disgusted that I would throw up.

Once, Claude took a single sip of water from my personal cup. I immediately vomited so violently that my stomach cramped, and I had to be rushed to the emergency room.

"Nance, you did the right thing destroying it. If it's tainted, we discard it," Beau said with a forced laugh, trying to appease me.

I dropped the scissors and turned to look at them. "Has that intern been fired?"

The three of them exchanged glances. None of them answered. Their eyes darted away.

Adam sighed. "Nance, Sunny is an orphan. She worked so hard just to get into college and earn this internship."

"What she did yesterday was wrong, but it doesn't mean she deserves to lose everything."

"Yeah. Besides, she came to work this morning with a high fever and even fainted at the front desk."

The nerves in my head throbbed. "So, you guys feel sorry for her?"

"No, that's not it!"

Claude hurried to explain, "We just think she's had a difficult life. And she really is capable. We just assigned her an important project…"

I had no words. I changed my clothes, went downstairs, and told the driver to get the car ready. "Take me to the office."

Half an hour later, I pushed open the door to the CEO's office on the top floor of Chapman Group.

The first thing I saw was Sunny. She was sitting inside my private lounge, wearing an oversized hospital gown.

In her hands was my custom-made fine bone china cup from Monteluce. The moment she saw me walk in, her hand trembled. Water spilled onto the carpet. "Ms. Chapman…"

Sunny stood up with tear-filled eyes, looking terrified. "I didn't know this was your cup. I just thought it was a waste for it to sit there unused, and I got a little thirsty, so I used it…

"Your brothers said you have too many things anyway and that you wouldn't mind if I used them once."

Listening to her sweet, manipulative act, I was so furious that I actually laughed. I walked over and snatched the cup from her hands. "You thought that it being unused was a waste?"

I slammed the cup onto the floor. The body shattered instantly, and the flying shards cut into Sunny's calf. She screamed, clutching her leg as she crouched down.

"Where exactly did you get the idea that I wouldn't mind?"

I followed her logic and completely lost control. "Who do you think you are to use my cup? Do you understand what this is? This is called stealing!"

By then, Adam, Beau, and Claude had finished their meeting and returned. The moment they walked in, they saw Sunny's bleeding calf.

"Nance, what are you doing?"

Beau rushed over and instinctively shielded Sunny behind him. She was crying so hard she could barely breathe. "Beau, it's not her fault. I, being the poor bumpkin I am, got curious because I'd never seen such a beautiful cup before.

"I can barely afford to eat, unlike Ms. Chapman, who was born with a silver spoon and has everything. I just wanted to know what it felt like to be chosen for once…"

Those few simple words hit exactly where the brothers were the weakest—their instinct to protect the vulnerable.

Adam frowned. "Nancy, are you done? It was just a cup. Was it really necessary to hurt her this badly?"

Watching them protect Sunny, I felt the familiar wave of overwhelming emotions crash over me again. The sounds around me grew unbearably loud. My heartbeat pounded violently in my ears.

I couldn't stop myself. I grabbed the golf club beside me and started smashing everything in the lounge—the computers, the coffee table… Not even the floor-to-ceiling windows could escape.

"Am I done, you ask? I'm not going to just stop at a cup. I'm going to destroy everything here!" I screamed. "Aren't you so worried and sad about her? Well, have fun staying in this pile of garbage with her!"