Chapter 1

"I'm not Penelope Smith! You've got the wrong person!" I pulled my hand away, but the next second, the woman in front of me suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"Ow!" she screamed, tears immediately welling up in her eyes. "You hit me! How dare you hit me! Everyone, come and look! Look at this shameless homewrecker! Wrecking my marriage wasn't enough for her. Now she wants to beat me to death!"

Her cries drew more people to the entrance of the company building.

They pointed at me with disgust and whispered among themselves.

"Who is that woman? She's so full of herself."

"She's an intern! She hooked up with someone else's husband just to get a permanent position."

"Unbelievable. She's pretty, but she's got such a rotten heart."

"The wife came all the way to her workplace, and she still dares to hit her? What kind of world are we living in?"

As the crowd grew larger, I began to lose patience.

Today was the day we were supposed to negotiate a contract with the Horizon Group. If their representatives saw the chaos outside my company's building, it would be incredibly embarrassing.

"Get up. Let's go inside and talk."

I held out my hand to the woman on the ground, but she slapped it away. "I'm not going inside! Who knows what you're plotting? I want everyone here to witness this!"

Some of the onlookers, eager for a juicy bit of gossip, even raised their phones and pointed them at me.

"That's right! We'll be your witnesses! Homewrecker, apologize!"

I sighed. "But I'm really not a homewrecker..."

"Who'd believe you? You're wearing the Fareast Group uniform! And you came rushing out here yourself. You're obviously Penelope Smith!"

I rubbed my temples. As the company's CEO, wasn't I simply leading by example by wearing my own company's uniform?

Besides, I'd only come outside to disperse the crowd and protect the company's image.

I opened my mouth to explain, but a piercing scream suddenly rang out.

"I don't want to live anymore!" Kylie Harper lay on the ground, sobbing hysterically. "I work myself to the bone taking care of my husband and children at home, yet you seduce my husband! You even dare to hit me! I'll die right here today and make sure you lose your job!"

As she spoke, she tried to throw herself against the steps.

Two passersby quickly rushed forward to stop her.

"Ma'am, don't do anything rash! That scumbag of a woman isn't worth it!"

"Exactly! Don't worry. With all of us here, we won't let this homewrecker bully you!"

Everyone turned toward me, their eyes filled with disgust and anger.

"I'm really not—"

"Stop making excuses!" Kylie suddenly sprang to her feet. A calculating glint flashed in her eyes. "Do you dare deny that you went to a hotel with my husband? Do you dare deny that he spent money on you? He bought that necklace around your neck!"

I lowered my gaze to the gold sailboat pendant around my neck. My mother had given it to me when I first started my business, in the hope that everything would go smoothly for me.

"My mom gave it to me—"

"How dare you even bring up your mother?" Kylie shrieked, cutting me off. "If she knew you were a homewrecker behind everyone's back, she'd be so furious she'd die!"

The crowd erupted into another uproar.

"She's absolutely shameless!"

"Someone needs to teach her a lesson!"

"Let's help this poor woman get her necklace back!"

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen hands reached toward my chest.

Just as things were about to get out of hand, a voice rang out from beyond the crowd. "Stop!"

Kylie's eyes lit up. "Jeremy! You're here!"