Chapter 2

Andon grabbed my wrist. He was surprisingly strong. He leaned so close that the tip of his nose almost brushed my neck.

Andon laughed coldly as his gaze locked onto my collar. "What is that smell?"

His voice was as cold as ice. "It's the smell of men's cologne. You're such a shameless woman, Elise. Have you found the next man already?"

His grip was hurting me, and I could not help frowning. "Mr. Garner, this has nothing to do with you."

His expression turned grim at once. There was a flash of aggression in his eyes, which I could not understand. "Who is it? One of the family's drivers? Or is it a gardener? That's the kind of person who suits your taste."

He looked contemptuously at me, his voice full of scorn.

Before I could retort, Sasha suddenly cried out delicately behind him. "Oh…"

Andon immediately let go of me and turned to help her.

She leaned against his chest, looking fragile. "Andon, I feel so dizzy…"

Andon immediately swung her up into his arms.

Sasha put her arms around his neck and pressed her cheek against his chest. She looked at me challengingly.

She had done that in my past life, too. She had deceived Andon for ten years by appearing frail and delicate to him.

Andon held her in his arms and turned to me. He said coldly, "Elise, since Grandma wants you to stay, then behave yourself. Don't even think about trying to get what doesn't belong to you."

His words pierced my heart like a poisonous thorn. In my past life, I thought that he had hated me because he loved Sasha.

Now, I finally understood that he merely enjoyed the rush of being superior to others and having the authority to decide whether they lived or died.

I answered in a low voice, "Alright."

In this life, I wanted to see how Andon and Sasha would end up without my interference, since they had been such tragic lovers in the past.

I lifted my hand and pressed my chest gently. The intense pain I had felt on the brink of death in my past life was no longer there. Instead, it beat strongly and steadily.

Seth was my trump card in this life, and he was stronger than I had expected him to be.

Mrs. Garner Senior was determined to have Andon marry me as a way of repaying the debt they owed me.

However, Andon announced the next day that Sasha was the woman he wanted to marry. He even gave the domestic staff special instructions, saying that Sasha would be his future wife and that they had to take good care of her.

I was instantly placed in an awkward position.

"Mr. Andon must really dislike that Fulton woman. He even disobeyed Mrs. Garner Senior and is determined not to marry her."

"I bet she's just a scammer who didn't actually save his life. She probably used some kind of despicable trick, and Mr. Andon must have seen through it."

"She doesn't seem like a good person at all. She always looks so cold and indifferent, as if someone owes her money."

The whispers of the maids buzzed like flies in my ears.

They found all kinds of ways to torment me in order to curry favor with Sasha.

As soon as my back was turned, someone threw down my freshly washed clothes and stepped all over them, leaving muddy prints on them.

The food delivered to my room was always cold.

Sasha held a cup of warm milk and walked over to me in a fake manner. "Did your clothes fall to the floor again, Ms. Fulton? The maids are so careless."

I looked at the undisguised glee on her face and bent down to pick up my dirty clothes. I turned and left without saying a word.

The rumors became more ridiculous. Some said that I had done everything I could just to curry favor with the Garners, and that I had knocked on the doors of the male domestic staff in the middle of the night.

They even embellished stories about the kinds of personal items that I had in my room.

"I heard that last night, she went to see the security guard at the gates again. Tsk. She must be desperate."

"Exactly. I saw her come out of the security guard's room myself. Her hair was all tousled."

I clenched my teeth and suppressed the disgust I felt.

They were trying to make me leave with all those rumors.

I was about to find Mrs. Garner Senior to explain myself, but I bumped into Andon at the study door.

He grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the storeroom beside us.

"Do you like being around men so much?"

He stared coldly at me, his eyes filled with contempt.