Chapter 2

The woman in the gaudy short skirt flushed an angry shade of red right before my eyes.

"What the hell did you just say?!"

She let out a furious roar and lunged at me, grabbing a fistful of my collar.

"Got a sharp tongue, don't you? Do you even know who I am? How dare you talk to me like that?"

She shoved me hard against the red sports car, my back slamming into the cold metal.

Instead of getting angry, I laughed. "First, I have zero interest in who you are. Second, this is a lawful society, and what you're doing right now counts as assault."

But she burst into crazed laughter.

"I'm Lily Jenkins, and here in Grebour City, I am the law!"

I stared at her, speechless. Someone had clearly read too many melodramatic novels.

Still, the name Lily Jenkins did ring a faint bell.

My silence only seemed to fuel her arrogance. She pointed to a tiny speck of dirt on the car's hood, her smile twisting into something vicious.

"Scared now? Good. Then use your tongue and lick this spot clean. Maybe—maybe—if I'm in a good mood, I won't hold this against you."

The crowd erupted into poorly stifled laughter.

"Now this is going to be a show!"

"A poor girl going head-to-head with a rich heiress—amazing!"

"Hurry and record it. Post it online—this might go viral."

Even the auto shop salespeople didn't intervene. Instead, they whispered among themselves, eyes full of mockery and disdain.

To them, it was obvious who deserved to be trampled—the rich girl stepping out of a multi-million-dollar sports car, or the plainly dressed girl in faded clothes.

Seeing me stare at her expressionlessly only inflated Lily's vanity further. She leaned close to my ear, lowering her voice in what she thought was triumphant whispering.

"Wendy Penzo, Chairman of the Penzo Group—ever heard of her? She's my future mother-in-law. Grebour City's Penzo family. Ring any bells?

"If you offend me, you offend the entire Penzo family. Get on your knees and lick my car clean, and maybe I'll let you go."

Wendy Penzo… wasn't that my mother-in-law? She was the mother of my husband, Leo Penzo—the man I had been married to for three years.

And now I remembered: Lily was the "girl next door" he often mentioned. He once said I couldn't compare to even half a finger of hers. I never expected this was the face behind those words.

Expression blank, I lifted my hand and pushed away the grip she had clamped on my shoulder.

"I've never heard that Wendy had a daughter-in-law like you."

Her gaze darted around, panic flashing in her eyes.

Then I pulled out my phone and dialed a number in full view of everyone.

"I should ask her son, Leo Penzo, whether he recognizes you as his wife."

The call connected; background noise filtered through the receiver.

I spoke into the phone, my voice calm and devoid of emotion.

"Honey. I heard your mother went behind my back and found you a new wife?"