Chapter 2

Even afterward, Camille'd always comfort me.

She'd tell me that we were equal partners. Then she'd show me the deals I'd helped secure and point out that, once the commissions were factored in, they far exceeded the amount of money she'd given me.

She'd also remind me that she was a businesswoman and never made a deal that cost her money.

But at that moment, every warm memory I had of Camille comforting me shattered completely. Now, not only did she let her useless friends humiliate me, but she'd even joined them in kicking me while I was down.

I looked at Christopher beside her. He wore a smug, self-satisfied smile.

At that moment, I finally understood. This was the power of love.

Laughter continued to ring in my ears as everyone urged me to hurry up and get on my knees.

I hurled the card with 200,000 dollars at Christopher. "Fine. The money's yours. Get on your knees if you want to."

Christopher's smile vanished, and his face darkened instantly.

The entire room fell silent. Even the bank card striking the floor sounded unnaturally loud.

I ignored the stares around me, turned, and walked away.

Just as I was about to hail a taxi, Camille caught up with me and forcibly dragged me into her car.

We sat in the back seat. Her expression remained as cold and indifferent as ever.

"You acted impulsively. Given Christopher's status and position, you shouldn't have humiliated him like that."

I turned to look at her.

So she knew it was humiliating, yet she'd still done it to me. In the end, she simply looked down on me because I was poor. To her, I was nothing more than a pet she'd paid for and brought home, someone who didn't deserve dignity.

I remained silent for a long time.

Camille finally let out a deep sigh, pulled an exquisite gift box and a bank card from her bag, and placed them in my hands.

Inside the box was a men's bracelet worth more than 1,400,000 dollars, while the bank card held 280,000 dollars.

She was about to say something when her phone suddenly rang.

As soon as she answered, an urgent voice came through the receiver. "Camille, we can't calm Christopher down no matter what we say. He's furious. He's been drinking until he throws up, but he still won't stop. You need to come."

"Okay. I'm coming right away." Camille agreed without hesitation.

Then she looked at me and paused for a moment. "Go home and get some rest. I'll take care of what happened today. When I have some time, I'll go see your grandmother with you."

With that, she stepped out of the car and instructed the driver to take me home.

I didn't say a word.

I knew the gifts and promises were her way of apologizing for what she'd done that day.

What she didn't know was that my grandmother had passed away the very night she'd brought Christopher back to the country.

I no longer needed a large sum of money to cover her medical expenses.

The only bond that had kept Camille and me together was gone. It was time to end our contracted relationship.

…

When I got home, I went straight to my room and opened the large cabinet. I placed the gift and bank card Camille had given me that day inside.

The cabinet was already filled with countless treasures, each worth a fortune. Every one of them was a gift from Camille.

They were also compensation, given to me whenever she felt she'd wronged me. The stacks of high-value bank cards were no different.

Everyone thought I lived a life of luxury, but aside from paying my grandmother's medical expenses, I had never touched any of the money or gifts Camille had given me.

I knew every single thing she gave me came with a price. The day I left, I would have to return all of it to its rightful owner. I just never expected that day to come so soon.

As I stood there lost in thought, my phone rang.

A message appeared on the screen.

Victor: [Ollie, a high-end restaurant needs extra staff. 100 dollars a day. Are you free tomorrow?]

For years, I had secretly worked part-time jobs behind Camille's back.