Rachel was so furious that her hands trembled. Ever since she had been falsely accused of theft, she no longer dared to participate in high-society events.
Now, all she could do was wait—wait for people to forget about her scandal, and then everything would be okay.
What enraged her most was that Leah hadn’t said a single good word in her defense at the ti, nor had she revealed Connor’s true identity, which had left Rachel fuming. They had agreed that once the plan succeeded, Leah would give her fifty thousand.
But when everything fell apart, Leah denied everything! Rachel was filled with resentnt and anger.
But what could she do? Leah was the heiress of the powerful Carter Group, and Rachel was just an ordinary college student—no match for her at all.
At that mont, Rachel’s phone buzzed.
Seeing the na on the screen, Rachel hesitated for a mont but ultimately answered.
"Rachel, did you miss ? Sorry I didn’t answer your calls earlier; I’ve been busy," the voice on the other end chuckled.
Rachel bit her lip and asked, "Colin, can I borrow two thousand? I... I’ve run out of money for food this month."
Colin Fox was Rachel’s ex-boyfriend, who had already started working. They had dated for a while, but when Colin couldn’t get her to sleep with him, he dumped her, frustrated by her unwillingness.
Rachel was now forced to reconnect with him for the money.
Her father was unemployed, spending his days in small gambling dens, and her mother worked as a cleaner.
Her mother’s inco barely covered household expenses, leaving no money to support Rachel’s education. So Rachel had to constantly work part-ti jobs. If she didn’t want to keep working, her only other option was to take advantage of n.
With such a family situation, Rachel naturally wanted to climb her way up to marry into a wealthy family. If she could marry a rich man, she wouldn’t have to struggle ever again.
Rachel knew that working as a waitress again wouldn’t get her far—her pay would be low, and it would diminish her status. Besides, she couldn’t even get jobs at high-end venues anymore. After the theft accusation, all the fancy hotels and clubs where she had worked before refused to hire her again.
Grace must have a grudge against her, Rachel thought. After all, it was Grace’s housewarming party she had disrupted.
Even though the scandal that followed had nothing to do with Rachel, so won held onto grudges tightly.
"Heh, you need money?" Colin laughed. "Well, I happen to have two thousand in cash right now. You can co and pick it up."
"Uh... could you transfer it to my card? I promise I’ll pay you back!" Rachel quickly tried to sound sweet and charming.
"Rachel, why are you still acting all high and mighty? When we were dating, you wouldn’t even let touch you. Now you’re asking for money, and you don’t even want to et in person? Can’t we at least et up as regular friends?"
"That’s not what I ant! Where are you? I’ll co over right away!" Sensing Colin’s displeasure, Rachel imdiately smiled and tried to smooth things over.
If he refused to lend her the money, then what would she do?
"I’m at Ten Nights Bar."
With that, Colin hung up.
Rachel silently put away her phone, applied so light makeup, and hurried out the door. She was an art major, and she had packed her days full of tasks—whether it was reading, practicing dance, or singing, she was always working toward her dream of becoming a famous star.
If she could achieve that, even if she couldn’t land soone like Eric, she might at least snag herself a rich husband.
Rachel hurried to Ten Nights Bar, a place known for its lively atmosphere and entertainnt, making it packed every night.
As soon as she arrived, she spotted Colin at the bar, drinking with a group of n and won. Colin’s family wasn’t exceptionally wealthy, but compared to Rachel’s circumstances, his family was well-off. They owned several rental properties in the city, allowing them to live comfortably without much work.
"Rachel, you’re here! Over here!" Colin’s eyes lit up when he saw her approach.
Rachel bit her lip and obediently walked over. Colin casually wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to sit on his lap. Imdiately, the two won sitting nearby gave her mocking smiles.
"Oh, isn’t this the girl who stole Mrs. Nelson’s necklace not long ago?"
"Yeah, I rember that! I was there too," chid in another woman, laughing. She had worked as a temporary server at the event, as the Nelson family had needed extra staff for the large gathering.
These won, much like Rachel, had been hoping to catch the eye of soone in the Nelson family. But after working as servers, they quickly realized how naive they’d been—Henry didn’t bother with won, and Eric already had Ella by his side. The other wealthy young n already had lovers, leaving no room for won from ordinary backgrounds like them.
"Mr. Fox, why would you be interested in a thief?" another man sneered.
Rachel’s eyes filled with tears. "I... I didn’t do it. I was frad!" she stamred, her voice shaking.
Colin looked surprised. He hadn’t heard about this incident before, and from what he knew of Rachel, she didn’t seem like the type who would ruin her reputation for money.
"Pfft, stop pretending. You stole it and wore it around your neck like it wasn’t obvious. Did you think people wouldn’t notice the sapphire necklace was marked?" One of the won’s bright red lips curled into a satisfied smirk, clearly enjoying Rachel’s discomfort.
"Enough. Rachel, co with ," Colin said, standing up and leading the way outside.
He took her across the street to a nearby hotel. Rachel was confused. "Why are we going here?" she asked quietly.
"My wallet’s in my room." Colin explained.
Rachel hesitated but, recalling how Colin had never forced her in the past, felt a sense of safety. She followed him into his room, thinking nothing would happen. But as soon as the door closed, Colin locked it, and before she knew it, he had thrown her onto the bed. The sll of alcohol was overwhelming, and Rachel felt an urge to vomit.
"Spend the night with , and I’ll give you five thousand," Colin said coldly, his face twisted into a drunken smile as he began tearing at her clothes.
Rachel froze in terror and grabbed his hands. "Colin, please... for the sake of what we had, don’t do this to !" she begged.
She had never imagined Colin would get violent, but it was clear he had had too much to drink. His face was flushed, and his eyes were filled with the wild hunger of a predator.
Though they had dated for several months, Colin had never forced himself on her, so she had always believed she was safe with him. But now she realized how naive she had been. She had trusted too easily, with no sense of caution.
"You hypocrite! Weren’t you always working as a server at bars? Who knows how many n you’ve been with..." Colin growled, his strength overwhelming her as he refused to let her resist.
Rachel’s cries filled the room, but no matter how much she wept or pleaded, Colin didn’t stop.
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