I pointed at Esther, lying on the bed, and let out a mocking laugh. “Spread rumors? How could I? Isn’t this the rich heiress of A51 Mall?”
At my words, my dad’s face darkened. His gaze shifted between Esther and her father—Tim Jones, our family’s butler for over a decade.
The tension in the air was thick. A moment later, a group of people burst into the room. I recognized them—they were the senior executives from the mall’s corporate office.
There had been a big company shake-up at the start of the year, with a lot of new hires. It wasn’t surprising they didn’t know who my dad was.
The moment they saw Tim, they immediately began fawning over him, nodding and bowing while handing over expensive gifts. “Mr. Jones! Is Miss Esther alright?”
“This was a terrible oversight on our part! We’ll make sure the responsible employees are dealt with!”
Joel grabbed me roughly, pulling me over to him. “It was her, one of your employees! She was jealous of Esther, so she stole my car, and Esther had to stand out in the cold all night!”
My dad’s face turned ashen, and he yanked me back to his side, his sharp eyes locking onto Joel. “Aren’t you my daughter, Shirley’s boyfriend?”
Joel shot me a look full of contempt. “Oh, so you called your daddy here, huh? Aren’t you afraid you’ll give him a heart attack?”
Then, with a smug grin, he walked over to Esther. “Don’t get it twisted. I don’t have a girlfriend like her. I’m Esther’s fiancé.
“Besides, only a poor scholarship-funded girl would be desperate enough to chase after something that’s not hers. She’s been clinging to me for six years. It’s about time she learned her lesson.
“Oh, and all those loans she took out? It’s been tough on you, hasn’t it? Paying them off for her. I’m not going to be that kind of fool.”
Even though I knew Joel was a scumbag, hearing him say it out loud still made my heart ache.
Over the years, I’d bought him countless things. Even that hundred grand for his proposal was money I gave him in bits and pieces, and now, he had the nerve to act like I was some gold-digger, calling it “loans.”
