Chapter 1

On the morning of New Year's Day, I had prepared gifts for my in-laws, but I waited forever for Lucas to pick me up.

Bored out of my mind, I scrolled through Ins and saw that his secretary, Leah, had just posted an update:

"Mr. Reed took me to meet his parents! His mom's gift was so expensive—I feel bad accepting it!"

The photo showed her in my vacation villa's garden, surrounded by Lucas's family, beaming with joy.

Lucas had commented with utter adoration: "You silly girl, we'll give you gifts every New Year from now on."

I screenshot that smug photo and posted it directly to the company's executive group chat.

"Lucas, since when did your mom become Leah's mother-in-law? How come I didn't know about this?"

"Also, get your parents and Leah out of my house by 8 PM tonight. You're all making the place filthy!"

The chat went dead silent.

The next second, Lucas's call came through:

"Samantha Smith, do you have any idea how this makes Leah look in front of her colleagues? She grew up without a family, and my parents and I just wanted to care for a poor girl! Apologize publicly in the group chat right now!!"

I let out a cold laugh:

"She's been fired. So have you."