As planned, I took Laird to my family's swimming pool for the much-anticipated get-together.

Five hours earlier, he'd been obsessively picking out swim trunks, asking me which one looked the best.

If this were my past life, I might have thought he was trying to impress me, but now it was clear he was dressing for Jennifer.

When he wasn't looking, I rolled my eyes. "Jennifer likes red, right? You should wear the red ones today since it's her party."

"Really? She likes red? I think I saw her wear a red dress once," he said, suddenly excited, "I'll just hang up and buy a red one. Babe, can you give me more money so I can buy a red one. I can't let you down, right? I need to look good!"

I thought, So, he's been paying attention to what she wears, huh? Great. Now I'll just be his wallet.

"Um… I'm out of cash this month. How about you buy it first, and I'll pay you back next month?"

"Sure! But don't you forget, okay?"

I thought, What a cheap guy! He can't even buy his own swim trunks without relying on a woman for funding. All he does is scam me for cash!

On the day of the party, everyone except for me showed up in swimsuits.

Jennifer shot Lillian a glance, and Lillian instantly knew what to do.

"Wow! Your sugar daddy is so loaded, yet he can't be bothered to buy you a bikini? I could have gotten you one if I'd known!" Lillian snickered, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

I raised an eyebrow, thinking, What's with this "sugar daddy" nonsense? I didn't even attend her last pool party, so I had no clue about all this.

Everyone's gazes turned oddly toward me, but I could hardly focus on them when I was eager to see what would unfold.

When they finally laid eyes on Laird's red swim trunks, they burst into laughter. Those trunks had a massive logo right on the back, perfectly emphasizing his rear end.

His behavior reminded me of a saying. "Among a bunch of monkeys, I've got the reddest butt."

To my disbelief, Jennifer even praised the red color, saying it suited him well. Laird was over the moon, strutting around like he owned the place.

But the heat outside was unbearable, and the pool was bone dry.

"Hey Jennifer, what's up with your pool? There's no water, and it doesn't look like the AC is running..." one of the guests remarked.

Lillian shot me a knowing glance and quipped, "Maybe it's because an unlucky person showed up, causing both the pool and AC to quit working."

The complaints started rolling in, and Laird jumped ship to join Jennifer's side. "If I'd known you were coming, I would've come alone," he grumbled, clearly regretting bringing me along.

Jennifer, feeling the pressure, quickly called the maid over. "Why is the pool empty? The AC isn't even on! Did you not realize I was hosting guests today?"

Her mother stepped in, bowing slightly to Jennifer. "The master said that the African refugees are struggling, so we're saving on water and electricity to donate to them."

Everyone paused for a moment, processing this. Lillian quickly jumped in to flatter her, "No wonder Jennifer is so beautiful and kind-hearted; with such upbringing, it makes sense!"

The others chimed in, "Yeah, it's clear that's why Jennifer's family is so wealthy. Being kind is the key to making money!"

Then they glanced at me, their looks loaded with insinuation. "Unlike some people who are always looking for shortcuts!"

I thought, What are they even talking about? I didn't take any shortcuts!

I shot back, "What shortcuts? You've seen everything!"

Silence fell between us as they exchanged looks and began to pull away, creating distance between themselves and me.

I thought, Fine! If they didn't want to be my friends, I wasn't losing sleep over it. I have plenty of friends as it is.

As the realization set in that swimming wasn't happening, everyone started trickling out.

Just then, my dad, Clarke Kent, sent the family driver, Logan Allen, to pick me up, giving me the perfect excuse to leave this absurdity behind.

I made sure to check with Laird whether he wanted to come with me. With a smirk, he replied, "What would I do tagging along with you? I think I'll stick around and tour Jennifer's place instead!"

When the Bentley pulled up, Lillian let out an exaggerated gasp. "Look at that! Claiming she's not being sponsored, but here comes an old guy to pick her up. How shameless!"

I had pressing work matters, so I didn't bother to explain and hurriedly got into the car.

Poor Logan, the driver, had a look of frustration on his face. Once we were on the road, he turned to me and said, "Ms. Kent, could we maybe switch to someone else picking you up next time? If my wife finds out, she'll have my head."

I chuckled softly and replied, "Sure thing."

I hadn't been in the car long when Laird sent me a message: [Baby, after today, are you going to reimburse me for those swim trunks?"]

I slowly typed out a question mark in response.

[I know it's tough for you, sweetheart. Just relax and play nice with your sugar daddy. I won't make a scene.]

I was fuming. I'd been sending him money constantly and now he had the gall to think I was just living off someone else's generosity to spend on him.

And every time he asked for money, he acted so entitled!

I thought, What a sponge! I can't believe I ever thought he had potential.

I said: [I'm not giving you a single cent! Get over it! You're pathetic, only thinking about spending a woman's money instead of earning your own! I'm not your personal cash cow, so don't expect me to be your target!]

Laird lost it, replying with a string of furious messages: [Fine! Don't come crawling back later! You've been with so many old men, and you're lucky I even bother with you!"]

[Do you know how many people are lining up after me?]

Then came a barrage of insults. I ignored them and checked the security feed in the poolside lounge.

It didn't take long to see a couple starting to play their twisted games.

I quickly saved the video.

After wrapping up things at the office, I returned to my apartment.

It was conveniently close to both home and work, a gift from Clarke to make my internship easier.

Just as I changed into my pajamas, I heard a knock at the door. When I opened it, Laird, Jennifer, and a bunch of classmates from our course stood there.

Laird was live-streaming on his phone. "Let's show everyone what a pampered student looks like today!"

Seeing their hostile intent, I tried to get them to leave. "What are you doing here? Breaking into someone's home is illegal!"

But Laird ignored me and pushed past. "You can do all this, but you're scared of people finding out?"

A burly guy, clearly a hired thug, came in at Laird's signal. He restrained my arms behind my back, leaving me helpless.

The others immediately started ransacking my apartment, smashing things up. I was frantic. "Are you guys insane? This will cost you!"

Laird just laughed. "My girlfriend and I have plenty of cash. We're not worried about a few bucks!"

I was speechless. They were the perfect pair—he played the rich playboy, and she the wealthy heiress.

Laird shoved his phone in my face, his other hand gripping my chin roughly. "Hey everyone, check this out. This is Louis. Remember her face so you don't get fooled by her later. Don't let her fool you into being the nice guy who picks up the tab!"

I tried to bite Laird's hand, but he noticed and slapped me hard across the face. "Look at this slut, trying to bite me!"

Before I could react, he slapped the other side of my face. The force of it made my ears ring.

The comments exploded on the livestream, cheering him on.

[That's what she deserves! People like her ruin society!]

[Society laughs at poverty but not at whores! We work our whole lives, and she gets to have money for a few minutes in bed!]

The insults grew nastier, with some saying I'd be worth less after tonight and suggesting they'd book me in advance for future engagements.

Jennifer looked utterly alarmed, her wide eyes red with worry. "Laird, isn't this a bit much? Why don't we just report her to the school and have them expel her..."

Laird immediately pulled her close, his arm wrapping around her shoulders. "Oh, honey, you've been too sheltered. Just expelling her isn't enough. We need everyone to know who she is, so they'll stay far away from this troublemaker!"

Jennifer put on a sweet, obedient expression. "Laird, I'm with you on this!"

At that moment, a voice came from my bedroom. "Laird, you need to see this!"

Laird had someone drag me to the bedroom, filming the whole way. I saw the guy holding my pillow, and my eyes widened in shock. This wasn't just any pillow—it was a priceless family heirloom.

"Please, don't touch it! It's my family's treasure!"

Laird took a look at the jade pillow, smirking as he walked over. "A family treasure? Looks more like a perverted old man's toy to me. Why don't you explain to the live stream how you normally use it? I wouldn't even want to touch it, but now that I'm here..."

With that, he grabbed the jade pillow and slammed it to the floor, shattering it into pieces. My eyes filled with despair as I watched the fragments scatter.

The comments exploded again.

[I think I've seen that pillow in a museum before. Isn't it a prized exhibit?]

Laird saw the comments and snorted dismissively. "Pfft, that's definitely a fake. No old man would give a genuine museum piece to a kept university girl!"