The crisp slap resonated through the office after Iris raised her hand and gave Marilyn a tight slap.

"Oh, it's on, b*tch! How dare you slap me!"

Marilyn covered her cheeks. Her eyes reddened in anger as she rushed toward Iris with malicious intent.

Iris responded quickly and gave Marilyn a backhand slap on the other cheek.

Marilyn was not one to accept being humiliated that way. She stumbled and cried to Brody, "Darling, this b*tch slapped me! You need to get justice for me!"

"Justice, my foot!"

A furious Brody slapped Marilyn so hard that she fell to the ground.

Marilyn was stunned by the slap and had an utter look of disbelief. "I told you to slap her! Why are you slapping me instead?"

"That slap was for you! Do you know who this is? This is Iris, the eldest daughter of the Youngs! Are you trying to ruin the Sullivans?" Brody scolded angrily.

Marilyn was stunned silly and finally realized that she made a terrible mistake.

The Sullivans were an upstart rich family in Springfield City. They were a second-rate force at best, and their influence was far behind that of a truly first-rate family such as the Youngs.

Heck, even Brody's father would not dare to offend Iris if he came in person!

"Please don't take offense, Miss Young. This is just a misunderstanding..."

Brody hurriedly bowed and smiled in apology.

"Misunderstanding? I didn't see any misunderstanding!"

Iris sneered, then ordered several bodyguards behind him, "These people bullied my friend, Lou. Could you teach them a lesson for me, please? You're to stop only when I say so!

"Understood!"

The bodyguards did as they were told and immediately surrounded Brody and his two bodyguards.

Marilyn, on the other hand, was a woman, and she was already out of breath after Iris slapped her twice.

Iris, therefore, decided not to make things any more difficult for Marilyn.

Brody and the two bodyguards did not have such good luck. Iris's six bodyguards surrounded the three of them in the center as they began punching and kicking without showing any mercy!

"Miss Young, I realize my mistake now. Please forgive me..."

Brody screamed repeatedly. He curled up into a ball, covered his head with his arms, and begged endlessly for mercy.

"Why should I tell my men to stop when you didn't show Leon any mercy earlier?"

Iris snorted coldly and spoke with a marked sense of anger and iciness in her voice.

The bodyguards became even more ruthless!

Marilyn just got a taste of Iris's formidableness, and so could only stand worriedly beside Brody as she was afraid to step forward and stop him from being beaten up by Iris's bodyguard.

"If you have what it takes, why don't you come at me instead of hiding behind a woman!"

Marilyn scolded Leon angrily, which was met with Leon's cold look.

However, he still walked to Iris's side and motioned for Iris to stop. "You can tell them to stop now, Iris. I'm thankful for your gesture, so let it stop..."

Iris looked at Leon's expression and immediately understood what his determined look was trying to convey.

She figured that Leon wanted to personally get his revenge in the future, and he did not want to rely on her

to achieve that.

Her guess was right, and Marilyn's words were a jab at Leon's self-esteem.

The shame that Leon experienced that day would be forever etched in his memory, but he still hoped to rely on himself to rid that shame in the future.

He would not have the chance to prove himself if he relied on Iris to get back at them for him.

"You guys are in luck today! I'll spare you both just this once for Leon's sake!" Iris snorted coldly, then turned around and flashed a smile at Leon.

"There's plenty of things I'd like to talk to you about. Come with me."

Leon nodded in response. He did not even bother to look at Marilyn as he got into the car and left with Iris.

With a roar of the engine, the intimidating yet luxurious Rolls-Royce sped away.

By contrast, Brody's shabby Porsche did not look so luxurious anymore.

"Damn it! How could someone as useless as Leon hook up with a woman like Iris? Was he sleeping with her when he didn't come home last night?"

Marilyn stomped her feet angrily.

Although there was no doubt that Marilyn was the one who dumped Leon, she was made to feel unworthy of Leon when Iris showed up.

Marilyn became increasingly angrier as she dwelled on what happened.

Brody soon got up from the ground in dismay. He looked exceptionally miserable with a blue nose and a swollen face.

"Impossible! Iris is the Youngs' eldest young lady! She's a very respected person. None of Springfield City's rich and powerful young men ever caught her attention, so how did a piece of trash like Leon do it!"

"Maybe the two of them just happened to know each other..."

Brody covered his face and groaned in pain.

Iris was a goddess in his eyes, contrasting strongly with his low impression of Leon. He would sooner die than believe that there was a special relationship between Leon and Iris!

"You're right! Iris couldn't have taken a liking to him unless she's blind... But on second thought, even if Iris was blind, she'd never fancy some garbage like him!"

Marilyn smiled disdainfully, and his heart became felt a little more at ease.

"Who cares what kind of relationship they have?! It's all Leon's fault that this happened to me. I'm going to get back at him for this!"

Brody had a resentful look on his face.

He could not afford to provoke the Youngs and was afraid of holding a grudge against Iris too.

As a result, he blamed everything on Leon!

The surrounding bystanders could not help but look down in disdain when they saw how shameless Brody and Marilyn were.

Everyone saw how Leon persuaded Iris into letting Brody go.

Brody, however, did not show any gratitude and resented Leon instead!

It was simply too shameless!

Unfortunately, the Sullivans were powerful, and all that the others could do was despise him silently without saying it to his face.

...

Leon was left with nothing after getting a divorce from Marilyn.

He had no belongings, and the most important necessity for him at the moment was a place to stay.

The Sovereign Hotel was one of the most luxurious five-star hotels in all of Springfield City, and Iris planned to have him settle down there for the time being. She could also ask him the exact details of what happened the

previous night.

When they arrived at the hotel, Iris motioned for her bodyguards to wait outside while she took Leon in.

"Welcome to The Sovereign Hotel," two attendants smile professionally to welcome them.

When Leon walked on the hotel's red carpet, he looked around and was shocked by how splendid and luxurious the decor was.

He never stepped foot in a place as high-end as a five-star hotel, and he could not help but feel a little uncomfortable to be there.

Furthermore, his tattered clothes were a stark contrast with the hotel.

He took each step with caution for he was worried that his shoes might stain the hotel's high-end red carpet.

"Hold it! This is a high-end hotel. Beggars aren't allowed to enter! Shoo! Beg somewhere else!"

There came a youngish 27- or 28-year-old woman who was dressed in a supervisor's uniform.

She put on an attitude of superiority and yelled harshly at the two attendants who greeted Iris and Leon.

"What's wrong with you two? Are you blind? How could you let a beggar in?!"

"Who are you calling a beggar?" Iris was startled and did not know how to respond for a moment.

Moments later, she saw the supervisor walk up to Leon before pointing at him. "Get out of here, you miserable beggar!" the supervisor yelled, stopping short of actually shoving him out.

Leon already felt ashamed of himself, to begin with, and his face turned red as soon as the supervisor scolded him. How he wished he could just burrow into a hole in the ground!

Iris understood what happened and her pretty face immediately turned cold. She pushed the woman's finger away and said, "You're the one who's blind. Does he look like a beggar to you? He's my friend! We're here to

book a room..."

"Book a room?"

The supervisor looked disdainfully at Iris from head to toe. "You dress like a rich lady but you're booking a room with a beggar? I suppose you're the same as him then. Now get out of our hotel, both of you!"

Iris was furious. "Only mean people like you can say such things. Where's your manager? Tell him to come out here and meet me!"

"Who do you think you are? What right do you have to ask for our manager?" the supervisor smiled contemptuously.

Iris trembled with anger. Had she not controlled herself for the sake of her identity, she would have slapped the supervisor in the face already.

The hotel staff were already alerted to the commotion there.

A young man about 36- or 37 years old rushed over as quickly as possible, and nametag that wrote 'Lobby Manager - Wendell Dyer' was pinned to his suit lapel.

"What's going on, Cheryl? Tell me what happened!" Wendell asked.

"Cousin! You came at just the right time. These two beggars are causing trouble and it's affecting our hotel's image..."

The supervisor pointed at Iris and Leon with a contemptuous expression.

Wendell looked in the direction of Cheryl's finger and immediately saw Iris.

His first glance elicited awe, for he was captivated by Iris's beautiful face and noble temperament.

On his second glance, his expression changed greatly, and beads of cold sweat began appearing on his forehead!

Iris seldom appeared in public, and few of those who were not within the circle of rich or powerful individuals knew what she looked like.

Wendell was never qualified to know Iris, but since the Youngs' business spanned many industries, they would usually entertain VIP guests or major customers of the company by arranging a stay for them at The Sovereign Hotel.

It was by sheer fortune that Wendell was able to meet Iris once before, so he knew Iris's identity at a glance!

At this moment, Wendell was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he almost fell to his knees.

She was not the kind of person he could afford to offend.

"Where's security? Somebody, call security! Is this how you do your job in this hotel? Aren't you going to hurry up and chase those two beggars away!" Cheryl went so far as to start yelling like nobody's business.

"Enough!"

A furious Wendell slapped her.

Following that crisp slap, Cheryl staggered and fell onto the ground.

"W-w-w-why did you slap me?"

Cheryl covered her cheek with one hand and was stunned by that slap.

"You dimwit! Do you know who this is? This is Iris Young! The Youngs' eldest young lady!"

Wendell glared at Cheryl fiercely and he went to chew Cheryl out!

Cheryl was his distant cousin, which led her to bully some of the lowerranked attendants in the hotel because she was connected to him by blood.

He turned a blind eye to her transgressions for the sake of their relatives, but Cheryl caused some serious trouble by provoking Iris!

Given the Youngs' influence in Springfield City, he would be made to suffer alongside Cheryl if the matter was not handled well!

"She... She's THE Iris Young?!"

Cheryl was dumbfounded.

She never saw Iris before but knew about Iris's reputation rather well. She knew that Iris was the Youngs' eldest young lady and was also the highestacclaimed of four famous beauties in Springfield City!

Even if the Youngs did not come for her, Iris's rich admirers would almost certainly rip her to shreds once they found out that she offended Iris.

Cheryl was so frightened that her knees went weak. She knelt immediately and started begging for mercy.

"Miss Young, I'm sorry for not knowing who you were earlier. I didn't mean to offend you. Please find it in your heart to forgive me, rather than take offense with someone like me who is beneath you..."

Cheryl shivered with fright and continued to beg for mercy.

Wendell's heart sank when he saw Iris's expressionless face. He scolded her sharply, "Slap yourself!"

Cheryl hesitated for a moment but eventually gritted her teeth and started slapping herself. She continued to slap herself even harder as she said,

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry..."

She slapped herself with each apology until the corners of her mouth started to bleed.

"Apologize to my friend!" Iris ordered coldly.

"Of course, of course... I'm sorry, Sir. I was wrong..."

Cheryl did not seem to care anymore that Leon was a beggar and immediately knelt in front of him to apologize.

Leon was startled and felt a little overwhelmed.

In the past, his daily routine was divided between staying at home and working at the company. He never went anywhere else.

He never even heard about the four beauties of Springfield City, let alone the Youngs.

He also had no idea that the Youngs were an influential family, and he had no clue as to how formidable the Youngs were.

All he knew was that Iris ordered her bodyguards to beat Brody senseless at the Civil Records Office.

Then there was also Cheryl, who was so frightened after knowing Iris's true identity that she knelt and began begging for mercy.

Those two incidents led him to postulate that the Youngs must be a rich and powerful family.

There was no doubt that Leon felt Iris up quite a bit the previous night, but

Iris seemed to have acted as if none of that happened, causing Leon to wonder why that was the case...