I'm dressed in flip-flops and shorts when making an inspection of the five-star hotel my husband just acquired.

When the front office manager spots me, she immediately calls for security with a disgusted look on her face.

"The hotel's WiFi isn't meant for people like you to use. Hurry up and pay me 200 thousand dollars in Internet costs, then get lost!"

I calmly tell her that I'm the owner of the hotel, but that only makes her sneer.

"The owner of the hotel? Hey, old hag, you're putting on an act in front of the real deal! This hotel was a birthday gift from my husband to me. Aren't you fantasizing a bit too much?"

Oh? Since when did Ian Lambert get another wife behind my back?

"What kind of place do you think this is? How can someone like you just waltz in?"

Bewildered, I looked up at the front office manager approaching me.

I had personally come to inspect the five-star hotel my husband recently acquired. I had just sat down in the lobby to rest since I was tired. Was that not allowed?

Seeing that I didn't respond, the woman gave me an even more disgusted look.

"What are you staring at? The air conditioning and WiFi in the hotel lobby aren't for freeloaders like you! Do you have any idea how much it costs to run the electricity here? Or how much a minute of Internet access costs?"

She looked me up and down, assessing me as though I were a piece of garbage. In the end, she curled her lips into a mocking smile.

"Looking at your shabby appearance… How about we do it this way? I won't make things hard for you. Just hand over 200 grand in Internet costs right now and then get out. I'll pretend I never saw you."

Behind her, two tall, expressionless security guards had already surrounded me.

There was one on the left and one on the right, both effectively blocking my way. Their postures suggested that they thought I'd refuse to leave.

The surrounding guests had also stopped, watching the scene unfold with keen interest. Their whispers soon drifted into my ears.

"My God! In this day and age, someone dares to enter a five-star hotel dressed like that? How shameless can one be?"

"She probably wanted to come in and take a few photos for her social media feed, pretending to be an influencer, but she got caught at the door."

"Ms. Shields is right. People like her should be kicked out early to avoid lowering the hotel's standards."

I casually picked at my nails, tuning out all the noise as I simply looked calmly at the woman I would later know to be Jessica Shields.

"What if I said I'm not here to freeload on the WiFi?" I questioned.

Jessica acted as if she'd heard the biggest joke, and she laughed exaggeratedly. "Not here for the WiFi? "What? Are you here to spend your money, then? The cheapest cup of coffee here costs 88 dollars. Is the t-shirt you're wearing enough to even cover a fraction of the price?"

She laughed until her shoulders shook, her expression eventually darkening as she waved her hand impatiently.

"Alright, stop wasting my time. Security, take her—"

"Wait," I interrupted her, my tone still calm. "I'm here because I'm the owner of the hotel."

Instantly, the air in the entire lobby seemed to freeze over.

The security guards stopped in their tracks, while the onlookers widened their eyes in shock. Even Jessica's harsh expression went blank for a brief moment.

Then, she burst out laughing in an even more exaggerated manner than before. "The owner of the hotel?"

Jessica laughed until she was nearly in tears. She pointed at me and said to those around her, "Did you all hear that? She says she's the owner of the hotel!"

The crowd also burst into exaggerated snickers at that.

After Jessica managed to finally stop laughing, she looked at me as if I were insane.

"Old lady, have you been fantasizing too much? Or did you forget to take your medicine before leaving the house? You didn't even consider where you were before pretending to be someone else. You're standing in front of the real deal!"

She proudly straightened up and looked around. Her every word dripped with pretentiousness and possessiveness as she said, "To tell you the truth, this hotel was a birthday gift from my husband. I, Jessica Shields, am the rightful owner of this hotel!"

I felt my heart sink abruptly. Husband? Birthday gift?

Did Ian…

A strangely cold chill shot through me from head to toe. My husband and I had been together since college, and we had been married for ten years now.

He loved me deeply and cherished me like his own life, so how could he possibly have another woman?

Impossible. It was absolutely impossible!

It could just be a case of people having the same name. Perhaps this was a misunderstanding.

I forced myself to calm down and looked at the name tag on her chest. "Jessica… I don't know who you are, and I've never heard your name before."

I took a deep breath before asking the question that made my heart tighten up.

"Who is your husband?"

Jessica lifted her head even higher, her expression containing the smugness of a winner.

"You don't even know who my husband is? And you dare pretend to be the owner of the hotel? Listen carefully. My husband is the CEO of Lambert Group, Ian Lambert!"

It felt like a bomb had gone off in my head, and my mind went completely blank.

Ian's name burned into me like a red-hot branding iron.

Ten years of feelings… Ten years of affection…

The gentle way he'd made his vow while embracing me. "You're the only woman in my world," he'd said.

The times he rushed home to hug me the moment he returned from a business trip…

Could it all have been fake?

A huge sense of betrayal and humiliation flooded over me like a tide. My hands and feet turned icy cold, and even breathing became difficult.

Upon noticing my ashen complexion, Jessica's smile grew even more triumphant. "What's wrong? Stunned? Have you now realized what a huge joke you've made of yourself? How dare you impersonate Ian's wife?

"Are you even worthy? You're a penniless wretch who can't even afford decent clothes, and you dare covet my man? Take a long look in the mirror before barking up the wrong tree!"

The surrounding mocking laughter felt like countless needles piercing every inch of my skin.

No, I wouldn't believe it! I had to ask him myself!

With trembling hands, I pulled my phone from the pocket of my shorts, found the number I knew by heart, and pressed call.

I wanted him to come. I wanted him to tell this woman, in front of everyone else, who his real wife was!

The dial tone beeped steadily from the phone. It rang once, then twice, then three times…

I felt my heart sink bit by bit with each sound, seemingly plunging into the endless abyss.

Ian always answered my calls instantly. Whether in a meeting or a negotiation, he would pick up immediately, even if just to tell me he was unavailable.

Jessica clicked her tongue and crossed her arms, looking down at me sarcastically. "Can't keep up the act anymore, right? Should I lend you a power bank for your phone?"

The security guards and onlooking guests wore even more mocking expressions on their faces.

"I told you she was faking it. She can't even get through to him on the phone."

"She probably just saved a fake number and is putting on a show for us."

Just as I was feeling despair, Jessica gracefully took out her own phone from her branded handbag.

"Take a good look at what the real owner of the hotel looks like," she said mockingly.

She lightly tapped the screen, dialed a number, then smugly pressed the speakerphone button.

It rang only once before the call connected instantly.

The deep, magnetic voice of a man rang out clearly through the speaker. "Hey, Jessie. What's up?"

My body stiffened abruptly. This voice…

Jessica immediately switched to a coquettish tone and complained into the phone, "Honey, there's someone at the hotel bullying me! There's this crazy woman who's dressed in rags, insisting she's the owner of the hotel. I told her to get lost, but she won't. What should I do?"

The man on the other end of the line chuckled softly. In a doting tone that carried unquestionable authority, he said, "Who dared to bully my dear Jessie? She's just some lunatic who came out of nowhere. Why bother with her?"

He paused, then his voice turned cold and merciless. "Since she's refusing to leave and even dares to impersonate you, teach her a lesson. Let her know that The Crown Imperial isn't a place for just any stray to run wild. Handle it as you see fit. If anything happens, I've got your back."

"Okay, honey! Love you!"

Jessica blew a kiss into the phone and hung up, thoroughly satisfied. She waved her phone and looked down smugly at me.

"Did you hear that? That's how Ian treats me! And you? You're just a joke!"

I ignored her taunts and stood stunned in place.

It was wrong. That voice was wrong!

It sounded very similar, but it definitely wasn't Ian's!

I had shared a bed with Ian for ten years. I knew the rhythm of his every breath and the of every word he said in his sleep.

His voice was unique to him alone, containing a certain cold quality to it.

It was unlike the man on the phone, who, even though he deliberately tried to imitate Ian, sounded playful in his tone.

What on earth was going on?

"What? Still not giving up?" Jessica mocked.

When she saw me standing there dazed, she thought I was dumbfounded by the blow, and her disdainful expression deepened.

"Are you jealous? Jealous that my husband pampers me so much? I'll have you know that some people are born with silver spoons, while others are born with nothing! No matter how jealous you are, you can't change your fate!"

At that, she lost her last shred of patience and waved a hand at the two security guards.

"Stop wasting words with her! Someone who disrupts the hotel's business like this should be taught a good lesson! Drag her to the storage room in the back!"

She then turned to face me. "If you don't come up with money for the Internet costs today, don't even think about leaving through that door!"

"Yes, Ms. Shields!"

The two security guards pounced on me like preying beasts.

I instinctively stepped back, but they grabbed my arms from left and right. Their strength was terrifying, and my resistance was a futile effort.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" I shouted sternly.

"Let you go? Sure." Jessica followed slowly behind with a cruel smile on her face. "Come up with the money, and I'll have them release you immediately. If you can't, then don't blame me for being rude."

She leaned in close and whispered in my ear, ensuring only the two of us could hear. "There are no surveillance cameras in the storage room. I can do whatever I want to you. Even if I cripple you, my husband will handle it for me."

I felt my heart plunge into the deep end at those words.

The guards roughly dragged me through the opulent lobby and into a dimly lit hallway. Then, with a loud bang, I was thrown into a storage room reeking of mildew and filled with cleaning tools.

The door was slammed shut, cutting off all light and sound from outside.

In the darkness, I could hear Jessica's footsteps approaching slowly, as well as the heavy breathing of the two security guards behind her.

"Now, no one can help you."

Jessica's voice echoed in the cramped space, her tone carrying a hint of wicked pleasure. "I'll ask you one more time—are you going to pay the 200 grand or not?"

I leaned against the cold wall and looked at her coldly. "I told you, I have no money."

"No money?" Jessica sneered. "You have no money, yet you still dare to act this tough? It seems you need to learn the hard way who the big dog is around here!"

She shot a glance at the security guards behind her. "Hit her! Keep hitting her until she agrees to pay!"

One security guard walked toward me with a sinister grin on his face, raising a palm and swinging it hard toward my face.

I dodged by turning my head, but I couldn't evade his other hand, which grabbed my hair harshly and slammed it against the wall.

The blow echoed loudly throughout the room. Intense pain and dizziness hit me instantly, stars danced before my eyes, and a ringing filled my ears.

"Still being stubborn?" Jessica asked, her tone hissy like a venomous snake's.

Gritting my teeth, I spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva and replied, "If you have the guts, just beat me to death."

"Great! Just great!" Jessica snarled, infuriated by my attitude. "Let's see just how tough your bones are! Keep hitting her! Break her arms and legs! Let's see how she acts tough then!"

The two security guards' punches and kicks rained down on me like a storm. I curled up on the ground, using all my strength to protect my vital areas.

Every impact made my internal organs feel like they were shifting, and my bones groaned under their blows.

I felt my consciousness begin to blur, and the pain in my body gradually numbed.

Just when I thought I was really going to die, the storage room door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, creaking as it did.

A beam of light shone in. A tall, straight figure stood silhouetted in the doorway.

I couldn't see his face clearly, but the silhouette and that familiar Armani haute couture suit…

"Honey!"