Emily was about to step forward and curse, but she suddenly remembered that from today on, she couldn't afford to be reckless anymore. Survival itself was now a problem. After all, it's easy to get used to luxury, but going back to frugality is incredibly tough.
In the past six months, she had almost no friends and had lost contact with her family. She was inherently selfish, never sharing good things with others, only indulging herself. She hadn't even helped her family, so they remained impoverished, struggling to make ends meet.
As for her, she had once lived a life of luxury like a princess, had some cosmetic enhancements, driven luxury cars, lived in a mansion, and wielded a limitless black card with reckless abandon.
She felt that meeting Raymond was the disaster of her life; he had destroyed everything she had.
Emily stood across the street, watching a convoy of cars emerge from the intersection. Four luxury cars worth millions drove by with an air of dominance, creating a gust of wind.
That was Raymond's convoy.
Emily suddenly remembered that she still had many clothes, jewelry, and bags in the mansion. She thought she could go back and take a few of her favorite items to sell, which would at least get her through for a while.
When she took a cab to the mansion's gate, she found that the code for the gate's lock had been changed.
Emily gritted her teeth and climbed in through a side gate, but accidentally triggered the alarm. Frightened, she had to flee through the main gate.
Fortunately, Stuart had previously advised Raymond to install alarms on the outer walls. If anyone tried to break in, the security room would be automatically alerted.
Emily realized in despair that it was impossible to take anything from inside.
After leaving the mansion area, Emily wandered aimlessly on the street when her phone rang.
She glanced at the caller ID indifferently; it was an unknown number. After hesitating for a moment, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Is this Ms. Lowe? This is Rhys."
"Rhys? Which Rhys?"
"Rhys from the design company you contacted earlier."
Emily finally remembered. It was the manager from the design company who had contacted her to confirm the blueprints. At the time, she had said she was too busy and had Raymond handle it.
"Hello."
"Ms. Lowe, the blueprint confirmation you requested has been completed. When would be a convenient time for you to pick them up?"
"Pick up what?"
"The blueprints for the model room." The voice on the other end seemed to find the question amusing.
"I contacted you? You must be mistaken. I didn't have any blueprints done with your company."
Emily realized she might be in trouble. She had wanted to renovate the walk-in closet in the mansion and had contacted a renowned designer.
Before the other person could say more, she quickly hung up.
Emily didn't want to go home. If her family found out about this, they wouldn't let her off the hook.
Especially her father, Bobby. If he knew she had been with Raymond and wasted such good resources, he would be furious.
She felt regret and fear that her previous pretense of losing her virginity and framing Melinda would be discovered by Connie. To keep these secrets, she had enjoyed wealth and luxury for half a year.
Desperate, she called Elsie.
When she arrived at Elsie's place, she immediately regretted it. The place was too...
Elsie's family of five squeezed into a small, run-down house. Elsie had a younger brother and sister, and their parents had modest incomes. Her mother worked in housekeeping, and her father worked on construction sites.
"Who are you?" Elsie's mother came out to take out the trash and didn't recognize Emily under the streetlight. After all, Emily had undergone major plastic surgery and looked like a different person.
"Mrs. Perez, it's me, Emily. I'm here to see Elsie." Emily tried to keep her voice calm.
"Emily? You... you had plastic surgery? Elsie is home. Do you need something?" Mrs. Perez, Elodie, recognized her and, thinking it wasn't her place to say much, turned and walked back inside.
Emily followed Elodie inside, and as they reached the door, they heard arguing.
"You're working now, why don't you help out at home? You're so ungrateful. We should have let you die out there."
Elsie shouted back, "Fine, I won't come back. I'll die out there, okay?"
After yelling, Elsie stormed out. Elodie hesitated, wanting to chase after her but knowing deep down that having this daughter or not didn't make much difference.
Elsie had always been high-maintenance, and even after starting work, she only gave the family a few thousand dollars in the first few months. After that, they had to beg her for money.
Seeing this, Emily quickly chased after her, watching her head towards the mall.
"Elsie..." Emily called out anxiously from behind.
They entered the mall, a place they both longed for with its bright lights and dazzling displays.
They walked into various brand-name stores. Since Elsie was carrying a designer bag and wearing high-end clothes, the store clerks treated her warmly.
"Miss, this is our new collection. Would you like to try it?" The clerk enthusiastically recommended.
Emily looked at everything around her and couldn't help but remember that just a few days ago, she could buy anything she wanted here without a second thought, not caring about the cost.
But now, the price tags on the shoes seemed astronomical to her—six thousand dollars for a pair!
"Emily, what's wrong?" Elsie finally noticed Emily's odd behavior and asked, puzzled.
Emily looked at Elsie, hesitated for a long time, and then briefly explained the situation, though she didn't dare to tell her she had been kicked out. She lied, saying she had a fight with Raymond and they had temporarily broken up.
"What? You broke up? Are you crazy?" Elsie looked at her in disbelief.
Yes, she was crazy! She still hoped to beg Raymond and return to her previous luxurious life.
"Can you stay with me for a while?" Emily didn't want to be alone at home, afraid she might slip up. Having Elsie around would make her feel more secure.
She looked at the things she had given Elsie before. She used to disdain them, but now she wished she could take them back.
Elsie didn't know Emily had fallen on hard times and thought she was just lonely, so she agreed to stay with her.
Soon, they returned to the Lowe family home. Emily briefly explained the situation, and everyone learned that Elsie would be staying for a while.
"Emily, you don't look very happy," Elsie said, lying on the bed and noticing Emily's pale face.
"It's nothing." Emily forced a smile, then turned off the light and said, "Let's sleep."
In the darkness, a strong hatred flashed in Emily's eyes. Raymond's true love was Melinda. If something happened to Melinda, Raymond would go crazy, right?
Emily felt that her life was meaningless now. She might as well drag Melinda down to hell with her.