Chapter 1 She Has Slept with Mr. Brown
At the suite of Azure Palace Hotel, Thalia Smith's nails left deep scratches on the man's back as the heavy breathing finally subsided.
A sudden knock on the door jolted the drunken man awake.
What happened last night? During her engagement party, her fiancé's ex-girlfriend had shown up and played a video of them hooking up.
She had become the laughingstock of the entire city...
Drowning her sorrows in alcohol, she ended up sleeping with a man, who was known in the legal world as the Grim Reaper.
The worst part was, she had once pursued him when she was young and naive, made him her boyfriend for a day, and then dumped him.
William Brown had been a laughingstock for a long time.
And now, her former ex-boyfriend was here to "comfort" her after witnessing her fiancé dumping her?
Thalia felt her image as the sweet, innocent starlet was about to be shattered.
"Awake?" William leaned against the headboard, lighting a cigarette with a smirk. "Ms. Smith, you and your fiancé really know how to have fun separately, huh?"
Thalia cursed internally.
William reached for the ashtray on the bedside table. "Sleeping with your ex-ex-boyfriend? To disgust your ex-fiancé?"
"You two really are two of a kind." Thalia wrapped herself in the blanket and grabbed a robe.
She turned around, seeing the man leaning against the headboard, his upper body bare, the blanket loosely covering his lower half, and a cigarette between his fingers.
William was lazily seductive, almost otherworldly in his beauty.
His deep, dark eyes were fixed on her, waiting for her to speak.
William, a top figure in the legal world, was notoriously difficult to deal with.
"Mr. Brown, why are you in my bed?"
"That's a question I should be asking you, Ms. Smith," William waved the room key in front of her.
Thalia's expression changed. People always said that if they faced William in court, they would be lucky to leave with their underwear.
'Thalia, of all people, you had to sleep with William?' Thalia thought regretfully.
"Last night I drank too much. I hope you don't mind," Thalia said, trying to appear nonchalant as she picked up a white shirt from the foot of the bed and put it on, letting the robe fall to the floor, her pale skin almost blinding.
William narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her. "Do you always get so drunk that you climb into other people's beds and force yourself on them, Ms. Smith?"
Thalia didn't want to explain. After all, her relationship with William was far from amicable. "Exactly! Sometimes, if I drink enough, I can climb into bed twice in one day."
She picked up her bag from the floor, pulled out a wad of cash, and placed it on the foot of the bed. "The highest rate for special services at the Azure Palace Hotel is $3,000 a night. Here's $5,000. I hope you can forgive me."
William's face darkened as he saw Thalia pull out the cash.
She thought he was some kind of gigolo?
"$5,000 a night, Ms. Smith? Don't you think you're overestimating yourself?"
Thalia seemed to think of something and nodded, pulling a coin out of her bag. "This is more like your value, Mr. Brown."
William laughed angrily. She was not only paying him but also insulting him.
"At your engagement party, you were dumped by your fiancé, who cheated on you with an unknown secretary. The Smith family and the Wood family are a mess now. Ms. Smith, if I were to leak the news of our night together, what do you think would happen?"
William got out of bed, wrapping a towel around his lower half. "If I were you, I wouldn't make such a bad trade. You already looked down on Walter Wood, that brainless rich kid, and now you've been dumped by him for a woman who can't even make it into high society. If I were you, I'd be too ashamed to show my face. Ms. Smith, you're a public figure. Where's your dignity?"
Thalia retorted, "What's it to you, Mr. Brown?"
"Nothing, but..." William's lips curled into a wicked smile. "I enjoy watching you fall."
Thalia laughed in anger. "Who knew you, Mr. Brown, all suited up, could be such a beast in disguise."
"I'll be waiting for you to come begging," William said coldly, gripping Thalia's chin.
Thalia pushed his hand away. "Not going to happen."
At the Wood Villa, Walter knelt on the floor, trembling.
"Dad, I never thought things would turn out like this. That woman and I were just fooling around."
"Fooling around? You think you're so important? You talk about your affairs so grandly."
"Dad, I had no choice! Thalia and I have been engaged for over a year, and she wouldn't let me touch her. I'm a man, I have needs!"
"You wretched creature," Hayden Smith had just arrived at the Wood Villa and overheard this.
Hayden walked over, ready to slap Walter, but fainted as he raised his hand.
In the nanny van, Thalia's manager, Ella Garcia, stared at her as if she wanted to see what was inside her head.
"Of all people, you had to sleep with William? Thalia, do you not want to stay in the entertainment industry anymore?"
"Do you believe William would report you for soliciting?"
Thalia thought that would be impossible.
She replied, "He wouldn't admit to being a gigolo, would he?"
"Who's more at risk, you for soliciting or him for being a gigolo? Thalia, your position in the entertainment industry isn't secure yet!"
"Do you know how many celebrities want William as their lawyer?" Ella was almost shouting.
Thalia had a headache and clung to Ella's arm, pouting. "It's already happened. Yelling at me won't help! Let's think about how to manage the PR so I don't lose too much."
Her recent endorsements, movies, and ads were all calling to ask about the situation. If anything happened, the breach of contract fees would be astronomical.
Ella glared at her, frustrated.
"The Wood family has sent Walter and that woman abroad."
"When?" Thalia was shocked. She hadn't even gotten her revenge, and they were already gone? What was the Wood family up to?
"Are you kidding me?"
"Why would I joke? Your dad fainted at their house from anger. If it weren't for your dad, they wouldn't owe you any explanation. Now that your dad's condition is uncertain, they have to plan ahead, especially since that woman is pregnant."
Thalia was speechless.
She had planned to go for a spa treatment that afternoon. After all, she hadn't gained anything from William last night and was left feeling drained.
Before she could act on her plan, Grace Hernandez called. "Your dad's dying. Come home now."
Thalia sat in the nanny van, sipping water from a thermos. "He always says he's dying. Is he really?"
"Why ask so much? Your second brother and all those illegitimate children are on their way. If you don't come back, you won't get a penny."
Hayden was a romantic, always in love with women in their twenties, and that hadn't changed even as he got older.
Hayden had countless illegitimate children, and her mother, Grace, Hayden's second wife, had long been used to it. She didn't care about Hayden's many illegitimate children, but she wouldn't let them take her share of the inheritance.
Thalia returned to the Smith Villa, and Grace immediately pulled her into the bedroom. "You need to talk to the lawyer about the will."
"Didn't we already ask? There's no will."
"I think your dad's really not going to make it this time. We need to find a good lawyer just in case."
"Who?"
"William."
"What?" She had just slept with him, and now she had to ask for his help?
"Find another lawyer."
"He's got an unbeaten record in Emerald City," Grace said, looking serious.
"Mom, I just slept with him. This isn't right."
"Isn't that perfect? Sex makes things easier. Or do you want those illegitimate children to fight for your inheritance?"
Thalia was speechless.
"Thalia, would you choose $10 billion or $1 billion?"
Thalia thought, who would choose wrong? Of course, $10 billion.
"You just got into trouble. The Wood family is now certain your dad won't make it and has gone abroad to avoid the fallout. You'll get nothing. Without your dad's support, how will you live? Working yourself to death in the entertainment industry? Then you'll have to sell your luxury cars and houses, your purses. Do you still want to take private jets for shopping? In a year or so, Walter will be flaunting his wife and child in front of you. Can you swallow that?"
She couldn't. She could be poor, but she couldn't stand Walter flaunting his wife and child in front of her.
It was humiliating!
"I'll go right away."