Chapter 2 Slapping Her Cheating Fiancé

Shortly after, dawn broke. The Fletcher family's Bentley limousine parked at the entrance of the village attracted the villagers, who all flocked over. They had never seen such a luxurious car in the remote mountainous village, all craning their necks with their eyes widened. “Just wait a little longer. She'll be here soon.” The woman standing in front of the luxury car and speaking to the Fletcher family's butler, Benjamin, ingratiatingly while bowing and scraping was none other than Lucia Zimmer, the relative who took Ariel in. Upon seeing the luxury car, she was utterly riveted. But when she learned that Benjamin intended to take Ariel away, she made a one-eighty. “If I hadn't been so kind to take her in, she would have been dead long ago. You're welcome to take her away, but don't you think you should compensate me for all my expenses? I raised her for eighteen years! Don't dream of taking her away without paying me at least ten or twenty thousand!” With his face devoid of expression, Benjamin handed her a check. Those living in the remote mountainous village had never seen a check. Lucia stuck her hands on her hips, her expression mean and nasty. “Why did you give me a piece of worthless paper when I asked for money?” Benjamin was struck speechless. A piece of worthless paper, you said? What a foolish country bumpkin! This scrap of paper is worth a million! “That's a check, Mdm. Zimmer. I saw it on TV. It can be exchanged for a lot of money!” someone said enviously. Lucia's eyes lit up, and she asked Benjamin, “How much is it worth?” “One million,” Benjamin replied expressionlessly. One million? The village fell silent in an instant, everyone stunned by the astronomical amount. They couldn't even make ten thousand a year, so a million was practically a pipe dream. In a flash, countless envious and resentful gazes fell on Lucia. Grinning from ear to ear, Lucia moved to take the check ecstatically. Unexpectedly, a dark, bony, and rough hand snatched it away before she could take it. It was none other than Ariel. Startled, Lucia hurriedly moved to grab it back. “What are you doing, you b*tch? Give me back that check! It's rightfully mine!” Ariel held the million-dollar check in hand, her brow quirked a fraction and her expression indifferent. “Do you deserve it? Ever since I was three and started having some sense, I slaved away at your house. Every day, I headed up the mountains to collect herbs while it was still dark. And when I came back, I served your entire family, doing the laundry, boiling water, cooking, feeding the pigs and donkeys, hauling manure, and farming. I've long since repaid any debt I owed your family.” Seeing that the million was about to go up in smoke, Lucia couldn't care less about the crowd of onlookers anymore. She lunged forward ferociously to snatch it back. “Give it back to me! You lived under my roof and ate my food, so what's wrong with asking you to do some work? It was only right that you repay me!” Ariel looked at the shrew of a woman with disdain. Patting herself down, she took out a crumpled bill for five bucks from her pocket and flung it up at Lucia's face. “Here. Keep the change.” Having said that, she promptly got into the luxury car. Benjamin knew that remote and impoverished areas created deplorable people. Fearful that he might not be able to leave if he didn't leave immediately, he hurriedly sped off, leaving a cloud of dust behind. “Stop right there, you b*tch! That's my one million!” Lucia was utterly enraged. Despite running herself ragged, she couldn't catch up to the luxury car. As the million that was within reach slipped away just like that, Lucia was overwhelmed with rage and spurted a mouthful of blood before collapsing to the ground straight away. In the car, Benjamin surreptitiously observed Ariel. He discovered that she was not quite the same the investigative results indicated. He had investigated her beforehand, and she had been living there ever since she was abandoned by the White family, a pitiful child who had never even attended school. Judging from the look of things then, however, he felt that she was not quite cowardly and illiterate as indicated in the investigative results. Contrarily, the aura she emanated was incredibly potent, even more so than the powerful and influential business tycoons he had encountered. It was as if frivolity was in her very bones, her dominance carrying a unique and unparalleled sense of mysteriousness. “Don't take this road. Take the back road instead,” Ariel suddenly said, pointing at a fork in the mountain road. Benjamin's brows furrowed. “Ms. White, this highway is the fastest route. I'm afraid we might not make it to the banquet on time if we take the back road.” However, Ariel persisted, so he couldn't quite refute her. Shortly after the Bentley had taken the back road, a thunderous boom echoed from nearby. It was a landslide, engulfing the highway completely. Benjamin's gaze on Ariel changed instantly. Had I insisted on taking the highway earlier, we would've likely ended up in a car wreck and both died. She's just a child raised in the countryside. Surely, she couldn't have predicted that, right? The Bentley went from the small mountainous village to Yannopolis, eventually coming to a halt at the entrance of a five-star hotel. Benjamin turned and glanced at Ariel's attire. Her faded T-shirt was stained with blood and mud, standing out starkly with the refined and elegant place at a glance. However, Christopher had given the order to just bring her directly to the banquet hall without dressing her up. “We're here, Ms. White. Mr. Fletcher has been waiting for you for quite some time.” He opened the car door and gestured for her to enter the hotel. Ariel lifted her eyes and swept a gaze over the towering skyscraper. Where ordinary people saw nothing, she distinctly saw a black ball of dark energy swirling at the top of the building. The corners of her mouth inexorably curved upward, and she licked her lips. Yum. Another delicious treat has come knocking at my door again. It's such a huge chunk, so consuming it would boost my strength significantly! Watching as she smiled, Benjamin felt a pang of pity deep within for the fate that awaited the innocent girl. The golden hall was resplendent in its opulence, its brilliance dazzling. The guests who were invited were all dressed to the nines, the men handsome and striking, the women beautiful and alluring. Only Ariel walked in dressed in an impoverished attire, so out-of-place that she immediately drew disdainful gazes from everyone present. Some people even exaggeratedly clapped a hand over their mouths and noses, moving a considerable distance away. “Where's security? Who let a pauper in?” “Is such an upscale place one for a pauper like her, who came from the slums?” Ariel turned a deaf ear to it all, sweeping her gaze around in search of the staircase. All she wanted was to head to the top floor for a feast. “You're Ariel White?” Suddenly, a cold and indifferent male voice rang out. Ariel turned around, only to see that it was a man in a handmade customized Iugrean suit, tall and striking, with a distinguished appearance. It was none other than her fiancé in name, Christopher Fletcher. He walked over with an air of elegance. Christopher scrutinized her from head to toe, the look in his eyes icy cold. “Sure enough, you're as inferior as I imagined—short, ugly, filthy, and rank, with a dark complexion to boot. Which part of a woman like you makes you worthy of me? I truly don't understand what Grandpa was thinking. Today is my engagement banquet with Vivian. I called you here to cancel our engagement. Hand over the token. Fill out this check for however much you like, then get out of my life.” Right before the crowd, he threw the check in her face. Ariel's chilly eyes narrowed slightly. She swiftly grabbed his wrist, a hint of mockery showing on her gaunt and pallid face. The force was so immense that it almost shattered his wrist bone. “I can forgive your ignorance if you kneel down and apologize, brat.” Kneel down? Apologize? This d*mn girl must have lost her mind! The crowd jeered loudly, “As expected of a country bumpkin! She doesn't even realize where she is, much less the fact that she's going up against the prestigious Fletcher family in Yannopolis!” “How brazen of her, even daring to ask Mr. Fletcher to kneel. I bet she won't be walking out of the hotel tonight.” Christopher frowned, the pain nearly causing a cry to escape him. He endured it forcefully, in disbelief. This country bumpkin looks so weak that a breeze could topple her. How could she possess such immense strength? She must have trained her strength from having done loads of farming. “Let go! Otherwise, I won't be so polite with you anymore,” Christopher hissed through gritted teeth. He struggled a few times, only to discover in a panic that he was unable to break free from her grip. Her black and spindly hands effortlessly held his wrist, her grip gradually increasing in strength. Christopher was in such pain that he was on the verge of tears. He raised his other hand and swung it forcefully at her face. Smack! The sudden slap left everyone present dumbfounded. The slap wasn't delivered by Christopher to land on Ariel, but the other way around. Moreover, her strike was swift and decisive, resonating throughout the banquet hall. Christopher was left utterly stunned by the slap, seeing stars whirling. On the heels of that, Ariel did something else that took everyone by surprise. She abruptly lifted a leg and kicked him in the crotch, sending him flying several meters away. The indescribable agony forced Christopher, a towering man of one point eight five meters, to cradle his groin with one hand and painfully drop to his knees. Ariel wore an expression of indifference, but her tone was incredibly arrogant. “You're a piece of trash who isn't even fit to lick my shoes. I hereby declare that you've been dumped. Get lost!”