Chapter 1

By nature I was soft. When people pushed me around, I never pushed back.

My parents were afraid I'd be bullied once I married out, so they decided to bring a son-in-law into the family instead.

Soon three promising young men were placed inside the company, and I was sent in too, working the front desk.

I would meet all three at the same time, and in the end, whichever one treated me well, I would tell him who I really was.

At first the three of them were gentle enough with me. Then a foreign-returned supervisor was dropped into the company, a woman.

She made me brew her coffee and fetch her packages.

And because the water was hot, she threw the coffee in my face.

"What a useless thing. I don't know why the company hires people like this!"

"Can't even handle one small task. She should be let go, the sooner the better!"

I cried, the hurt spilling over.

But Boris Harding coldly told me to apologize.

"Ellie Fox, apologize to Libby right now!"

Emmet Dickerson threatened me in a low voice.

"Don't you know she's the young mistress of the Fox family?"

"Just looking at how spineless you are makes me sick!"

"If you know what's good for you, hand in your resignation!"

I opened my mouth, but the old softness in me wouldn't let a sound out.

Only Winston James gently helped me to my feet.

But the next second, he locked me in the storage room.

They had a Fox heiress to court, a place as the Fox family's son-in-law to win.

What they didn't know was that I was the young mistress of the Fox family.

1.

The instant the coffee hit my face, the scald tore a cry out of me.

The tears came right after, the hurt spilling down my cheeks.

I covered my face and sobbed quietly.

"So hot. It hurts so much."

Libby Fox looked at me and gave a cold little laugh.

"So now you know how to feel pain?"

"Handing me coffee that hot, you did it on purpose, didn't you? Trying to hurt me?"

Never mind the pain, I waved my hands in a panic.

"No, no, I didn't do it on purpose."

"You were the one who said you wanted it hotter."

That cup of coffee, I had brewed it three times.

The first time, Libby Fox frowned and snapped at me.

"Too weak. Make it again."

The second time, Libby Fox threw it straight into the trash.

"I want it hot! My stomach hurts. You brewed it cold on purpose, didn't you?"

The third time, I carried over the coffee made with the hottest water.

Libby Fox threw it straight in my face.

It was unbearable, the coffee splashing across my skin, scalding it red in a wide patch.

My white blouse was covered in gray-brown stains.

Aching and disheveled, my eyes rimmed red, I tried to explain to Libby Fox.

Libby Fox let out a scornful little snort, disgust in the way she looked at me.

"Still trying to argue your way out?"

"Ellie Fox, if you can't even manage something this small, what use are you to this company?"

More and more coworkers were gathering around.

And in the way they looked at me, there was that same trace of contempt.

"She dared to offend Libby Fox. This Ellie Fox is in for it now!"

"Libby Fox isn't wrong, though. Can't even make a cup of coffee right. She deserves the scolding."

"Exactly. Seems honest enough usually, but behind it all she's kind of disgusting."

...

The murmuring came at me without a break.

I lifted my head a little and looked at them.

These coworkers, not long ago, had nothing but smiles for me, nothing but kind words.

Sis Wang would say her legs hurt, always with a smile, always sending me down to the delivery lockers to grab her lunch.

Brother Li was forever busy. Whenever he needed documents, he'd just send me the files and have me print them.

And Lena Yang, Michael Liu...

When they wanted my help, it was always, Ellie's so kind.

Now their eyes were cold, their words full of barbs.

I gripped my cuff, my face caught between hurt and confusion.

They had all seen it. They had all watched Libby Fox make me brew it three times.

Then, out of nowhere, a voice cut in.

"It's working hours. Why is everyone crowded around here?"

I looked up and saw Boris Harding come through the crowd.

The office fell silent in an instant. Even Libby Fox shut her mouth.

Like I was clutching at a lifeline, I stepped forward and caught the hem of Boris Harding's jacket.

"Boris Harding, I didn't do it on purpose."

But Boris Harding didn't speak up for me the way he usually did, gently, on my side.

He coldly shook my hand off, frowning, his voice like ice.

"Ellie Fox, apologize!"

"How long are you going to keep this up? Do you want to keep the whole office in an uproar?"