"You're Ashley Bowen?" the man asked, his eyes sizing her up with a provocative stare.
Ashley Bowen instinctively hit the brakes, planting her foot on the ground for balance. "Is there… a problem?"
The man pulled a pair of sunglasses from his jacket pocket. They were sleek and jet-black. After putting them on, he leaned in, his lips almost brushing against her cheek.
Ashley Bowen scrambled to lean back. "Excuse me, handsome, but can I help you? I haven't taken out any loans from a shark, and I haven't sold any land deeds."
"…" The man seemed speechless. He finally just grabbed Ashley Bowen's elbow with one large hand and said in a low voice, "Don't tell anyone what happened at the Meridian Palace last night. Here's a check for a million. Take the money and get lost."
'What?'
It suddenly dawned on Ashley Bowen what was happening. She immediately yelled at the man, "So you were that damned bastard from last night? Am I, Ashley Bowen, the kind of person you can just buy off?"
"Yes," the man said flatly.
Ashley Bowen rolled her eyes. "Fine, so maybe you can buy me off. But that was my most precious thing! Do you really think you can put a price on that?" she said, her voice cracking as she began to cry.
The thought that she was no longer a virgin sent a wave of grief through her. It wasn't that she was old-fashioned, but she just couldn't accept living with someone or having sex before marriage.
"A million isn't enough? Then how about more? Three million. That should be enough, right?" the man's impatient voice cut in.
'This is a total insult to my character!'
Thinking of her family's financial situation, and of her mother's aged hands, Ashley Bowen finally bit her lip. "Deal!" She quickly wiped her tears away.
'The wise adapt to the circumstances, as they say. And I, Ashley Bowen, am nothing if not wise, right?'
The man sneered, as if he'd expected this all along. He shoved his hands into his pants pockets, turned, and got into his luxury car. Just as the engine was starting, he rolled down the window and tossed something out.
Ashley Bowen picked the object up from the ground. It was her employee ID card. The photo on it showed a much more innocent-looking her, but the card itself was now crumpled and worn.
'There goes my job.'
Looking at the check in her hand, an inexplicable sadness welled up inside her. Back then, she had gone through the palace's rigorous selection process, overcoming every obstacle just to get a job there. She did it all so she could be in the same place where the Crown Prince grew up.
She still remembered it clearly. Three years ago, during a flag-raising ceremony at her school, the Crown Prince had come for an inspection. He had gently patted her head and told her to study hard. From that moment on, the Crown Prince became her idol, her pillar of support.
But now, it was all down the drain.
Her hard work, her dreams, everything…
"What? You're quitting? Why all of a sudden? Why would you just quit out of the blue?" Jane Warren yelled in disbelief, cornering Ashley Bowen in the back of the restroom.
Ashley Bowen patted Jane Warren's chest, helping her to calm down. The truth was, she was reluctant to leave this job, and she was even more reluctant to leave a friend like Jane Warren. But what could she do? She had slept with that man in the Crown Prince's own bridal suite. Now that he had paid her off, she knew that if she didn't take the hint and leave, she'd be asking for big trouble down the line.
"I'm preparing for a certification exam, so I need to go home and study," Ashley Bowen said with an affable smile, pulling another lie out of thin air.
'No one would ever believe that a college freshman like her was actually a pathological liar, would they?'
"But what about your tuition? You've only been working here a short time," Jane Warren asked.