Yancey's head jerked to the side, and his expression froze in disbelief. His grip on her throat loosened instantly.

He touched his cheek, stunned for several seconds.

The Grace he knew would never hit him. In fact, she would rather hurt herself than see him get hurt, let alone humiliate him in front of everyone earlier.

A vague sense of unease crept into him.

But then, Grace asked, "Does it hurt?"

Yancey's confidence returned. She was faking it! She was just trying to get his attention!

It made sense—Grace loved him to death. There was no way she could live without him.

He took a deep breath. "Let's see how long you can keep this up."

Grace leaned against the wall, waiting until he finally left before she pressed her hand to her stomach.

When Yancey choked her earlier, she was barely able to hold back the nausea.

After drinking so much, there was no way she didn't feel it. Her 

Grace stood still, unsure of what Ethan's last word meant. It felt like he had something to say.

She had a strong premonition that before she lost her memory—she must have gone out of her way to avoid Ethan.

Considering all the foolish things she had learned about her past behavior from others, she had probably mocked him more than once.

Pressing her fingers against her temple, she let out a sigh.

That night, she was startled awake by the sound of someone violently pounding on a door. She wasn't sure if it was her door or someone else's. So, she sat up and listened closely.

After a while, the noise faded.

The next morning, Grace gathered all the necessary materials for an interview. She put together a resume and submitted it to Henderson Group.

Within half an hour, she received a rejection without even giving her a chance for an interview.

Unfazed, she sent out applications to di

For a moment, the room fell silent. Then, laughter erupted.

"Damn, Yancey, you really called it."

Yancey hadn't brought Alice tonight. Instead, he had a hostess by his side.

Men had a certain pack mentality—everyone here had invited a hostess. Not having one would have made him look out of place and reduced his credibility.

So, one should never believe a man's claim that he was the only one who restrained himself when all his friends did it. Men would never want to be the odd one out.

When Yancey saw Grace, a flicker of surprise flashed through his eyes before settling into a smug expression.

He frowned deeply as he set down his glass.

"Grace, don't you ever get tired?"

She had already caused a scene here several times in the past, and now she was even dressing up as a staff member. Each time, she just made herself look even more pathetic.

Grace bowed slightly, picked up the most expensive bottle of Romanée-Conti, and flashed a polite smile.

"Who ordered this? Would you like me to open it?"

She had heard their conversation from outside, and her heart ached.

But when she stepped in and saw this group of spoiled, rich young men, she realized they were nothing but walking money bags.

She could make enough tonight to cover that hundred-thousand-dollar debt. That bottle alone was worth a million dollars.

None of these men were strapped for cash, and right now, they were very interested in watching her make a fool of herself.

Hendricks nudged Sloan Sidler with his elbow, his gaze flicking to Grace's figure.

"Damn, those legs are something else, aren't they?"

Both of them were Yancey's friends. They had spent years mocking Grace, and Yancey had never once stopped them.

After all, having a stunning woman so obsessed with him made him look good.

Sloan, however, only felt disgust. No matter how pretty, to him, she was just a pathetic mess. "Grace, we'll open as many bottles as you can drink today."

Beside him, Yancey wanted to stop him. While they had money, those bottles were a million dollars each. And with Grace's alcohol tolerance…

"Sloan, she's quite the drinker…"

Before he could finish his warning, Grace had popped open the bottle and smiled. 

"Deal. You won't go back on your word, right?"

Sloan hated her to no end. He couldn't wait for her to make a fool out of herself in her drunken state.

He leaned back with a smirk and said, "Yes, it's a deal. Go ahead and start drinking. Grace, don't say I didn't warn you. Yancey doesn't like you. Everyone in this room despises you. 

"If you end up in tomorrow's headline after drinking yourself stupid and getting taken home by some random stranger, no one here's going to clean up your mess."

Everyone knew Alice was the family's favorite. Grace was nothing but unwanted trash.

Grace grabbed a tall glass, filling it to the brim, then downed the first bottle.

She then proceeded with the second bottle, then a third.

At first, Sloan was amused. Then, he started shifting in his seat uncomfortably.

Grace didn't look even tipsy, and it looked like she could down a few more bottles.

Three million dollars had gone up in smoke just like that. Even if they were rich, they couldn't go on like that.

The noisy room fell silent. Afraid that Sloan would be left in an awkward spot, someone tugged at Yancey's sleeve, urging him to intervene.

Yancey scowled and shot Grace a warning glare. "That's enough. Stop embarrassing yourself."

Grace finished her fourth bottle and smiled. "And you are?"

The moment she said that, someone immediately sneered, "Come on, drop the act. You came here for Yancey, didn't you? I gotta say, your tactics are getting bolder. At least now everyone will remember you."

Grace opened the fifth bottle, and Sloan's expression darkened completely.

Yancey got up and grabbed her wrist. "That's enough. Do you really want to be the laughingstock?"

Grace twirled the glass between her fingers and focused her gaze on Sloan.

"If you can't afford to pay, maybe someone else can help you out."

Slaon's face reddened with fury. He had never been humiliated like that before.

"Grace, this unreasonable behavior of yours is exactly why Yancey doesn't want you. You're nothing compared to Alice!"

Grace slowly finished the last glass and raised an eyebrow.

"So, you like Alice."

Sloan stiffened, immediately glancing at Yancey.

Yancey's expression soured and shoved Grace. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"If I'm wrong, why don't you look at your good friend's face? You might as well investigate if he and Alice are having an affair."

As she said that, she gathered the five empty bottles and lined them up. 

"Five million dollars. Please pay up." She held out her hand toward Sloan.

Out of guilt, Sloan didn't dare drag things out and quickly handed over his card.

Grace processed the payment and then glanced at Yancey. The way Sloan had paid so quickly suggested that something had indeed happened between him and Alice.

Raising an eyebrow, she said nothing. Some truths were best left unsaid.

She turned and left to change out of her uniform in the employee's break room.

Suddenly, the door behind her flung open. Yancey stormed inside, his fury barely restrained.

He grabbed her by the throat.

"Grace, are you trying to die? You went too far this time!"

How was he and Sloan supposed to face each other now after she said that in front of everyone?

Grace stared at his rage-contorted face and felt a sharp pain shooting through her chest. 

The grip on her throat tightened, and she was almost suffocating. Pain spread from her heart to every limb, and her body grew cold.

She raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face.

Yancey's head jerked to the side, and his expression froze in disbelief. His grip on her throat loosened instantly.

He touched his cheek, stunned for several seconds.

The Grace he knew would never hit him. In fact, she would rather hurt herself than see him get hurt, let alone humiliate him in front of everyone earlier.

A vague sense of unease crept into him.

But then, Grace asked, "Does it hurt?"

Yancey's confidence returned. She was faking it! She was just trying to get his attention!

It made sense—Grace loved him to death. There was no way she could live without him.

He took a deep breath. "Let's see how long you can keep this up."

Grace leaned against the wall, waiting until he finally left before she pressed her hand to her stomach.

When Yancey choked her earlier, she was barely able to hold back the nausea.

After drinking so much, there was no way she didn't feel it. Her stomach was already in knots.

She changed out of the uniform quickly and left Velvet Eclipse. Just 

Chapter 11