In This Life, I'm Loved

I ignored Francis and turned to leave. I did not want to waste time arguing with him and his posse. I should have never agreed to my professor's invitation to come to the forum. Seeing all those people there was nauseating.

Yet, they refused to let me go. Several of Francis' and my law school friends blocked my way.

"Yvette, we're all old classmates. You're being pretentious if you say you don't know Francis."

"That's right, Francis and Heidi are trying to help you. You're being ungrateful."

"Exactly! They offered you money and a job, and you refused just for the sake of pride."

"You came to this forum to get a job, didn't you? Stop pretending already."

Heidi pretended to be kind and considerate. "Don't say that. Maybe she really likes her current job."

She turned to me and said, "But it's not good for you in the long run if you keep working in the countryside, after all. We mean well. If you let your pride get in the way of you making more money for a better life, that's a big loss on your part."

Francis added unhappily, "Heidi was kind enough to recommend you a job, but you refused it. You really don't know what's good for you."

I felt a headache coming on. Their act of forcing money and a job onto me was just to serve their vanity and prove how successful they were. But if we were to talk about success, I was confident that everyone combined was not as successful as I was.

"I said I don't need it. Do you not understand human language?" I retorted angrily. If I didn't rebuke them harshly, they would keep thinking I was a pushover.

"You're so stupid. We're trying to help you, but you're hopeless! You might as well stay poor forever," Francis said, feeling enraged that I had the audacity to be upset at them.

"Yvette, we're being kind here. But it seems like you don't appreciate it," Heidi said in an aggrieved tone, but her eyes were full of mockery and disdain.

Several classmates, who were holding wine glasses, surrounded me and blocked my way.

"Yvette, you don't want the job, and you don't want the money. But you're so pitiful. How about you drink a glass of wine, and I'll transfer you 10 thousand dollars, okay?"

Someone even mocked, "Call me 'ma'am,' and I'll give you a thousand dollars."

My expression turned grave. It seemed they were not going to let me go easily. They thought that it was very amusing to mess with me and humiliate me.

Sometimes, when people gained a certain amount of power and status, their mentality changed. They believed that they were superior to everyone and treated others like they were dirt. Toying with others became their way of proving their power.

A woman stepped forward, holding a glass of wine up to my face. From her stance, I could tell that she intended to shove the liquid down my throat if I refused to drink it myself.

I was about to call security when Francis suddenly yanked the woman with the wine glass away. His expression was frosty as he warned, "This is a forum, not a cocktail party. Don't cause trouble here."

The woman cried out in pain, "Francis, let go!"

Heidi quickly grabbed Francis' hand and looked at him with innocent eyes and a pitiful expression. She pleaded, "She's my friend. Don't be mad at her."

It was only then that Francis released that woman. Nevertheless, he glared at her and sternly warned, "Don't act crazy here."

The woman stepped back but continued glaring at me like she wasn't done with me.

I was somewhat surprised that Francis helped me. It appears that he hadn't been completely rotten after all.

"I heard the richest man in Alvren is upstairs with his child at the theme park. If we're lucky, we might see him, maybe we will even get a chance to work with him," someone said, diverting everyone's attention.

When the crowd heard about the richest man in the city being at the same location as they were, they all became visibly excited.

"Besides, the richest man in Alvren is handsome and rich. He's only 29 this year and already has a four-year-old daughter. His wife is also a famous lawyer who's very capable. She has won every case she has taken on."

"That's right! If we could meet such a big shot, gain his favor, and get to know his wife, it would greatly boost our careers."

"I'm going to record a video later to get some traffic for my social media page."

Amid their chatter, a commotion came from outside the crowd.

Everyone turned to look as bodyguards escorted a four-year-old girl. They had her surrounded in the middle, forming an impenetrable circle around her. It was a very impressive sight to behold.

Many became excited at the sight of this.

Someone exclaimed, "That's such a big entourage. She must be the daughter of the richest man."

"Sure looks like it," another agreed.

Everyone immediately swarmed over to her. Even Francis, who had been so arrogant earlier, now walked over with an obsequious smile. He even pushed a few people aside to get to the little girl.

"Hello, little missy. What brings you here? Tell me. I can help you," Francis said in a tone that was very obviously meant to please her.

As he offered his help, he reached out to touch the little girl's head.

However the girl stepped aside, avoiding his touch. She looked at him warily, and the bodyguards immediately pushed him away.

The little girl searched the crowd with her eyes.

"Yvette, you're lucky to get to see the richest man's daughter. But it won't make a difference for an insignificant nobody like you. She likely won't pay you any attention," someone said to me.

"I think you'd better be sensible. You should take the job Heidi recommended for you. Take the money and leave. Don't keep embarrassing yourself," said the woman who had harassed me earlier.

She sneered contemptuously, taking pleasure in mocking me.

I didn't bother responding to her.

The moment my eyes met the little girl's, she smiled with joy and ran straight to me. "Mommy, I missed you so much! You finally came back!"