Chapter 1
I booked the last discount flight home for my anniversary, desperate to make it on time.
But just before boarding the plane, my husband’s assistant, Wendy Rowland, pleaded with me to give her the ticket. Well, different from the usual assistant, she didn’t only assist my husband in his office but also in his bed.
Wendy stood in front of me with her eyes glistening with manufactured tears.
“Mrs. Preston, I’m not as wealthy as you, but please, I beg you, I really need this last discounted ticket for something urgent.”
I was stunned by her audacity and refused outright.
“I paid for this seat,” I said, incredulous. “Why should I give it up?”
When I got home, my husband, Aaron Preston, found out about the incident and silently said:
back?”
“Do you know she walked all the way back?”
“She needed to see her sick mother one last time…” I replied, somewhat confused.
“But why would she walk? Isn’t transportation so convenient these days? If she was in such a hurry, why not just take the train?”
Aaron softly agreed with me, “True.”
He gently handed me a glass of milk, and after I drank it, I fell into a deep sleep.
However, when I woke up, I found myself in the middle of a vast desert. Not far away, Aaron stood in the open cabin, Wendy tucked
under his arm, smirking down at me.
“You s
i said transportation is so convenient now, but I don’t see any planes. How are you going to get out of here?”
Under the scorching sun, my situation was being streamed live for everyone to watch. The hashtag #MrsPrestonWalks The Desert was
trending
People were joking and betting on how long I would last.
But facing the camera, I remained calm and said coldly, “Are you enough? If you’ve had your fun, come pick me up.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, the large screen on the helicopter displayed scrolling comments:
[Jennifer Carter
er still thinks she’s a lady of Upper East Side. Doesn’t she know the Carter family went bankrupt and her parents fled overseas? Who is going to pick her up?]
[Right? She’s clearly living off her husband now, but still making life hard for ordinary people. Taking someone’s discounted ticket? Let
her rot in the desert!]
[I bet she’ll never make it out of the desert. She’ll be begging for mercy in under half an hour. Aaron Preston is truly a once–in–a–lifetime boss. He’s doing this for us to have fun!]
[Come on, place your bets. I also think she’ll apologize!]
The temperature in the desert was well over 104,“F, and I was on the verge of dehydration from the sun. My disheveled appearance was
broadcast on the large screen.
Aaron was holding Wendy, sipping from a glass of chilled champagne, his gaze filled with disdain.
“You’d better know what’s happening right now. Your choices are simple,” he said. “Walk out… or get on your knees and apologize to Wendy. There’s no third option.”
Wendy, playing the Innocent victim while clinging to him, said sweetly, “Aaron, I’m fine. I’ve had my hard times. But Jennifer was growing up in the Upper East Side like a princess. Don’t be too hard on her. She’s never had to struggle like we have.”
“It’s my fault, really,” she continued, feigning regret. “I just… I couldn’t afford first–class, and by the time I checked, even the budget
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seats were gone. I had to walk back…”
But I clearly remembered that when I bought the ticket, there were still several discounted ones left. She had waited until they were all sold out before asking me for mine.
Aaron’s cold voice rang out again.
“Aaron’s grip on her tightened. “You made her walk. Now you’ll know what it feels like.”
“Jennifer, I’ve warned you many times. Wendy doesn’t have your pedigree, but she’s under my protection. Cross her again, and this desert will be the least of your problems,”
My chest ached.
I gazed at the man I once loved, a bitter taste rising In my mouth.
After my family’s downfall, Aaron had brought Wendy Into Monocle Media Group–over every objection. She was incompetent, chronically late and when I’d dared to discipline her?
When Aaron found out, he didn’t say anything, but that night he punished me by all the means he could thought of. After the burns and whiplash, I could barely walk
The next morning, when I arrived at the office, sore and exhausted, he mocked me coldly.
“You’re late,” he’d sneered when I’d limped into the office. “Guess you’ll be working till 3 AM. Consider it… leadership training.”
After that, Every time I’d so much as raised my voice at Wendy, he’d punished me.
Even when Wendy fell and hurt herself, Aaron would assume I was to blame, pushing me down the stairs without a word.
My thoughts stopped abruptly.
Now, blinking against the sun, I felt the sting of tears.
I noticed Aaron staring at me in the helicopter. He froze for a moment, his face softening with some surprise.
“See? Only this and she’d cry. I walked thousands of miles once, barefoot, and never cried even once.
Wendy, ever the opportunist, played her part, acting pitiful.
Of course, as soon as Aaron heard her words, his expression hardened immediately.
“Wendy has suffered enough because of you. Take her shoes off!”
Chapter 1
