The Socialite Life of Susan Free Preview

Susan Mondragon woke up with aching bones on the king-size hotel bed; when she saw a strange man still asleep next to her, an involuntary chill instantly came over her. Her eyes stared down at the startling hickeys all over her body. Taking a deep breath, she immediately pulled the covers around herself as her mind flashed back to the scenes of the night before.

She had no idea that her husband, to whom she had been married for three years, had been sleeping with her best friend until the latter came to her in an act of provocation. In a burst of outrage, she slapped that little b*tch across the face, but that scumbag of a husband actually slapped her face in return and forced her to apologize to his mistress!

In a fit of anger, she went to a bar to drown her sorrows in liquor. However, the more she thought back on her terrible marriage, the more bitter she felt in her drunken haze. Why should I put up with this? Since you scumbag dare to do this to me, don't blame me for paying you back in your own coin! In her mind, she still vaguely remembered how she had yelled, "Get me the most expensive male escort you've got here!"

"Do I need to take responsibility for what happened last night?" The deep and mellow voice of a man rang icily from behind. Having just awoken, Eric Ford was ready to pay off the woman who had taken advantage of his drunken state last night.

Susan stared incredulously at him with apparent disgust in her eyes. "Are you kidding me? Who would want a male escort to take responsibility for this? Are there no other men on earth? Don't try to use this trick to blackmail me, I'm warning you!"

"A male escort?!"

As soon as his words rang out, Susan's wrist was caught in a grip. The man's breath fanned the top of her head; his voice was frighteningly cold. "What did you call me just now? Say that again!"

The dry warmth on her skin felt so amorous that it almost burned her. For some reason, she chickened out somewhat; a feeling of tension gradually knotted her stomach. Flinging Eric's hand away, she got dressed and rolled out of bed, digging all the cash she had out of her handbag before tossing them onto the pillow. "I'm not interested in wasting time with someone like you. Just get lost with the money and don't let me see you ever again."

At the sight of the two crumpled banknotes, Eric impatiently took a deep breath. Zillions of women had tried to seduce him over the years, but this was his first time coming across a woman like this. He was unsure of what she was up to. What does she take me for? A male escort who's in the business of getting laid?

Susan frowned. Obviously, this guy thinks I'm not paying him enough. Just how much does he expect me to pay him for such quality of service? He doesn't even wear a smile on his face. "Don't feel aggrieved about this, because you're only worth this much. You were too rough and made me quite uncomfortable. Also, your attitude is bad. You didn't know how to please a customer at all."

Irritated thoroughly by the sight of the woman sticking her neck out and yelling in front of him, Eric yanked her onto his lap with some force. Upon seeing her subconsciously try to avoid him in a panic, he taunted under his breath in a chilling and bloodthirsty voice, "How dare you talk to me like that when this is all the nerve you've got? Just how many lives do you have to make me please you?"

Sitting on the man's lap, Susan felt as if sitting on the tip of a knife. As she struggled to break free, she raised her hand, spilling the contents of her handbag all over the floor. This made her even more exasperated, and she stood up and broke free of his hold. Then, she bent down and hastily scooped everything on the floor into her handbag, not noticing that she had inadvertently shoved a jade pendant on a black string into it as well.

She walked over to the door in her high heels with her shoulder bag in hand. Then, as if to let off steam, she banged the door open and left, not bothering to waste time arguing with this male escort anymore.

As the door flung open with a loud bang, Eric watched her disappear from view with grimness written all over his good-looking face.

When he stepped out of the hotel room, eight bodyguards were waiting at the door in well-ironed suits. Having just arrived, they went up and greeted their boss deferentially when they saw him come out.

With the stony and forbidding air of a man of high position, Eric ordered in a grim voice, "That woman who entered my room drunk last night, find out who she is!"

"Roger that!"

Susan had just walked out of the hotel when she saw several cops coming toward her in police uniforms. Thinking she was blocking their way, she deliberately took a few steps back to make way for them.

However, the young cop with sharp eyes thought she was about to run away, so he rushed over and caught hold of her shoulders at once. "Susan Mondragon, someone has turned you in for hiring an escort. Please come with us."

Susan's eyes widened in horror at his words. A voice in her heart said, I'm finished…

In the interrogation room, Susan's palms were sweating out of nervousness. She feared that she would be asked to confess to the steamy details of her crime, which she found embarrassing to describe. She had been detained all night, and the more she thought about this, the more furious she was. Inwardly, she was certain that it must've been that f*cking hustler who turned her to the police because he was unhappy with the payment he received.

Midway through the interrogation, the young cop knocked on the door and came in. "Susan Mondragon, your friend's here to pick you up. Come out and sign the papers."

Susan's heart went cold when she came out of the interrogation room to see Rachel Lynwood standing at the end of the hallway. "Why are you here?"

"How can I miss such an important high point in your life? You're really something, Susan. You went out and spent money on pleasure when your husband didn't touch you. Is that how thirsty and cheap you are? Tsk, tsk." Rachel clicked her tongue without hiding her disgust.

Susan looked all confused. "What are you talking about? I don't understand what you're saying. Don't you dare cast a slur on me! Where's your proof?"

Rachel's smile froze on her face. I wonder how this damned woman can get so lucky! Last night, she saw in the bar with her own eyes how Susan had asked for a male escort. Immediately, she called the police, but who would've known that they would take so long to arrive? Not only did they fail to catch Susan in the act, but the hotel's security footage from the night before was said to have been erased, too. "You know in your heart whether you've done it or not. Seriously, I don't understand why you still won't get divorced even at this point. Are you still hoping that Andrew will come around and love you again? Stop dreaming! He's never been faithful to you both emotionally and physically."

Susan let out a sneer from her throat at Rachel's provocation. "You can't wait for me to get divorced from Andrew, huh? You're never going to replace me as his wife as long as I'm still alive!" She had already lost hope for this dysfunctional marriage, but she wasn't willing to let this pair of cheaters get their own way either.

"I'm pregnant now. I can wait, but the baby in my womb can't." Rachel stroked her small baby bump with a look of motherly love on her pretty face.

All at once, Susan, who had previously been able to put on an air of superiority, looked as if being grabbed by the throat. "When was it?"

"It's almost three months old now, and it's a boy. Actually, I wanted to tell you long ago, but don't they say it's better to wait out the first trimester before sharing the news of a pregnancy?" Rachel's lips curved smugly at the mention of her baby. "But things are different now. I'm going to be a mother, and Andrew told me that he really wants this baby. As long as you take the initiative to ask for a divorce, he'll surely agree to it. After all, I don't want my baby to grow up with a single parent since this would be unfair to him. Resent me or hate me all you want, but the baby is innocent," she said, softening her voice on purpose as tears fell from her reddened eyes.

Looking at the beautifully weeping woman, Susan concealed the surging emotions in her eyes. "You two really have no sense of shame. You think you're innocent? Why didn't you feel innocent when you got pregnant with a little b*stard in bed?!" She didn't want to face Rachel's revolting face anymore. She wondered why things had turned out this way. Ever since the beginning of her marriage, she had never thought she would get divorced one day. How laughable that the vows of eternal love exchanged during her wedding were now broken at the hands of a woman!

Unable to repress her despair any longer, she couldn't help but crouch down on the roadside in tears as soon as she stepped out of the police station.

A black Bentley pulled over to the curb nearby. Timothy Holton, Eric's special assistant, rolled down the car window and was startled to see the woman sobbing on the roadside. "Mr. Ford, the lady crying over there seems to be the person you're looking for."

The dignified man resting in the back seat opened his eyes and looked over at the woman crouching on the roadside. His black eyes narrowed at the sight of her tearful appearance; she looked aggrieved, totally different from how she had yelled at him and ordered him around last night.

"Mr. Ford, should I get that lady into the car?"

Eric slowly straightened the cuffs of his shirt. Several scabbed fingernail scratches were visible on his arm; it was clear at a glance that these were made by a woman. He ordered indifferently, "Go to the office first. She's not in the right state to talk to anyone yet. Just wait a little longer."

"Enough! Stop knocking already! Would it kill you to take the keys out with you? And yet you have to wait for someone to open the door for you, you high and mighty slacker! Am I your servant or something?!"

Susan changed into her slippers and entered the house while ignoring Jocelyn Dixon, her mother-in-law's, sarcastic remarks. "Where's Andrew?"

"He's busy working at his office, of course! He's unlike you, who lives the idle life of a spoiled princess and waits to be fed by my son without making a single dime on your own!"

Susan turned a deaf ear to Jocelyn's taunts. She was already used to the latter picking on her for not making any money, even if the Baileys didn't need her money at all.

Throughout the three years of her marriage, Jocelyn had ordered her around like a free maid every single day. When did she ever have the opportunity to go out hunting for a job? She had to get up before dawn to make breakfast for the whole family and prepare three meals for them every day without fail. Moreover, Jocelyn was fussy and very particular about what to eat and wear, so every meal had to contain at least six dishes. These dishes mustn't be too salty or too bland, nor must they be all vegetables or too heavy on the meat; they had to be nutritionally and proportionately balanced, and they had to be different from one day to another. Jocelyn was even harder to please than a queen mother.

She had put up with all of this to preserve her hard-won marriage, thinking that she was devoting herself to her family. It wasn't until Andrew cheated on her that it finally dawned upon her that the sacrifices she had made for this family were nothing but a joke. I treat them like my family, but they treat me like a free housekeeper!

In the evening, hearing a knock at the door, Jocelyn immediately put down the remote control and yelled toward the bedroom, "What are you doing, shutting yourself in the room? Come out and make dinner now! Oh, what a wretched life my son's living! He's had a long day working out there, yet he doesn't get to have something warm to eat when he comes home. I really wonder how you can qualify as his wife!" The next instant, her face broke into a smile as she opened the door for her son. "Why are you back so early today? You should've called in advance. I just bought some catfish that she's going to grill for dinner. Aw, look at you! You've lost so much weight working these days. I wonder how someone's been taking care of you."

Susan heard every word she said, but she didn't come out of the bedroom. Instead, she continued with her packing to get ready to move out today.

A sullen-faced Andrew returned to the bedroom from the living room. Before the bedroom door even closed, he yanked Susan, who was sitting on the bed folding up her clothes, up and flung her to the wall so hard that she let out a groan of pain when her thin back hit the ice-cold wall. "You're really something, Susan. How dare you fool around out there?! Don't forget who you are!"

"Who I am, eh?" Susan sneered. "If you can't stand it, why don't you hurry and divorce me? Your Rachel can't wait to take my place!" She felt a surge of vengeful pleasure at Andrew's furious questioning. I got bullied by this family because I was too compliant. I sleep-walked through everything and lived with my eyes shut. I've never been more conscious than right now! Taking a deep breath, she took the divorce papers she had prepared beforehand out of her handbag. She had signed the papers and was waiting for Andrew to sign them.

Andrew felt his temples tighten as he took the divorce papers. "You're really something now, huh? You're the one who begged to marry me in the first place, so now you deserve to bear the consequences!" he replied. "You may go wherever you want once Grandpa's dead! I'm warning you, Susan, if you dare to upset my applecart at this juncture, I'll never let you off for this!"

His grandfather Jacob had led a decent life sticking with his wife Vivian through thick and thin, so he hated it most when someone failed to be a good husband. If the Baileys found out that he got divorced for having an affair, they would surely take advantage of this to attack him, thus undermining his position as company president. After all, the Bailey Family had no shortage of heirs!

"What if I insist on getting divorced?" Not wanting to compromise anymore, Susan just wanted to end their relationship as soon as possible.

Slap! Angered by her intransigence, Andrew strode to the bedside and gave her a condescending slap across the face. "How dare you!"

Susan pointed her finger at him while trembling all over with rage. "You're an animal, Andrew Bailey! I can't live like this anymore! I want a divorce!"

Andrew never expected this stupid woman, who had always been obedient to him, to have the nerve to start defying him now. I wonder who gave her the nerve to do this. His smile deepened at the sight of her helplessly wretched appearance. "You want to free yourself from this? That's unless you're dead, Susan. Bear in mind that no one can save you!"

Hearing the argument in the bedroom, Jocelyn pushed the door open and came in without knocking. The moment she saw the conspicuous slap mark on Susan's face, her eyes gleamed with a smug smile.

The smug, b*tchy smiles on the mother and son's faces dug straight into Susan's chest like a long thorn. Putting her hand over her swollen right cheek, she felt a warm liquid gushing from her nose. Her cheek was burning, and the pain stung her. This scumbag just slapped me real hard as if to kill me, she thought. Mustering her courage, she stood up and lunged at Andrew, grabbing the collar of his shirt in one hand while gnashing her teeth in anger. "What kind of a man would bully a woman? Andrew Bailey, just wait until I sue you in court if you won't get divorced! This isn't the first time you've raised your hand to me. You're not a man!"

Andrew wrenched her hand away in disgust.

Adding fuel to the fire, Jocelyn mocked in a triumphant manner, "Did I hear that right? You want to divorce my son? Susan, why don't you take a good look at yourself in the mirror? Who do you think you are… You need to be taught a lesson."

Susan glared daggers at her in desperation. "Who do you think you are, then? You act without dignity despite your old age! You're full of evil thoughts, and you know nothing despite having lived for so many years!"

Provoked by her attitude, Jocelyn instantly aired her grievances to Andrew. "Andrew, look at how she behaves toward me! Do I deserve to end up being yelled at by someone younger than me in my old age?" Her eyes reddened, and she wept so hard as if she were going to lose her breath.

Having seen through everything, Susan felt her stomach turn. Jocelyn was always like this; she was a superb actor, acting like a dragon in front of her and a worm in front of Andrew. As long as she was around him, she would either have a headache or a fever, or she would be ill and waiting for him to care about her. At home, she was ill for only one reason—that Susan had pissed her off. Whenever she felt unwell, her dutiful son would call Susan to account.

Jocelyn's cries further aggravated Andrew's anger, and he raised his hand high. "What the f*ck are you talking about? Apologize to my mom now!"

"Why should I apologize? Are you gonna hit me again if I don't? Do that again and I'll call the police!"

Susan's timid threats were met with ridicule from Andrew, though. "Call the police? Which of us do you think the police will side with, you or me?"

Susan's thin and frail body froze. This feeling of helplessness is so distressing… In her heart, she knew that with the Bailey Family's power and connections in Amwood, even if she called the police, it wouldn't solve her problem at all.

"Think about what you've done wrong today!" Andrew said coldly before helping his 'weak' mother out of the bedroom.

Susan stared hopelessly at the mother and son as they left. Trembling all over with rage, she wished she had a knife right now so that she could kill this animal along with herself!

Jocelyn's hand had been clutching her chest the whole time. In the living room, she poured out two aspirin tablets and tremblingly put them into her mouth in front of her son. "Rachel's baby bump will start showing very soon, Andrew. What are you going to do about it? Judging by the way that woman looks, she might've learned about this. This mustn't get through to your grandpa!"

Andrew comforted her, "Don't worry, Mom. I know what I'm doing. Just count the days until you have a grandson."

"It's maddening just to think about it. That woman's just a madwoman with no manners whatsoever! I've been so kind to her all these years for nothing. Ah, I feel another headache coming on… Son, it's all because of you that I've put up with that woman's bullying. I can swallow all kinds of abuse for your sake, you know," Jocelyn said, her lips twitching as tears ran down her cheeks.

Andrew couldn't stand the sight of his mother looking so aggrieved. He uttered angrily through clenched teeth, "If she dares to disrespect you ever again, I'll teach her a lesson—"

That night, Susan wandered the streets in the piercing wind like a lost soul. Having left home in a hurry without even having a coat on, she stood on the roadside in a thin chiffon blouse while trembling all over with cold. Her heart was being torn apart with frustration and despair. Right now, life to her was like a pot of mush with a bunch of rotten seafood thrown in.

Sitting in his car, Eric looked at the thin and lonely figure nearby before having his chauffeur pull over to the side of the road.

Squatting on the roadside, Susan realized something urgent: she actually had nowhere to go after leaving the place she had called home.

A deep and mellow male voice rang above her head. "Why cry like this? Are your tears so worthless?"

Susan looked up confusedly with teary eyes, only to see that it was actually the male escort she had slept with the other day. She had been unable to vent her emotions in the first place, so she flew into a rage at this very moment. "It's you again? You still wanna turn me in to the police? Get out of my face, you f*cking hustler!"

Eric stood on the step behind her with one hand in his pocket while looking down at her. "Turn you in to the police? Why? Because you took off my pants?"

Susan wiped her tears away with her hand. "Still acting dumb, huh? I got taken away by the cops as soon as I left the hotel that day. Who else could've done that if not you? You were just unhappy with the money, weren't you?" she replied. Then, she didn't forget to add, "Also, you're the one who took off your own pants that night. I had nothing to do with it."

Eric's eyes lowered slightly. He was impressed by this woman's reasoning; if he wanted to take revenge on someone, he would do way more than just turn the person in to the police.

Feeling extremely depressed, Susan didn't want to tangle with this male escort anymore. She stood up in an attempt to leave, but she had cried too hard and squatted for too long that her legs were numb when she stood up. Before she could stand up straight, she almost lost her footing. Instinctively, she had no choice but to cling to the man next to her to prevent herself from falling over.

Steadying her in his arms, Eric joked with a chuckle, "Throwing yourself into my arms again, huh? This isn't a hotel room, though. It's hard for me to go along with you."

Susan hurriedly pushed him away in disgust while recovering from her heartache. "What the hell do you want?! I don't believe it's a coincidence that I bumped into you here. Are you following me, you hustler? I'm gonna complain to your manager that you've been harassing one of your customers!"

Seeing the woman put on a bold front with a wary look on her face, Eric let out a chuckle and replied softly, "You're right that it's not a coincidence. I have a jade pendant that went missing that night. Maybe you took it away?"

Susan knitted her brows as if hearing a joke. Are male escorts nowadays so lacking in morals? "I didn't take anything from you. Is everyone in your profession so unscrupulous as to try different ways to ask for money? How despicable and shameless."

Eric had been patient just now, but his face involuntarily grew frosty at her remark. "Everyone in my profession? Just what profession am I in?"

Susan shivered—either from the cold or because she was frightened by the look in the eyes of the man before her. "Seriously, do you want me to make it that clear? You think it's honorable to be a male escort? I don't have any of your stuff. If you've lost it, just call the police. Isn't that what you're best at?" she said before raising her hand to stop a passing cab that wasn't occupied.

However, as soon as she set foot in the cab, the man placed his hand on the car door, preventing her from closing it. Then, his tall figure bent down and got into the vehicle, bringing with him the chill of the night.

Turning pale at once, Susan moved her butt to the side as she sensed the man leaning in closer and closer to her. "What the hell do you want? I'm not in a good mood right now, so don't mess with me!"

Eric's deep eyes darkened as he gently grabbed her chin. "What do you think I want?" He remembered having asked the same question that night, to which her answer seemed to be, "You."