Chapter 215: I said you’re cheap

April had zero tolerance for Mei in this life, and she certainly wasn’t going to stand here and watch this brainless fool and her flashy sidepiece try to stomp on her most valuable, indispensable high-tier asset.

​April stepped forward cleanly, wrapping her arm through Samuel’s and pulling herself right against his side.

Samuel looked at her, stunned. "What are you doing, Miss April?" He whispered but she did not respond.

​Mei blinked, her mouth popping open in shock. "Excuse me? Who the hell are you?"

​"Oh, can’t you see?" April drawled, her dark eyes flashing with a terrifying, mocking light as she leaned comfortably into Samuel’s arm. "He’s found a much, much better woman than you."

​Sebastian’s smug smile faltered slightly as he took in April’s striking appearance, but Mei bristled instantly. "A better woman? Please! Are you blind? Do you have any idea how neglectful this man is?!"

​"Neglectful?" April scoffed softly, tilting her head with icy disdain. "I don’t know what ’neglect’ you’re blabbering about. The Samuel who takes care of me, who anticipates every single thing I need before I even ask, is a man you couldn’t reach even if you stood on tiptoes."

​Samuel froze, his eyes widening in complete shock as he felt April’s arm linked tightly around his, her voice delivering absolute, unwavering support.

​"He is brilliant, irreplaceable, and far above your league," April added, her cold gaze sweeping over both Mei and Sebastian like they were garbage on the pavement. "I actually understand his worth—and I keep him close for it. So if you’re quite done making cheap noise and disturbing my Samuel, get lost."

​A heavy, suffocating silence slammed over the parking lot.

​Behind April, Nat, Xavier, and Alexander all froze dead in their tracks. Meanwhile, Oliver was taking swift notes: Subject is very territorial.

​Their eyes whipped straight to Samuel, staring with absolute, deadly intensity at the exact spot where April’s arm was wrapped snugly around the chief assistant’s.

​Alexander’s jaw dropped slightly, his blue eyes narrowing in utter disbelief. Xavier’s brow twitched, his stone-cold mask threatening to fracture, while Nat’s dangerous smirk completely vanished as he stared at Samuel as if trying to burn a hole through his forehead.

​Was this a competition they didn’t even know existed?!

​Unaware of the silent, murderous glares raining down on his back from three of the most dangerous men in the city, Samuel stood paralyzed, his mind completely blank as April casually tightened her grip on his arm, waiting for Mei to get out of her sight.

"You’re bluffing," Mei sneered, her voice shrill as her eyes darted back and forth between April, Samuel, and then to Emily standing right beside them.

​Her jaw dropped slightly at the sight of the two identical faces, but her disgust quickly surged back to the surface. "Is this a joke, Samuel?! I know you make decent money, but I didn’t think you’d stoop so low as to hire twin actresses just to put on a pathetic act in front of me!"

​Sebastian let out a scoff, adjusting his designer watch with a condescending chuckle.

"It’s obvious, Mei. The man gets replaced by someone in a completely different tier, so he hires some eye candy to save face. It’s sad, really." He looked down at April with an arrogant, predatory smirk. "How much is he paying you, sweetheart? Whatever it is, I can double it if you drop the act and move along."

​The air around them plummeted into an icy, suffocating silence.

​Before Samuel could react, April’s expression turned utterly lethal. She didn’t break her hold on Samuel’s arm; instead, she leaned in slightly, resting her head comfortably against his shoulder while looking at Sebastian as if he were a bug under her heel.

​"Double it?" April scoffed softly, her voice smooth and dripping with pure, aristocratic disdain. "With what? That tacky, fake-diamond ring on her finger? Or the rented luxury cars you use to pretend you’re a big shot?"

​Sebastian’s smug smirk instantly shattered. "What did you say?!"

​"I said you’re cheap," April stated cleanly, her dark eyes locking onto Mei with a look of supreme pity. "And you... you’re a blind fool. You threw away a man who is capable of building a fortress for your future, just to link arms with a flashy fraud who takes you on budget trips to prove his worth."

​"You don’t know anything about us!" Mei shrieked, her face flushing a deep, humiliated red. "Samuel is a workaholic servant! He cared more about Xavier Reed than me! What do you know?!"

​"I know Samuel is a key asset to an empire, while you’re nothing more than a temporary distraction," April fired back coldly. "The Samuel taking care of my affairs is brilliant, indispensable, and respected by men who could buy your entire life twenty times over. He doesn’t need to pay for my company. I stay by his side because I actually recognize true value."

​Samuel stood taller, his chest expanding as a profound, unshakeable wave of dignity settled into his bones. His posture shifted back into the formidable, impenetrable chief assistant of Reed Industries.

He didn’t say a single word to Mei or Sebastian. He simply looked down at them with total, unbothered indifference—as if they were nothing more than specks of dust blocking his path.

​Sebastian sneered, taking a stepped-up, cocky stance as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Heh. If he’s so great, then why can’t he speak for himself? He has a woman speaking for him because he’s a pathetic cunt."

​April froze.

​The air around her instantly turned bone-chillingly cold. Slowly, she unlinked her arm from Samuel’s.

​Samuel flinched, opening his mouth to speak. "Miss April, you don’t need to—"

​Before he could finish, April was already walking straight toward Sebastian.

​A triumphant, arrogant smirk spread across Sebastian’s face as he watched her approach.

He genuinely thought she had taken his offer, thinking her mercenary attitude meant she was switching sides. "That’s right. Just come to me and I’ll pay you double. A loser like him isn’t worth your effort at a—"

​SLAP!

​A violent crack echoed across the quiet parking lot.