Chapter 2The Billionaire Who Felt My Pain

After Lindsay finished, she turned to me and said:

"Lydia Carter, don't think having an assistant backing you up makes you something special. He's just a working dog—I don't even take him seriously!"

When Ethan heard this, his expression turned ice-cold. Even the standard smile he'd been maintaining couldn't stay on his face anymore. After all, no one likes being called a dog.

But Lindsay, spoiled as she was, couldn't read the room at all. She kept mocking me and even started spreading rumors:

"Your mom died young, your grandma's bedridden and paralyzed, you can't even scrape together tuition—if you weren't sleeping with men, how could you possibly get on Ashford Corporation's internship list?"

With every sentence she spoke, the whispers around us grew louder.

My hypersensitive nerves instantly maxed out to their breaking point.

The sounds around me felt like someone had turned on an amplifier.

Some students who barely knew me and didn't understand the situation straight-up believed her lies.

"So her family's that bad off?"

"I heard she doesn't even get meat dishes in the cafeteria. No wonder she's dirt poor."

"Is what Lindsay's saying actually true? Ashford Corporation's internship is so hard to get—how could a poor student with no parents possibly get selected?"

"Tsk tsk, she does look pretty innocent. Turns out she's so loose in private."

My fingers dug hard into my palms until they turned pale. I couldn't even tell what emotion I was feeling anymore.

I wanted to cry because I felt wronged. I was also furious because she was spreading false rumors about me. At the same time, I felt afraid—scared that these rumors would spread.

It was true my family was poor.

Grandma had been paralyzed from a stroke for five years. Her monthly medical expenses were over four thousand dollars. I worked three part-time jobs during my free time and still had to win scholarships to cover tuition.

But I earned that Ashford Corporation internship spot by beating out over three thousand people through five rounds of interviews. I had a clear conscience.

But these words stuck in my throat. I opened my mouth but couldn't make a sound.

All the blood in my body rushed to my head. My heart pounded like it would explode. My ears buzzed.

Ethan, standing beside me, saw my expression change and tears streaming down like they were free. His face instantly shifted.

Only he knew what this meant.

A year ago, during a board meeting, Mr. Ashford suddenly burst into tears for no apparent reason. Later, he experienced inexplicable fainting spells from terror and anxiety. Every time they checked, they couldn't find a cause.

Even the psychologist suspected Mr. Ashford might have split personality disorder.

But Mr. Ashford showed no other symptoms. All his evaluations came back normal. He didn't seem like someone with so many psychological disorders at all.

Then one time, Mr. Ashford came to campus for an inspection visit. I happened to be ostracized by my classmates and was breaking down crying in the classroom.

When I cried, he cried even harder. When I felt desperate and anxious, he nearly wanted to die.

That's when they confirmed we could sense each other's emotions.

Even worse, when my emotions collapsed to the extreme, he could potentially go into cardiac arrest.

Within the entire Ashford Corporation, only Ethan knew about this. That's why Gideon had warned him repeatedly to monitor my every move 24/7. If anyone dared make me suffer even the slightest grievance, he should deal with them ruthlessly.

Ethan's voice was tense. He turned and shouted at the security behind him:

"What are you standing there for? Confiscate the phones of everyone who filmed videos and gossiped just now. Write down the names of everyone who spread rumors—the legal department will send lawyer's letters to each of them later!"

When Lindsay saw Ethan getting worked up, she became even more pleased:

"Oh, don't tell me you're also sleeping with this woman? Is that why you're protecting her so much?"

"Watching a dog protect its bone is just too entertaining."

Then she picked up my cloth bag from the side and threw it on the ground.

That bag contained my grandma's imported medication.

When she threw the cloth bag down, a white medicine bottle rolled out and shattered into pieces.

Light yellow pills scattered all over the floor, covered in dust, completely unusable now.

"Go pick them up quick. You dogs love picking things up, don't you?"

Lindsay laughed maliciously, contempt practically overflowing from her eyes.