Chapter 5 Teach Her A Lesson

The next night, in a club downtown...

The air was thick with the smell of alcohol and smoke. Loud music was pulsing wildly through multiple speakers, punctuated by the flashing strobe lights that bathed the entire floor. A general theme of seduction and decadence was present in every direction.

Ashton sat by himself in a booth in a corner, sullenly nursing his drink.

He took another swig of his whiskey and relished the burning feeling down his throat. The same scenes kept replaying in his mind-Melanie throwing the divorce papers at his face, Melanie turning her back on him and walking away. And woven in between these thoughts was the knowledge that Olivia had almost died because she couldn't get the right amount of blood she needed.

Ashton's mind and heart were in turmoil.

"Stop drinking." Stacey slid into the seat beside him, her face filled with concern. "This is bad for you."

But Ashton just waved her off without even looking at her.

After a few more rounds, his vision began to blur.

Through the haze, a striking figure in the distance caught his eye.

Ashton squinted, and to his surprise, it was none other than Melanie, the woman who had always kept to herself and waited for him to come home so she could attend to his needs. Why did she look like that?

Melanie was wearing a fiery red dress that clung to her every curve. She even had makeup on, and it served to accentuate her fine features, making her look more alluring than he could ever imagine. Ashton couldn't take his eyes off her.

What was Melanie doing here?

Had she followed him to this bar? Was she going to keep pestering him, after all?

The idea brought an inexplicable sense of anticipation.

Before Ashton could make a move, however, his hopes were instantly shattered. Melanie completely ignored him, and went to another booth.

Ashton clutched his glass as his chest tightened with some unnamed emotion.

Meanwhile, the booth Melanie went to was already filled with people.

"Melanie, you finally made it!" Kristine exclaimed and pulled Melanie over to sit beside her.

The rest of their friends surrounded Melanie as soon as she was settled in.

"Cheers to you, Melanie! You're finally free!"

"Congratulations on getting out of that hell, darling! Let's get another round of drinks over here!"

Her friends all congratulated her and gushed about her newfound freedom.

"By the way, Melanie. I feel like I should let you know that I've been practicing since the last time I lost to you. Let's have another race once you're free."

"I've also been waiting for you! I have so many questions about design, I need loads of your advice!"

Taken aback by their zeal, Melanie smiled sheepishly and said, "Stop teasing me. I haven't touched any of those things in ages. I think I'm a little rusty now."

"You might be a little out of practice," Kristine interjected, "but your business acumen is still as sharp as ever. Why, the Willis family owes much of their business' success to you. Since they don't appreciate you, why don't we start our own firm, you and I?"

Melanie found herself seriously contemplating the idea. It did help that the Dale family was reputable in the world of architecture, which just so happened to be her field of expertise.

"All right, count me in!" Melanie nodded with a grin.

In yet another booth, Stacey sipped her cocktail and glared in the direction of Melanie and her friends.

How dare that bitch ignore them! Who even were those people she was happily talking to?

"Just look at that snake," Stacey muttered under her breath. "Does she think she's something special now? She didn't even greet me or my brother!"

Her own posse overheard her grumblings and wasted no time egging her on.

Stacey's self-control was already slipping from all the alcohol she had consumed, and their jeers only fanned the flames of her anger.

She thought back to the slap Melanie had served her the other day. The memory made her cheek sting again, fueling her desire for revenge.

Stacey whipped out her phone and tapped on one of her contacts.

The call soon connected, and a gruff voice answered on the other end of the line. "Miss Willis! To what do we owe the pleasure of this call?"

"Richard," Stacey said in a sweet tone that was laced with malice. "I need a favor. Gather some thugs and prepare to teach an arrogant bitch a lesson. It would be better if you can get nude photos of her, anything that would compromise her and ruin her reputation for good. Money isn't an issue. Just make sure to cover your tracks."

She gave him the address of the club they were in, as well as Melanie's appearance.

Soon enough, a group of burly men entered the club.

They stood at the entryway and surveyed the floor, looking so out of place in their black shirts and menacing expressions.

Stacey caught one of the men's eyes and nodded slightly toward Melanie's booth.

"Go on," she smirked as she watched them head over there. "Give her a night she will never forget."

Just then, Melanie also got up to use the bathroom.

She was walking down the hallway when she felt a prickling sense that something was not right.

Even through the booming music, she could vaguely hear the sound of footsteps behind her. Someone was doing their best to follow her as quietly as they could.

Melanie walked into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror. While pretending to adjust her earrings, she observed the scene out of the corner of her eye.

Several men had stopped just outside the bathroom. They were obviously after her, and they had successfully boxed her in.

The alarm bells in her head were blaring, but she kept her cool.

Melanie did her business and walked out of the bathroom as if everything was fine. Just as she had expected, the men rushed to surround her.

"Hey, pretty girl," their leader said with a lascivious smile. "How much for a night, eh? Care to have some fun with us?"

Melanie's expression turned cold as ice. "Who sent you?"

The leader looked up and down the hallway. Seeing that no one else was around, he nodded at his men, and they slowly closed in on her.

"You only have yourself to blame. You messed with the wrong people, lady!"

But Melanie was not to be easily intimidated. She swerved to the side and landed a kick on the groin of the nearest thug. He promptly crumpled to the floor and writhed in pain.

Her action was swift and smooth that the rest of the men could only freeze and stare at her.

Melanie smirked at them and issued a challenge. "If you're planning to mess with me, then you'd better have the skills to pull it off."

The men looked at each other nervously.

"Damn you, you bitch!" the leader barked. "There's no way you can take us all on!"

The others quickly regained their arrogance. They let out a string of expletives and charged at Melanie in unison.