Chapter 0003

Kristin kept clenching her fingers frighteningly under the table as Richard’s cold eyes pierced her like he’d rain bullets into her chest.

She kept wondering if he was even human until Luke’s voice woke her up from her bed of thoughts.

"What’s your name?" Luke asked, speaking in a more calmer demeanor than Richard.

"Kristin Santiago," she replied, as she tried her best not to look at Richard, whose gaze refused to leave hers.

"How long have you been in Las Vegas?"

"This is my first time in Vegas. I have lived all my life in Glenwood, and I just came to Las Vegas because I want to make money. Please let me go, I didn’t know Mr. Grouchy was not the one who stole my bag."

"Grouchy?" Richard asked with a furrowed eyebrows, and Kristin dabbed her head against the marble floor to avoid looking into his gray eyes.

"It’s a miracle you’re still alive," Luke muttered.

"I kept her alive because I wanted to confirm something from her. It’s not a coincidence that you mistook me for a thief. Did that scheming woman send you to spy on me?" Richard questioned, glaring hatefully at her.

"What woman are you talking about? I don’t know any scheming woman," Kristin said with a puzzled expression, and Richard slammed a pen on the table vigorously.

Kristin flinched at the scene before her, but Luke didn’t; he was already used to Richard’s nasty temper. Most of the time, when Richard displayed a new angry character, Luke found it terrifying.

Stamping a pen on the table was something Luke had seen Richard do a lot of times.

"You better start talking, or this pen will go straight to your neck. I don’t give a damn if you’re a woman because women are what I hate most in this world. So if you value your life, you better spit out the truth," Richard stated.

His face was so close to Kristin's that she could feel his cold breath fanning her face. Everything about him was cold and dark.

Kristin’s eyes shivered as they met his. His eyes conveyed every word he said.

She knew he was capable of killing her right now, and no one would ask him about it.

Come to think of it, she was a foreigner in Las Vegas, and even if she died today, no one would recognize her or take her back to her parents in Glenwood.

Her dreams of building a mansion and taking her family out of poverty would go unfulfilled if she died right now.

Why on earth did she have to encounter a man like Richard? Kristin asked herself, as Richard’s cold eyes didn’t leave her.

She knew she needed to do something to save herself. She couldn’t just die after all her sacrifices to be in Las Vegas.

There was one thing she knew how to do best, even if it wasn’t sincere: people would still believe her, and it was crying.

"You are testing my patience, Peanut! Did Ophelia send you to spy on me? Answer me!" His voice roared at her, and all of a sudden, Kristin began to cry.

"I don’t know who this Ophelia is. Believe me when I say I am new here in Vegas. I don’t know anyone here, I only came to Vegas because I want to work and provide for my family in Glenwood," Kristin cried.

Though everything she said was true, her tears were fake.

Her talent was making people believe her through her fake tears. She was so good at shedding crocodile tears that anyone would believe her right away.

"I’m not a spy, Mr. Grouchy," Kristin added, bringing forth more tears from her eyes.

How she produced tears from her eyes within seconds without being in pain was still a mystery.

"Do you think I’d fall for those tears of yours?" Richard asked, his eyes not batting at all.

Kristin’s jaw secretly dropped, wondering if he was made of robot not to be moved by her tears, which every human being on earth falls for.

Before she could think of what to do next, Richard’s hand went to her neck in an attempt to strangle her.

Kristin struggled to breathe as Richard glared at her, his manly hand not leaving her neck.

Ophelia had always sent countless spies to him, and this time around, she had sent the gender he hated so much.

But if only he knew Kristin was clueless about the fights he had with Ophelia, he wouldn’t be hurting an innocent woman like her.

"Mr Grouchy" she struggle to breath, but he wasn't willing to let go of her neck.

If not for Luke, who intervened, she’d have been dead.

Kristin kept coughing hard while Richard glared at her.

"I don’t think she was sent by your mom." Luke said.

"She is not my mom!" Richard yelled, angrily swiping down the flower vase on the table, horrifying Kristin the more.

"Kristin," Luke called her name.

Kristin slowly shifted her gaze from the broken vase to Luke, her body trembling as if she just came out from a cold ocean.

"Go to the lobby and wait."

"Lobby? I.... I don’t know where the lobby is," she stuttered.

Her body was still trembling; she had never seen anyone possess the kind of anger Richard had.

She didn’t even know where she was. Richard had bundled her inside his car, and she found herself in this luxurious place that looked like heaven on earth.

Luke made a call, and a man came to take Kristin to the lobby as instructed by Luke.

"I am sorry if I called Ophelia your mom, but I don’t think Kristin is working for her."

"How sure are you? All she did was shed fake tears! You already know Ophelia has always wanted to label me bad in front of my dad! And this time, she had to use a female!" Richard spat.

"I know Ophelia has always been on your neck, but she is still afraid of you! Leave that aside, Kristin is not a spy. She is too innocent to be working for Ophelia, and I think you need her," Luke said.

"How? Why would I need her?" he asked.