Chapter 5

After the heatstroke, my hands and feet were weak, so I didn’t catch them at all.

The car keys drew an arc through the air and fell into the deep grass beside us.

“I have heatstroke. I can’t drive.” I looked at him, my voice calm.

Zach scoffed, his face full of disbelief.

“Keep acting. You sounded pretty strong when you were asking for money just now.”

“Maya, let’s go. Ignore this crazy woman.”

He reached out and stopped an unlicensed black car parked by the road, then carefully helped Maya into the back seat.

Maya leaned her head out of the car window and winked at me.

“Lily, if you really can’t drive, I can lend you my bus card.” The black car sped away, spraying exhaust all over me.

The sky had completely turned dark.

The World Cup venue was in the suburbs, and the official shuttle buses had gradually stopped running.

There were fewer and fewer people around, leaving only trash all over the ground and a few drunk soccer fans shouting loudly by the roadside.

I crouched in the grass, turned on my phone flashlight, and searched for a long time before I finally found the car keys.

But right now, my head was spinning, my limbs were weak, and I did not dare grip the steering wheel at all.

I leaned against an abandoned metal cart, trying to calm my rapid breathing.

Just then, those drunk men staggered toward me.

Two shirtless men reeking of alcohol looked me up and down without restraint.

“Chic, all alone?”

“No ride home? I’ll give you one.”

My heart tightened, and I immediately took two steps back.

“No, thanks. My friend is coming soon,” I said, forcing myself to stay calm.

The man with tattooed sleeves reached out and grabbed my arm.

“Why are you pretending to be innocent, bitch? Anyone wandering around this late is out looking for fun.”

“Come on. Have a couple drinks with us.”

I yanked my arm free and turned to run toward a place with streetlights.

As I ran, I called Zach with trembling hands.

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off.”

The merciless automated female voice completely shattered my last illusion.

I hid in the gap between two buses, trembling all over.

The footsteps of those men got closer and closer.

“Where did she run off to? That bitch is pretty fast.”

I was at the peak of despair and clamped a hand over my mouth, not daring to make a single sound.

At the critical moment, a black Alphard van slowly drove over.

The glaring headlights cut through the darkness and shone directly on the faces of those thugs.

The car stopped steadily beside the bus.

The door slid open with a loud whoosh.

A tall man wearing a baseball cap and a black mask stepped out of the car.

Without saying a word, he grabbed the tattooed man by the collar and flung him away like he was tossing a chick.

“Get lost.”

The thugs were about to lash out, but when they saw several burly bodyguards in black getting out of the back of the van, they sobered up halfway from fear and scrambled away.

The man turned around and took off his mask.

Under the car lights, I saw the face that had just been cheered by tens of thousands in the soccer stadium.

It was my biological brother, Liam.

“Lily, how did you end up like this?” When Liam saw my pale face and scraped knee, raging fury ignited in his eyes.

I threw myself into my brother’s arms, and the tears I had held back all day finally burst free as I told him everything that had happened today.

After we got in the car, a bodyguard handed me a warm towel and warm water.

Liam’s phone suddenly vibrated.

He opened it, glanced at it, and let out a cold laugh.

“This idiot actually dares to DM me.” Liam directly tossed the phone into my lap.

On the screen was a private message Zach had sent to Liam’s official social media account.

“Liam, I’ve been your fan for ten years!”

“Congratulations to your team on winning the championship!”

“Today I brought the girl I love most to watch your match from the VIP front row. She even twisted her ankle for you.”

“I hope we can get your blessing!”

Liam’s gaze turned sharp, and his fists clenched until his knuckles cracked.

“He left you alone in a dark, deserted place just to bring another woman to watch my game?”

I dried my tears, looked at that private message, and felt the grief in my heart gradually replaced by anger.

“Liam, your team’s celebration party next week is at the Hyatt Club, right?” I lifted my head, my eyes becoming extremely firm.

Liam leaned back in his seat and looked at me.

“Yes. What do you want to do?”

“I want to make him understand that using me to show off comes with a price.”