Chapter 2

I touched my frantically beating heart. The excruciating pain of being crushed by that truck in my previous life still lingered in my mind.

Looking at my parents standing before me, completely unharmed, my eyes welled up.

But I quickly calmed down.

The bitter lessons of my previous life taught me that showing kindness to these bloodsucking relatives was asking for death.

I grabbed the desk phone and called my assistant in.

"Contact Mr. Lee immediately, the one who wanted to book our May Day slot."

"Tell him the panoramic banquet hall on the top floor is available for his business association event."

"Increase the price by ten percent from the original quote. The deposit must be paid in full today, or no deal."

My assistant looked somewhat surprised but moved quickly, immediately going to return the call.

In less than half an hour, an urgently printed high-priced contract was placed on my office desk.

I stared at the five million dollar deposit that had just arrived in the account and finally relaxed.

I filled up all the hotel's available slots during the May Day period.

In this life, my cousin could forget about freeloading at our hotel.

At two in the afternoon, someone kicked open my office door.

My aunt Martha swaggered in with my cousin Shannon.

Martha didn't even knock, plopping her butt down on my leather sofa.

She grabbed the imported cherries from the fruit plate and shoved them in her mouth.

"Lily, your cousin is getting married on May Day. Have someone go change the carpet in the top-floor hall right away."

"That color is too dark, not festive enough. Change it to bright red."

Shannon, wearing high heels, walked to my desk and rolled her eyes.

"Lily, that French menu of yours is too plain. It won't impress anyone."

"My in-laws care about appearances. You must add Australian lobster to the menu."

"Oh, and wild mushroom soup - that dish looks high-class. Every table must have one."

"You can cover the price difference yourself. After all, you run such a big hotel, this small amount won't matter to you."

Hearing this entitled tone, I almost laughed from anger.

In my previous life, she used these exact words to get a million-dollar wedding banquet for free.

I leaned back in my chair, watching this mother-daughter duo perform with cold eyes.

Martha spat out a cherry pit and urged impatiently:

"I'm talking to you! Are you deaf? Hurry up and call the kitchen to prepare the ingredients!"

I pulled open my drawer, took out the newly signed contract, and slapped it hard in their faces.

"No need to call."

"All the banquet halls have been booked."

"During May Day, our hotel is fully booked. We can't even spare a spot in the employee cafeteria."

"Find someone else."

Shannon froze for a moment, picked up the contract, glanced at the numbers, and her face instantly turned extremely ugly.

"Lily, what do you mean? You know I'm getting married!"

Martha threw a tantrum on the spot, slapping the desk. Cherries rolled all over the floor.

"You're obsessed with money, aren't you!"

"For a few stinking dollars, you don't even care about your cousin's lifelong event?"

"I'm your aunt! Is this how your family treats relatives?"

Shannon's eyes turned red. She squeezed out a few tears and started playing pitiful.

"Lily, my life is so hard. My in-laws are poor and can't afford a wedding."

"I was counting on hosting a grand wedding at our family hotel to collect more gifts and save face."

"If you don't help me, how can I get my investment back?"

I stared into her eyes and mercilessly exposed her.

"How is your in-laws being broke any of my business?"

"Are you going to split the gifts you receive with us?"

"If you want a luxury wedding, pay for it yourself. Coming here to freeload - do you think I run a charity?"

Shannon's expression changed drastically.

Her previously righteous gaze suddenly became flustered and evasive, and even her crying stopped.

I keenly caught this detail.

In my previous life, I found it strange - why would this family of extreme cheapskates insist on putting up a false front for an extravagant wedding?

It seemed there was something going on here that I didn't know about.