The CEO Babied the Wrong Woman

The guy in front of me was tall, broad, built right.

'No wonder I used to fall for him.'

Guess my taste back then wasn't terrible. For a second, Henley almost looked reasonable.

Yeah—no.

He dropped her wrist and walked straight to Kiara's side. "What are you doing, hitting someone in public? Handle it in private."

Kiara lit up the second she saw him. "Mr. Chatham, it's this tramp. She pretended to be your ex and tried to extort you!"

A few of her little fan club jumped in.

"Yeah, Mr. Chatham, she has zero respect for you. You should show her who runs Hawthorne Bay!"

"I heard she's in that kind of business. Shameless."

Only then did Henley finally look at me. "You're—"

He froze. "Suri Selwyn?"

His eyes slid past me to the Crownell behind me. He scoffed. "It's only been a few years, and you've already sunk this low? Driving something like that?"

I let out a dry laugh. Figures—people in a small place like this wouldn't recognize what that car meant back in Norleigh.

Kiara's eyes flickered, then she smirked. "Well, well—you really are Mr. Chatham's ex. Makes sense. Without him, you're nothing. Bet even that cheap local car came from selling yourself."

Henley stared at me, like he couldn't process it. "Is that true? Where'd you get the money for that car?"

I almost felt bad for him. A CEO everyone worshipped—and he couldn't even recognize the model sitting right in front of him.

I kept my voice flat. "Not your business. Stay out of it."

Henley grabbed my arm. "Being broke isn't an excuse to lose your self-respect. I know your family didn't have much, but this? Really?"

I wanted to rip my own eyes out. How was I ever this blind?

Kiara piled on, loving every second. "She just wants fast money and a nice life. Too bad all that effort only got her a cheap local ride. Not even close to Mr. Chatham's limited-edition Porsche."

I swallowed it down, voice steady. "I got this car legally."

Kiara's smirk went sharper. "Legitimate? How legit? The kind where you just lie there and get paid?"

The whispers kicked up.

"So it's true... can't judge a book by its cover."

"Then the car might not even be hers. Maybe she stole it?"

"She's broke—how would she afford a car?"

Kiara latched onto it fast. "Don't tell me you stole it. Someone like you—where would you get that kind of money?"

The car wash owner rushed over. "You stole a car? Get out. You're not welcome here!"

"Call the cops. This is disgusting!"

Someone already had their phone out—but Henley stopped them. His eyes locked on me.

"Suri, show proof you bought it, and I'll believe you."

The car wasn't bought.

It was assigned—classified, off the record.

No receipt.