The Museum's Treasure was Smashed!

As planned, I took Laird to my family's swimming pool for the much-anticipated get-together.

Five hours earlier, he'd been obsessively picking out swim trunks, asking me which one looked the best.

If this were my past life, I might have thought he was trying to impress me, but now it was clear he was dressing for Jennifer.

When he wasn't looking, I rolled my eyes. "Jennifer likes red, right? You should wear the red ones today since it's her party."

"Really? She likes red? I think I saw her wear a red dress once," he said, suddenly excited, "I'll just hang up and buy a red one. Babe, can you give me more money so I can buy a red one. I can't let you down, right? I need to look good!"

I thought, So, he's been paying attention to what she wears, huh? Great. Now I'll just be his wallet.

"Um… I'm out of cash this month. How about you buy it first, and I'll pay you back next month?"

"Sure! But don't you forget, okay?"

I thought, What a cheap guy! He can't even buy his own swim trunks without relying on a woman for funding. All he does is scam me for cash!

On the day of the party, everyone except for me showed up in swimsuits.

Jennifer shot Lillian a glance, and Lillian instantly knew what to do.

"Wow! Your sugar daddy is so loaded, yet he can't be bothered to buy you a bikini? I could have gotten you one if I'd known!" Lillian snickered, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

I raised an eyebrow, thinking, What's with this "sugar daddy" nonsense? I didn't even attend her last pool party, so I had no clue about all this.

Everyone's gazes turned oddly toward me, but I could hardly focus on them when I was eager to see what would unfold.

When they finally laid eyes on Laird's red swim trunks, they burst into laughter. Those trunks had a massive logo right on the back, perfectly emphasizing his rear end.

His behavior reminded me of a saying. "Among a bunch of monkeys, I've got the reddest butt."

To my disbelief, Jennifer even praised the red color, saying it suited him well. Laird was over the moon, strutting around like he owned the place.

But the heat outside was unbearable, and the pool was bone dry.

"Hey Jennifer, what's up with your pool? There's no water, and it doesn't look like the AC is running..." one of the guests remarked.

Lillian shot me a knowing glance and quipped, "Maybe it's because an unlucky person showed up, causing both the pool and AC to quit working."

The complaints started rolling in, and Laird jumped ship to join Jennifer's side. "If I'd known you were coming, I would've come alone," he grumbled, clearly regretting bringing me along.

Jennifer, feeling the pressure, quickly called the maid over. "Why is the pool empty? The AC isn't even on! Did you not realize I was hosting guests today?"

Her mother stepped in, bowing slightly to Jennifer. "The master said that the African refugees are struggling, so we're saving on water and electricity to donate to them."

Everyone paused for a moment, processing this. Lillian quickly jumped in to flatter her, "No wonder Jennifer is so beautiful and kind-hearted; with such upbringing, it makes sense!"

The others chimed in, "Yeah, it's clear that's why Jennifer's family is so wealthy. Being kind is the key to making money!"

Then they glanced at me, their looks loaded with insinuation. "Unlike some people who are always looking for shortcuts!"

I thought, What are they even talking about? I didn't take any shortcuts!

I shot back, "What shortcuts? You've seen everything!"

Silence fell between us as they exchanged looks and began to pull away, creating distance between themselves and me.

I thought, Fine! If they didn't want to be my friends, I wasn't losing sleep over it. I have plenty of friends as it is.

As the realization set in that swimming wasn't happening, everyone started trickling out.

Just then, my dad, Clarke Kent, sent the family driver, Logan Allen, to pick me up, giving me the perfect excuse to leave this absurdity behind.

I made sure to check with Laird whether he wanted to come with me. With a smirk, he replied, "What would I do tagging along with you? I think I'll stick around and tour Jennifer's place instead!"

When the Bentley pulled up, Lillian let out an exaggerated gasp. "Look at that! Claiming she's not being sponsored, but here comes an old guy to pick her up. How shameless!"

I had pressing work matters, so I didn't bother to explain and hurriedly got into the car.

Poor Logan, the driver, had a look of frustration on his face. Once we were on the road, he turned to me and said, "Ms. Kent, could we maybe switch to someone else picking you up next time? If my wife finds out, she'll have my head."

I chuckled softly and replied, "Sure thing."