Gold-Digger Pain Link: Sugar Daddy Feels It All

I'm a gold digger by nature. When I date a man, I only look at his bank balance. Unfortunately, I'm terrible at the game. I pretend to be a socialite in bargain-bin clothes and attempt to land a scion, all while forgetting to turn off my location tags on social media. Three years in, and I can't even afford to eat anymore. Everything changes when the richest man in the country, Caspian Blackwood, takes me into his luxurious mansion and gives me 1.5 million dollars a month because we're connected by an empathic bond. So, whenever I'm in pain, it hits him tenfold. When I stub my toe, he's in so much pain that he cancels all his meetings for the day. When my love rival spikes my coffee with laxatives, Caspian ends up with severe diarrhea and spends three days in the hospital for dehydration. The moment he's discharged, he acquires the woman's company and ships her off to Kharos. When his ex-girlfriend gets jealous of me and slaps me in broad daylight, he walks into the boardroom, clutching his cheek. By the time he emerges, her family business is completely wiped out overnight. From then on, no one in our circle dares to mess with me. My only job every day is to make sure I stay safe and sound and blow his money. My carefree days come to an end when Caspian leaves the country and his first love, Greta Ormond, who has just returned from abroad, storms into the villa. "Who do you think you are? A gold digger like you doesn't deserve to be with him!" She snatches my black card and orders her bodyguards to pin me onto shattered glass. I give her a friendly warning. "Don't touch me, or you might end up dead." Ms. Ormond sneers. The very next second, she lifts her foot and brings her high heel down on my hand... Chapter 1 The second before Greta Ormond's high heel came down, I hurriedly balled my hands into fists. The sharp heel grazed the back of my hand, plunging right into the shards of glass. A jagged shard shot upward, slicing a deep gash across my palm. Blood instantly gushed out. "Ms. Sullivan!" The housekeeper, Maya Brooks, blanched and hurried over to check my hand. Ms. Ormond raised her leg to block her. "What's the fuss? It's just a scratch, not a fatal blow." I cradled my bleeding hand, spots of black dancing before my eyes from the pain. Before Caspian Blackwood went abroad, he had repeatedly warned them that no harm must come to me. He had even padded all the sharp corners of the tables in the villa. Yet, merely three days after he left, Ms. Ormond had given me such a grand welcoming gift. I took a deep breath and patiently explained, "I don't love Caspian, nor do I plan to marry him, Ms. Ormond. He gives me 1.5 million dollars a month, and my only job is to live comfortably here. The two of you can get engaged or married whenever you want. I pose absolutely no threat to you." Ms. Ormond glanced at the luxury goods scattered throughout the house and sneered, "You're living in Caspian's house, spending Caspian's money, yet you dare claim you have no designs on him? Do you take me for a three-year-old?" I shook my head in all seriousness. "No. Three-year-olds are much easier to reason with." Ms. Ormond's expression instantly hardened. As the sole heiress of the Ormond family, she had a considerable standing in the capital's high society. However, compared to Blackwood Group, which controlled half of the continent's business world, Ormond Pharmaceutical was, at best, a respectable sidekick. Her family had spent years desperately attempting to bring her and Caspian together so they could ride the Blackwoods' coattails and reach greater heights. Ms. Ormond was after Caspian's influence, whereas I was after Caspian's wealth. Both of us could get what we needed out of this arrangement. Hence, there was no reason we couldn't coexist in peace. I reminded her yet again, "If you genuinely want to be the lady of the Blackwood family in the future, you'd better let me tend to my wound right now. My injury isn't going to do you any favors." Ms. Ormond looked as though she had finally caught me red-handed. "At last, you're showing your true colors, huh? Are you using Caspian to threaten me? You're just a gold digger with no title or status. How dare you teach me how to be the lady of the Blackwood family?" Having said her piece, she snatched the first-aid kit from Maya's hands and hurled it into the pool. Maya was so anxious her voice cracked. "Mr. Blackwood's one and only line in the sand is that Ms. Sullivan must never come to harm! If you keep this up, your family won't be able to bear the consequences!" After hearing that, the jealousy in Ms. Ormond's eyes burned even hotter. "His one and only line in the sand? Who does she think she is?" She raised her hand to strike me again. I took a step back to dodge it, but my bare foot landed on a shard of glass, and the pain made me collapse beside the couch. Ms. Ormond stared at my bleeding foot and jeered. "Aren't you supposed to be oh so important? Why hasn't Caspian flown back from abroad to stand up for you?" She jerked her chin at her bodyguards. "Search the place. I'd like to see what kind of spell she used to bewitch Caspian!" Several bodyguards immediately stormed into my bedroom. My clothes, jewelry, and handbags were tossed all over the floor. Minutes later, her assistant emerged with a phone I'd never seen before. It was filled with flirtatious messages between me and another man, along with screenshots showing that I had agreed to steal Blackwood Group's bid price and the other party had transferred me 7.5 million dollars. Ms. Ormond raised the phone, her eyes gleaming with triumph. "I've caught you red-handed. Lucia, what do you have to say for yourself?" I flipped through a few pages and could not help but frown. "You can accuse me of betraying Caspian, but you can't insult my professional integrity! He gives me 1.5 million dollars a month. Do you really think 7.5 million dollars is enough to buy me off? Who are you looking down on?" Ms. Ormond was enraged. "Pin her down! I'll get rid of this ungrateful traitor for Caspian once and for all!" The moment her bodyguards seized my arms, the massive doors to the villa were kicked open. Caspian's chief secretary, Peter Brandt, rushed in with a medical team. As soon as he spotted the pool of blood on the floor, all the color drained from his face. "Unhand her this instant, Ms. Ormond. If anything else happens to Ms. Sullivan, you won't be the only one who suffers; you'll drag your whole family down with you!" Chapter 2 Ms. Ormond froze for a second before she scoffed. "Peter, you're just a secretary. How dare you threaten my family?" Peter didn't even have time to waste on her. He shoved her bodyguards aside and crouched down to inspect my injuries. "Ms. Sullivan, are you injured anywhere else besides your hand and foot?" I rolled my shoulders a little. "I was pinned down twice earlier. It hurts a little." His lips lost all their color. He immediately urged the doctor, "Hurry up and check on her. Don't miss a single spot!" Ms. Ormond stopped the doctors in their tracks. "Who gave you permission to touch her?" Peter jerked his head up. "This is Mr. Blackwood's direct order. Before he boarded his flight, he made it clear that no matter what happens, Ms. Sullivan must remain completely unharmed. Ms. Ormond, if you still wish to discuss marriage with the Blackwood family, you had better stand down." After hearing that, she stared long and hard at him. "He's abroad, yet he's still worried about whether she's hurt? Who the hell is supposed to be his future wife here?" "As things stand, Mr. Blackwood has never acknowledged that he is engaged to anyone in the Ormond family," Peter stated apathetically. His words hit her right where it hurt most. There was indeed talk of a marriage alliance between the Blackwood and Ormond families. Yet, the Ormonds were the only ones who publicized it everywhere. Caspian, on the other hand, had never confirmed anything. Ms. Ormond wanted nothing more than to marry into the Blackwood family right away, but I, a gold digger, had moved into Caspian's private villa. She had long regarded me as a thorn in her side. Now that even a mere secretary dared to use the engagement against her, how could she possibly hold back? "Pin him down too! Once I become the lady of the Blackwood family, you'll be the first person I fire!" Her bodyguards swarmed forward. Peter's men were about to intervene when more than 20 bodyguards behind Ms. Ormond surrounded them. Seizing advantage of the chaos, she grabbed me by the hair and dragged me out from beside the couch. My knees slammed hard against the floor. Searing pain shot up my bones, and I came within an inch of blacking out. Peter's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Stop it! Mr. Blackwood absolutely can't stand seeing Ms. Sullivan injured! Every single thing you do today will ultimately be visited upon your family." Ms. Ormond yanked my hair, forcing me to tilt my head up. "He can't stand to see her hurt?" She had her assistant start a livestream and point the camera at my face. Then, she tossed a property transfer agreement in front of me. The house, shares, jewelry, cash, and trust funds were all listed on it. Altogether, they were worth at least 225 million dollars. My heart twinged as I looked at it. Ms. Ormond stuffed a pen into my hand. "Sign it, admit that you seduced Caspian and stole confidential information from Blackwood Group, and I'll let you go." I tossed the pen aside. "I won't be doing that." "You're about to lose your life, and you're still thinking about money?" "No shit." "I can do without Caspian, but I can't do without his money." This was the final hill I was willing to die on as a gold digger. Ms. Ormond was so furious that her breathing became ragged. "Very well. Let's see if you're really as tough as you sound!" She ordered her bodyguards to pin my right hand down on the coffee table. Her assistant handed her a heavy brass ornament. Peter thrashed wildly, his eyes bloodshot. "Ms. Ormond, if you lay a hand on her, you're destroying yourself and your family! She's the most important person in Mr. Blackwood's life; she's so important that he would rather put himself in danger than ever allow her to be hurt!" The last vestige of reason in her eyes vanished. "She's the most important person in his life? Then what am I?" Peter broke free from the bodyguards' hold and lunged forward to shield me. With a dull thud, his arm was visibly deformed on the spot, and all the color drained from his face. Before I could process what had happened, Ms. Ormond slapped me across the face. "Since Caspian cherishes you so damn much, I'll let the entire capital's high society see… exactly what kind of woman he's been housing!" Chapter 3 Ms. Ormond had her men drag me to her family's private club. A charity gala was supposedly being held there that night. Half of the capital's socialites and scions were in attendance. The moment I was dumped into the banquet hall, drenched in blood, all the camera lenses in the room swiveled toward me. Ms. Ormond, on the other hand, had changed into a haute couture gown. Holding a flute of champagne, she smiled gracefully. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to someone. This is Lucia Sullivan, the woman Caspian houses in his villa. While surviving off the Blackwoods' wealth, she's been stealing confidential information from Blackwood Group and fooling around with other men!" The crowd instantly erupted. "So, that's her." "She was so poor she couldn't even afford to eat. Does she really think becoming Caspian's mistress would make her a princess?" "Ms. Ormond's the daughter-in-law the Blackwood family has chosen. Who does she think she is?" The ones who ran their mouths the loudest were all daughters of wealthy families whose companies had previously been acquired by Caspian. Previously, whenever they saw me, they would practically go out of their way to avoid me. However, now that Caspian wasn't around and Ms. Ormond was backing them up, every single one of them suddenly found their backbone. I looked up at Ms. Ormond. "I'll explain myself one last time. I don't love Caspian, and I have no intention of competing with you for the position of the lady of the Blackwood family. He houses me because I'm important to him. If you want to marry him, you should be even more determined to keep me safe. The heavier my blood spills tonight, the faster your dream of marrying into the Blackwoods dies." Ms. Ormond tightened her grip on her wineglass. "I see you're still putting on an act. You're just a woman who sells herself for money. What makes you think you can affect my marriage to him?" After a moment's thought, I answered with brutal honesty, "Maybe because I'm worth more than your marriage." The entire hall fell pin-drop silent. Ms. Ormond's facade completely crumbled. She shot a look at a woman in a red gown, who instantly strutted over with a glass of wine. I recognized her; she was Bella Ricco. Half a year ago, she was jealous because Caspian had spent 45 million dollars on me at an auction, so she secretly laced my coffee with laxatives. I only ended up with diarrhea for half a day. Caspian, on the other hand, was hospitalized for three whole days. Right after he was discharged, he acquired the Ricco family's enterprise and shipped Bella off to their remote branch in Kharos. Who would have thought she'd actually sneak back here? Bella seized my chin and forced the entire glass of liquor down my throat. The alcohol went down my windpipe. My stomach felt as if it was being burned through by a raging fire, and the intense pain made me curl up into a ball. "I never thought I'd live to see this day, Lucia. If it weren't for you, Mr. Blackwood wouldn't have destroyed my family!" I forced my head up. "You're the one who spiked my coffee. What, do you blame gravity when you take a shit?" Bella was furious and humiliated. She grabbed a second glass of liquor. "You've got a pretty big mouth for someone in your position!" The moment the glass touched my lips, Peter was hauled into the banquet hall. His arm was wrapped in heavy bandages, and his face was as pale as a sheet of paper. "Hold it right there! Mr. Blackwood has suspended his negotiations abroad and is on his way back! Ms. Ormond, your father has called more than a dozen times just now, asking you to let her go this instant!" Ms. Ormond's phone also started ringing incessantly at that moment. She took one look at the caller ID and promptly declined the call. "My father's such a coward. Once I expose this fraud, Caspian will thank me!" Peter's voice trembled. "Mr. Blackwood won't thank you. He'll wipe your family off the map!" Bella hurriedly leaned close to Ms. Ormond's ear. "Don't listen to him. No matter how influential Mr. Blackwood is, he isn't going to burn bridges with your family for a gold digger. Once her reputation is completely ruined, do you really think he'd still marry her?" Ms. Ormond's smile returned. She ordered her men to drag me to the center of the stage and yank the black cloth off the transparent tank. It was filled to the brim with ice water and crushed ice. "Didn't she claim she was more important than my marriage? In that case, let's see whether Caspian will really give up my family for her after she freezes to death here!" Peter completely lost it. "If she dies, Mr. Blackwood's done for, too!" Ms. Ormond's gaze instantly darkened. "I can't believe you'd spew such nonsense to protect her." She raised her hand. "Dump her in!" Chapter 4 The moment the ice water engulfed me, my lungs almost seized up. It felt as though countless needles were driving into my bones all at once. Two bodyguards clamped down hard on my shoulders, refusing to let me break the surface. I desperately pounded on the walls of the tank as the air in my lungs rapidly ran out. I was about to lose consciousness when Peter shoved the bodyguards aside and flipped the tank over. A torrent of ice water flooded the banquet hall. I went down with it, collapsing onto the floor and coughing violently as I lay facedown in the water. Peter draped his suit jacket over my shoulders. "Hang in there, Ms. Sullivan! Mr. Blackwood will be here any minute now!" Ms. Ormond kicked him hard right in his injured arm. He let out a muffled groan and collapsed beside me. "Who do you think you are to dare ruin my plans time and again?" Pointing at me, she barked at her bodyguards, "Haul her up!" I was dragged back onto the stage by my hair. My soaked clothes clung to my body, and I shivered uncontrollably from the cold. Ms. Ormond slapped the property transfer agreement in my face. "Sign it, admit you're a fraud, and crawl out of this club on your knees. Do as you're told, and I might just spare your miserable life!" I looked at the figure on the agreement—225 million dollars. My life could wait, but I had to protect my money. "No can do." Ms. Ormond jeered. "Do you really love money that much?" "I do. If I wasn't after his money, I wouldn't have approached Caspian in the first place." A collective gasp echoed through the entire room. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately had the cameras focus on me. "At last, you're admitting it?" I nodded. "I've never denied it. I'm after his money, and he needs me to stay alive and well. We knew exactly what we were getting into. "It's a fair trade. You, on the other hand, claim to love him, yet every single thing you do is like driving a dagger right into his heart." Ms. Ormond raised her hand and slapped me across the face. "How dare you drive a wedge between us?" I turned my head to the side and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. "I'm attempting to save you. If you let me go right now, when Caspian comes back, you'll get an earful at worst. But if you keep this up, not only can you forget about marrying into the Blackwood family, but Ormond Pharmaceuticals will go down in flames with you!" "Who do you think you are? Caspian's life?" She finally hit the nail on the head. I gazed at her and slowly smiled. "Pretty much, yeah." Ms. Ormond froze for a second. Then, she snapped. "Very well. In that case, I'll take your life today!" She raised the microphone and addressed the guests. "This woman used her sob story to deceive Caspian and drove countless families into bankruptcy. If anyone here has a score to settle with her, now's your chance!" The crowd fell silent for a few seconds. Bella was the first to march up the stage. She grabbed a bottle of wine and smashed it hard against my shoulder. "This one's for my dad's company!" Right after her, another woman rushed and slapped me across the face. "This is for the endorsement deal I lost!" Once the floodgates opened, more and more people joined in. The women yanked my hair, kicked my shins with their heels, and unleashed all the resentment they had been too afraid to vent over the years on me. I shielded my head and memorized every single one of their faces. Every single person who stepped onto the stage that night was going to pay for what they did to me. Lying on the ground, Peter's eyes were bloodshot as he bellowed, "Mr. Blackwood has already arrived! If you stop now, you might still get out of this alive!" Everyone froze in their tracks. Ms. Ormond, however, snatched the golf club from one of her bodyguards. "What are you afraid of? So long as I'm here, Caspian won't lay a hand on you!" She stepped on my wrist and raised the club high into the air. "Aren't these the hands you use to wrap around Caspian every time you want money, Lucia? I'll smash them first before ruining that pretty face of yours!" My eyes darted to the sealed doors of the banquet hall, where the faint sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside. "He's back, Ms. Ormond," I said lowly. She jeered. "Perfect timing. I want him to watch with his own eyes as you become a cripple!" The pool cue whistled through the air as it came crashing down toward my palm. The very next second, a black-clad figure kicked the doors open, rushed onto the stage, and caught the descending golf club with his bare hand. He then raised his bloodshot eyes and stared long and hard at Ms. Ormond. "Who gave you the right to lay a finger on her?"