My Fiancé's Mistress Grabbed My Suite, So I Reclaimed the Hotel

To celebrate my mother's sixtieth birthday, I made a point of booking the best private room at my own restaurant.

But the moment I pushed open the door to the room, a woman decked out in designer labels chased us right back out.

Where did this hick crawl in from? You think the Lampton Hotel is a place for people like you?

I steadied my mother, who nearly fell, and stared at the woman coldly.

"We booked this room well in advance. What gives you the right to"

"The right?"

Before I could finish, the woman pulled out a wad of cash and threw it in my face.

"The right of being richer than you!"

I forced down my anger and turned to confront the lobby manager hiding off to the side.

"The Lampton Hotel has always put its guests first. Since when is there a rule about clearing a room and throwing customers out on a whim?"

The woman lifted her chin arrogantly, her face full of contempt.

"I'll be honest with youthe owner of this hotel, Kent Swanson, is my boyfriend."

"Here, my word is the rule. Understand?"

When I heard that name, I froze for a few seconds, then let out a cold laugh.

"Oh, I understand all right. But starting today, this hotel no longer belongs to the Swansons!"

Ruth Pruitt tilted her head and looked me up and down, her laugh grating.

"Not very old, but plenty mouthy."

She turned to Manager Whitney beside her, crossed her arms, and jerked her chin up.

"Manager Whitney, what are you standing around for? Throw this lunatic out already!"

Manager Whitney rubbed his hands together, nodding and bowing with a fawning smile.

"Ms. Pruitt, don't you worry, I'll handle it right away."

I planted myself in front of my mother and stared him down coldly.

"Manager Whitney, I'd advise you to check the VIP order records in the reservation system first."

"I booked this room a month ago and paid in full. There's a complete order record in the system."

Manager Whitney hesitated, then instinctively glanced over toward Ruth.

Ruth gave a cold snort and rolled her eyes.

Seeing that, Manager Whitney immediately pulled out his tablet, tapped at it a few times, and let out a scoffing laugh.

"Ma'am, I've checked, and there is no record of any booking under your name in the system at all."

He flipped the tablet around and waved the screen at me.

"The Lampton Hotel is the top establishment in Harborview, not some roadside greasy spoon."

"And it's certainly not a place you can sneak into for a free meal."

I had just watched him hit delete on the back end with my own eyes, so I couldn't help sneering, and I warned him sharply.

"You altered the records right in front of me. You think I didn't see it?"

"By corporate regulations, that kind of conduct is a serious violationgrounds for a full investigation and dismissal."

Manager Whitney paused, then burst out laughing.

"A country hick in bargain-bin clothes, and you're lecturing me about corporate regulations?"

"Let me tell you something. Mr. Swanson is the corporation, and Ms. Pruitt is Mr. Swanson's whole sky."

"In this hotel, once Ms. Pruitt has spoken, even corporate regulations have to step aside."

Ruth looked thoroughly pleased and shot me a taunting smile.

My mother, seeing how badly things were going, went pale with worry.

She had no idea this hotel was mine; she only thought I was an ordinary office worker.

Spending fifty thousand on a single meal was already like cutting the flesh off her bones.

And I didn't dare tell her the truth.

She'd worked hard her whole life and her health was poor. If she knew I was running a business this large, she'd lie awake every night.

So she just assumed I was a hard-up office worker who had scraped together a little money to give her a decent birthday.

If we got thrown out, that fifty thousand would all go down the drain.

She hurriedly dug out a reservation slip, still warm from her body, from the old cloth bag she kept close.

With trembling hands, she held the slip out to Manager Whitney, her tone as humble as could be.

"Sir, we really did pay. The date matches, too. Look, there's a stamp right here."

"We won't fight this young lady for it. Any little table will dojust enough to fulfill my daughter's wish to honor me."

"We'll be quick, we promise we won't make a sound, we'll eat and leave, please don't throw us out."

Manager Whitney glanced down at the crumpled slip and curled his lip.

"Old woman, you think a scrap of junk paper counts as a reservation slip?"

He snatched the paper out of my mother's hand, ripped it to shreds with a few quick tears, and tossed them into the air.

"Forging hotel receiptsI could have you charged with fraud, you know that?"

My mother froze, scraps of paper caught in her graying hair, her lips trembling, but she didn't dare make a sound.

As I watched her bend down and try to piece the fragments back together, my eyes went red in an instant.

Just then, Manager Whitney picked up his walkie-talkie and barked into the mouthpiece.

"Security team, send four men up here, and bring your gear."

"Someone's making trouble on the second floor. Clear the area now."

As the walkie-talkie crackled with one "Copy that" after another, footsteps gradually echoed from the far end of the corridor.

Ruth sat on the sofa with her legs crossed and gave Manager Whitney a thumbs up.

"Nicely done. I'll have Mr. Swanson give you a raise."

Manager Whitney nodded and fawned at her side with a grin.

I reached into my pocket, about to pull out my phone and call the corporate Compliance Department.

One phone call, and within ten minutes the two of them would be out on the street.

But my mother suddenly lunged at me, clamping down on my hand, her voice shaking badly, her eyes full of fear.

"Maisie, don't stir up trouble. You worked so hard to earn a little money overseaswhat if you end up in a lawsuit?"

"We can't fight these big bosses. Mom doesn't need any birthday party, let's just go, okay?"

I really couldn't hold it in. I wanted to explain everything to my mother.

"Mom, listen to me"

"Stop talking!"

But she wouldn't give me a chance to speak. She let go of my hand, walked up to Ruth, and bent down.

"Ms. Pruitt, I'm so sorry. We didn't know the rules and we offended you."

"We don't want the fifty-thousand-dollar deposit back. Please, be generous and don't make things hard for my daughter."

"It isn't easy for her, out there all alone. If she gets hurt, I couldn't face her late father"

Ruth wasn't moved in the slightest. Instead, she quickly hugged her legs to her chest and frantically shrank back.

"Don't touch me with those filthy trash-picking hands. You reek of povertyit's disgusting."

"If your stench makes me sick, ten of your worthless lives couldn't pay for it."

My mother didn't dare talk back. She just took half a step back, bent even lower, her shoulders trembling faintly.

Ruth stood up, took a step forward, and deliberately ground her thin heel down onto my mother's foot.

My mother let out a muffled cry of pain, her body jerking hard, but she gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound.

She thought that if she endured it, she could protect me.

I was shaking with rage. I rushed over, shoved Ruth aside, and pulled my mother behind me.

Ruth stumbled back a couple of steps from my push, hit the corner of the table, and spilled champagne all down her dress.

"You poor bitch, how dare you push me?"

She suddenly reached out and grabbed the red birthday sash across my mother's chest.

I'd gone to the trouble of having an old master craftsman in Riverton make itthe double-sided gold-embroidered red birthday sash, stitched with the words "May your fortune be as vast as the Eastern Sea."

Now Ruth tore it off, threw it on the floor, then lifted her foot and ground it back and forth for a long while.

My mother was yanked off balance and nearly fell. I quickly reached out to steady her.

Ruth stood on the ruined sash and sneered.

"Celebrating a birthday, are we? Today I'll turn your birthday banquet into a funeral, you old hag!"

She turned to the security guards who had rushed over, straightened up, and pointed at me and my mother.

"Throw them all out for me."

My mother huddled behind me, even her breath choked with tears, clutching my sleeve tightly, afraid I'd do something rash.

"Maisie, let it go, let's just leave."

The security guards glanced at one another, hesitated, then drew the batons at their waists and closed in on us.

Before the security guard could make a move, the elevator doors slid open again.

A group of middle-aged women decked out in gold and silver came pouring out, chattering and passing judgment as they headed our way.

The heavyset woman leading them had a head of tight little curls and was carrying two knockoff designer bags. She was shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Ruth, your aunts are all here. Where's this private room you booked?"

"Goodness, what a fancy hotel. You're so lucky, landing yourself a rich husband."

The second Ruth spotted her cheering squad, her face flipped into a wounded victim's look.

"Auntie, you finally made it. These two came here to stage an accident and shake me down for moneyand they even hit me."

"Look right here, it's all one big bruise."

She yanked up her sleeve, and there was nothing at all on her shoulder, but her relatives didn't even bother to look.

The moment she heard that, the heavyset woman's face darkened, and she blew up on the spot.

"The nerve! Who would dare lay a hand on my niece?"

"Do you people know who Ruth's boyfriend is? That's Mr. Swanson, worth billions. Crushing you would be as easy as stepping on an ant."

The whole crowd surged in around us, pointing right in our faces and cursing.

"You've got the gall to walk into a place like this dressed like that? Have you no shame?"

"Looks like a couple of beggars to mehanging around refusing to leave, hoping to squeeze out how much money?"

My mother instinctively lowered her head and pulled the front of her coat tighter.

Several stout older women got themselves more and more worked up, not just cursing but shoving with their hands.

I kept one arm around my mother and used the other to fend off their shoving, but there were just too many of them.

To make a show of her authority, the heavyset woman in the lead grabbed a genuine antique porcelain vase within reach.

She slammed it down hard, and it shattered to pieces, then pointed at the shards on the floor to threaten us.

My mom's foot had already been stepped on and hurt, and she couldn't even keep her balance.

In the chaos of shoving and dodging the broken porcelain shards, she lost her balance entirely and fell hard to the floor.

The back of her hand caught on something, and a gash tore open in an instant, blood gushing out.

"Mom!"

I shoved aside the heavyset woman blocking me and clawed and pushed my way through, gathering my mother into my arms.

My mom was hissing in pain, but she was still tugging at my sleeve with her uninjured hand.

"Maisie, I'm fine, it's just a scrape, don't fight with them."

I grabbed her hand and pressed the corner of my clothes hard against the wound, but the bleeding just wouldn't stop.

Ruth strolled over in her high heels, took a couple of steps closer, and tilted her head to look down at us.

"Oh, so she's down already? Now this is a fresh new twist on staging an accidentpretty convincing acting, too."

"Who told you to be so blind, hanging around and refusing to leave? You brought it on yourself, so who's there to blame?"

"With that kind of strength in you, what land couldn't you farm? Why do you have to pull a scam like this?"

The relatives roared with laughter.

I lifted my head and looked straight at Ruth's face.

But a streak of blue light at her throat caught my eye.

It was a deep-blue diamond necklace, ringed with tiny white diamondsthe only one of its kind in the world.

I had bought this necklace six months ago at a private auction for twenty million.

For next month's wedding, I'd had Kent bring it back home for safekeeping.

It was the love token I'd prepared for my own wedding; it should have been sitting in a safe.

Yet right now it was hanging around the neck of my fianc's mistress, swaying back and forth as she threw her head back to sneer at me.

Seeing me staring at the necklace, lost in thought, Ruth instinctively touched the blue diamond and let out a scoff.

"Jealous, aren't you? This is a love token from my boyfriendthe only one of its kind in the world."

She lifted her chin, looking down at me with a cold smile.

"But you've made a complete mess of my birthday party. Until you get down on your knees and kowtow an apology, don't even think about walking out that door."

I glanced down at the still-bleeding wound on the back of my mother's hand and the birthday sash trampled on the floor.

Then I glanced at the necklace around Ruth's neck that should have been mine.

I felt a surge of blood rush straight to my head.

Good.

Old grudges and newtoday they all get settled at once.

I helped my mother slowly over to a chair and eased her down, then tucked the blood-stained corner of her clothes away from the back of her hand.

Then I straightened up and looked at Ruth.

"You want me to kowtow? Do you even deserve it?"

Ruth was thrown off by my tone, but she quickly turned arrogant again.

"What? You don't like it? Then I'll call my boyfriend over right now and let him teach you a lesson himself."

Normally, one phone call from me would have Kent crawling over on his knees.

But since things had come to this, there was no need to rush.

I actually wanted to see just how arrogant the man I'd personally raised up could be behind my back.

I pulled up a chair and sat down next to my mom.

"Call him over. I'll wait."

Ruth figured I'd been scared out of my wits, and she laughed so hard she had to clutch her stomach.

Even her relatives looked at me with mocking eyes.

"About to die and still putting on airs? Fine, I'll grant your wish. I'll call my boyfriend right now."

"Once he gets here with his men, let's see how you die."

She pulled out her phone and dialed a number, deliberately hitting the speakerphone button to show off.

The line barely rang before it connected.

Ruth instantly switched to a sweet, tearful little voice.

"Honey, where are you? There are two broke nobodies causing trouble at the hotel."

"They didn't just hit me, they want to kill the son in my belly. Come save me, quick!"

The voice on the other end shot up sharply.

"What? Somebody in Harborview dares to lay a hand on Kent Swanson's woman and son? Have they lost their minds?"

Manager Whitney quickly leaned in toward the phone to pledge his loyalty.

"Mr. Swanson, these two lunatics aren't just arrogant, they're impersonating people from the head office."

"I've already had security surround them."

Kent roared over the phone.

"What good is surrounding them? Beat the hell out of them first."

"Honey, don't be scared, I'm already downstairs at the hotel. I'll be up in a minute."

"Anyone who dares touch a single hair on your head, I'll chop their hand off."

After the call ended, Ruth stuffed the phone back in her bag and jerked her chin at her group of relatives.

"Did you hear that? My boyfriend's on his way. After today, let's see who still dares to talk back to me."

The relatives all perked up too, ready to watch the show.

"With Mr. Swanson coming himself, won't these two shameless wretches be scared to pieces?"

"Take my advice and kowtow to Ruth a few times right now. Maybe you'll get slapped a few times less."

Manager Whitney waved a hand at the few security guards behind him.

"What are you all standing around for? Mr. Swanson said to make the first move!"

This time the guards didn't hesitate. They closed in with vicious grins, step by step.

I shielded my mother behind me, my back ramrod straight.

But my mom stood up from her chair, wrapped her arms tightly around my waist, and used her own body to push me behind her.

"My old bones aren't worth anything. Beat me if you want, but don't touch my daughter."

I moved her behind me again, swept my eyes over the crowd, then lowered my head and murmured to her.

"Mom, don't worry. No one can touch us."

Ruth shrieked with excitement from behind them.

"Hit them! Hit them hard!"

Just as the stick was about to come down on my head, someone kicked the private room door open.

Kent stormed in with seven or eight bodyguards, radiating menace.

His face was flushed bright red, his suit cuffs rolled up, his expression savage enough to eat someone alive.

"Who the hell dares to touch my woman?"

Ruth's eyes flared with wild joy. She rushed over and threw herself into Kent's arms, pointing at me with an aggrieved look.

"Honey, it's this bitch. She's broke and out of her mind, and she dragged that half-dead mother of hers here to shake us down."

"Hurry, have someone scratch her face up, then throw them both out."

Kent put his arm tenderly around Ruth's shoulders and whispered a word of comfort.

Then he looked in the direction she was pointing.

The bodyguards around him were already full of murderous intent, sleeves rolled up, waiting for Kent to give the word.

I stayed right where I was, staring at him with a mocking look on my face.

The instant Kent saw me, the arrogance on his face froze, and his face went deathly pale.

His legs buckled. He shoved Ruth away and dropped to his knees with a thud.

"W-wife... what are you doing here?"