I Was A Hopeless Gold Digger Protected By A Pain‑Linked Billionaire Chapter 01

I Was A Hopeless Gold Digger Protected By A Pain‑Linked Billionaire Chapter 01

I was born a gold digger. When it came to men, I only cared about how much they were worth.

The problem was, I was terrible at it. I played dress-up in knockoff designer pieces. Left my social media geotag on when I was hunting rich heirs.

Three years later, I was still the worst gold digger in history.

Then Grant Hale, the richest man in the country, moved me into The Hale Estate and gave me everything I needed to live comfortably.

Because he was psychically linked to me. Whatever happened to me affected him far more than anyone expected.

I stubbed my toe — he canceled an entire day of meetings.

A romantic rival tampered with my drink, and Grant ended up suffering the consequences for days.

When he recovered, he bought her company outright and shipped the entire operation to Africa.

His ex-girlfriend slapped me on the street once. Grant walked into the boardroom holding his cheek. By the time he walked out, her family’s business fell apart overnight.

After that, no one in the Manhattan Elite Circle dared touch me. My only job was to stay in one piece and spend his money to my heart’s content.

Then Grant went overseas. And his freshly returned former flame barged into The Hale Estate.

“A gold digger like you? You think you deserve to be with him?”

She snatched my black card and had her guards restrain me.

I tried to warn her: “Don’t touch me. It’ll be bad for you.”

She laughed. The next second, her heel landed against my hand.

*****

The second before her heel came down, I curled my fingers as tightly as I could.

The heel scraped across the back of my hand and slammed into the glass shards. A sharp piece bounced up and sliced deep into my palm. Pain shot through my hand instantly.

“Ms. Clarke!” My housekeeper, Edith Vance, went deathly pale and rushed over to examine my hand.

Serena Shaw blocked her with her leg. “What’s the panic? Just a scratch. She’ll be fine.”

I clutched my hand, black spots swimming in my vision.

Before Grant left the country, he’d repeatedly given strict orders that I was not to get hurt under any circumstances. He’d even padded every corner of the furniture at The Hale Estate.

Three days after he left, this was Serena’s welcome gift to me.

I took a deep breath and patiently explained, “Ms. Shaw, I don’t love Grant Hale. I don’t want to marry him.”

“He pays me ten million a month. My job is to eat well and sleep well here. That’s it.”

“You two can get engaged. You can get married. I’m not a threat to you.”

Serena looked around at the room full of luxury goods and laughed coldly. “You live in his house, spend his money, and you still claim you don’t want him? Do you take me for a three-year-old?”

I shook my head seriously. “No. Three-year-olds are easier to reason with.”

Serena’s face went dark.

She was the only daughter of Victor Shaw, the owner of Shaw Pharmaceuticals. In the Manhattan Elite Circle, she had status. But compared with the Hale family, who controlled half of Asia’s business world, the Shaws were little more than respectable window dressing. The Shaws had been pushing her toward Grant for years, hoping to ride the Hale family’s success to an even higher position.

She wanted his power. I wanted his money.

We each wanted something from him, so we could have peacefully taken what we needed and left each other alone.

I reminded her again: “If you really want to be Mrs. Hale, you’d better let me get this wound treated first. Me getting hurt doesn’t benefit you at all.”

Serena looked like she’d finally caught me slipping. “There it is. You’re threatening me with Grant now? A gold digger with no name or status, and you dare tell me how to be Mrs. Hale?”

She grabbed the medical kit from Edith and threw it into the pool.

Edith’s voice cracked. “Ms. Shaw — Mr. Hale’s only rule is that Ms. Clarke must be kept safe! If you keep pushing this, the Shaws can’t afford the consequences!”

The moment Serena heard the word “only,” the jealousy in her eyes burned even hotter.

“His only rule? She doesn’t deserve that.”

She raised her hand to hit me again.

I stepped back, but my foot landed on a shard of glass, and I fell against the couch.

Serena stared at my bleeding foot and smiled. “So important, are you? Funny how Grant hasn’t flown back from overseas to save you.”

She nodded at her guards. “Search the place. Let’s see what tricks she used to get Grant so completely under her spell.”

The guards ransacked my room. Clothes, jewelry, bags — everything thrown everywhere.

A few minutes later, her assistant came out holding a phone I’d never seen before.The phone was filled with flirty messages between me and some guy.

There was even a screenshot of me agreeing to steal Hale Group’s bid price in exchange for fifty million.

Serena held up the phone, triumphant. “Caught red-handed. Jade Clarke, what do you have to say for yourself?”

I flipped through the screenshots and frowned. “Accusing me of betraying Grant — fine. But don’t insult my professionalism. He pays me ten million a month. That much money to buy me off? Who do you think you’re dealing with?”

That pushed her over the edge. “Hold her down! I’m doing Grant a favor—getting rid of this traitor!”

The guards grabbed my arms. Then the villa doors burst open.

Grant’s chief of staff, Zane Cole, rushed in with a doctor. When he saw the blood, the color drained from his face.

“Ms. Shaw — let her go right now! If Ms. Clarke gets hurt one more time, it’ll be the end of you—and the entire Shaw family!”