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Chapter 23
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A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 24
Leon started playing some easy-listening music.A faint fragrance filled the car."There isn't any public transportation near the residence, so if you ever need anything, let me know. I'll drive. But if I happen to be away…" Leon glanced at her. "Do you drive?"Justine shook her head and decided to be honest with her therapist."I tried to learn when I was 18, but for some reason, every time I got into the driver's seat, I became terrified. I never got over it," she signed.Ares, though, had been a natural. He had passed all of his tests with perfect scores right away.Then, he had promised her that he would always be her driver, taking her wherever she wanted, even if she couldn't do it herself.Leon nodded in understanding."Well, I guess I have a new job on my resume now!" He grinned. "Chauffeur for one of my biggest clients."She chuckled and signed, "I'll buy you lunch."-It took two hours to get there.Justine had read the brochure before, but she remained skeptical
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 25
"Ugh, here's the truth: Sweetheart's sister stepped in before the two could marry. She charmed Ash's grandparents so thoroughly that they took her side, forcing Ash to marry her instead of Sweetheart. They then sent the real fiancee out of the country under the pretense of 'studying abroad'.""I can never understand how shameless some people can be," another voice said. "I heard Ash was so disgusted by her, he wouldn't even hold her hand!""Well, divine retribution's an even bigger bitch. Ash ended up taking control of his family's company and now he's getting his real darling back. Good riddance!"Twitter exploded with hashtags like #TrueLoveNeverDies, #Vanderbilt, and countless derogatory slurs directed at Justine.Edited pictures of her were shared, many juxtaposed with images of Jenny, the true object of Ash's affection.Justine was portrayed as a stereotypical witch, while Jenny looked almost ethereal in comparison.People, trapped in their lookism, devoured the narrative. T
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 26
The crowd fell silent, their eyes fixed on Ash.The host turned pale, clearly confused."Fuck this!" Ash snarled, his irritation palpable.He stormed off, his expression grim.After he left, the crowd began murmuring again."No way. Is he pissed because we badmouthed her?""That can't be it. Everyone knows he hates Justine with a passion. He would have introduced her to us if he'd accepted her even a little!""There's no way our bro would throw a fit over us talking about her!""If he really cared about that bitch, he wouldn't have divorced her!"Jenny listened quietly, her hands clenched so tightly beneath the table that her knuckles turned white.They might be speculating, but she knew how close they were to the truth.But how?! Since when?! Hadn't he said she didn't deserve him?"Jenny? Jenny!" someone called her name, snapping her out of her thoughts.Jenny scanned the crowd and quickly composed herself."I'm sorry about his outburst, everyone. He hasn't been in the b
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 27
"Look at you getting your panties twisted like that!" Gaius spun his car keys, smirking as he approached Ash. "Your sycophants said you were the one masterminding this smear campaign to please your pregnant girlfriend. I almost believed them!""That's bullshit," Ash said, frowning. "Jenny and I are not together. That baby isn't even ours."Gaius did not appear shocked."The problem is, the opposite of that is exactly what everyone thinks now." He tilted his head slightly. "Does Justine know that baby isn't yours?"Ash glared at him in silence.Gaius made a face of understanding. "How about a bet, Ash?"Ash studied him warily.Gaius might look young and cavalier, but Ash knew better than to trust his pretense. Gaius had made bets with other trust-fund kids that had nearly left them bankrupt.Gaius' eyes glinted mischievously, but his tone was firm. "Just a Bugatti will do this time. I bet you'll regret divorcing Justine."Ash thinned his lips. "Me, regret?""That's right. You'
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 28
By the time Jenny emerged with her cardigan, Ash was gone. Only the driver remained.He politely opened the car door. "Ms. Thorpe, Mr. Vanderbilt has an important international conference to attend. He instructed me to drive you home."Jenny forced a smile. She was furious but had to maintain her facade as a sweet, docile young woman when around Ash's associates.While retrieving her cardigan, she had texted Charlie and Sue using her burner phone, ensuring they covered their tracks as thoroughly as possible.Jenny had initially planned to leverage that Internet drama to pressure Ash into marrying her, but look what had happened instead!The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.Ash cared about Justine far more than Jenny had anticipated!In the end, Jenny directed all of her rage toward Justine.-A new patient had arrived at the residence—a rather troublesome one at that.He was an idol from a top boy band who suffered from severe depression. Within just three m
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 29
They would be so delighted, right? Leon found Justine's eyes reddened and misty, feeling a pang in his chest. "Are you alright?" he asked, choosing not to bring up her virality. She shook her head."I'm fine. I slept a little too much, that's all," she signed. "What's the matter?"Leon smiled. "Hey, I'm your therapist, right? If anything is bothering you—big or small—you can always talk to me. I'm your best outlet—by profession!" Justine grinned. "Did something happen?" It was rather late in the evening. Leon had never shown up in her room at this hour before—he always made sure not to do anything that might make his patients uncomfortable. Some female patients simply could not bear to be alone with a man. Leon realized Justine had no idea about the Internet drama—she had probably napped through it all. Little did she know, everyone in the residence was aware. "Well, you've gone viral for a few hours on the Internet," Leon explained briefly. "The story got clamped dow
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The next early morning, Leon brought a little girl to Justine's compound. They knocked on the door.As soon as she came out, Leon beamed at her."I've got a job for you!" he declared.Justine looked puzzled.The little girl stepped forward and began to sign bashfully, "Hi, Ms. Thorpe. I'm Kitty. Will you be our dance instructor for our New Year's Day performance?""This is Kitty from the welfare home next to the residence. She's deaf and mute by birth." Leon ruffled her hair. "To be honest, almost every child there is disabled in one way or another. In a few days, the home will receive some warm-hearted visitors."If they manage to perform well enough to charm them, they might even get adopted. Other children had no problem, but… Kitty and the other deaf-mute children had no instructor, so I thought of you."Justine had been raised in an orphanage. She understood how important being adopted was for children in that situation. Besides, she had been rather free these days, hadn't
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 31
Justine shook Kitty's hand gently.The child looked up at her and then performed a short ballet sequence on the spot.There was no need for beautiful tutus—Justine's dance was mesmerizing in its simplicity.Joy and excitement replaced the disappointment in Kitty's eyes as she clapped loudly, cheering for Justine.Grinning, Justine poked Kitty's nose and took her hand again before they headed to the welfare home.Leon became an accidental witness to the episode.After failing to persuade Allan to help with the production, he decided to talk to Justine—and that was when he saw what happened.It made him wonder. For all the compliments he had read in articles about her, Justine was even more interesting and fun in person. Who could have possessed the heart to hurt someone as sweet as her?-Charitas Home was a far cry from the dilapidated state of Glascape Orphanage. Its appearance took cues from Aestran architecture and featured an outdoor stadium larger than Glascape itself. It
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Any rage Ash could have felt about Justine's antics vanished. Any thought of punishment was gone."I'm sorry," he whispered, pulling her gently into his arms.She sobbed like a wounded animal, and a while later, she fell back to sleep.Kitty rubbed her eyes groggily. A familiar stranger was hugging Justine and patting her back.Her eyes widened.Ash placed his index finger on his lips, signaling her to keep quiet.He remembered now. This girl was a deaf-mute. Justine had suffered a brick attack to protect her.Kitty regarded Ash warily, her finger hovering close to the nurse-calling button.Ash sighed helplessly."I'm her husband," he signed.Kitty was shocked."You can sign?!" she exclaimed via signing. "No, wait. You're lying! Ms. Thorpe is Dr. Tuke's girlfriend!""Who told you that?" he asked."I guessed it! I'm very smart, you know! So let her go, or I'll call the police, and you're dead, old man!" Kitty signed warningly.Ash stared at her, speechless. It was just a g
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 99
'Mrs. Vanderbilt never learns,' Ash thought.-Justine got herself a cab quickly enough. Where should she go?Ash could find her easily enough if she stayed in a hotel. The residence was out as well—it was too obvious.In the end, Justine instructed the driver to take her to Kitty's hospital.Dusk had fallen, and Justine felt exhausted. She closed her eyes and recalled how, when she had turned around mid-run, Ash stood alone in the middle of the crowd.He appeared almost pitiful.How insane was that? Anyone else deserved more sympathy than he ever could.-Justine arrived at the hospital just as visiting hours were about to end.Due to the sensationalism surrounding Kitty's case, many strangers wanted to visit her. To protect Kitty, the hospital had restricted visits, allowing only Leon and Justine to see her.Kitty had been transferred to a regular ward during the few days Justine had been absent.Seeing Justine filled the girl with such joy that she clung to her without a
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 98
Ash had taken over Vanderbilt Corp. from his uncle only a few months earlier. He had a mountain of tasks to tackle—how could he possibly afford to be out of town right now? That was why Justine believed he had been merely floating the idea without any real commitment.Ash had always prioritized his work far above Justine—even when she had suffered a grievous injury while saving him.Who would have expected him to mean it?"No!" Justine refuted.Her treatment was showing results, and Benji might be bringing Dennis back at any moment. She would not leave at this point.Ash's expression darkened slightly. She would decline treatment for something that was hindering her career? Who was she staying for?Justine sensed his mood shift."Look. You've just taken over Vanderbilt Corp. Many people are probably plotting to gain control of the company, right? My injury isn't that bad. As long as I don't dance, I'll be fine," she signed.Ash knew she was pretending to care. He had experien
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 97
While Leon had a modest number of patients, scheduling all of their appointments for noon would still take a considerable toll on him. The assistant thought it was a terrible idea."I need to return to Sol every afternoon," Leon replied.The assistant was stunned. "You can't be serious! You'll be going back and forth from Sol to the residence from now on?"Leon paused for a moment before remarking, "Doesn't sound very sustainable, huh?""Of course it doesn't! The journey from here to Sol takes three to four hours!" the assistant replied."Well, then please help me hire someone dependable who can drive that much every day," Leon instructed.He left without waiting for his assistant to respond.Leon went to his room in the residence to grab his car keys. On his way out, he bumped into Allan.Allan had not been attending his treatments lately. Instead, he had been cooping himself up in his room, caught up in a manic phase of songwriting and music composing.Leon checked on him fr
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 96
Justine never believed Jenny would give up. Hell, she had been counting on that woman to be more persistent.'Just seduce Ash already so he will divorce me and marry Jenny instead,' Justine prayed.Justine even reconsidered her stance against Jenny. If the latter could manage to seduce Ash away from her, Justine would forgive every petty thing Jenny had done. She would let Jenny live so that these two could be happy together!Ash declined the call and activated the "Do Not Disturb" mode."If anything's happening to her, they'll do better calling a doctor than me," he said.Besides, Ash had already placed some of his people around Jenny. If anything happened to her, they would notify him.Justine gawked at him as if he were an alien. Her frustration grew. Why was he treating his childhood sweetheart like this?-Sue hurled her phone onto the couch and shouted, "Fuck! That succubus' seduction has become so powerful that he isn't even picking up our calls!"Charlie took a deep pu
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 95
"I thought I saw Ares, but he also… didn't look like himself?" the man answered, scratching his head. "That dude was expressionless! He really sent a shiver down my spine."The woman slapped the back of his head. "I knew you drank too much! This is what I was saying! Come on, Ares has been dead for years! You saw a ghost in the middle of the day!"The man trembled. She was right! Ares had died in a drowning while trying to save someone!He scanned the airport but could no longer see the man from before. His skin crawled.Did he really see a ghost?-The simple explanation for why the man could not find him anymore was that Ash had left the airport.Justine saw Ash as soon as she got out of the car. She looked rather haggard—the lack of clues in Aurora's home had ruined her sleep the night before, not to mention how many times she had cried earlier that day."Are you feeling unwell?" Ash asked, placing his hand on her forehead.She didn't have a fever.Justine was too tired to
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 94
"You and your stories. If there's no picture, don't spread rumors!" The woman patted the girl's back. "Now quit dragging your feet. You have homework to do!"Penny Parkman pouted and mumbled to herself as she left. On the day that fuckboy and his bitch trended on Twitter, she had been taking a school exam. Just when she wanted to save those pictures, Ash had scrubbed the platform clean of any searches.The adults exchanged glances and silently decided not to bring up the topic.No matter who he was—or what he looked like—a man with foul behavior was as good as nothing. Justine was young and could still find herself a good husband if she chose.The townsfolk refused to accept Justine's payment for the gravestone, so she thanked them with a large feast at a local restaurant.After lunch, the town's older women began discussing renovations for Aurora's house.Suddenly, the driver called her, but Justine declined immediately."Time to go, huh?" Nyla asked.Justine nodded, smiling.
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 93
Justine searched every inch she could see but found nothing of interest. She fell to the floor, dismayed.Aurora was not usually like this.Justine bit her lip.This place was too clean. Aurora must have wiped every possible hint away, ensuring Justine could not uncover the identity of the real culprit, allowing her to remain in the safety of ignorance.At that moment, Ash's video call came through.Justine wanted to ignore it but knew it was better to answer him.Besides, she was visiting the grave of someone recently deceased. It was natural for her to look forlorn and teary—she didn't have to hide her emotions."What is it?" she signed.Ash noticed her puffy, red eyes and sensed her mood."I just finished work," he said gently. "Have you had your dinner?"Justine reeled.Dinner? She had forgotten even lunch."No, not yet. I'll eat now. Goodbye.""Jean."She paused. Ash had always called her "Justine". He never used her nickname."Don't cry alone. You can always talk t
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 92
In their three years of marriage, Ash seemed to care about Justine only when they were having sex. Outside of those moments? He was apathetic.In the last two days, he had hugged her more times than he had over the entire three years."What's the hurry?" Ash tightened his grip on Justine's chin—but gently. "Have you forgotten what you usually do at this moment?"Justine glanced at him and brushed his lips with hers."Happy now?" she signed."Wow. Where's the effort?" he protested."You didn't always let me kiss you goodbye before, either!" she protested back, signing emphatically.Ash moved in and kissed her lips."You used to do it like this," he murmured, pulling away.She couldn't read his expression, but it looked almost like… grievance.'Grievance? What grievances? Since when had he been denied anything he wanted?' she grumbled inwardly.Justine looked away. "Whatever."She couldn't bear to see Ash look like that.Ash hugged her, ruffling her hair. "If you need anythi
