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Chapter 54
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Justine knew what Jenny was up to. She hoped Justine would be provoked into aggression so Jenny could pretend to be the victim again. Justine happily obliged. She always beat Jenny up—and she spared no quarters. "Hmph! That much is easy to tell," Leon remarked, his expression one of contempt for the first time."She looks like she's been bullied all her life, but her eyes reveal her true intent," he added. "Seriously, you either pretend not to know anything because you're too damn horny for her, or your brain cells are really that impoverished."Leon's roast made Justine laugh out loud. She responded with two enthusiastic thumbs-up.Justine had expected to have little appetite due to her poor sleep last night, but as soon as the paella arrived, her opinion changed.God, it smelled so good. It was as if her taste buds had awakened.Leon was a humorous, lively conversationalist, and the paella was delicious. Justine had an incredibly enjoyable lunch.Jenny's experience, howev
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 56
After lunch, Leon dropped Justine back at the hospital."Stay with your friend in the ward and don't wander around. The flu is spreading like crazy lately. You've got to be careful," Leon reminded her one last time.Justine nodded, waved goodbye to him, and entered the hospital.Last night had been exhausting, and Sidney was still sound asleep.Her two maids had seen Justine before, and by now, everyone knew about her divorce from Ash.As Justine approached the ward, she overheard the two maids chatting idly."If you ask me, she never should have competed with Ms. Jenny in the first place. They're childhood sweethearts. How can she even compare to that kind of bond? She was clearly in the way."Wouldn't it have been better if she had just asked for a big payout back then? At least she wouldn't have ended up divorced three years later. It's not that easy to find a good match for a second marriage, you know, especially since she's a mute…" said the first maid."You've got it wron
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 57
Justine's fingers trembled as she clutched her phone.So it was him! He had taken the money meant to save Aurora's life!Justine: [Where is he now?]The other party replied: [He was found this morning at a telecom fraud den in Odium. Getting him back won't be easy.]A video arrived shortly after.The dim lighting revealed a man pinned to the ground, sobbing as he shouted, "She gave birth to me but never cared for me! All she does is worry about those fatherless brats in that orphanage."What's wrong with me spending some of her money? Her foster daughter's a rich heiress. Without this 600,000 dollars, she can just ask for more! I didn't abandon my mom! It's her own fault for not asking Justine for more money! I'm not to blame!"He continued wailing, "Sir, I was wrong! Please don't kill me! My mom only has me. I'm her legacy! You've got to leave her a descendant!"The video abruptly cut off.Justine gritted her teeth.Before she married Ash, Aurora had come to see her—the mone
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 58
Justine quickly arranged for a courier service.The medal was one she had won during her last competition with Ares by her side before he passed away. It held immense sentimental value for her.After marrying Ash, she moved out of her family home and into the lakeside villa, and despite her thorough search, she hadn't been able to find the medal.Now, she was finally going to have it back. The thought filled her with joy.Moments later, Martha sent another message.Martha: [Sorry, Ma'am. My daughter-in-law was suddenly called back to work for overtime, and there's no one to take care of my grandson at home. I can't wait for the courier to come get the medal. Would you mind coming to get it yourself? I've placed it on the coffee table. I apologize again for the inconvenience.]Justine didn't think much of it and replied with a simple: [Okay.]Ash was spending the day with Jenny, and ever since Jenny had returned to his life, he hadn't been going back to the lakeside villa anyway.
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 59
Earlier…Ash had already felt nauseous by lunchtime, assuming it was due to the raw oysters he had eaten.By the time his afternoon meeting ended, he was dizzy and weak. A quick temperature check showed 39.8°C.His secretary had insisted on taking him to the hospital, but he refused, instructing the driver to take him back to the house he once shared with Justine.Martha, in a flurry, searched for medicine.As Ash sat on the couch, he watched her open the cabinet filled with various household essentials.Soon, she found the fever reducer and handed it to him, muttering, "Good thing Mrs. Vanderbilt sorted all the medications and labeled them. If not, I wouldn’t have known which one to give you."He said nothing, silently taking the medicine, then walked over to the cabinet.His face remained grave as he opened it, revealing neatly labeled sections—each bearing Justine's elegant handwriting.In better days, back when he and Justine would still have casual "conversations", he had
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 60
Ash, still dizzy, teetered as he stood.A crash downstairs jolted him from his stupor. For a moment, his heart leaped to his throat, fearing something had happened to Justine.Without a second thought, he rushed downstairs, not even bothering to put on his slippers.The large living room was empty.Justine was nowhere to be seen.In the center of the room, shattered on the floor, lay an antique lamp he had cherished—one he had carefully kept in his study.Now, it was reduced to pieces.He had smashed her award medal, so she retaliated by smashing his precious lamp.That was typical of Justine, always quick to repay every slight.The medal had cost tens of thousands. The lamp, however, was a rare antique, bought at auction—worth millions!Ash's vision darkened with fury, and he gripped the banister to keep himself from collapsing.Justine hadn't stayed to face him. After breaking the lamp, she made a quick escape.A car she had called waited at the gate. She slid into the ba
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 61
There was no deeper meaning behind this fake medal. - That night, Justine stayed with Sidney again.The next morning, the doctor came in for rounds and mentioned that Sidney's recovery had exceeded his expectations.Hearing this, Justine felt much more at ease.Sidney, aware of how busy Justine had been with her performances recently, felt guilty for keeping her there.That afternoon, Justine got into Leon's car. Before they headed back to her residence, they decided to visit Kitty at the orphanage.Charitas Home had since been taken over by government-appointed personnel, and Kitty's medical expenses were now fully covered."Justine, you've changed the lives and future of 127 children," Leon said, his voice filled with admiration and pride as he looked at her.Justine thought about it for a moment before honestly signing, "It was my ex-husband who saved them, not me."She wasn't naive.An orphanage that big, with so much wrongdoing happening within, couldn't have gone unn
A Dance of Substitutes with Mr. Vanderbilt Chapter 62
Seeing the large teardrops roll down Kitty's cheeks, Justine froze.It reminded her of a time when she had once looked up at someone else, crying in the exact same way.Suddenly, a rumbling sound and harsh noise echoed in her ears. A blurry, black-and-white scene flashed through her mind.She was on a dilapidated bus, huddled in Aurora's arms, who held her tightly as she trembled uncontrollably."Don't be scared, sweetie. We're on the bus now, we're safe. You're safe, and so are we," Aurora had said."Justine? What's wrong?" a familiar but distant voice called out, as though from far away.Justine couldn't place whose voice it was. She turned to look out the cracked bus window.Outside, the barren wasteland resembled a charcoal drawing, bleak and lifeless, with only a distant fire standing out vividly against the darkness.Although she could only see the flames, she knew with chilling certainty that it was a car engulfed in fire.Suddenly, she went rigid, her gaze empty as she
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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
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'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
