"Why should he get it? This is completely unfair to the rest of us!""Exactly! We came here trusting the reputation of Wonders Corporation, and now you're just handing things over without any explanation?""How can you give it away like that without warning? At least give us a decent reason. This is shameless!"The crowd erupted in complaints, clearly displeased by the sudden turn of events. Onstage, the host was visibly sweating, wiping his brow nervously. But there was no turning back now, so he braced himself and delivered the final blow."This amethyst will go to Mr. Ford."Upon hearing the prestigious Ford family name, the enraged socialites began to regain their composure. After all, the Ford family was no ordinary household. They controlled nearly half of the city’s wealth, with the other half belonging to the York family. Everyone knew that the only heir of the Ford family was Eugene Ford, who had just returned from studying abroad."Mr. Ford, please come up to receive
The assistant locked eyes with Quincy’s silent but clearly angry gaze, and for a moment, he felt completely stuck. Without saying another word, he quickly took the box and left the way he had come.Lydia glanced at Quincy, a bit hesitant. “Are you upset?”“No.” Quincy paused, noticing the concern in her eyes, and added, “You don’t need to tiptoe around me. If you have something to say, just say it. I won’t be mad.”Still, he didn’t offer any explanation for what had just happened. After the auction, Lydia noticed him glance back over his shoulder, but she couldn’t tell if he was looking at Eugene or not. Something about the tension between the two men made her feel like there was more going on than she understood.As the yacht had set sail at the start of the auction, all the guests were expected to spend the night on board. The organizers had thoughtfully arranged private rooms for everyone. Lydia and Quincy were assigned rooms as well—two separate ones, with a significant dista
Eugene made his way to the private room where Lydia was being kept. Just as he was about to open the door, Quincy appeared, his expression cold and tense."Did you take Lydia?" Quincy demanded, his voice sharp.Eugene paused, his hand resting on the doorknob, before slowly turning to face him with a slight, almost mocking smile. "What are you talking about? Isn’t Lia supposed to be with you?""Lia?""It’s a nickname we used to have for her when we were kids," Eugene explained smoothly, his tone calm but laced with an unsettling undertone.Quincy’s eyes narrowed. From the first time he had met Eugene, Quincy had sensed that he wasn’t just an ordinary rival. In their world, few people were truly innocent, but Eugene was different. He was someone whose presence sent chills even through those who thought themselves untouchable.And someone like that having an obsession with Lydia? Quincy had been on guard from the start, but it seemed this charity event had given Eugene another ope
Lydia was woken by Quincy’s voice, his expression filled with concern. Groggily, she opened her eyes and saw him leaning over her.“Quincy… why are you here? My head hurts so much,” she murmured, pressing a hand to her temple. It felt like her head was about to split open.She tried to recall what had happened before she blacked out, but her memory was a blur. The last thing she remembered was seeing a waiter, and then… nothing. She couldn’t even piece together how Quincy had found her.Lydia asked Quincy about it, but his expression grew complicated. He hesitated, as if he had something on his mind but wasn’t sure whether to say it. Finally, he chose to hold back. "You’re not feeling well, so don’t worry about it too much. It’s almost morning, and the yacht is returning to the harbor. Let’s just get off and head home."Seeing how evasive he was, Lydia instinctively felt that Quincy was hiding something from her. But her headache was too severe to focus on it. For now, she let it
"But I hope this will be the last time," Lydia said firmly. "And please, tell Eugene for me that I don’t want to have anything to do with him anymore."Mrs. Ford seemed like she wanted to say something more, but Lydia had had enough. She was truly afraid of what they were capable of, so she hung up the phone without hesitation.After the call, Lydia paid extra attention over the next couple of days, even asking the receptionist to keep an eye out."No, we haven’t received any suspicious packages in the past two days," the receptionist said, shaking her head."Good. Keep an eye out, and if anything shows up, just throw it away," Lydia instructed, feeling finally at ease as she walked away.With no more mysterious packages arriving and no further contact from the Ford family, Lydia's mood lightened. She truly believed that the Fords had finally stopped causing trouble. But a few days later, she arrived at the office early, as usual, only to find employees gathered and whispering a
"Miss Lydia, are you alright? Maybe you should go to the hospital or call Mr. Quincy.""The stuff online isn’t always true, don’t worry too much about it.""Yeah, don’t let it get to you."The people who were gossiping just moments ago suddenly acted concerned, crowding around Lydia with worried faces. But their concern didn’t warm her, it left her feeling cold.Ignoring their offers to help, Lydia grabbed one of the employees from the planning department and asked, "Where is Quincy?"The planning department was right next to Quincy’s office. The employee informed her that Quincy was inside his office, but the door was locked.Not wasting another second, Lydia rushed over, leaving the group behind. When she arrived, she found the door locked, and even Quincy’s assistant was standing outside, unable to enter."Miss Lydia, you’re here! We can’t get in. Quincy saw something on his phone earlier and then locked us all out," the assistant explained, frustration clear in his voice. "H
"Even without all this, I’d still believe you. You’d never do something like that to me," Quincy said softly."Quincy!" Lydia cried out, throwing herself into his arms.She cried hard, her tears flowing, but deep inside, her heart felt warm and light. As long as Quincy believed her, that was all that mattered.Quincy immediately had the PR team working around the clock to squash the online rumors. They threw tens of thousands at the problem, sending cease-and-desist letters, and the whole company was scrambling to get a handle on the situation. But it seemed like there was a force behind the scenes pushing the rumors to spread even further.Despite all their efforts, the gossip was out of control. A few days later, Lydia’s parents found out.Mrs. Fay called immediately, though it was clear Mr. Fay was the one who wanted answers. She was just the messenger."What’s going on between you and that boy from the Ford family? Didn’t you say you didn’t like him?" Mrs. Fay asked, soundi
Even Quincy was a bit puzzled by the sudden request from his parents to meet Lydia, but he didn’t dwell on it. He assumed they simply wanted to meet their daughter-in-law. He reassured Lydia, “We’ve already gotten married, but my parents haven’t met you yet. This is just a good chance for them to finally see you.”“Alright,” Lydia agreed, though still a little nervous.“Don’t worry, they won’t make things difficult for you.”With Quincy’s constant reassurance, Lydia felt a little more at ease. She reminded herself that meeting the in-laws was inevitable, and they were actually a bit late in doing so, considering they were already married.Quincy didn’t come from a wealthy background. His family was middle-class, living in an older apartment on the outskirts of town. Their office was downtown, so even though it wasn’t far, the traffic made the trip longer than usual.As Lydia watched the older buildings flash by outside the window, she turned to Quincy and asked, “Why didn’t you