Benjamin took a deep breath and puffed out his chest.Grace was growing more and more distant from him by the day, but it was okay. Jessica had already been sent away, so Grace would never know that the person she had fallen in love with at first sight was actually Alexander. Anthony finished his speech, and the programme that the staff had prepared for the night began. The food was served. Since Noelle was the successor to Elysium Bank and she rarely appeared in public, many people came by to toast her.Timothy sensed that the atmosphere at their table had become rather awkward, so he tried to lighten the mood. "Milady, do you know the Iversons? They're one of the four largest families in Frenda."Grace knew about them. "We've had a few dealings in the past.""The second son of the Iversons is here in Pamore."Grace thought about it for a moment. She vaguely remembered that the name of the Iversons' second son was Joshua; he had been the one who had gone against Xander beca
Grace's black eyes were very bright, and there was a firm resolve in them that no one else had. She looked at Benjamin, who let go of her guiltily. "I did hide things from you in the past, but I've never done that since we got divorced. Although it's late, I'm sure you know how I feel about you.""That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about before we got married."Benjamin swayed, and he pressed his lips together tightly. He didn't speak for a long time. "What?"Grace hadn't wanted to expose him. In fact, she had initially planned on just treating him like a stranger if they met. Since Benjamin insisted on pestering her, she didn't want to be taken for a fool."If you had admitted it yourself, I would've still admired your guts as a man, even though it's late. But it seems that you don't even have the courage to admit it." Grace spoke slowly, watching as Benjamin's expression turned gradually darker. "Does your older brother, Alexander, know that you married me in his
"You're impossible." Grace turned around. "I don't want to see you again."She strode off. Benjamin reached out a hand to try and stop her, but he missed. Grace's dress flared, and Benjamin caught sight of her bandaged ankle. He frowned. He had seen that kind of bandaging before. Anyone who had graduated from the police academy would know how to do it. Every New Year, Alexander refused to return to Hawkins Manor. It always made Elizabeth rather sad, so she would arrange for things to be delivered to him. Once, Benjamin had been roped into it and had gone to see Alexander. It had been raining heavily that year, and the police academy had been in a remote location. As they had been driving, a landslide had occurred. Both Benjamin and the driver had been buried in it. The students from the police academy had rescued them. Alexander had been one of them. He had been surprised to see Benjamin, but he was mature beyond his years. "You're Benjamin.""...you're Alexander.""A
There was a woman standing beside Joshua. She looked like she was trying to keep a low profile, but anyone could see that she was dressed from head to toe in branded attire. It was obvious that she was afraid that no one would notice her.She took Joshua's arm and smiled sweetly. "Ms. Noelle, you're as beautiful as I imagined."Noelle had been talking to Joshua, but the woman had interrupted them. The people around them looked at her strangely, and Joshua pulled his arm away. In answer to Noelle's previous question, he said, "No."The woman's expression darkened. Noelle's lip curled. "No wonder. Since we haven't met for so many years, I thought that perhaps your taste in women got worse."She was young and very charming. Joshua couldn't look away from her. "You're all grown up now, and you've got a sharp tongue. Do you have a boyfriend?"Noelle was about to speak when Anthony stopped her. "Not yet. She's still young. We're not in a rush about these things.""She's reached t
Joshua stuck out his hand and pulled Celia into his embrace. "She says she doesn't know who you are."Benjamin didn't say anything. He stared intently at Celia, who had changed so completely. No matter how angry he was, he couldn't make a scene at this time. Elysium Bank's annual party wasn't a joke, and there were many high officials present. He couldn't embarrass Anthony. Joshua was even more powerful than Hawkins Group, and it wouldn't be a good idea to offend him either. Grace could tell that Benjamin was suppressing his anger. When Joshua and the others took their seats, Timothy followed them. Grace grabbed Noelle's hand and whispered in her ear. Noelle nodded.After that, Grace didn't hang around longer; she left the party. Luke was waiting outside. "The production company that Joshua invested in is Stellar, which is one of the most popular companies right now. They're rivals with Amirate's film and television department.""Check the artists that he's signed on rec
The next day, Noelle rushed to Amirate to tell Grace about what had happened the night before."Joshua has an official girlfriend that he's been seeing for about three or four months. However, the Iversons don't acknowledge her existence, and her background is unclear. They just treat it as him playing around."Grace was flipping through some documents. "For the Iversons, even both the Hawkins family and Hawkins Group put together are insignificant. "Besides, Benjamin had exiled Celia to Astana. How did she come back?"Noelle shook her head. "No one knows. I heard that Joshua erased all traces of her past."This was interesting. Was Celia really that capable?Grace twirled the pen in her hand. "How were things last night?""Joshua and Timothy were like oil and water. Timothy tried to trick him into slipping up but failed despite trying the entire night. He was furious."Grace couldn't help laughing at the idea that Timothy had failed for once."Celia was at the table playing
Celia heard Grace's voice and turned around slowly. "Oh, I see that the boutique's real owner is here."Grace was calm as she snatched the bag from Celia's hand. She scanned it with her phone. "The official website's scanner shows that it's authentic. What do you have to say?"Emily took Grace's arm. "She's doing it on purpose. She just wants to make trouble. I already scanned it earlier."Celia crossed her arms over her chest and said arrogantly, "Then, it must be damaged because you didn't store it properly. I'm not going to accept this bag. You must give me a full refund.""You're shameless!" Emily was so angry that her scalp prickled. She tried to push past Grace. Grace stopped her. "Ms. Hawkins, it's okay if you don't accept this bag. We can give you a full refund as well. I'll just let the official manufacturer know so that they will never custom-make anything for you from now on. How about it?"In other words, Celia would be blacklisted. Celia's expression changed. Th
"That's enough." Celia cut her off, looking sullen. She had suffered at Grace's hands before, and she knew that it was very likely that the latter indeed had a connection with Joshua's first love. She didn't dare risk it in front of so many people.Grace turned her phone in her hands.Celia approached her and said in a low voice, "Don't get too triumphant. There's more in store for you."Grace touched her hair, and her eyes shifted to the figure in the distance. "I'll be waiting."Celia turned around angrily and left the boutique with her posse. Silence fell at once. The smile dropped off of Grace's face. Noelle asked hurriedly, "Grace, does Joshua really have a first love?""I made it up."Emily laughed out loud. "I knew it! Only Celia would be dumb enough to be fooled by that. This just shows that she doesn't know Joshua well enough. She's just bluffing and putting on airs."At that moment, Jake and his female companion came up to them. The woman said, "I've come to get