Never Fall in Love With Him(9)

20 Juliette (Extra)

My name was Matilda.

I liked Benjamin for a long time.

It had been fourteen years, seven months, and twenty-one days.

That was right. I was sure I had a crush on Benjamin, fourteen years, seven months, and twenty-one days ago, on the first day of September.

We were only 12 years old then.

We were both Grade 7 students at Lusterg Middle School, a famous century-old private school.

I carried my new flask with hot water on the first day of school.

My mother, Linda Larouche, reminded me before I went out that when I got to school, I could mix some cold water in before drinking. Or I could drink after the water had cooled down.

I was going to do that.

But after PE class, I poured the hot water out to cool it down, and at the same time, I found a super handsome boy walking into our class.

Accidentally, I met his eyes and suddenly became very nervous.

Again accidentally, I casually picked up the cup and took a sip.

Then.

I sprayed it all out.

It was a mess.

The boy had already sat in his seat, but he stood up again and handed me a bottle of mineral water. "Drink some cold water first, and remember to dilute hot water into warm water before drinking it next time."

I tried my best to exhale in an attempt to get rid of the feeling of being scalded in my mouth. At the same time, I took over the mineral water with a flushed face and drank it.

That day, I knew his name, Benjamin.

Afterward, I thought, maybe in Benjamin's eyes, I was like a scalded puppy.

Benjamin was a very cheerful and easy-going person. He had many friends, but I dared not become friends with him. I only dared to crush on him secretly.

I also wrote him a love letter, but I had no courage to give it to him.

I was an ugly duckling. Maybe it wasn't wrong to fall in love with a swan. But if the swan knew I liked him, it must be my fault.

I just felt that writing a love letter was a qualified secret love for a girl.

However, this love letter was stuffed by an unknown into Benjamin's desk. And it was even read to all grades by Harvey Fenton, Benjamin's best friend.

From then on, I became the laughingstock of the whole school.

I was not good-looking, not good at studying, and my family condition was not the best.

How dared such a person like me have a vain attempt to like Benjamin, the top noble son?

I really committed a heinous crime.

The girls who may also like Benjamin but dared not say it out regarded me as an imaginary enemy.

At first, they just laughed at me. Seeing that I was really weak and never resisted, they finally developed into cases of bullying.

I didn't know if Benjamin knew I was bullied because of him. I also had imagined if only he could say something for me, even one sentence would be fine.

On my 13th birthday, I received a note from Benjamin.

He asked me to meet him at an amusement park in the suburbs at night. He said he would take me to sit on the Ferris wheel at night and light the lights of the Ferris wheel for me by my name.

I went to the appointment full of joy.

But I kept waiting until the middle of the night and didn't wait for Benjamin, who was supposed to come.

I knew. I was fooled.

I just didn't know whether it was Benjamin or the people around him who lied to me.

I would rather believe it was someone around him.

That day, I walked home step by step.

I did not go back to school again. I told my mother that my classmates in school were too rich, and as a middle-class family, there was still a big gap between us despite my efforts. I was unhappy and forced my mother to transfer me to another school.

And at that time, my father's business happened to fail, so my mother quickly helped me transfer to another school.

Later, I changed schools, changed my name, and had plastic surgery. Basically, I went to university smoothly.

But I couldn't forget Benjamin.

It was not exaggerated to say that since I became "beautiful," many people pursued me too.

But none of them was Benjamin.

Maybe it was because of destiny. When I graduated from university and looked for a job, I saw Benjamin recruiting a secretary during my first recruitment information search.

Well, it wasn't arranged by destiny. I had been paying attention to him instead.

I knew his father was very powerful, and so was Benjamin now. But he now and in the news, was completely different from what I remembered.

In all kinds of gossip, he had become the scandal boyfriend of the young ladies, which was basically the dream of millions of girls.

I slightly wanted to know what was wrong with him.

So when I learned that he was going to recruit a secretary, I went to an acquaintance who was working as an HR personnel in his company. Then I successfully entered the final interview and finally came to Benjamin to lurk around as I wished.

To be honest, I was expecting him to recognize me on the first day of work, but he didn't.

I guessed there was no Juliette, no, Matilda in his memory at all.

This was good. It would be easier for me to lurk in this way.

Hearing the news was one thing. But I felt heartbroken when I really watched Benjamin keep having heartless relationships.

In my memory, he was so cheerful and warm!

But now, his eyes and heart were empty.

I didn't know what actually happened to him. But it was a good thing for me.

If the perfect Benjamin in the past could only make me feel helpless while admiring, I would finally have the chance to have this heartless empty shell, Benjamin.

I tried to help him fill his void.

I worked particularly hard on the job and gradually reshaped him in my own way after gaining his trust.

He liked drinking ice water, then I let him love warm water again.

He had severe insomnia and always worked all night, then I helped him find his sleep again.

He numbed himself by playing among ladies, then I wanted to remind him over and over again that those women only loved his money.

I was not good toward his previous girlfriends, and I always used simple and crude monetary relationships to define their feelings for Benjamin.

Gradually, my reputation as Marguerite LeHand became famous.

It was okay for me.

Even if people all around the world hated me, it would be enough if Benjamin liked me one day.

I knew I had become a bad girl, just like the little girls who once bullied me.

However, an eye for an eye.

Bad people wouldn't get their way.

I didn't get love, and I didn't fill his void.

Because I found that the void in his heart was from Closetta.

Closetta was also one of our classmates at that time. She used to be a school belle, but now even the most famous artist would be jealous of her as the top rich and pretty woman.

I felt I was lost completely.

But I always hoped that at least one of us could be happy in love.

It was enough for Benjamin to be happy.

I thought hard and finally found an idea that he could stimulate and repursue the proud Closetta through a fake relationship.

After thinking for a while, I realized that the sacrifice of this fake love was none other than me.

First, no one was more dedicated than me. Second, no one was easier to be sent off than me. Third, I really wanted to get closer to Benjamin. Even if it was a fake relationship, it would be enough to comfort me for the rest of my life.

So I told Benjamin that if he gave me the money, I could help him repursue Closetta.

Although I felt heartbroken, I told myself it would be a triple win if I succeeded.

Benjamin got love, and I got money and the experience of dating Benjamin even though it was just pretending.

The poor didn't need love, and it was enough for the poor to have an experience.

But I still cried when I realized that my plan had really succeeded.

At first, I thought I would lose Benjamin for real this time.

But I thought again that I never really had Benjamin. So how can I lose him?

I cried even harder.

While crying, I remembered one of the young ladies he dated crying to me and saying, "I want him."

Who didn't want Benjamin? But we weren't worthy of him.

The only good news was I was a rich woman from now on.

21 Benjamin (Extra)

I knew from the start that Juliette and Matilda were the same people, for I would always do a thorough background check on everyone who worked with me.

I left her out because I felt that what happened to her had some relation to my inaction then.

When I was a child, she liked me and wrote me a love letter.

Frankly speaking, it was the first love letter I ever received. But Harvey took it and read it to the world before I could read it.

I didn't stop him because I saw that it was Closetta who instructed Harvey to do it.

At that time, we just entered Grade 7.

I liked Closie, and she loved causing trouble, so I just let her do what she liked.

I thought by doing that and seeing her smile was the love I had for her.

But I, a young boy then, had never thought what Matilda would feel when she was tricked like that.

I even forgot Matilda completely.

Until Juliette, which was Matilda's alias, came to apply to be my secretary.

Juliette's timid eyes immediately reminded me of the little girl who ran when she was fooled by Closie.

At that time, I was already dumped by Closie, and for some reason, I wanted to know what Juliette was up to.

At first, she didn't cross any boundaries. She just stayed by my side, and she was more responsible than any of my previous secretaries. For a long time, I thought it was just because of the great salary.

But slowly, I found some details revealing that she still had feelings for me.

For example, she secretly changed the water I drank into warm water. I was about to get angry at first, but I happened to hear her talking and recommending to others how healthy it was to drink warm.

Even I wouldn't want to brush her kindness aside in front of everyone. Who knew that from then on, she would only serve me warm water?

For another example, she kept telling me not to work and go to bed after midnight, claiming that it was bad for my organs.

Of course, there were many other details, and my previous secretaries had never done so before.

They were all employees who took the salary and executed my words as if they were from the King.

It seemed that Juliette was the only one who really cared about me.

Just like how I was hopelessly in love and concerned about Closetta.

Juliette made me feel that I was not alone, so I kept her beside me and watched what she did. I thought it was very interesting.

But I only had Closetta in my heart. What I could do for Juliette was not expose her.

The day she revealed her ulterior motives was the day I got drunk because of Closetta's engagement.

She offered to be my fake girlfriend and to help me get Closetta back.

I was a little shocked.

However, she said that boldly. If she found ten beautiful girls for the act, it would be mentally tolling and wasn't good for my image. Money was the same. It existed to be spent. At least I didn't have to act when I was "paying attention" to her.

Then she added, "It only costs 1.5 million dollars to hire me. I promise I can get Closetta back for you."

I had to say that Juliette was really smart and knew me very well. Her plan not only touched me, but she could also publicly be in a relationship with someone she liked, and she could earn money too.

If I wasn't the man in question, I would really give her a big applause.

Unfortunately, I was, so I couldn't really give her 1.5 million dollars.

If I really gave her that, she would not be my secretary anymore.

I was a businessman. I didn't want to lose my favorite secretary so soon.

But I did want Closetta. After all, I had never lost so miserably in my life.

So I told Juliette that I would pay her 45 thousand dollars a month, and we could try out the plan.

Because of the 45 thousand dollars a month, Juliette began to play the role of my lover and help me pursue Closetta.

She had tried her best that she even gave me her first time. After we had done the deed, there was an odd emotion in me, and I transferred 150 thousand dollars to her.

I told myself that I didn't want to have a relationship with her other than being her employer.

But in the next few days, she often wandered around in front of me and studied through "Aphrodite" and "Love Camp", as if she wanted to do it again with me.

Or maybe she just wanted to make hundreds of thousands of dollars by doing that with me again.

Both of these thoughts came to my mind, making me very upset.

If she really loved me, what I did would be cruel to her.

I couldn't accept myself doing that.

But I found it was harder for me if she was just dedicated or wanted to make more money.

So after that time, I had complicated feelings for her, which made me a little scared.

I felt this way for Closetta as well.

Was it love?

I had no idea.

All I knew was that Closetta and Juliette appeared in my mind at the same time very frequently from that day onward. I couldn't tell which name I had spent more time thinking about.

My mother was another source of worry for me.

After my mother took Juliette to the party, she gave Juliette the pearl necklace, which was the dowry my grandmother gave her.

I asked my mother how she was willing to give that away. She said it had been a long time since she saw someone as unwasteful as Juliette, which was worthy of commendation.

I told my mother not to regret giving away something so important.

However, she said that she would regret it if she didn't give it to Juliette. She also told me not to like Closetta, as I would only regret it.

Soon, I found out that my mother's words came true.

That day, under Juliette's arrangement, I "pursued" her all the way to Harfush.

After shopping and eating like any ordinary person all day, Closetta called me as Juliette expected.

Juliette hung up the call for me with reddened eyes. She told me not to answer the phone tonight so that when I went back tomorrow, Closetta would definitely become my girlfriend.

When Juliette said these words, I could see tears in her eyes. At that moment, I was sure that Juliette really liked me.

But Juliette nagged me like a fool, "You only gave me 90 thousand dollars. Don't you feel sorry? You have to give me at least 1.5 million dollars."

I asked her why she needed money, and she said it was because she wanted to live a comfortable life.

I didn't know if it was what she said that stimulated me, but I dragged her, and we shared a crazy night together after that.

When I arrived at the airport, it was 6 in the morning.

For some reason, even if I knew that Closetta was waiting for me, I was not excited at all. I just felt my heart was empty.

I was familiar with this feeling. I used to feel like this for Closetta.

But at that moment, I was sure that I had regretted coming to the airport.

I found out that I had long been out of love with Closetta.

Maybe I stopped loving her when she gave up on me for that ridiculous man.

I was obsessed with her just because I wanted to win.

And Juliette made me win.

At that moment, many scenes flashed through my mind, and the main character was Juliette.

I called Closetta and told her that I liked Juliette now.

Closetta was angry.

She told me that Juliette was the Matilda who had written me a love letter when I was young. She said that Juliette was an ugly monster when she was a child, and now she was a plastic weirdo.

It turned out that Closetta would also be jealous.

I simply smiled and replied, "Didn't you do your eyelids too?"

Actually, I didn't care if Juliette had done plastic surgery.

On the way back to Juliette, I was clear-headed.

I wanted to expose her and tell her to stop pretending. She liked me so much, but she still pretended that she just liked my money.

At one point, I didn't care whether Juliette loved me or my money.

When I showed up in front of her and told her that I liked her, she was crying.

She was then stunned for a long time and finally asked in a trembling voice, "You won't take back the money, right?"

I laughed.

Very well, she loved money, and I happened to have enough money to ensure that she would love me forever.

We were a perfect match for each other.

(The End)