Zoey looked at him through the tears in her eyes. She couldn’t see his expression through the steam and the water, but she could guess.He was most probably expressionless and distant, as always. Just like how he spoke to her. Polite and distant.Zoey knew Laurence’s personality. He was easygoing on the surface and looked unbothered, but he expected everyone to do as he wished. He wanted everything and everyone to be under his control.Zoey felt cold. Her body trembled. “Please go out. I can do it myself,” she said hoarsely.Laurence considered her for a moment.Her wet clothes hid none of her curves.She looked flustered and unkempt. Her face was pale, but there was a flush around her eyes.Laurence answered mildly, “Okay.”When the bathroom door closed, Zoey relaxed and slid onto the floor with her back to the wall. The shower was still on, drenching her in hot water. The bathroom was filled with steam.She buried her face in her hands as her tears fell. Her teeth were tightly gritte
Zoey had no choice but to concede.Laurence felt that he had given Zoey enough respect and leniency in this matter. He let go of her. “I hope this won’t happen again.”Zoey wasn’t really the submissive kind, but it wasn’t like she could disagree with him on this. “Okay.”Laurence threw the photos into a shredder. Even though they were destroyed, those photos still stayed in his mind. He had to admit that Zoey looked happy with that man.A lawyer. That was a worrying career.“You mentioned that he was a lawyer?” Laurence asked with feigned nonchalance.Zoey did not look at him. “Yes.”“How did you get to know him?” His voice was level and emotionless, as if he didn’t really care about the answer.Zoey could not tell him the truth, so she looked up and forced a smile. “I got frightened when your lawyer told me about the compensation for breaching our contract, so I found myself a lawyer too.” With pursed lips, she began to lie, “He’s the brother of a classmate. I had no money to hire a l
Laurence was an efficient man. He wasted no time with dinner arrangements with Jason.Zoey didn’t know why he was so insistent to meet Jason. She was worried that he would investigate his background after the dinner.She didn’t want to drag him into this mess. She felt guilty.However, she also knew now was not the time to provoke Laurence. She had to play to his wishes and be obedient, just like he had told her to.Zoey bit her lip. She threw caution to the wind, sidled closer to him, and climbed onto his lap with her arms around his neck.Laurence was not affected by this at all. He just looked at her with slight amusement in his eyes. Her seduction was clumsy and unnatural.Boldly, Zoey pressed her cheek against his and whispered into his ear, “Mr. Scott, let’s go back to Northwell as soon as you’re done with work. There’s no need to meet Mr. Lane.”She smelt faintly of camellias. Her skin was fair and smooth, while her reddened eyes begged for sympathy.Laurence raised his hand an
Zoey thanked Laurence for his jacket.…The next day, Zoey went to the charity auction with Laurence as his partner and secretary.Even though it was a charity auction, it was hard to say where the funds really went in the end.But this wasn’t a concern to the wealthy. All they wanted from this was reputation.Zoey wore the dress that Laurence had picked out for her. This was one of his new hobbies, picking out clothes for her.Thankfully, he had good taste. The dresses he chose were quite beautiful.There were a couple that Zoey thought were nice, but Laurence did not allow her to wear them in public. She didn’t ask why.Zoey saw Shawn and Sarah at the auction as well. After last night, what little sentiment she felt toward Shawn was gone.He was nothing but a rabid dog who went around biting people for fun.Shawn came up to them and greeted Zoey. “Did you have a good night yesterday, Miss Jenner?”Zoey swallowed her anger and replied calmly, “No thanks to you.”Shawn ignored Laurence
Zoey knew that Laurence had just been teasing Sarah when he bid against her just now.She swallowed her words. She couldn’t compete against Sarah.If Laurence ever had to choose between her and Sarah, the choice was obvious. He would never choose her, no matter what happened.She still wanted to try though. It was her only chance.Sarah would never give her back her mother’s heirlooms once she got her hands on them.Zoey took a deep breath and grabbed Laurence’s hand. “Do you still mean what you said just now, Mr. Scott?”She only showed him affection when she wanted something from him.Laurence stared at her. “Yes, I do. What do you want?”Zoey’s heart pounded in her chest. She tried to dress up her words so that she didn’t seem too desperate. “That emerald necklace is quite pretty.” She hesitated, at a loss for words, as she met Laurence’s amused eyes. “It’s just a little too expensive.”She didn’t know what to say beyond that.As he stared at her flushed face, Laurence raised a hand
Zoey lifted her head and met Sarah’s gaze calmly. This degree of humiliation was nothing compared to what she’s experienced over the years, so an apology was no big deal. Zoey’s fist clenched, and she pushed down her frustration and turned to Sarah.“Sorry,” Zoey said nonchalantly, saying nothing more.There was nothing she could do except pretend that she wasn’t feeling ashamed at all. A bright person all her life, Sarah quickly stopped crying and grinned.“Alright, alright. How can we blame Miss Jenner when I was the one who asked her? It’ll just make me look petty if you make her apologize!”From the outside, Sarah played the perfect lady who was easygoing and didn’t mind the humiliation. Shawn looked slightly disappointed as he watched Sarah smile. He loved seeing her smile. It was familiar and nostalgic to him, but he couldn’t place a finger on what was different. He passed Sarah a clean handkerchief and instructed her.“Wipe off your tears before laughing.”Sarah accepted the clo
Zoey glanced at the glass of wine before her, not saying a word. Laurence sat beside her lazily, his arms draped naturally over her shoulders. The top two buttons of his shirt had come undone, making him look more relaxed. On the contrary, Zoey was stiff as a poker.Sarah drew a deck of cards from a drawer and sat cross-legged on the carpet. She had casually clipped her hair back, but a few loose strands still fell on her cheek, showing her fair, slender neck and intricate features.She asked, “Want to play poker? It’s fairly simple.”Zoey had no idea what Sarah was up to, but she knew it wasn’t going to be anything good.“I’m good.”Shawn snorted loudly before Sarah could reply.“What a spoilsport you are, Miss Jenner.”“So be it,” thought Zoey, too lazy to argue with him.Pretending to smooth things over, Sarah pleaded with Zoey.“Three people is not enough; we need four. Please help us out, Miss Jenner.”Sarah was already humbling herself, so Zoey would only look rude if she refused
Zoey’s body was beginning to burn up from all the alcohol, but Laurence’s words woke her up like a bucket of cold water. The wine had reached the top of her throat and was burning. Feeling the blood drain from her face, Zoey pulled her pale finger back, no longer expecting him to stand up for her like a knight in shining armor. All three of them were messing with her just to make things difficult. Zoey’s head was already spinning from the drinks she had, so she shakily picked up a glass of warm water and sipped half of it, but the burning sensation in her stomach didn’t ease up at all. The game continued. Zoey knew that there was no way she could beat them. Fury igniting within her, she ignored the cards on the table and filled her glass with wine.“We’re done. I give up.”With that, she downed her glass. The living room went pin-drop silent as nobody spoke. Sarah glared at Zoey, her smile hardening, while Shawn said nothing, his eyes dark like a deep lake, resembling the calm before