Brent's gaze grew colder. He took his phone and placed it on the table. "Do you know your current status?" he asked, holding back a growl. The muscles in his neck seemed to tighten. Obviously, he was furious.
Beverley glanced at Brent's cell phone only to see her picture on it—a photo of her still in her wedding dress, on the side of the road, messy and barefoot. Part of her face was covered by a veil, but her spectacular wedding dress was sure to be recognized by those in the business community.
"Why does it look like Mr. Oliver's bride's dress?"
"Did Mr. Oliver's wife run away from her marriage or what?"
People will think like that if the photo manages to debut on social media. Yeah, unless they think Brent ordered a cheap dress of the same ten designs. But it certainly did not seem like the arrogant style of Mr. Brent Oliver.
Beverley felt a little satisfied at the sight of Brent's anger, though she had to say it was also a little scary. The man had made her suffer enough today, and this was what he deserved. After all, on second thought, Brent's reputation was none of her business.
"Did you hear me?!" Brent's tone rose.
Beverley tried to push her fear away. She closed her eyes for a moment, then smiled. "Mr. Oliver, I have fulfilled my responsibility to marry you. This is enough. As for what other people might think, I have nothing to do with it. That is your business."
"I forced you." Brent hissed. He suddenly bent down and grabbed Beverley's chin. He looked straight into the depths of the woman's eyes. "Or, if you still don't comply, I will withdraw all of your father's medical bills and prevent anyone from handling his treatment."
Beverley became furious after hearing the threat. Her hands were clenched tightly. You bastard! She cursed in her heart. What an immoral, cruel, and heartless rich man!
She wanted to punch Brent in the face. However, instead of successfully punching him, it was she who would probably be beaten to a pulp. After all, if that man twisted her neck even a little, she would definitely die.
Brent snorted coldly, looking at Beverley, who was just silent. He could feel the anger burning in her eyes, as well as a hint of fear. Victory filled his heart. The red-lipped woman would not be able to fight him.
Red lips.
Brent's gaze was involuntarily drawn to Beverley's moist, parted lips. At this close distance, he could not look away. His lover's lips were not even more seductive than this.
"Let me go!" Beverley tried to keep Brent's hand away from her chin. However, the man tightened his grip even more. It made her hiss in pain. "Brent Oliver!"
Suddenly, Brent pulled her neck, and their lips met. Brent's thick lips pressed against her lips. She immediately shut her mouth tightly. Her hands hit and pushed the man's chest hard.
"You haven't even apologized to me, you bastard!" shouted Beverley angrily. She immediately stood up and ran into the bathroom. The door was immediately locked.
For a moment, Brent was speechless. His brow furrowed slightly. Then he thought, why should he apologize? Did she expect him to feel guilty for marrying her forcibly?
He snorted coldly. How funny, he thought sarcastically.
"Don't expect it," he mumbled flatly. After that, he took his cell phone and left the room while slamming the door.
Beverley took a deep breath after hearing the sound of the bedroom door closing violently. At least Brent did not rape her here. She felt a little scared when she thought about it.
She came out of the bathroom, and there was a knock on his bedroom door. It was Aunt Daisy who told her dinner was ready. Feeling uncomfortable to refuse, Beverley followed Aunt Daisy to the table.
They descended the circular marble staircase. Then Aunt Daisy led Beverley into the dining room, which was a short distance from the main staircase. They needed to pass through the corridor to the right of the stairs before finally arriving at another spacious room.
The dining table was so big and long. It was made of bone-white marble and thick glass. There are ten chairs with high backs surrounding it. Above the dining table was a large crystal chandelier that shone warmly.
Beverley was speechless. Now she finally realized that this mansion was much more luxurious than she thought. How rich is Brent to have such a luxurious mansion?
Old Edward had been waiting in the dining room for a long time. He immediately pulled up one of the dining chairs when he saw Beverley coming. "Madam, please have a seat," he said.
"Thank you." Beverley smiled awkwardly. She looked at the amount of food on the table. It is a luxury food; meaning food for special dishes such as celebrations for certain events. There was also a bottle of red wine and champagne prepared.
"I guess this is too much, isn't it?" Beverley looked at Edward and Aunt Daisy in surprise.
Aunt Daisy took a deep breath. "Sorry, Madam, I thought it was going to be a great night. Maybe I am wrong."
Beverley understood. Normal people would think tonight would be a night of celebration for their wedding. However, there is no such thing. This wedding was not something to be happy about, so they did not need to celebrate in any way.
"Where is that man? Has he had dinner?"
At that moment, she heard footsteps from behind. She turned her head and saw Brent coming in with a straight face, followed by another man who looked the same age. The man looked strange; Beverley had never seen him before.
Edward, who was still standing there, immediately pulled out a chair for Brent. Now Beverley came face to face with the man again. Seeing him made the food on the table look unappealing.
"Sir, wine or champagne?" Edward offered Brent a drink.
"Wine."
Edward immediately opened the bottle of wine and poured it into Brent's glass. He moved next to Beverley and poured the same drink into the woman's glass after saying sorry.
Brent twirled the wine glass in his hand while watching the dark red liquid swirl around. His brows furrowed in displeasure. Even the crystal chandelier on the ceiling seemed to have lost its warmth.
No one spoke, as if Brent's presence intimidated people and prevented them from speaking up. Only Aunt Daisy took the initiative to set the plates on the table.
Beverley snorted softly and picked up some food for herself. She wanted to quickly finish this dinner and go back to her bedroom. At least she would not see Brent's face any longer.
She stabbed her fork over the piece of roast beef. Suddenly, Brent said, "Jace, give her the rules."
The foreign man called Jace took out a thick black folder. He smiled at Beverley and then handed her the black folder. "Madam, sorry, you should read it."
Beverley looked suspiciously at the man. She lowered her gaze and looked at the words, 'Special Rules for Unwanted Marriage by Mr. Oliver'.
"…."
Hell. This is hell!
Brent and his colleagues gathered evidence of Natalie’s crimes in three days. They handed it over to the police, and an arrest was made.Beverley participated in the arrest. Brent forbade her at first, but she insisted on going. She wanted to see if Natalie would confess to her crime.“She had every intention of harming you, honey,” Brent said as they arrived at Natalie’s apartment. He looked at his wife tenderly. “Don’t let her do it again.”“Don’t worry, Brent. She won’t because we’re coming with the police officers.”Brent kissed her forehead lovingly. “All right. Let’s go out.” He opened the door and led Beverley out of the car.Beverley chuckled. Since learning of her pregnancy, Brent’s demeanor had become gentler towards her. He would also grant her whatever she wanted. He was so sweet and loving.The police officers preceded them into the apartment building. Brent and Beverley followed. Jace, Ryan, Logan, and Jax were behind them. The four men didn’t want to miss the spectacle.
Chris’s death was a heavy blow to Brent and Michael. Chris had harmed them greatly and caused much trouble for the Oliver family. However, they didn’t want him to die at all.In the days following the funeral, Brent became very busy. He struggled to investigate who had masterminded the accident. The police were investigating, but he couldn’t rely solely on them.That problem caused a significant reduction in his time with Beverley. She understood that. However, she wondered how serious the matter was.It was almost midnight, and Brent hadn’t gone upstairs to bed even though he was home from work. Beverley stepped down the stairs carefully. No one seemed to be hanging around the mansion. The servants had already rested.Beverley peered out into the courtyard and saw Ryan’s car parked there. ‘They’re still here,’ she thought.She cautiously stepped closer to the rarely used reading room. It was on the west side of the mansion. Lately, Brent often gathered with some strangers there until
Tears fell on Brent’s face. He immediately turned around and hugged Beverley. His body trembled, and he cried silently.Beverley hugged him tightly. She understood his grief. Brent usually seemed to hate Chris so much. However, he had always protected him.As angry as Brent was, he never went cruel or too far with Chris. The threats that came out of his mouth were just words he didn’t mean. The man had always secretly loved Chris. Or he never realized it.“All this time, I was in no hurry to reconcile with him. I thought... we had more time,” Brent whispered with his eyes closed.“I shouldn’t have gone to New York. That should have been a sign.”Beverley stroked Brent’s back. Her palm felt the traces of fabric across his back. Her brow furrowed deeply. Was what Chris said true? She tried to put that aside for the moment.“Brent, even if you don’t go to New York, you can’t change fate,” Beverley whispered. “You have to let him go.”Brent said nothing. He let go of his embrace and then
Chris’ body was lying in the middle of the road. Fresh blood was flowing from his head. His face was covered in blood. He was silent and motionless.Beverley trembled at what had just happened. Her face was deathly pale. “No, no, no. Chris, are you okay?!”She tried to stand up, but her legs were sore and weak. Her stomach and head hurt, too. Frantically, she crawled over to the man.Chris was choking and out of breath. Beverley burst into tears immediately after seeing how bad his condition was. She immediately held his hand.“Chris, I’ll call for help. Please hold on,” she pleaded in a trembling voice. She quickly grabbed her cell phone, but Chris gripped her hand.“Beverley...” Chris called out weakly.“Don’t say anything, please!” Beverley tearfully tried to control her trembling hands. She dialed 911 in a panic.“I’m sorry... Bev,” Chris whispered with difficulty. He felt his body floating higher and higher. His chest was tight. Pain shot from his head to his toes.“No, Chris. Do
Emma’s funeral was a quick affair. James and Beverley agreed to keep things simple and inconspicuous. They didn’t invite many people either.The funeral took place a day later. At the cemetery, Beverley stood behind her father, who crouched by the tombstone. The funeral ceremony was over. Some people who had come had left.Michael approached Beverley. The old man tapped her shoulder and whispered, “Brent should be arriving in Los Angeles soon. That boy is really...”Beverley shook her head and smiled. “He ran into some obstacles that delayed him. That’s okay. He’s in another state, after all. Going home will take hours.”Yesterday, Brent had said he would return home as soon as the meeting was over. However, the man admitted that he found a serious problem that was impossible to leave behind. In the end, he could only return today.“I’m glad that you understand. After Brent arrives at the mansion later, I’ll immediately ask him to come to James’ house.”“Thank you, Dad.”Michael smile
The next day, something surprising happened. Beverley had just arrived at Katy’s cafe that morning. Her cell phone suddenly rang. There was an incoming call from James.“It’s so rare that James calls me,” she muttered and answered the phone immediately. “Hello, Dad.”The sound of James crying suddenly entered Beverley’s ears. The man didn’t say anything, and that worried her. “Dad, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”James sobbed. “Emma....”“What about Emma?” Beverley immediately stood up from the chair. She felt uneasy. Did something bad happen?“She’s taken so many drugs. She overdosed, Bev,” James whispered in a weak voice.Beverley widened her eyes in disbelief. “How... how is that possible?”The sound of James’ sobs could be heard again, along with the noise of several people. There were many people in the place where the man was. And that worried Beverley even more.“Dad, where are you right now? I’ll be right there.”“Come to the house, Bev. They’re taking care of her body,” Ja