Victoria was still scared of a storm like this. For what would take others five to six minutes, she took nearly 20 minutes to return to where they stayed. She was utterly soaked."I'll get the bath ready." Just as they were about to reach, Wendy rushed ahead of her.When Victoria reached her room, dazzling lightning split the night sky, and a loud rumble followed. She couldn't help but freeze in her tracks. Her knees felt weak, and she was shivering.Braving the rain and wind like that was freezing. Trembling, her shoulders suddenly felt heavy.She then fell into a warm, firm embrace and smelled the familiar scent of sandalwood. It was Benjamin's scent. She looked up.Her body and face were wet, and water dripped off her hair. Even her eyes were misty. Through her blurred vision, she saw Benjamin's face. She thought she was mistaken."I … I'm hallucinating." She must've missed him too badly.The person in Benjamin's arms was cold to the touch. Her dainty, radiant face was pale.
Benjamin carried Victoria to the bed and lay beside her. She turned to lay on her side and gazed at him. Stroking his face, she felt deeply concerned.She snorted. "You promised me you'd eat well, sleep well, and take good care of yourself," she grumbled. "Why have you lost so much weight? And your eyes. They're all red. Does it hurt?"She reached out to massage his eyes for him but found this position uncomfortable. So, she sat up. "Close your eyes, Benjamin. I'm lulling you to sleep."Benjamin glanced at her hair that she wrapped in a towel. "Let me help you dry your hair.""I'll do it later. C'mon, go to sleep. How long have you been staying up? Is this how Yves and the others look after you?"As she examined his eyes, she huffed. "Where's Yves? I'll rough him up for sure!"She was cross and evidently concerned. Her reaction soothed Benjamin's frustration. He chuckled. He sounded cheerful as he said, "He'll be here in a few days."Victoria raised an eyebrow. "He's coming?"B
Benjamin had short hair, so drying it didn't take long.Victoria put down the hairdryer and massaged his temples. "Benjamin? Is it comfortable?" she asked softly.It was. Benjamin let out a low hum, and that gave him away."I told you to sleep, didn't I? And you said you were going to. You can't hear me if you did!" Victoria urged, "I'm getting angry if you're still not asleep!"He burst out laughing.She softened her tone and said soothingly, "You should sleep now. I'll be right here with you."Benjamin was exhausted and sleepy, but he was also thrilled that he met Victoria. Because of that, he refused to close his eyes.Victoria's presence was calming to him. Her massaging hit the right spot, too. He was feeling very comfortable. His taut nerves were now completely relaxed.Soon, he felt groggy and slowly drifted off to sleep. Before he did, he pulled Victoria into a tight embrace and rested his chin on her head. In a gruff and sleepy voice, he said, "Let's sleep."Victoria
Ethan's eyes were spitting fire. He sprung up in a rage and kicked the chair he was sitting on again. "What would you know?"Wendy stepped back. "Okay. So Sienna threatened you to marry her," she mumbled. "You agreed to the engagement. It's about time you bear your responsibility after dragging it out for years."Ethan felt a surge of anger. Eyes bulging, he barked, "Out! Get the hell out of here!"Wendy turned to leave. At the door, she gingerly looked back in. "You may want to keep it down. Benjamin's asleep."Ethan had a murderous glint in his eyes as he turned to her. "Wendy Smith, don't take it for granted that I won't kill you!"Wendy knew her life was in his hands. She fled as fast as she could.Ethan was terrifying. Looking at him, Silas said, "That's just how Wendy is. She says anything that comes to mind. Don't let her bother you. Victoria's coming over soon. Perhaps you want to take a shower."Huffing, Ethan tried to calm down. "Yeah. Tidy up, will you? Get Victoria t
Victoria nodded. "Wouldn't you say so? Except for the likes of Ginny, Roman, and Paul, there aren't many parents who don't love their children, right?""Then what about Wendy and the rest? Am I more important to you than them?"She couldn't say no, could she? "Of course. Parents pay more attention to the naughty ones."Sweet-talking Silas and Wendy was easy. None of them would dare to throw tantrums right before her eyes like Ethan.Ethan retorted, "Don't think of yourself as my parent! If you're my mom, won't that make Benjamin my dad? I won't allow that!"You said I'm second only to Benjamin in your heart. But there's a stark contrast between the first and the second, don't you think? Anyway, I'm not giving up on you. You're mine. I'll never let Benjamin steal you from me!"He was stubborn. Victoria had a headache just by looking at him. "You give me a headache whenever you say that."Ethan couldn't be bothered about that. "Think long and hard. Are you sure I'm the second most
Victoria returned to her room. As she sat on the edge of the bed to take off her shoes, someone hugged her around the waist from behind.She turned to look at Benjamin as she lay down. "I said you should go to sleep, didn't I? Have you been awake all this time? I told you I'd be back soon. You didn't listen to me."She gently prodded his face. Benjamin opened his eyes and grabbed her hand. He put it to his lips and kissed it.Sensing what he was trying to do, she pushed him away. She called vigilantly, "Benj—"Before she could finish, he had already kissed her. "I can only sleep when you're beside me."She struggled. However, Benjamin was assertive and determined to get what he wanted. She didn't have a chance to refuse.Pinned to the bed, she lost herself in his kiss. Her struggles were futile. Feeling bad for Benjamin, she stopped making things difficult for him and hugged him back on her own accord.She glared at him. Little did she know, she looked extremely alluring with he
Victoria gave Wendy a death stare. Wendy knew she'd screwed up. She chuckled awkwardly before saying, "I'm going to get y'all some food."She fled as quickly as she could and even remembered to close the door behind her.Benjamin arched an eyebrow at Victoria, who pulled him into the bathroom.He leaned against the door. "I'm also curious to know what you told Ethan to stop him from coming and picking a fight with me. He even went to Sienna of his own accord so she wouldn't realize I'm here."She pulled the toilet bowl lid down and sat on it. "Ethan's just like a child. He takes to sweet-talking pretty well."Benjamin frowned. "Are you saying that I'm the opposite? Cutie, that's not what you used to say about him. You were unwilling to sweet talk him then. Your attitude toward him has softened."That was a bad sign to Benjamin, who was overly possessive toward Victoria yet felt terribly insecure in their relationship."Benjamin, I'm your wife. I'll be with you for the rest of ou
Benjamin didn't leave. He stayed with Victoria in the room. With Ethan willingly covering up for him, no one knew he was there. Also, after resting, he looked much better.…Time passed in the blink of an eye. It was soon the night before Ethan's research team would arrive at the factory. They gathered in a room to discuss their plan of action tomorrow night.Victoria said, "We'll take action at 12:30 am. Wendy and Yves will move the women out of the underground club."Ethan, get ten men to go with them. Half will follow them into the club, while the other half will assist from outside. Benjamin, you'll be rescuing Timothy and the others."Benjamin looked at Victoria and asked, "What happened to them?"Afraid it would affect his sleep quality, she hadn't told him about them.Ethan rushed to answer, "Ashton injected them with my drugs." He didn't care whether or not it would worsen his relationship with Benjamin.Victoria added, "He only had a small sample and used some of it on