The two salespeople who entered exchanged glances. They wore expressions of discomfort and embarrassment."Even if you don't say anything, I can probably guess. Your job essentially revolves around making customers happy. I'm not blaming you. I just genuinely want to know the truth. I won't put you in a difficult position. Go ahead."It seemed inevitable that they would have to speak. The two of them recalled the events.For them, those excuses were cliché. They hesitantly and awkwardly spilled out all the details to Victoria. "Ms. Jameson, we ... We didn't know you and Mr. Harper were a couple. We ... We never thought Ms. White was a third-wheeler. Ms. White is nothing compared to you. Even if you wore a sack, you'd look better than her all dressed up!""Exactly. No damage would have happened if there was no comparison. You and Mr. Harper are the most compatible!"The two of them trembled as they spoke. Their voices quivered, and cold sweat appeared on their foreheads and palms
Megan stared in the direction of Victoria and Louis. The two of them had reached the car.Victoria opened the front passenger door and got in.Louis placed all the items in his hands into the trunk before swiftly taking the driver's seat.Megan's eyes were slightly reddened, and she bit her lip. She spoke to Samantha in a tone that seemed like she was reassuring herself."Victoria isn't like others. She addresses Louis as her uncle. Considering what happened to her before, it's normal for Louis to spend more time with her."Samantha listened to Megan's trembling voice and glanced at Megan's clenched fists on her lap. A mocking smirk formed on Samantha's lips.She gloated at her misfortune."Who knows if that incident is real or fake? Did Mr. Langley discuss transferring the position of the chairman of Warde Corporation and all his shares to Victoria with you beforehand?"Megan was absent-minded. "He informed me in advance. But those are his things. We're just dating, not marr
Wendy looked at Victoria and then at the information on the computer. "Do you suspect something?"Victoria nodded. "Yes. He has bodyguards with him wherever he goes now. Be careful. Don't startle him and make him suspicious."Wendy, fueled by Victoria's suspicions, looked excited with sparkling eyes. She smiled and mock-saluted. "Got it. I'll keep an eye on him. Once we find the right moment, I'll strike. I promise to complete the mission."Louis watched Wendy leave and then sat beside Victoria.He turned the computer around and examined the information. His gaze lingered on the photo."He does resemble Mr. Harper. However, that guy looks exactly like him. Do you know him?"Victoria's expression turned icy, like a chilling edge of bloodlust. "I've been unconscious for quite some time, thanks to him. He's a person deserving of a thousand executions. He's like a pest. He dares to impersonate Benjamin."Louis glanced at Victoria before looking at Ashton's profile again. His usual
Quinton lifted his head to look at Victoria. When he picked up the test report before him, he was visibly shocked.He suppressed his emotions and refrained from looking up. After gradually calming down, he cautiously stole a glance at Victoria. Quickly, he lowered his head again.He pursed his lip with guilt, and his eyes darted around nervously. He seemed uneasy and unsure of how to proceed.A moment passed, and he made an incredulous expression and looked at Victoria. "This ... This ..."Victoria raised a faint smile that seemed to say, "Go on. Keep on pretending."Quinton's facial expression froze. Beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead. He attempted to speak, but under Victoria's penetrating gaze, he found himself incapable of doing so."Mrs. Harper ..."His voice trembled, but his face showed little surprise. "Is this ... is this real? How is it possible?"Victoria sat upright.She said nothing and calmly sipped her tea, yet her gaze remained fixed on Quinton.Her
Vivtoria gently tapped on her cup as she looked at Quinton. "Did Benjamin forget about me completely?"Quinton looked at Victoria's dejected expression. He did not know what to say and meekly replied, "Mrs. Harper."Victoria's eyes brimmed with tears.She already knew the truth. However, she could not stop the tears from pooling in her eyes. She felt like she couldn't breathe.Before Quinton and Yves could notice, Victoria rubbed her eyes.Yves was devastated as he watched Victoria, but he did not know what to do.He patted Quinton's back and asked frustratedly, "What about Will? Does he know what Ashton is trying to do? Things were still manageable, but Mrs. B is back now. "If it weren't for Mrs. B's quick thinking in realizing something was wrong, what if she involved herself with that imposter? "He doesn't know about Ben and Mrs. B's relationship, but you know don't you? He's heartless, but are you heartless as well?"Quinton was ashamed as he glanced at Victoria. "Mrs. H
After Victoria had left Quinton and Yves, she got into her car and called Abraham."Vicky."Abraham's tone was both happy and guilty. His voice also sounded choked up for some reason."Uncle Abraham."Victoria's voice was calm and respectful, just like always. "Are you in Youngville now? I want to meet up for something."Abraham answered, "I'm here. I just came back the day before. What's wrong? Does it have something to do with Benny?""It is about him. I'll tell you when we meet."Victoria looked at the time. It was already 8:00 pm. "Let's meet tomorrow. You can choose the place."Victoria started the car and gave Wendy a call."Where are you now?""Silas and I are following that imposter. He just went into a club with Yvette and Logan, the old man from the White family. Logan also brought a car full of people. All of them look wealthy. "Victoria, if we kidnap them and ask for a ransom, we'll be rich. You won't ever have to worry about my expenses for my books and games!"
Victoria was completely unaware of Louis and Megan's breakup.Throughout the whole night, Ashton did not come home. Wendy, who was tailing him, did not reply to her messages either."Ah!"Halfway through the night, Victoria woke up from a nightmare.She looked at the ceiling. Her face was dripping with cold sweat.She dreamed of Benjamin marrying another woman.He could not hear her, no matter how hard she tried calling him.After finally finding a way to appear before him, Benjamin could not recognize her.With lingering fear in her heart, Victoria was no longer in the mood to sleep.She had to find Benjamin soon. She could not let another woman take her man from her.Hmph!If Benjamin dared to marry another woman, she would … She would definitely make him pay.She tossed and turned, unable to sleep well for the rest of the night.The next day, she was exhausted as she got ready. She found something to eat and was about to head out. Just then, Abraham called her."Are yo
Victoria tapped on her phone and looked at Abraham. She smiled and said, "The imposter is calling.""Answer it."Victoria answered the phone. She immediately put the call on speakerphone and started to record the call."Vicky, why didn't you call me last night?"Ashton thought Victoria would try to reach him and call him repeatedly.He was dreaming of him rejecting Victoria's call, making her worried. However, Victoria didn't even give him a call.He did not rest well as he had been waiting for Victoria's call."I had been out the whole night. Weren't you worried about me?"Victoria sounded rest assured. She said, "You're a grown man, and you have many people with you. Why should I be worried? Also, you have always known your boundaries whenever you do things. "What were you doing last night? Why didn't you come home?"Ashton laughed out loud. His laughter was full of satisfaction."Why did you say you weren't worried? Aren't you acting worried now? Did you not sleep well l
Victoria saw that Benjamin wasn't looking like he was kidding at all. She placed both of her hands on his chest and turned her head away when he leaned in to kiss her.She then pushed him away hard and changed the topic by saying, "I heard that Solomon was beaten up in his own house last night."Benjamin chuckled lowly and said, "There's no use changing the topic."As he was talking, he arched his neck and pressed his lips near Victoria's ear.Victoria's ears, especially her helix, were extremely sensitive. She subconsciously pulled her hands back and covered her ears with her palms.Benjamin took the chance to wrap his arms around Victoria's waist and pulled her close to him. His face was close to hers.Victoria could feel Benjamin's burning desire as she was pressed down onto his lap. She now knew better than to struggle.This was just shooting herself in the foot!It wasn't that she didn't know what he was like, but she just had to stir him up.Victoria felt uneasy when she
Victoria used her other hand to support her cheek as she blinked.She said, "How could someone who dislikes wasting words and unnecessary chatter nag endlessly over just a small wound?"Benjamin coldly asked, "Are you complaining that I'm long-winded and annoying now?"He looked aggrieved, as if he would be angry if Victoria were to answer "yes".Victoria laughed out loud again and replied, "I'm not!"She used her finger to poke at Benjamin's cheek.She was smiling when she asked, "Are you madly in love with me, Benjamin?"Benjamin looked at Victoria seriously as he crouched by her legs.If it was before this, he would've nodded and replied "of course" without hesitation. But now …Benjamin couldn't be as confident and sure when he recalled Wendy's previous words.Victoria didn't think much of it and took Benjamin's silence as affirmation.She continued, "I'm thinking that you're definitely madly in love with me. That is why you're so heartbroken and reacted abnormally even
"Where are we heading to now, Ben and Mrs. B? Why are the people here so weird? Why are they dressed up as if they're in a period drama?"What is this place? Why are the both of you here?"Yves was back to his lively self as soon as he got into the carriage. He started asking endless questions."You regained your memories now, Ben? I knew you'd never forget about Mrs. B no matter what. Even if you did, you'd definitely remember everything as soon as you saw Mrs. B!"Yves gushed on. It took him a good while to realize that Benjamin's expression had changed. Even the atmosphere in the carriage became strange.He asked, "Did I say something wrong?"Wendy laughed dryly and replied, "He's not as deeply in love with Victoria as you think he is. He didn't remember anything."Yves laughed awkwardly before pursing his lips.He started to butter Victoria up."How did you know Ben is here, Mrs. B? How did you find—"Victoria pursed her lips and glanced at Gwen who was driving in the fro
Yves stared at Anna. She started out mumbling, and her voice grew louder toward the end.He looked confused. "Ben, Mrs. B, what is she talking about?"He was sure she was speaking the same language but couldn't, for the life of him, understand what she meant.Upon listening to Anna, Wendy immediately felt she was too quick to agree to Yves' request because of the money. She wanted to push him aside.However, he was in a sorry state with his limp. His face was visibly thinner than before, and his eyes weren't as bright as they used to be. She found herself sympathizing with him.Victoria pressed her lips together, and her brows creased further.Benjamin turned to Silas. "Go and get Asher!"Anna didn't dial back on her arrogance. "Great idea. I'm looking for him, too."There was a horse race today, yet he locked me up in that cabin! I have a score to settle with him!"Victoria recalled Asher leaving the stables urgently during the day and had a hunch about what happened."If yo
Yves looked up with teary eyes and could vaguely make out Benjamin's sour face.He rubbed his eyes with all his might. Benjamin's face slowly became clear to him as his vision cleared."It's really you, Ben! Oh, Ben!"He was pleasantly surprised, as though he finally had someone to rely on. He teared up in excitement.The next moment, he became aggrieved again. He was just like a three-year-old who was bullied by a stray cat.He cried, "You're here, Ben. Why didn't you ask someone to look for me? You've no idea what I've experienced."I've been locked away in that shabby cabin and almost lost it. I miss you so freaking much!"Benjamin looked less sour now. He took out his handkerchief that he brought along wherever he went.He passed it to Yves, who had tears and snot all over his face. "Clean up. You're a grownup man, you know. Look at you."With one hand taking the handkerchief, Yves clung onto Victoria with the other.Benjamin stared at his hand that was holding onto her.
Asher felt his heart shatter. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I've already gifted it to someone else!"The person in charge felt his heart ache, too. "I wanted to inform you when you arrived, but you told me to talk to you after the race."You've always said that horse has a character and that you like it, no? I never expected you to give it away."Who did you give it to? Could you, perhaps, buy it back from him?"Asher was dispirited. "I can't."He waved it off and continued, "Forget about it. It belongs to someone else now."I'd been obliging to its every wish for all the time it had been here. Still, it never obeyed me."It's intelligent and chooses its own master. I can't tame it. It's no better than an average horse to me."Tell those who witnessed that incident that they shouldn't talk about it to anyone. You may leave."The person in charge glanced at him. Bowing, he acknowledged the instruction he received and left.Asher looked toward Sebastian and sighed dejectedly
Silas and Wendy immediately hurried over in excitement when they heard they were going to split the winnings.Wendy, who wasn't the best in maths, counted gleefully, "We bet one thousand gold coins. As the odds are at one to 246, we'll get … ten thousand, 200 thousand … 244600 gold coins. Am I right?"She surprised herself when she said that out loud. She and Silas exchanged glances and started hopping about in delight.That was a lot of gold coins! They were rich!"Ten percent of 244600 gold coins would amount to roughly 24 thousand gold coins, so 20 percent would make it about 50 thousand. Victoria—"Silas and Wendy were already dizzy. Turning to them, Victoria instructed, "Give us a moment, and take Onyx with you.""You …" Silas looked at her suspiciously. Was she planning to keep all the money to herself?She gave him a warning glare, and he and Wendy obediently led Onyx away.They shouldn't offend their moneybag right now.Victoria looked at Asher. "That's over 240 thousa
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound. It was a teenager who was around 15 years old. Not bothering to keep up his image, he sat on the floor and clung to Sebastian's leg.Besides him, many others were standing around Sebastian. They all looked at Sebastian pitifully.Asher loudly asked the one kneeling, "Just look at you, Troy Lancaster! What happened to your enthusiasm?"It's only a meager sum. Do you really have to react this way?"Troy Lancaster? He was the Lancaster family's youngest son, Sebastian's younger maternal cousin.Victoria had a photographic memory. She saw his name when she skimmed through the log book earlier.He had bet 500 silver coins, which wasn't the least of all. It wasn't a hefty sum either, considering who he was.The Lancasters had very conflicting approaches in his upbringing. His mother pampered him, while his father was very strict toward him because he thought he was spoiled.Judging from his reaction, he must've been greedy and impulsivel
Once Roxy left, several women with ill intentions who criticized Victoria earlier became uneasy. They came up with excuses and left one after another.As the drama ended, everyone calmed down. Some were listless, while some were feeling down.There were also a few who approached Victoria, among whom were mainly men. They earnestly introduced themselves.Benjamin scanned the men who surrounded Victoria and somehow felt betrayed. Glowering, he seemed about to fly off the handle.His glare was too harsh, and many retreated after a short exchange with Victoria. She studied those who resolutely remained beside her.Compared to people from the outside world, the clan members had less desire for material possessions.Those who stood their ground didn't feel displeased at losing a hefty sum in the bet. They also withstood the pressure Benjamin's glare exuded.It was fair to say they were the best among the best.They were from decent families and had been receiving proper education sin