"You don't have to. I'm just skimming through," Ariana said, starting to look as if she was going through the figures on the report meticulously.She purposely read through the report painstakingly slowly from the first page until the last page. Meanwhile, John was still standing opposite her, and he felt an immense pressure watching her. His legs had turned to jelly and he could barely stand upright.What did it mean for him to have embezzled tens of millions of dollars from the company? It would mean he had to spend the rest of his life in jail!Suddenly, Ariana threw the reports onto the table with a loud slam.John was so startled that he very nearly fell to his knees right then and there. However, to his surprise, he heard Ariana mumble, "What the heck are all these numbers? There are so many of them. Who'd know what they meant?"John froze when he heard Ariana say that. Did that mean she couldn't understand a thing on the report?Miranda also heard what Ariana said. She fro
"Ms. Torrey, are you just pretending to be a wolf in sheep's clothing then?" Miranda asked."Something like that," Ariana said. She continued, "Don't alert them of this just yet. We need to slowly collect evidence. The way that they embezzled the company's funds has undoubtedly affected the shareholders' returns. "Wait until we've got enough evidence and have gotten rid of their contacts in the company. That'll be the time when we send them to prison."Miranda stared at Ariana for a long while. She finally said, "Ms. Torrey, you seem different from before."The Ariana Miranda used to know was smart, too, but she didn't know anything about the business industry or how things ran. However, after hearing what Ariana had to say, Miranda figured that it made a lot of sense.Miranda couldn't help feeling amazed."Ms. Ziegler, you've been working for this company for a few years. My father even helped you financially before, so I hope that you'll take my side.""I'll help you, Ms. Tor
"If Ariana wants to see me, tell her I'm busy," Brian said."But Mr. Lodge, didn't you say that you wanted her to give in to you?" Emily asked."I want her to be helpless and desperate with no one else to help her."A cold glint appeared in Brian's eyes. He continued, "I want her to get on her knees and beg Evelyn for forgiveness."…At that moment, Ariana was busy purchasing some health supplements and skincare products. While she was on her way downstairs for a cup of coffee, she suddenly caught sight of a bodyguard in black shadowing her out of the corner of her eye.The black-clothed bodyguard stood out like a sore thumb amongst the other shoppers. Everyone's attention was on him.Ariana couldn't help shaking her head and chuckling softly to herself when she saw this.Brian was overestimating her by getting someone to shadow her like this. Was he worried that she would hurt Evelyn? Or was he just waiting to see if she would get desperate trying to save her company?Ariana
"Ariana, did he apologize?" Belinda asked.With Belinda questioning her like that, Ariana purposely cocked her head to glance briefly at Brian.Seeing that Ariana was about to speak, Brian suddenly realized that she might be harboring ill will toward him and that she could spout nonsense to Belinda. So, he quickly rushed forward and grabbed Ariana by the arm, roughly yanking her to her feet."Grandma, I've got something to discuss privately with Ms. Torrey. We're going upstairs."With that, Brian tugged Ariana up the stairs with huge strides.Everything had happened so suddenly. By the time Belinda finally realized it, she shouted at Brian, "Brian, you imbecile! Ari is a woman! I'm not going to forgive you if you bully her!"Brian pulled Ariana to the second floor and threw her onto the bed. Then, he locked the bedroom door behind him."What are you trying to do, Mr. Lodge?"Ariana leaned against the side of the bed and looked at Brian, standing at the door, with mischievous ey
"So, does that mean we have no deal?" Ariana asked."What do you think?" Brian snapped.Ariana knew that Brian wasn't someone who took her threats seriously. The only reason why she came over today was to remind him that she had her boundaries as well. Even the tamest of dogs wouldn't hesitate to attack when faced with danger—what more herself? Furthermore, she wasn't going to be a pushover."Want to make a bet, Mr. Lodge?""What bet?""I bet that you'll meet your downfall very soon if you continue working against me."Brian didn't respond.Ariana got to her feet and turned to leave. At the door, she paused for a bit and said, "By the way, Mr. Lodge, I forgot to tell you that I haven't told your grandmother that you've been targeting me. Do you want to guess whose side she'll take once I tell her afterward?""Ariana Torrey!""Brian Lodge, the fact that I haven't told her that you're targeting the Torreys shows that I'm being sincere here. You'd better stop it with your stupi
"Since you're the one who made the promise, Ms. Lambert, then you should think of a solution yourself."Arian then turned to the maid by the side, Summer Sanchez, and said, "Summer, arrange for a hotel room for Ms. Piper here. Ms. Piper can stay there for however long she wishes to. However, she needs to know who the real head of this household is. Ms. Piper, don't you think so?"Ariana hadn't missed the look Fiona gave her earlier. When Fiona heard this, a look of fear came over her face at once. She looked toward Gwen for help.Gwen flew into a rage and yelled, "Excuse me, Ariana Torrey? You're not even the head of the household yet, and you're already throwing your weight around, I see. Don't forget that I always end up being in charge! How dare you say such a thing to us?""Ms. Lambert, I have always been the one in charge of things in the Torrey household. In the past, I only treated you with respect seeing that you were older than me, which was why I handed the reins to you.
The car rolled to a stop at the college entrance. Selena then followed Ariana into the seventh-floor lecture hall in Block A.Since William had already started his talk for more than ten minutes, the entire hall was dead silent and solemn.Selena just stood at the entrance and peeked into the hall. She sighed and said, "It reeks of brains inside. I think we're a little too late…"Before she managed to finish her sentence, Ariana threw the door open and walked in. Selena's first instinct was to curse aloud."What the fuck?"Inside the hall, hundreds of pairs of eyes were suddenly on Ariana. William was also one of the people who looked at her.William was wearing a white button-up shirt with his sleeves slightly rolled up. He was tall and lanky and had deep-set features on his face. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his face, and his brows gave him a cold and aloof aura.Ariana said aloud, "I'm sorry I'm late, sir!"Her haughty voice rang loudly in the hall, making some
Ariana was rendered speechless.She had indeed said that, but it was back when she was trying to defend Brian by talking shit about William to some wealthy socialites at a party.Nobody told her that William was such a petty person who held on to grudges like this! Also, how did he even learn about what she'd said about him that night?Ariana tried to calm herself down. Getting a grip of herself, she answered, "Mr. Kingsman, Goldfront Bay is only worth 500 million dollars. Brian faked the information to lure you into taking the bait and making you lose money."William released Ariana and took a seat on the couch, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He didn't even bat an eyelid as he said, "Keep talking.""The starting price for Goldfront Bay is 300 million dollars. Brian is planning to get someone to raise the bidding price to 4 billion dollars. When that happens, you're going to lose more than 3 billion dollars, Mr. Kingsman. "And with that, your finances will take a hit. That's h
"You deliberately announced that you're breaking off our engagement at the engagement party. Then, you got the press to release that ridiculous article. Now, you're flirting openly with William Kingsman and provoking me at the auction. Didn't you do all this just to get my attention? Well, now you have it," Brian said, reaching out a hand to tilt Ariana's chin higher.Just as he leaned his face closer, Ariana laughed. "Do you think this is fair to Evelyn, Mr. Lodge?"Brian froze when he heard Evelyn's name.Seeing this, Ariana pulled herself from his grip and wound her arms around Brian's neck instead, giving him a seductive look. "You're right. I've done all this just to get your attention. But honestly, the sofa is too cramped. Why don't we move to my room?"Now that Ariana had revealed her true colors, Brian immediately shoved her aside with a look of disgust. "Stop using these cheap tricks on me, Ariana!" he said coldly."You enjoy my cheap tricks though." Ariana leaned agains
"You've got it wrong. This money isn't from the Torrey family," Ariana said.William frowned. "No?""It's the money that my father left me before he died."In her last life, Gwen had coveted her inheritance, which was why she had schemed tirelessly to gain control of the Torrey family. The reason why she had pushed her to marry Brian was also because she wanted to get her hands on the 500 million dollars.Somehow, she found out that Belinda liked Ariana and wanted her to marry Brian, so she spoke with Belinda behind Ariana's back and convinced her to ask Ariana to use the money to resolve Torrey Co.'s financial crisis.In the end, no crisis had been resolved as Gwen had run off with the money.This time, Ariana would turn the tables. Not just her inheritance—Gwen would never get anything related to the Torrey family at all."Mr. Kingsman, please hold off on investing in Torrey Co. for a few days.""If I don't invest in your company, it's going to collapse," William said in surp
"Congratulations on securing Goldfront Bay," Evelyn said with a smile, completely oblivious to Brian's darkening expression. "Lodge Co. will definitely make a fortune with that land."Meanwhile, Ariana made no effort to conceal her pleased smirk as she clinked her champagne glass with William's.Brian's eye twitched at the sight."What should we do now, Mr. Lodge?" Emily hadn't expected William to back out of the bidding so easily. Just a few days ago, he had been determined to get that piece of land.Why did he give up so easily?"What else can we do?" Brian snapped.They could only accept the loss.Brian rose from his seat, his usual smile replaced with a stormy expression.Something was off.This definitely had something to do with Ariana!"Brian!" Evelyn wanted to leave with him. Panicked, she grabbed his arm, but Brian reflexively shook her hand off and said, "Go home, Evelyn."Surprised, Evelyn paused. By the time she snapped out of it, Brian had already left.He'd
"Looks like you know your ex very well, Ms. Torrey," William said dryly.That was an understatement.Ariana reflected on the final years of her past life. She had spent a humiliating three years kissing up to Brian at all costs, almost worshiping him.Every look he gave her convinced her that he was seeing her differently. Every word he said to her made her feel like he was finally warming up to her.She'd done everything for him—from securing sponsorships for his company to taking care of Belinda on his behalf. She'd cooked for him and kept his house for him.She knew all of his preferences, down to the amount of time he usually spent in the shower and the toilet. She had obsessed over the smallest details."Just wait and see, Mr. Kingsman," she said. "You'll be the ultimate victor tonight."She downed the champagne in front of her.The auction had already started by then. Eventually, the auctioneer got to the plot in Goldfront Bay. "Goldfront Bay land parcel, six acres on the
"Stop right there, Ariana Torrey!"During the intermission, Ariana excused herself to go to the bathroom when she heard Brian's voice sound from behind her. "Mr. Lodge? Did you need something?" She turned back, her voice distant, as if they were but mere acquaintances."Aren't you something else, Ariana? You knew that my company had its eye on that piece of land in South Gleaston, and you went and doubled the price, even at a loss, to buy it. What's your game? Are you really opposing me, or are you just trying to get my attention?" Brian snapped."You've got the wrong idea, Mr. Lodge. I just really liked the location. It's got nothing to do with you," Ariana said sincerely. However, Brian did not believe a word of it.Just then, Evelyn rushed over to cut into their conversation. "Ms. Torrey, you were too impulsive. That piece of land will lose you a small fortune!"Then, glancing at Brian, she continued, "I know that Brian bringing me here tonight might have embarrassed you, but
Among the crowd, Brian scoffed.Was Ariana trying to grab his attention with this? How laughable."200 million dollars," he said firmly.Did she really think he wouldn't be able to deal with her?"250 million dollars.""300 million!"As the bidding escalated into absurd territory, Evelyn frowned. "Brian, this land isn't worth that much."Brian frowned as well.Beside him, Emily said lowly, "Mr. Lodge, the price has exceeded our estimated value."Hearing this, Brian smiled coldly.Ariana did not have much money to begin with. She was clearly only bidding to be contrary.Fine, then. He would teach her a lesson tonight, even if it meant taking a loss.Coldly, he called out, "320 million dollars!"William watched in satisfaction as Brian took the bait.According to his estimation, Brian had already taken a loss of 50 million dollars at this point.He hadn't expected Ariana to be so cunning, goading Brian into taking the bait. He had underestimated her.Just as he was abou
Evelyn sounded like she was defending Ariana, but her words only fueled Brian's anger.She liked him?Ariana just liked him for allowing her to climb the social ladder!Before, it was him that she clung to. Now, she had set her sights on William as her next victim.No wonder she'd stopped going out of her way to kiss up to him lately.At that thought, Brian's eyes turned cold.She has finally revealed her true colors to him!"Let's go."He grabbed Evelyn and pulled her into the auction hall, ignoring Ariana and William.Meanwhile, William allowed Ariana to link her arm through his as he said coolly," You're my date tonight, so you have to do everything I tell you. Understood?""Well then, Mr. Kingsman, two can play at that game. Since I'm your date tonight, you'll be footing all my expenses, right?""You're my date, not my girlfriend."Feigning a scowl, Ariana said, "But Brian used to spend money on me. You wouldn't want to lose to him when it comes to charm, would you?""
"Exactly! Everyone in Gleaston knows that Ariana Torrey begged Mr. Lodge to propose to her. She really thought she was that important. Mr. Lodge can easily find another fiancée if she breaks off the engagement. But her? I doubt anyone would want her!"The socialites were openly mocking Ariana, who was standing not too far away.Ariana had arrived several minutes before Brian and Evelyn. She should have entered the venue by now, but William had insisted that she wait outside.What had she done to deserve this nightmare of her man?Now, she knew that William wasn't that much different from Brian.No wonder the two of them fought so bitterly in her last life."Ariana, you should give up on Mr. Lodge. With Evelyn by his side, you don't stand a chance.""Yeah. Just a few days ago, you announced that you wanted to break off your engagement with him, yet now you're here chasing after him. Sadly for you, you're just a stand-in. He'll never give you a second glance now that he has the re
Just then, a knock sounded on the door. Evelyn opened the door after a brief knock and entered.In her white gown, she looked the picture of nobility and grace. Her long, straight hair cascaded down to her waist, adding a touch of gentleness to her presence."The auction is starting, Brian. Let's go," she said.Gwen's expression stiffened when she saw Evelyn.If it weren't for Evelyn's meddling, Ariana would've married Brian long ago. Now, they were attending an auction together. Brian hadn't even considered what the Torrey family would say about that.Clearly, this was an obvious move to embarrass them."Mrs. Torrey, was it? Brian's mentioned you before. And you are…" Evelyn trailed off as she took in Fiona's outfit, which was a mirror of her own style. She smiled.Was one Ariana not enough? Now they were bringing in another one.Then again, it didn't matter how many people they paraded in front of Brian; they were all just stand-ins.Noticing Evelyn's attention on Fiona, Gwe