Chapter 5

The next morning, Brian came downstairs and saw that a maid was packing some things up. He frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Mr. Lodge, these are Ms. Torrey's belongings. She called yesterday and said that she would not be visiting anymore. So, she asked us to pack her things and have them delivered to her."

An image of Ariana came to his mind as Brian looked at the suitcase in front of him. Usually, Ariana would have finished preparing breakfast at this hour and would be waiting for him to come downstairs expectantly.

She would pull the chair out for him and try to bring up some random topics to initiate the conversation. Curiously, Brian felt as though something was missing when he did not see Ariana here today.

When he realized he was thinking of her, Brian said frigidly, "Hurry and pack them all up, then. Don't leave them lying around in the house."

"...Understood, Mr. Lodge."

Brian sat at the dining table and found that there was nothing on the table. He asked in a displeased tone, "Is breakfast still not ready?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lodge. Usually, Ms. Torrey would be preparing breakfast at this hour. However, our new helper is still not used to her working hours…"

"Hurry up. I need to leave for work soon."

Brian checked his watch. He was suddenly feeling quite frustrated.

Soon enough, the helper served a platter of eggs, toast, and sausages at the table.

Brian stared at the simple breakfast and cast the helper a sideways glance. "What is this?"

"Break… Breakfast?" The helper was a little scared. She could not understand what she had done wrong.

Brian responded monotonously, "I don't eat sunny-side ups, and I don't take meat in the morning. Am I paying you 20 thousand dollars a month just for you to make something like this for me?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Mr. Lodge! I had no idea…"

"Mr. Lodge, she's a new hire. I'll have her prepare something else right away."

"It's alright."

Brian had a grim expression on his face as he stood up.

Belinda came out of her bedroom just then. She could tell why Brian was upset with just a glance at the items on the table.

She began, "Ariana would usually make everything from scratch for breakfast. She'd start preparing those special delicacies at 4:00 am and cook them on slow fire.

"She would have at least 16 types of nutritious dishes ready in the morning. Life is not going to be the same anymore with her gone."

Brian knitted his brows.

"She's the one who wants to break off the engagement! She can leave if she wants! Ariana Torrey has only been at our house for three months. It's not like my life is going to fall apart just because she's gone now!" Brian scoffed inwardly.

"Grandma, I'm going to work."

"Come back here!" Belinda frowned.

"I don't care what you think. Ariana is the only person I'll ever acknowledge as your wife. Head to the Torrey residence now and apologize to her. Don't bother coming home if Ariana refuses to forgive you."

"Grandma…"

"Go now!" Belinda's words were final.

Brian had to do as she said, albeit his reluctance. "Alright."

Meanwhile, at the Torrey residence…

Bang!

With a loud crash, Ariana's bedroom door was kicked open from the outside.

Igor Torrey was positively fuming as he yanked Ariana's blanket off her body and grabbed her wrist. "Ariana Torrey, have you gone crazy? Did you break off your engagement to Brian? Get out of bed and explain yourself!"

Ariana stared at her left wrist, which was caught in Igor's grip. A small frown creased her forehead.

Even though she called Igor her younger brother, he was not actually Ariana's father's biological son. Igor was already five when Gwen married her father.

Ariana's father treated Igor as if he was his own. As the youngest member of the Torrey family, Igor was spoiled rotten by Gwen.

In Ariana's last life, Gwen had managed to persuade her into marrying into the Lodge family and handing over the task of managing the Torrey Co. to Igor. Yet, Igor was the reason their company had eventually faced ruin!

Ariana's anger flared up as she looked at the rebellious young man who was only 18. She threw a slap on his face the next instant.

Igor was momentarily stunned. He stared at Ariana in disbelief. "You… You dared to hit me?"

Ariana had always been a pushover, and she would always gently speak to Igor. Yet, she had actually hit him this time.

Ariana said coldly and sternly, "Yes, I just hit you. Who gave you the right to barge into my room like this?"

"Ms. Ariana, it was my fault. I didn't manage to stop Mr. Igor." A maid looked frightened as she stood by the door and explained.

"Shut up! This is my home! I can be wherever I want to be!" Igor yelled at the maid, who was shivering in fear.

Ariana could tell how obnoxious Igor was just by looking at the bruises on the maid's arms. She had given all of her attention to Brian in the past, so Ariana failed to realize how Gwen and Igor had created various issues at home.

"Your home? The Torrey residence isn't yours yet, Igor."

Ariana got up and walked over to the maid. She helped the maid stand straight.

There were marks and bruises of different sizes scattered all over her arms. Yet, the maid dared not utter a word of it.

"The Torrey family is wealthy, but we're not people who think we're above the law. Is there any labor law that allows you to hit your maid?"

The maid burst into tears when she realized Ariana was standing up for her.

She had wanted to leave this place for a long time. However, Igor had used his status as the Torrey family's young master to threaten her. He warned her not to tell anyone what he did to her and refused to let her quit.

The maid had had enough of these torturous days.

"Ms. Ariana, please let me leave!" The maid sobbed uncontrollably.

Gwen, who was downstairs, picked up on the commotion at around that time. She quickly went upstairs. Gwen could tell what happened the instant she spotted Igor's red and swollen cheek.

She raised her brows and widened her eyes. Then, Gwen pointed at Ariana and shouted furiously.

"How could you hit your own brother, Ariana? Have you really gone mad? First, you broke off the engagement. Now, you're hitting your family. What on earth are you trying to do?"

"Brother? I, Ariana Torrey, don't have a rude and impudent brother like him."

Ariana continued in a frigid tone, "Ms. Lambert, bluntly speaking, Igor is not my dad's biological son. Also, he's officially an adult now.

"Not only did he barge into my room without permission, but Igor had also subjected the maid to verbal and physical abuse. Look at him! That's the great son you've raised!"

Gwen scoffed. "Igor has been living here since he was still a kid. Your dad saw him like he was his own. As Igor's sister, did you have to be so particular with those things now?

"Besides, what's the big deal with him hitting a maid? It's not like we haven't paid for her medical treatment and monthly pay."

Ariana's eyes hardened. "Ms. Lambert, if Igor can do these things to a maid now, there's a good chance he'll treat our company's employees poorly in the future. Igor's probably going to ruin the company if I hand over the Torrey Co. to him."

"Ariana, you're making hasty judgments now. Igor is still young. It's not like people are born naturally as successful business owners. Besides, you've promised to transfer the company's ownership to Igor. You can't go back on your words just because you can't marry Mr. Lodge now."

Ariana knew all along how naive and careless Gwen was sometimes.

She snickered and walked over to the desk. Then, Ariana took the equity transfer agreement she had signed before the engagement party out of the drawer.

"Were you talking about this, Ms. Lambert?"