6. Panic

After class, Amber didn't go straight to Ms. Eugene as Glenn had ordered but went home first to see her workmaid, Jason's mother. The woman's body was large, and she smelled awful. 

Amber tried to hold her breath around her.

The woman was surprised to see Amber approaching her, it was a mutual agreement that Amber should not be seen close to her while working in her house. 

Even though Jason's mother knew that Amber and her son were secretly having a relationship, she knew enough not to report it to Mr and Mrs Steel; she was afraid that her job would be jeopardised.

"Let's swap," Amber pleaded, her eyes watering as she tried to catch her breath. 

Amber's unreasonable request left Jason's mother stunned.

"You, let's swap clothes, I wear yours, and you wear mine," Amber pleaded, forcing Jason's mom to pull her shirt off out of impatience. 

Jason's mom, of course, panicked, afraid of being caught by Amber's parents. Her eyes grew wide when she saw Mrs. Steel approaching them.

"Take off your shirt, give it to my daughter," Mrs Steel ordered firmly.

Having no choice, Jason's mother finally complied.

Amber had told her mom about Glenn's condition, and her mom supported her 100%. She even dressed up her daughter to make her look convincing; her hair was dishevelled, and her face was streaked with dark foundation to make her look dull.

Amber wore Jason's mother's clothes while holding back nausea because of the smell; she couldn't stop cursing herself, who was forced to undergo this for their plan. 

Her Mom patted her daughter's shoulder; Mr Steel, who had just entered, also approached Amber, giving her advice so her daughter would not back down.

"Be strong, dear. This is for our family; if you feel like giving up halfway through, then think of what you'll get when you're part of the Smith family... You'll never have to work again for the rest of your life," Mrs. Steel urged her daughter. Amber nodded firmly.

Her Dad then handed her a bag containing several outfits that Amber would wear there.

"Ugh," Amber complained as she slung the bag over her shoulder. 

She usually carried a suitcase when travelling, but given Glenn's requirement to look convincing, she couldn't help but try to live like a peasant.

Jason's father escorted Amber to the Smith mansion in his old truck. Her eyes widened as they arrived at the gate, which was a tall, towering gold-coloured gate with a large "S" logo embedded on it.

She had never been here before because of her disapproval feelings for Glenn, but just from the gate, she could feel how wealthy the Smith family was. 

After reporting to the guard at the gate, the old truck entered the main building, which was almost 1 km away; along the way, a garden with beautiful ornamentation maintained with high artistic value greeted them; garden lights that were also gilded were along the side of the road. 

Amber couldn't stop agape.

They arrived at the lobby; Jason's father placed Amber's bag in the hallway and left. 

Shortly after, just as Amber was about to ring the doorbell, an unfriendly old woman scolded her.

"What are you doing here! You think poor people like you can enter through the front door?” she asked with a disdainful look.

“This is only for important guests who have appointments. Go to the back door, and take your cheap bag with you!" the old woman ordered sternly, making Amber's anger bubble up.

But remembering her main purpose for being here, she finally complied. She gathered the rest of her pride and defiantly followed the old woman's lead, her mouth pouting at the woman.

The back door referred to by the old woman, who Amber guessed was named Eugene, turned out to be a very far detour through the muddy road because it was often used for kitchen access roads; for a moment, her shoes were filthy.

"Ugh..." she complained disgustedly; Ms. Eugene stopped and looked back at Amber.

"Why, you look like a woman who has never seen mud," Ms. Eugene surmised.

Afraid of blowing her cover, Amber shook her head quickly. 

"Erm… no, I'm poor!" she argued, sinking her feet deeper into the puddle, making her shoes soaked in the dirty water.

"Oh my! How stupid! Where did Connor get you?! You'll make the floor dirty with those shoes! Take your shoes off and throw them in there! You stupid girl," Ms. Eugene scolded sternly pointing towards the trash bin.

Amber was stunned at Ms. Eugene's order but couldn't help but comply. Barefoot, she stood on tiptoe to follow where the old woman was taking her.

Glenn, watching it all from the tablet in his hand that displayed the highlights of the CCTV cameras scattered in every corner of the house, laughed contentedly; seeing Amber's disgusted expression that she could not hide was a source of amusement for Glenn.

"This is nothing, Amber... You should know that vengeance always hurts more," Glenn muttered, sitting in his bedroom chair. 

A knock on the door made him glance.

"Come in," he ordered; 

It was Connor.

"Good afternoon, young master," Connor greeted with a slight bow. 

He was an old man of nearly 60 years old, tall and thin, and walked with a stride. Although he was no longer young, he was still very fit. He wore a black suit with a white shirt and loafers every day. 

Connor was a confidant of the Smith family. He took care of all the family's affairs and was very loyal.

"Afternoon, what's up, Connor?"

"Master called for you in his study," Connor explained, referring to Glenn's father, Arthur Smith.

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute," Glenn replied, and Connor excused himself and left Glenn's room, not forgetting to close the door carefully.

Glen stood up from his seat, fixing his appearance to look presentable and fulfilling his parents' orders through the long hallway to his Father's study. 

The walls to his left and right were filled with photos of his great-grandparents from Father's side of the tracks who stared at him as if probing. 

Little Glenn used to feel intimidated every time he passed through this hallway to his Father's study. 

Even now, the feeling was still the same; maybe that was the purpose, which was also a warning to Father's guests who wanted to see him, not to mess with the Smith family because they always knew every evil deed that had been done.

Glenn knocked on the study's door; it was a manner he had to adhere to since childhood. 

Connor opened the door for him and let him in. Glenn's eyes immediately fell on the person sitting in the guest chair.

It was Mr Lucas Walsh, Father's business rival. 

Glenn remembered this man as cheerful and friendly. But Father always warned him to be careful because it was one of the charms Wlash’s had to weaken his opponents and make them open up easily.

Glenn smiled at Mr. Lucas, who stood up to greet him and shook his hand warmly. 

"You've grown into a man, Glenn," he greeted as he patted Glenn's arm. 

Glenn smiled back and then sat down across from Mr. Lucas.

"What's the matter, Father?" he asked the Father, who still seemed focused on the document in his hands.

Arthur Smith was a cold man who was slow to smile, stern and introverted, which was why Glenn had grown up to be fearful, shy and introverted in his previous life. But now that he knew the reason for his father's attitude when he finally took his place, he saw his father differently.

"Ah, Mr. Lucas asked you to be his son-in-law. It's good for the development of the company," replied the Father briefly, without even lifting his head from the document he was reading.

Just as Arthur Smith finished speaking, the door to the study suddenly opened. 

A woman dressed as a maid entered without permission. She looked at Glenn with an unintelligible gaze.

Connor, who saw the woman's impudence, almost shooed her away, but Glenn held Connor back.

"Who is this, Connor? How can a waitress walk into Smith's office without being invited? Did you collect her from the garbage can?" scoffed Glenn.

Amber's mouth opened, about to spray Glenn as she usually did, but the glares from the other three men stopped her.

"I'm sorry, sir, she just came today; I will educate her well after this." Connor bowed. 

He then dragged Amber out of the room. Glenn was sure she had overheard Father's words and was about to run at him, not remembering where she was.

Glenn thought back to Hazel, Mr. Lucas' daughter. Unlike Amber, who acted high and didn't seem to want him, Hazel, in his child and teenager phase, always tried to approach and attract his attention every time they met when their parents were at the same banquet.

Her golden, curly hair hung in two ponytails most of the time, she wore thick glasses, her teeth were bared, and there were freckles on the T-zone of her face. Her wide, toothy smile made little Glenn afraid of her and always tried to avoid her.

As he recalls, Hazel was studying abroad, and she never came home when she found out about Glenn's marriage to Amber. So, he had no idea what she looked like as an adult.

Of course, imagining Hazel in her last memory like that made her unhappy with her father's decision. But as his Father had taught him to speak carefully, Glenn found a way to avoid this offer.

"Sir Lucas, I'm sorry, but marriage is not in my short-term plans. I'm focusing on my studies; I don't think Hazel would accept a sudden arranged marriage, too," he politely declined.

Glenn caught Father's glance from behind the document he was reading, perhaps surprised by Glenn's rejection of his order. 

Even so, he kept quiet. This means that Mr. Lucas's proposal is not very interesting, but Father is using Glenn as a pawn to save his own face.

Mr. Lucas laughed at his rebuttal. 

"I had anticipated your refusal, Glenn. But just in case you see her now and turn around and go after her, I won't give her up willingly. You'll have to fight for her with blood," Mr Lucas concluded, offended. 

His amiable mask was worn off as Glenn dared to reject his proud daughter.

He stomped out of the room, Connor opening the door for him swiftly. Then, he carefully closed the door. 

Now that only Connor, Glenn, and his Father were in the room, he was ready to be scolded.

"I didn't know you could speak so fluently, much less turn down a senior's business proposal," Father praised. 

His words brought a smile to Glenn's face. He smiled, too, as if proud that his only son could act like a leader. All this time, he blamed himself for being too busy and hard on Glenn, making his son grow into an insecure young man.

The change in Glenn's appearance did not go unnoticed by his father, who wondered what big thing had happened to his son; he seemed to have become a different man overnight.

"Is there anything you want to talk more about, Father?" Glenn asked as he saw his Father returning to the document in his hand.

"No, go away," the Father replied curtly.

Glenn stood up and walked with his back to the door Connor had opened; Glenn smiled at Connor and lightly patted the old man's shoulder before leaving the room.

Arthur Smith looked at Connor; that assistant seemed to know what had happened to his son. But since the change was for the better, Arthur didn't want to discuss it and ignored it.

Glenn, meanwhile, walked to his room and entered it. He dialled the intercom line in his room.

"Yes, young master," Ms. Eugene answered immediately.

"Send the new maid to my room right now to collect my dirty clothes," Glenn ordered.

"Yes, young master," Ms. Eugene replied.

Glenn waited for Amber to arrive while playing with his cell phone. There were so many party invitations for him from college friends, not to mention social media friend requests from women. Things he never used to accept before as a naïve Glenn because people thought he wasn't fun. Now that his persona has changed, his young life has finally begun.

There were three minor knocks on the door; Glenn smiled as Amber quickly learned from her mistakes.

"Come in," he ordered.

*BAM*

Amber slammed the door open, and Glenn's earlier assessment of her instantly changed, but that was also what attracted Glenn to her in the first place; her boldness. She was challenging, and he wanted to conquer her.

"What do you want?!" snapped Amber after ensuring the door was closed.

Glenn was lying on the bed with his hands supporting his head, watching Amber in her maid uniform; he chuckled.

"Apparently, it looks fitting on you," he quipped.

"You!!!" protested Amber. 

She galloped towards him to punch him in the chest, but Glenn quickly restrained Amber's hands, rolling her over quickly so that she was now underneath him.

"You bastard! Let go!" cried Amber in disgust. 

But Glenn's strength was so much greater than hers that she couldn't break free. Both Glenn's hands held Amber's arms on the bed.

"You know, one of the main requirements to get into the Smith family is a virginity test?” Glenn suddenly asked. 

Amber appeared offended by Glenn's words and was about to protest. 

“I need to know first if you're still a virgin when you marry me. That way, the legality of the child you're going to give birth to won't be a question..." add Glenn with a sneering smile.

Upon hearing Glenn's words, Amber's eyes widened in panic. She had no idea things would turn out this way. Therefore, she was unprepared to face the situation.

She tried to find a way to survive Glenn's sudden test.