Langdon Campbell had invited all of Jacob’s family for the special party tonight. The party was being held for many reasons, but the primary reason was because Langdon bought many paintings in auctions, some of which were originals of Picasso.In truth, Artur wanted to buy one of Picasso’s paintings, but David Bonsbell advised him to not give competition to Langdon.Langdon was the wealthiest governor of the country with a net worth of over five billion dollars, which was low compared to David’s wealth, but Langdon had the priceless political power behind him. If he refused to sign the bills, a lot of David’s businesses would take big blows, after all.Even though Artur didn’t like it, he had to swallow his pride and visit the party.The same could be said for Rebecca. Because Selena was still recovering, Jacob asked Rebecca that she should accompany him in her mother’s place and as the eldest daughter of the family.Shawn also attended along with Elizabeth and the rest of her family,
Anger flickered in Arlo’s eyes, but he coolly asked, “Can you show me your invitation card?”His father Langdon made customized invitation cards for all the families and friends he had invited over to this party, so Arlo was sure Benjamin didn’t have an invitation card, unless he stole others. Either way, once it’s made public, Arlo could kick him out of the party by himself. That was what he was after.Benjamin, however, smiled and looked at Veronica, puzzling her.“Why didn’t you ask my sister-in-law the same question?” asked Benjamin.“Because she’s Jacob Sterling’s daughter. His whole family was invited, so she’s also invited.”“And I’m Jacob Sterling’s son-in-law,” Benjamin raised his brows, “am I not?”Arlo frowned. Benjamin and Rebecca hadn’t separated yet, so even though they were living away from each other, they were still very much a couple.“I’ll deal with you later,” Arlo started walking away.“You don’t want the painting?” asked Benjamin, but Arlo didn’t stop.Veronica c
“Can I have your number, please?” A man approached Veronica and asked for her phone number, but she turned away from him. “Excuse me, miss.” he asked again.“You are excused,” she replied.“Geez,” he shook his head and walked away.“Hmph, every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants my number these days,” she murmured to herself and then walked up to a waiter. His handsome features struck her ego at once. Tall and charming, especially with the long ponytail he had. His thick eyebrows were an added attraction. If only he wasn’t a mere waiter, she wouldn’t mind asking him out on a date, she thought. “What’s with that ponytail?” she still ended up starting a conversation with him.“It’s a wig, ma’am.”“Eh?” she was shocked. “I should have known. What do you do by the way, other than serving drinks, I mean.”“I follow people from the shadows,” he replied with a blank expression.“You mean…” she observed his expression. “Stalking?”“Something like that,” he said, maintaining the poker face.Veronica p
At noon, Selena was still resting in bed, with Delle massaging her feet. Kathy was feeding her spoonfuls of fish soup.“You are observing every move Rebecca is making, aren’t you?” she glanced at Kathy.“Yes, ma’am, and I think your son-in-law, I mean, Benjamin didn’t give up yet,” she said. “He called her mobile over 100 times. I wanted to delete the call history, but I didn’t know the password. Now, I’m sure Rebecca ma’am would have seen that. I wonder how she felt after checking her mobile.”“You should have destroyed the phone!” Selena yelled.“I’m sorry, ma’am, but please don’t feel stressed. It’s not good for your health.”“Tsk,” Selena could hear her own heartbeat after yelling just once. She had become a lot more fragile after the heart attack. It was like she felt the weight of her heart, and it made her feel quite uneasy. She clutched the bedsheet in frustration. “I’m the one who raised my daughter. She’s my property. I can’t let some random guy own her. I wanted to force Ge
“Hey,” Benjamin waved his hand before Rebecca. Only then she started blinking. “Are you fine?”“Y-Yeah, I”m fine,” Rebecca picked up the glass and sipped on the spicy lemonade. Her eyes, however, stole glances at him. He looked ten times more manly and cooler in this jacket and jeans. The helmet was resting on his thigh. He was spinning the keys around his forefinger and looked completely comfortable and lively. The only thing she didn’t like was his beard. It was eating away most of his looks.Jane, on the other hand, couldn’t look at Benjamin. The last time they met, she had slapped him, after all.After Benjamin sat at their table, the atmosphere slowly but surely changed. Benjamin didn’t say a word, but the male energy made the two women go silent for a little while. He didn’t do anything other than sit in between them, but he seemed dominant for some reason.“You got your job back at Rye’s Pizzas?” asked Rebecca, sporting an awkward smile.He nodded. “How’s your mother doing?”“S
“My real name is…”“Madame,” the waiter intruded into their space, “any more orders?”Rebecca and Jane glared at him.“O-Okay. I’ll come back later,” he walked away without making any sound.Jane turned her head fast and looked at Benjamin. “So, you were saying…”He looked into Rebecca’s eyes. “It’s Benjamin Wolfe. That’s my real name.”A second of silence passed, not counting the noise of the breeze and the sounds of the street.“So much suspense for nothing,” Jane blurted out. “Aren’t both the names almost the same?”Rebecca stayed silent, but she was feeling a lot better now. After all, she was so glad to hear that his real first name was Benjamin, a name which had a special place in her heart, one which she had grown attached to.“Yeah, but…” Benjamin was trying to explain himself.“You don’t need to say more,” Rebecca stopped him. “You must have had your reasons for hiding your family name, so you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t feel like it.”Benjamin didn’t want to tel
“The wider street has many turns and speed bumps because of the schools,” Benjamin stated.“It’s okay. You can enter the wider one,” she said, having no clue she would regret her decision big time.Benjamin happily drove through the wider street, and the many speed bumps made sure her chest kept bumping into his back very many times. Her face flushed into an orange tomato pretty fast. She wanted to cover her chest with her hands, but she was too afraid to let go of him. In the end, she had to bear through everything.After reaching the end of that street, Benjamin squeezed the brake and asked, “Do you want to go through the narrow way?”Rebecca squinted her eyes. If she were to say yes, he would turn the bike and make it go over all the speed bumps again. “No!” she quickly responded in a grudging manner. Forget about getting turned on, she felt so embarrassed right now.“Are you sure?” he asked innocently.“I’m sure. Super sure. Never been more sure about something in my entire life.”
Artur reached the Sterling villa. Kathy escorted him and Luther to a particular room.“I believe this room used to be…” he was saying.“Not even a bouquet or a bag of fruits?” Selena snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”“Haha, I doubt you’d actually eat any of the fruits I bring,” Artur sat on the couch prepared for him. “My father sent his regards. He hopes you recover fast. You know him pretty well, don’t you?”She softly laughed for a second. “Not as well as you might think.”“I heard him once say during one of his drunken speeches that he asked you to spend a night with him and you wanted 1 billion dollars per night. Is that correct? Did that really happen?”“He’s got the number exaggerated, but I did ask him to pay the number I’m sure he wouldn’t.”“Is that so?”“Anyway, I wasn’t expecting you to visit so fast and at this hour to say the least. I’m sure it’s not just to see how I’m doing or to talk about my past with your dad. So, why do you have such interest in my daughter, Artur
“How are things with your family, brother?” Fiona asked.Selena raised an eyebrow. “You’re in a family that deals with real-estate, so you should already know how we’re doing.”“Haha, I do, but outside information can only be trusted so much,” Fiona responded. “Recently, we’ve worked hard on getting a marriage deal for Fiona. Her fiance owns a reputed sports agency that deals with covering all the popular international sports. He earns hundreds of millions every year, but his father is a tycoon in the alcohol industry. Their net worth is in tens of billions.”“Good for you and your daughter,” Jacob smiled.“By the way, Brother,” Fiona glanced at Veronica and Akash. “What does Veronica’s husband do?”Jacob’s expression slightly changed.Veronica frowned and looked at her mother who was looking back at her with a rather poker face.“He is staying at home for now,” Veronica said openly.“Pfft, he’s jobless?” Riley snorted. “Your taste is so bad, Veronica, not just in terms of finding a pa
Benjamin went to the first floor and waited in the hall until Rebecca left her room.Then he went to her room. The door was locked, but he solidified his energy in the keyhole and opened the door.He entered the room quietly and saw the water bottle on the table next to her desk. It was half-full.Benjamin took out the vial and poured a drop of water into the bottle while saying ‘I love you, Rebecca.’He entered the bathroom and poured a couple of drops in the bathtub while once more uttering the three words ‘I love you, Rebecca.”He was about to come out of the room, but then he stopped and then ended up leaking another drop of water on the pillow, and another on the blanket. “I love you, Rebecca.”“Hopefully, this will help,” he thought.Benjamin then hurriedly left the room and then went to the rooftop. He mixed a few more drops in each of the four water tanks, while saying the words out, “I love you, Rebecca.”He looked at the vial.Three fourths of it was finished.He put the via
Despite Uzza, Rye, and Benjamin living in separate rooms, there were many guest rooms still available in the mighty Sterling villa, the best property on Rachel Hill.So, the families of Jacob’s siblings stayed in those rooms without any issue.But the problem was with the cousins, who were trying to show off. They acted arrogant and haughty with Veronica and even mocked Rebecca for the little hair she had on her head, not even bothering to wonder why exactly her hair was like that.Rebecca didn’t even bother talking to them, or sparing a word with them because she knew how selfish and self-centered these people were.Jacob and Shawn might have forgiven these people, but Rebecca couldn’t just act like nothing ever happened.She didn’t treat them badly, either. She just ignored them and minded her business.However, her cousin sisters got their eyes on Benyamin who was quite good-looking. Her cousin brothers were also unable to avert their eyes from Rye.Rye looked more like an exotic f
So many people started visiting Sterling villa ever since Selena herself had leaked the news of her buying a lot of land and buildings in Aurora Hills.Selena was sitting on the balcony, with Veronica next to her.“Why has the traffic increased so much?” Veronica said, “I’m seeing so many cars come and go recently.”Selena somewhat smiled and sipped on cream coffee. “I wasn’t born rich, Veronica. My relatives didn’t even let my parents into their homes or invite us to their functions because we were poor as church mice.”“Stop joking, Mom,” Veronica smirked with amusement. “You look like a million dollars. I’m sure our relatives’ sons back then would have wanted to marry you.”“You’re not entirely wrong, but they didn’t want to marry me as much as they wanted to mess with me,” Selena said. “I still remember one guy telling me, ‘I may look ugly as hell, but I can show you heaven in bed.’”Veronica went silent in shock. She didn’t think her mother’s beauty would have brought such terrib
Delle was bringing food, three varieties, on a big plate.Rye intercepted and took the plate from her. She brought it to Benjamin and sat by him under the tree.The grass was cool, even though the breeze was warm.“You think I haven’t noticed that you weren’t eating anything since you made that 40-day promise?” Rye said. “You were just acting like you’re eating.”She broke the bread mixed with fruit and brought it closer to his mouth.He didn’t open his mouth.“Do you want me to stop eating just like you are doing?” Rye said.Benjamin, who was staring into the distance, glanced at her. “Is it possible to love and hate at the same time?”Rye pursed her lips together, not quite understanding why he asked such a question. “I was angry with the things you did. I am still angry, but I don’t hate you. So, if you really love someone, I don’t think you can hate them.”“If there is no hatred in his heart, then how is Neel able to do this to me?” Benjamin asked, a hint of pain laced through his
Rebecca and Benyamin had breakfast together.This nearly made Selena’s eyes bleed. She didn’t think she’d live a day like this.Watching them eating happily was like injecting poison into her body.While she loved seeing her daughter happy, she couldn’t spare any mercy on the man who tricked her daughter into marrying him.Even now, she was thinking in her heart, devising plans on how to separate her daughter and her husband.Having lost the mood to eat breakfast, she came to the backyard.Amber was preparing the background setting needed for the interview.“Where’s Kathy?” Selena asked.“S-She’s with Samuel Sehla, ma’am,” Amber hesitantly said.Selena’s gaze turned a little icy, but then she smiled. “I knew Kathy had it in her, but I didn’t think she’d be able to grab the attention of someone like Samuel Sehla.” She looked at Amber. “What about you?”“I-I don’t plan on grabbing anybody’s attention,” Amber quickly replied.“Tsk, tsk,” Selena shook her head. “Try to grab Benyamin’s att
The next morning.Rebecca came out of her room fast and reached the dorms just to check on Benyamin. She found him brushing his teeth with his finger. And he was using salt.“Don’t you have a brush and toothpaste?” Rebecca quickly asked. “You should have asked me then.”“No, I’m fine with this,” Benyamin replied. “The smell of the chemicals in the toothpaste just makes me feel nauseous, so I’m fine with just this sea salt.”“But… will salt be enough?”“It’s enough,” Benyamin gave a thumbs-up. “In fact, I’m worried about you because you’re using that chemical-ridden toothpaste which dullens your brain.”“If they dullen the brain, then why would they promote toothpastes so much on television?”“They will promote everything that will make them money while keeping the people sick, so that they will not be able to think clearly and would rather depend on the government to think for themselves,” Benyamin smiled.“That’s not funny,” Rebecca hissed. “I have to go and brush my teeth. And I’m f
Later that night.Benjamin was out in the garden, sitting under a tree, doing nothing as hours went by.“He’s been like that since dinner,” Rye was watching him from the first floor’s window. “It’s not good.”“What can I say?” Uzza was feeling heavy-hearted. “It feels like the story of Abel and Cain altogether, though in a different way. The brothers that represent the duality of current man. The devil sure knows how to mock us and make us angry. I’m certain now. It’s his plan. He put the sworn brothers against each other.”“But how did he get Shadow?” Rye frowned. “I don’t sense any demonic energy in him.”“Considering Shadow’s abilities, it’s easy for him to hide the demonic energy,” Uzza opined. “He’s a perfect place for demons to hide, though I don’t know how they got hold of him. He must have been caught by surprise. I just hope that this won’t lead to something disastrous.” She was looking at Benjamin. “The longer this goes, the more likely that someone among those is going to b
Veronica brought Akash with her to dinner. Almost everybody was present at the dinner table after a very long time.New tables were arranged because there were more people now.Veronica could see that Akash was not taking his eyes off Benyamin. “Why are you staring at him nonstop?” she asked in a low voice.“He’s tall, handsome, and so fair. Even his hands are so shiny. How’s that possible for a man?” Akash sounded quite envious. “Men are not supposed to look so good-looking, right?”“Mm…” Veronica looked at Benyamin and felt the same. “He does look like a million bucks, but he doesn’t seem to have much muscle on his body. What’s the point of being tall when you don’t have enough muscle? You only look like you have inadequate genes.”“Not every man can be built heavy like the men in your family.”“Haha, you’re right,” Veronica was proud of her brothers and dad because they were tall and big and good-looking. Their jaws alone would melt the gazes of many women, after all.Rye and Benjam