At night. Benjamin was sitting on his bed and watching the Lost Love series with his wife. She was sitting in her bed. She was watching season four, so she glanced at Benjamin. “How can you understand it when you start in the middle? You are just watching it to get my attention, aren’t you?” “Why do you ask when you already know?” Benjamin chewed on roasted almonds rather angrily. Because of her, he had to watch the show in which Selena was one of the main leads. For him, it was a torture. “Because I don’t like what you’re doing,” Rebecca said. “I can’t put complete focus on the tv-show.” “Huh? I’m sitting like six feet away from you!” “Still, I can’t focus because of your chewing noises and scratching your beard every other minute. Why don’t you just sleep?” Benjamin could only sigh. “I don’t understand why you need to ‘focus’ while watching a romantic drama. I can easily guess the screenplay. The main leads get together after some long struggle and then easily break up because
Selena rushed back to her room and brought binoculars and peered through the lens to get an absolutely zoomed-in look at her daughter and her much-hated son-in-law.Right now, the chemistry between them still seemed awkward, so that was a positive. Still, thoughts blasted in her mind, making her strain her neurons as she wondered how exactly her daughter managed to reach the garden.Did Trashmin bring her in his arms? DID HE?“Dangerous… It’s too dangerous to keep them in the same room. I must separate them somehow!”“Now I really despise that little slut Jane! She must be the one responsible behind this change. Ever since she returned, my daughter’s gaze has become softer.”“Women are physically weaker beings,” she gritted her teeth, “if a stronger man were to help her when she’s in a vulnerable state, he’ll leave a great impact on her heart. I can’t allow that to happen! Not when Edward has just begun to knock on her heart!”She wanted to call Edward, making him rush to the villa an
The new stairs were completely built. They appeared more fashionable than the older ones. Vlad and Mercie played together as they ran up and down the stairs until they grew tired. The maids warned them that it was dangerous to play on the stairs, but as usual, they lived in their own little worlds that didn’t easily listen to others’ words. Meanwhile, Selena postponed her film dates because she had things to take care of at home. She didn’t try to overthink and just stuck to plans that had always worked for her. And her main weapon was keeping Benjamin busy and frustrated. It was found on that very same day that Dorothy was suffering from severe pain in her feet because of skin cracking underfoot, especially at the toes as well as the heels. Doctor told her to get warm water treatment regularly. However, Dorothy made Benjamin wash her feet before letting her legs soak in warm water mixed with salt. After enough soaking, he had to massage her feet for at least ten minutes before appl
Right after massaging Nolan’s back, both with hands and with a warm towel, Benjamin went to the kitchen to oversee the breakfast preparations. After that, he got a little bit of breathing space to bathe and to eat.Rebecca noticed a change in Benjamin. He would usually whistle while bathing, especially loudly when he was in a good mood, but he didn’t whistle in over a week. But since that wasn’t really a big deal in her perspective, she didn’t think much about it.Right before leaving the room, he made time to wave goodbye to Rebecca. Though she didn’t respond back with her voice, she was forcing herself to at least smile in return.Benjamin walked out through the main door and readied the car for the kids. Today, the kids were late, so he had to wait.He received a call. It was from Alfred.“Master, how long are you going to let them oppress you?” Alfred sounded frustrated and angry. “They are treating you worse than a dog. When will this ridiculous game end?”“It may look ridiculous
Blackbear sent one of his men to meet Christopher in the afternoon. Christopher was given a thousand dollars and was just told one thing. “Make Benjamin’s life difficult. Make him cry and run from his job, and you’ll receive ten times more.”Of course, Blackbear was never thinking of giving another dollar more, but Christopher loved the offer. He never really liked Benjamin anyway, and he always secretly worried about Benjamin outshining him and snatching his job for him, so if he can make Benjamin quit the job, this would be hitting two birds with one stone.He devised a plan and waited until evening. When Benjamin came back after delivering his last order, he left his uniform and the work-related sim here. Christopher took the sim and gave it to another new delivery guy and told him to do exactly as told.The new pizza guy took deliveries in Benjamin’s name the entire night and delivered late in half of the orders, and with pizzas messed up in some other cases. He received a string
Benjamin was riding his bike, and his recent conversation with Lisa came to the front of his mind.“You have such a beautiful woman for a wife, so how could you fall for me?” she sounded shocked and disappointed. “But… I guess I can understand since she isn’t letting you come near to her, and also since I’m good looking, but still, I already have a boyfriend, and you’re already married!”Thinking back on those words, Benjamin shook his head a few times fast. “That little devil… she sure shook me up back there. I couldn’t take the card back from her. Was that her plan from the start? I guess she’s growing up to be as cunning as her mother.”Then he began to worry.“She wouldn’t say unnecessary things to Rebecca, would she?” Just thinking about it made him tremble. What if Rebecca believed Lisa’s words? No, he didn’t even want to imagine that case.He didn’t even want to think about it, but he couldn’t stop worrying about it. What if she told Rebecca the foolish story? How would he be a
Benjamin came back to his room, but he was still feeling tense, worrying if Lisa was going to run her mouth in front of her mother even after he explained everything to her.He looked at Rebecca who was looking at a diet plan.“Mm? What’s that?” he asked.“I went to Powell’s Gym today,” she said. “He said I can start coming next week.”“Powell’s Gym?”“Yeah, he’s a famous trainer. He only trains top celebrities it seems. He said I should visit for at least a month.”Benjamin really wanted to go to the gym with her, but he had a job to keep. Now that Elizabeth had taken over Christopher’s role, he didn’t want to go to Rye’s Pizzas as he was sure she would do everything in her capabilities to humiliate him in front of co-workers.“Actually…” Rebecca glanced at him. “I was wondering… if…” she hesitantly asked, “you could… accompany me?”Benjamin’s heart began beating fast and energetically all of a sudden, and he kept staring at her with a complex yet grateful expression.“Are you willin
The next morning.Rebecca woke up seconds after Benjamin did. She saw him brushing his teeth, so she purposely went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, too. Benjamin walked out of the bathroom to give some space.(Why are you going out when I came in for you?) she could only brush her teeth harder. After she exited, Benjamin went in.She didn’t sit on her bed but kept walking around. Benjamin then went upstairs to the rooftop.“Why does he always go up every day? Does he like breathing some fresh air?”She wanted to follow him, but the stairs still felt intimidating. She didn’t want to bite off more than she could chew.Luckily, Lisa was passing by. She asked Lisa to give her a hand.As Lisa helped Rebecca climb the stairs, she asked, “Why do you want to walk so much when your injury hasn’t fully healed, Aunt?”“If we wait for the wound to heal completely, it will take forever,” Rebecca said. “Besides, I don’t like sitting on the bed and doing nothing.”“You can watch movies and
“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