Later that day.The party has already started at the Sterling villa. Selena did not let a single reporter inside, and the security worked well. They kept all the unnecessary people out, and only those with invitation cards were allowed inside. Even then, a double-check was performed by Jacob and Selena as they didn’t want troublesome people to come and ruin the party.At some point, Benjamin arrived there in a taxi.The security guards recognized him, but Selena had specifically told them to keep Benjamin outside and make him wait.When Benjamin tried to enter, the guards stopped him. These security guards worked for Selena, and they knew about him, so why were they acting like this?“What’s the meaning of this?” Benjamin asked them.“We are told to only let those with invitation cards inside,” one of the guards said. “Do you have an invitation card?”“Yeah,” Benjamin replied.“You do? I don’t think so. Show it, or I will not believe it,” the guard asked, standing firmly like he was t
“You work in this house, but that doesn’t mean you can just bring gifts and think we’ll accept them,” Selena blurted. “Take that pizza. Go somewhere else and eat it.”Some people laughed after hearing her words.“Don’t mind him, guys,” Elizabeth added. “He’s the type who takes his girlfriend to a fast food restaurant on their first date. He’s not that bright in the head.”Her words made the people laugh some more.There were at least fifty people watching, and Benjamin walked over to Rebecca and picked up the bag and opened the box right before her.Inside, there was a beautiful pizza with Lisa’s name and age written on it. It looked like so much effort went into making that pizza.“Want a slice?” Benjamin tried to give her the knife.“No, I don’t like fast food,” Rebecca said. “You can take it away.”Benjamin then walked away and went to the balcony upstairs, where he began to eat the pizza on his own.At the same time, he could hear the people talking downstairs, giving all kinds of
After the party finished, Lisa was excitedly unpacking all the gift boxes. Some just had greeting cards in them, and some had pens, keychains, beauty kits, purses and so on.And then in one box, Lisa received a dildo, which shocked her and Elizabeth who was also there watching.Elizabeth grabbed it, wrapped it in a bag and put it out of her daughter’s sight first. “Who gave this pink box to you?”“I-I don’t remember it, Mom,” Lisa shrugged her shoulders.“We have a video recording, don’t we? Let’s watch that and find out which bastard is behind this!” Elizabeth’s blood boiled.She quickly checked the video recording on the television in her room, with Lisa watching. And then, to their utter puzzlement, none of the guests gave a pink colored gift box to her.“If the guests didn’t give it, then who did?” Elizabeth wondered. “Did someone sneak this box into the gift boxes after the recording stopped? But who’d do that?”Lisa got a sudden thought. “What if it’s Benjamin?”Elizabeth frowne
Later that night.Benjamin was on the couch, looking at Rebecca doing her work. She realized what he was doing, but ignored him.“Is there any chance that we are going to live in a separate house?” Benjamin asked.Rebecca raised her eyebrows. “Where did such a question come from?”“Your family members don’t seem to like me,” Benjamin calmly explained it to her. “You do know that, right? They make it so obvious. So, I think it’s better if we live in a different house. I think after some time, they will accept me. Even if they don’t, it’s fine. But if we keep living here, I think it’ll cause further problems.”“What kind of problems?” she asked.“You can see that they’re insulting me, can’t you?” Benjamin softly. “Your mom, your sister-in-law and her mother and daughter… They all are on one side. They don’t like me, and I don’t understand what exactly goes on in their minds.”“Are you angry because they didn’t take your pizza?” she asked, looking at him without blinking.“No. It was th
The next morning.Rebecca woke up, only to see Selena sitting on the edge of her bed. “What brought you here so early, Mom?” she asked in a voice.“Nothing. I just wanted to see your face,” Selena could see that only part of the bed had folds, which made her wonder if Benjamin was sleeping on the couch. To support her theory, Benjamin’s bag was still next to the couch.Rebecca slowly sat up.“Is this enough for the two of you?” Selena asked. “If you want, you can move to a bigger room. We can remodel one of the guest rooms, and…”“It’s okay, Mom. We’re fine with this room,” she said.Selena noticed something in Rebecca’s head. “Wait, is this gray hair?” she quickly leaned closer and observed it. “I-It really is a gray hair, Rebecca.”“Yeah,” Rebecca said, not at all surprised as she had noticed it already. “It’s just one hair.”“No, you shouldn’t neglect it,” Selena quickly said. “I didn’t get gray hair until I turned forty five. I was stressed a lot, too, you know. But I do exercises
At the dining table in the morning.Everyone was very surprised by how good the items tasted. With Sheron gone, Benjamin took it upon himself to cook everything. Though his dishes weren’t as eye-pleasing as Sheron’s, they were so much tastier. Even the eggs were boiled perfectly, in that they were still soft after boiling.Selena didn’t want to admit it, but this was better than what she ate in the five-star hotels.She wanted to keep eating, but she had to control herself.“Did you cook everything, Uncle?” Lisa asked Benjamin.“Yeah, is it good?” he asked.“It is decent,” Lisa said, but she couldn’t help but think back about the pizza that he had tried to offer last evening. Benjamin had told her that he put a lot of effort into making it, so she wished that she hadn’t rejected it. After all, she was a foodie. “If you want, you can bring me a pizza this evening.”Benjamin was pleasantly surprised to hear that. “I will definitely bring one for you,” he said, even though a special pizz
Rebecca dropped Benjamin at Rye’s Pizzas. As he got out of the car, she said, “You did well, supporting my sister. I think her attitude toward you will change from now on. I can tell.”“I didn’t do it so she’d treat me better,” Benjamin replied. “I did it because I’m her brother-in-law. Since her brothers were not helping her, I believed that at least I should. Lisa and Roshan wanted pizzas. Do you want one as well?”“You know my answer,” she said. “I don’t eat-”“Fast food. Yeah, I know,” Benjamin waved his hand at her and walked away. He walked past a fat woman who was coming out of the nearby gym. She was struggling to open her bottle cap, so he went over and opened it for her. He then seemed to have shared a few words with her before leaving.And the fat lady began to get emotional and shed tears.Rebecca saw that and quickly stepped out of the car and approached her. “Are you okay?”“Yes, I’m fine,” the fat woman wiped her tears away.“I saw a guy talking with you. Did he say som
Rebecca came to her office that morning and was working, but something had been making her think.She was not able to work properly, and so she took a little break and called Jane’s number.Jane didn’t answer.“Tsk, it looks like she hasn't woken up yet,” Rebecca thought. “It’s ten o’clock, though. She probably slept around four or five in the morning after getting what she wanted. This woman thinks she’s living her life but is just letting guys run through her. She’s obsessed with guys so much that she even went outside to have fun. She’s become a sex addict now. I feel bad for her.”She went and sat back at her desk.About two hours later, Jane called her back.“Did you just wake up right now?” Rebecca asked. “Please tell me you’re not in someone’s bed right now.”“Haha, you know how it is,” Jane laughed. “Yesterday, I met a guy who works at a hedge fund. I thought he’d be boring, but he’s very good with his math and joking skills. He paid for my drinks, and I went home with him to
“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