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
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
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
“Rebeeca, are you kidding me? Now I know why you didn’t have a wedding. To think your husband is a freaking pizza-delivery guy!” a blonde in a skimpy dress let the words flow out of her mouth like a monkey's exaggerated screams.“That’s not it, Jane.” The brunette sitting in the driver’s seat took her shades out and bit on them. She was wearing a metallic fashion dress that revealed some of her breasts and most of her healthy thighs with zero cellulite and perfect shine. She tried to explain herself by telling her a few things."So you're saying your vagina never vomited white stuff after getting married?" Jane covered her mouth in both shock and pity. "I went out on an extended foreign trip to find a good-looking husband, but you are here… stuck with a pizza-delivery guy."Rebecca didn't know whether to laugh or cry."At least tell me he's attractive.""Well," Rebecca felt awkward to respond to such a question.The car they were in, a red Porsche, had stopped in front of a cluster of
Benjamin entered the villa through the main door while chewing on a pizza slice. This was the same pizza he had wanted to give to the chief driver, though he ended up lying about forgetting to bring it. He took the rest of the pizza to the children’s room. His in-law’s children, there were four of them. All crazy, selfish, and self-absorbed in their own ways, just like their parents. Two of them talked too much, while the other two rarely ever talked. When Benjamin walked in, they were all playing games or chatting with their friends in their own mobiles. Their mobiles looked stylish and up-to-date compared to the crappy old mobile Benjamin had. “Hey, kids. I brought pizza,” Benjamin put excitement into his voice. “Put it on the table and leave,” the oldest of the four, Lisa, replied without even looking. Even though she looked cute with her pigtails and all, her words were always cold and indifferent, even more so than Rebecca. Benjamin did as she said and was leaving. (Not one o
At night.Almost everyone from the family gathered at the dining table and began eating, all except one who was still standing and serving food for others.He was the only son-in-law of the Sterling family, yet taunts and mockings were flung at him every other minute. Even the children took part in it enthusiastically.Sunday was a cheat day, so Selena was gorging on everything her hands could get hold of. While everyone sitting ate their fill to the point of burping twice or thrice, nobody offered Benjamin food or told him to sit and eat, not even his wife.He was hungry, but he was fed their trivial talk peppered with lies. He had to listen to them exchanging lies to one another. For instance, the children lied the most by hiding things they were doing. Lisa was chatting with her boyfriend since afternoon, but she lied about that. Roshan was watching exclusive stripping videos since evening, yet he acted like he was doing his homework. The other two children, who were much younger,
If there was anyone more shameless than pigs, it was Shawn’s wife, Elizabeth. Shamelessness ran in her blood was what Benjamin believed.Her family would spend around 100 days every year in the Sterling family, and the rest of the days, Elizabeth would regularly travel to and fro using Sterling’s money. She didn’t have any job, not that she tried to get one in the first place.She was so dependent on her husband for her lavish lifestyle of attending yacht shows and tennis tournaments all around the world. Still, she had no respect for Selena even though Shawn loved his mother more than anything else. Maybe, that was exactly why she couldn’t bring herself to respect Selena because she wanted Shawn to respect and love her the most first.She would always try to put fights between Veronica and her mother and would enjoy the show from the side. However, she received the most entertainment from a single person. And that was the only son-in-law of the Sterling family.“Benjamin! Where are y
Rebecca dropped him at the Rye’s Pizzas, a cluster of vintage pizza huts, and left without saying at least a cursory bye. Only Benjamin waved his hand, expecting her to look back. Though she didn’t look back, she did notice his efforts through the mirror and faintly smiled.“I wish I knew fashion designing as well,” Benjamin thought. “Then I would have joined her company.” He sighed and got to work.Right after entering the cluster of huts, Benjamin had to take out all of his possessions and put them in the employee’s storage box before getting into the blue uniform. Rings, lockets, and bracelets especially were not allowed inside the food center after all.Normal deliveries must be made within 30 minutes to any part of the city, and the customers would give anywhere from 1 to 5 stars of rating.Express deliveries must be made within 15 minutes only, and the customers would give anywhere from 1 to seven stars.Benjamin’s average rating now reached 4.8 after over 12,000 successful deli
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
Benyamin couldn’t go upstairs with Rebecca because he refused to tell Selena what he was doing all these days.Selena wouldn’t have allowed him to go past her unless he gave her proof, so he settled with staying in the dorms for the time being.Rebecca dressed up very nicely and attended dinner. Because Benyamin wasn’t present, she was about to visit the dorms, but Selena told her to sit at the table.Selena sent Delle to go and bring Benyamin, saying sarcastically that he might otherwise get lost.Rebecca sat down and waited patiently. (Why didn’t he just tell her what happened? Things would have been easier if he told her everything. What does he have to hide?)Meanwhile, at the dorms.Benjamin and Rye were both present in the same hall as Shadow. Rye was silent, and Benjamin was doing the talking.“What is your relationship with Rebecca?” he asked Shadow.“Obviously, I’m her husband,” Shadow replied. “Don’t you know that already?”Benjamin frowned. “Stop joking.”“I’m not joking. W
Benyamin gave a bouquet to Rebecca, and she gladly accepted it.Rebecca brought Benyamin into the villa while holding his hand, and her eyes were still wet with tears of happiness.Selena, who just happened to be coming downstairs with her handbag, planning to go out to make an important deal, saw Benyamin. The bag in her hand dropped. “Y-You… Why did you come back?”“Mom, is that the question you ask your son-in-law?” Rebecca’s voice was sharp.“He’s been gone for weeks!” Selena’s gaze also turned sharper. “And don’t you remember what he’s done? He sold the villa away to Uzza. Did you already forget that he cheated on all of us? Let go of his hand now! He must have heard of my recent rise and came here to use us! A bastard like him should never even be let close! Kick him out. Now!”Rebecca, however, tightened her grip. “No. If you want him to leave, I’ll leave, too.”Selena’s heart skipped a beat. “What? Have you lost your mind? Just what do you see in this trash that you are willin