Chapter 21: When It Rains, It Pours

The velvet cloak of night had draped itself heavily across the sky.

Ethan, however, had made up his mind to leave the grandeur of the mansion behind.

Just before he left, he felt the urge to steal a last glance at his little simpleton.

But as fate would have it, the door was locked from the inside! The little simpleton had bolted herself in.

Holding the unyielding doorknob, a frown creased Ethan's face. It was clear that this time, she was genuinely terrified.

On the other side of the locked door, Vivian curled up on the bed, heaving a sigh of relief only when she heard Ethan's retreating footsteps.

Beyond the physical pain, the only thing she felt was regret.

She'd been bitten by more than she could chew! Who was she kidding, trying to tame a hunky man standing tall at over six feet?

And that damn man! It was rough! She was nearly in tears by the time they were halfway through!

She was afraid that, this man still under the influence of some drugs, might return in the middle of the night. That's why she'd locked the door before sleep claimed her.

Now, she'd managed to keep him at bay, locked outside.

But with Ethan's departure, the days stretched into an eternity.

She hadn't laid eyes on him for three to four days since that night.

However, every day, he would have someone deliver beautiful and delicious candies, as well as toys that Vivian once confessed to adoring.

In addition, he would call Jean and ask, "Has she had his candy?" "Does she like today's toy?" But these questions, he never asked Vivian directly.

Vivian was pretty sure this was his roundabout way of apologizing for the events of that night.

Actually, he was quite rough that day, leaving her with bruises all over her body That first night, she was sore all over, but the thought of the scratches she'd given him, and the bite mark on his shoulder, provided some consolation.

Besides, Vivian remembered clearly the stitched-up scar on his arm, a memento from a car crash where he'd shielded her, losing a fair amount of blood in the process.

Considering all this, she found it in her heart to forgive him.

After all, when he wasn't drugged up and out of his mind, he was quite nice to her.

And there was one thing this man had done very good—something she had to give him props for!

That was the fate of Yolanda!

Though no one had told Vivian the details of what had transpired in Ethan's office that day, she'd managed to piece together the truth from a video that had been making rounds online over the past few days.

Turned out, Ethan wasn't the only one who'd been drugged that day—Yolanda had been, too!

Whether she'd overplayed her hand or Ethan had sought an eye for an eye, Yolanda had ended up dumped at a busy intersection.

And then... in full view of all the passersby, she let loose, not holding back at all. She'd even thrown herself at a fairly good-looking young man, trying to get fresh right there and then.

As a result, the young man's girlfriend tore open her clothes right there and slapped her viciously. Bystanders quickly filmed the spectacle and uploaded the videos online. In less than a day, Yolanda became infamous across the entire web.

Afterwards, Howard and Fiona seemed to want to apologize to Ethan, but he had no interest in seeing them. So, they tried to find Vivian at the Lakeside Mansion.

But Ethan had already anticipated this move and had instructed Jean not to let anyone from the Swain family in.

This allowed Vivian to focus on planning with Nathaniel. The working environment couldn't have been better!

After the video went viral, Yolanda's identity was quickly discovered. In the following days, she cried so much that her face swelled up.

Upon learning of her despicable acts, Howard severely reprimanded her and was intent on apologizing to Ethan.

However, they were denied entry to the Lakeside Mansion, so Howard and Fiona had no choice but to make daily trips to the Benton Group.

But today, like all the other days, they were still denied entry.

This time, however, Howard caught the attention of Clive Benton.

"Mr. and Mrs. Swain, let's find a quiet place to talk," Clive suggested.

"What advice does Mr. Benton have for us?" Howard asked.

"Quit barking up that tree, fellas. You think Ethan will give you the time of day? Even if you're down on your knees begging for mercy, I bet he wouldn't cut you any slack. You sure got some gall, pairing him up with a simpleton for a wife, taking his pride and grinding it into the dirt. Given his 'tit for tat' attitude, if he ever lets you off the hook, I'll eat my hat."

"This..." Howard was at a loss for words, "He was out cold, comatose. I didn't see him coming around so fast. What should we do now? How can I square things up with him?"

"Square things up? You're reaching for the stars, Howard. The new quarter is just around the corner. To spill the beans, Ethan has already pulled the plug on a bunch of projects that Benton Group had with you guys. He won't breathe easy till Swain Group is belly up, that much I can bet on. You might want to think about joining forces with me."

"You're pulling my leg..." Howard was skeptical at first.

He immediately got on the horn with some executives at his company. After they got in touch with the relevant folks from Benton Group in a hurry, the word was indeed as Clive Benton had said.

Howard's morale took a nosedive, "He's trying to run the entire Swain Group into the ground. Mr. Benton, when you say 'join forces', what's on the table here?"

"Crocodile, you familiar with Amorita's Benton Group?"

"Sure thing, what's up?"

"The current CEO of Benton Group is a real piece of work. Heard he was in a car crash, ended up in a coma. The Swain family wrote him off and dumped their dimwitted daughter on him. But lo and behold, the guy wakes up just days after the dimwit crossed over to his side. Talk about a plot twist."

Vivian knitted her brows. Even though what Nathaniel said was true, it still irked her to be mocked like this.

"So how does this tie back to our plan? Why are you chewing the fat about this?"

"Oh, my dear Crocodile, I sense some steam coming off you. Can I ask why? You know getting hot under the collar can cloud your judgment."

"Oh?"

"Alright, my dear Crocodile, here's why I'm airing this juicy gossip. The CEO of Benton Group did us a solid. Seems like he's got a bone to pick with the Swain family, so he pulled the plug on several projects with them, and even went as far as warning other businesses against partnering with the Swains. The Swain family is up the creek without a paddle now."

Vivian was aware of this matter, realizing her emotions had indeed clouded her reasoning just now.

"You're spot on. Ethan's hit to the Swain family in the industry will force Howard to shift focus to investment. The more frantic he gets, the more mistakes he's likely to make. I think it's about time you made your way over to Amorita."

"Oh, my dear Crocodile, I've already got my ticket. I've also set up the new office, you really not coming over for a tete-a-tete?"

There he goes again! "I don't plan on it at the moment. If there's nothing else, I'm going to hang up now."

"Hold on!" Nathaniel's tone suddenly turned serious, "There's something crucial I almost forgot to tell you."

Vivian furrowed her brow,"What is it?"