Chapter 105

She said this while reaching out to take Benjamin's arm.

But at that exact moment, he stepped forward, perfectly avoiding Amelia's outstretched hand as if by chance.

Her hand froze in midair, and she didn't know whether to keep reaching or pull back.

It was Imogen who came to her side just then, whispering, "The birthday party is about to start. Think about what you came here to do. Don't give yourself away now."

Those words hit her like a shot of adrenaline and snapped Amelia back to her senses.

She lifted her chin and put on a confident smile.

Tonight, she was going to make two things crystal clear to everyone.

First, she was the one the Taylor family treasured and adored, and blood had nothing to do with it.

Second, Benjamin didn't love Evelyn at all. Even if their marriage was still technically intact, it was nothing but an empty shell.

At the same time, she wanted Benjamin to finally see what was truly in his heart.

"I get it. This is my night, and I'm not letting her steal my spotlight."

She followed Imogen up onto the stage, where a beam of light fell over her like a spotlight.

Amelia loved this feeling.

From the very beginning, from the moment she took over the Taylor family's prized daughter role, she had enjoyed every bit of the wealth and luxury that came with it.

None of this had ever been part of her life growing up.

She came from a rural village and had barely made it to the city with her mother, only to find out her mother had planned to sell her all along. Lucky for her, she managed to escape, or she would have been shipped off to some other remote village.

From that day on, she made up her mind to stay in the city and become someone everyone looked up to.

Back then, it wasn't actually the first time she had seen Benjamin.

She had spotted him for the first time when her birth mother first brought her to Silverlight City. She had caught a glimpse of him stepping out of a luxury car.

Her mother had said to her, "See that? That car is worth millions. If you could marry someone like that someday, you'd never have to worry about a thing. Too bad that kind of life just isn't in the cards for you. But hey, I raised you all these years, so you helping me make a little money now isn't too much to ask. Don't blame me for this. I'm sending you somewhere you'll be taken care of."

Right then and there, Amelia's mind was made up.

She was going to live a good life.

She was going to make sure no one could ever look down on her again.

She wanted to completely shed the mark of where she came from and rightfully claim her place among those at the top.

That was why she had chosen to steal Evelyn's identity when the chance came.

Now, after all these years, she was finally close to having everything. And she wasn't about to let anyone take away what she had worked so hard to hold onto.

Amelia carried herself with ease and grace on stage, while Evelyn stood below, not even bothering to spare her a glance.

"Doesn't it bother you? You're the one who should be up there. All of that was supposed to be yours."

Evelyn was calm, her expression clear and steady. "Whatever it is, if it can be taken away that easily, I don't want it."

Love, friendship, family — she wouldn't fight for any of it, and she had no interest in doing so.

Her whole life, she had only ever been able to put herself first.

Samuel looked at the ease on her face and couldn't help but sigh. "If I were in your shoes, I don't think I could be this at peace with it."

A faint smile crossed Evelyn's lips. "You get used to it."

After all, even though she was only in her twenties, her whole life had been one loss after another.

She had already lost so much. Now she just wanted to hold on to what she still had.

And whatever wanted to leave, she'd let it go.

The birthday party officially began.

Amelia was instantly surrounded by people.

As the guest of honor, most of the conversations naturally centered around her.

Benjamin wasn't by her side. As someone rarely seen in social circles, everyone wanted a chance to get close to him.

As for Raymond, being the only son of the Carter family, he naturally drew plenty of attention too. But he had always hated this kind of socializing, so whenever someone tried to approach him, he just slipped away.

Eventually he made his way over to Evelyn and said with a smile, "You don't mind if I hide out here for a bit, do you?"

Evelyn looked up at him. Among Benjamin's friends, there weren't many she thought well of.

But Raymond was always a gentleman — composed, gracious, and every time he saw her, he'd greet her with a smile. He never once looked down on her because of her background or situation.

That kind of upbringing was something bred into the bone. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't hide it.

"Go ahead and sit. There's plenty of room. Take whichever seat you like."

Raymond nodded and sat down beside Evelyn.

The moment he sat down, Samuel spoke up. "Mr. Carter, what brings you here today?"

Raymond gave a helpless shrug. "My grandfather used to be on pretty good terms with the Taylor family. But the Taylors have been going downhill for years now. When the invitation came, he couldn't exactly say no, so someone had to show up. That someone ended up being me."

He said it plainly, without any attempt to soften it.

Samuel tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You really don't hold back, do you."

"Why would I? We've known each other long enough. You know exactly what I'm like. My grandfather has always been the type to throw his weight around, so even if I didn't say it, everyone can see it. What does it matter?"

As he spoke, he picked up a glass of champagne from the table and downed it in one go.

Though he had to admit, there was one more reason — and honestly, the biggest one.

He wanted to watch things play out.

Like most people there, he figured Amelia had thrown this big birthday party for a reason.

She had held birthday parties every year for the past several years, but never anything like this. This time, the Taylor family had called in every resource and every favor they had to pull together most of Silverlight City's upper social circle for what looked like an ordinary birthday celebration.

Anyone could see the Taylor family had an agenda — or more precisely, that Amelia had something in mind.

He had come to the same conclusion as Evelyn: this birthday party might look like it was for the Taylor family, but what it was really meant to do was force Benjamin to make a choice.

"Evelyn, your little sister there has an agenda, and she's barely even trying to hide it. It's written all over her face."

He propped his chin in his hand and watched Amelia from across the room with a relaxed, unhurried look.

Even surrounded by people, her eyes never left Benjamin.

The longing in her gaze was completely undisguised, as if she wanted everyone in the room to see exactly how she felt about him.