Chapter 19
"Don't you have something to say?" Benjamin looked at Evelyn, standing there frozen, his voice cold.
She immediately snapped back: "I..."
"I don't want to hear it." He stood up and headed upstairs, not giving her any chance to continue.
Evelyn froze for a second, then took a step forward to follow.
But remembering what happened in the car earlier, she didn't go after him. Instead, she watched him disappear at the top of the stairs.
This scene felt strangely familiar.
The first day he brought her to the villa, wasn't it just like this?
She sighed and looked down at Facebook on her phone.
Benjamin should see it, right?
After he saw it, would he trust her a bit more?
That night, Evelyn drifted in and out of sleep, as if she hadn't slept at all.
Thinking it would be awkward to run into Benjamin, she decided to leave early.
But as soon as she came downstairs, she saw him walking in from outside. There was sweat on his forehead—he'd clearly just come back from a morning run.
"Leaving so early? Feeling guilty?"
Actually, she wasn't that guilty, but being called out made her feel guilty.
"No."
Evelyn unconsciously took a step back, then realized she shouldn't be so obvious and immediately stopped.
"I haven't visited Grandpa in several days. I wanted to go early today and bring him breakfast."
"Your grandpa's awake?"
Preston hadn't woken up.
Bringing breakfast was obviously just an excuse.
Benjamin didn't press the issue: "Go to the dining room."
After dropping that line, he went back to his room.
Evelyn sighed but obediently went to sit at the dining table.
Pearl immediately brought out breakfast: "Mr. White said you like porridge, so I made it specially. Try it and see if you like it."
Not just porridge—everything from the main dishes to the sides matched her preferences.
Even the smallest details, he never forgot, always trying to give her the best.
Drinking the soft, smooth porridge, she asked, "What about him? What does he eat in the morning?"
"Mr. White's diet is pretty simple. In the morning, a cup of black coffee and a sandwich."
Simple, nutritious, and very disciplined.
Benjamin came in after showering and changing clothes. He sat down to eat breakfast while watching the morning news.
"Want to try a sausage? It's really good." She speared a sausage with her fork and placed it on his plate, trying to please him.
But he frowned, staring at the sausage like it were something disgusting.
Had she done something wrong?
Evelyn got a bit nervous. Noticing the fork was one she'd used, was he bothered by that?
She immediately took it back: "Sorry, I wasn't thinking. You can get it yourself."
She pushed the plate of sausages toward him.
"No fork."
"What?"
Benjamin lifted his eyes to look at her. His gaze was unreadable: "Feed me."
So he wasn't bothered by her using the fork?
Just...
This intimate gesture made her cheeks burn, her eyes darting away: "I'll get you a fork..."
Before she finished speaking, she felt a heavy chill coming from him.
Her instinct immediately took over, making her spear the sausage and hold it to his mouth.
Benjamin glanced at her, then opened his mouth and took a bite from her fork.
He ate elegantly and gracefully, but his unhurried movements, combined with the occasional glances he cast her way, made Evelyn feel uncomfortable all over.
Less than a minute passed, yet she felt like she'd lived through several long years.
Evelyn finally waited for him to finish, then immediately lowered her head to eat, deciding never to speak up again!
But after eating that one sausage, Benjamin's mood improved considerably.
His expression didn't show obvious changes, but his eyes clearly softened.
"I'll drive you to the hospital after you finish."
She opened her mouth to say it wasn't necessary, but thinking she should spend more time with him to clear up the misunderstanding, she agreed: "Okay, I'll eat quickly."
"No rush." His voice was as cold as usual, and he picked up his tablet naturally, seeming truly unhurried.
Evelyn kept her head down, drinking porridge, occasionally stealing glances at him, feeling that she really didn't know much about him.
At the hospital.
Evelyn first asked Allan about Preston's condition.
"Preston is recovering well. Although he's in a coma, there are no complications, and his bodily functions are improving."
Allan looked at the medical records, his face wearing a warm, spring-breeze smile.
"When will my grandpa wake up?"
"Well..." Allan gently flipped through the records. "I can't give you a definite time."
Meeting his gentle, detached gaze, Evelyn understood she shouldn't have asked that way.
What doctor would dare give a definite answer?
"Thank you, Dr. Jennings."
"It's what I should do."
After exchanging pleasantries, she left the doctor's office and headed toward the ward.
With things on her mind, she didn't notice that Benjamin hadn't left with her.
"Grandpa," she sat by the bed, holding Preston's aged but still warm and dry hand, "what happened that day? Why did you suddenly get sick? It was because of Matthew, wasn't it?"
She mentioned that name again, but the past tenderness was completely gone, replaced only by deep hatred.
"Evelyn."
Evelyn's mother, Hannah Nguyen, rushed in and pulled Evelyn into her arms, tears falling: "You've been wronged."
"Mom."
Evelyn froze for a moment before calling out with some delay, her eyes reddening as she looked at Timothy Thomas standing behind Hannah.
In her past life, deceived by Sophia, she and Sophia went abroad together, but Sophia trapped her in the red-light district.
Not only that, Sophia and Matthew caused Timothy's fatal car accident and Hannah's brain hemorrhage...
Now they were both standing safely in front of her. Evelyn's tears instantly became uncontrollable, all the grievances from both lives turning into tears.
"Evelyn, you've been wronged."
Timothy was a man after all, his emotions not as outwardly expressed as Hannah's.
But seeing Preston lying in the hospital bed and Evelyn crying in Hannah's arms, Timothy's heart felt like it was being cut with knives.
His hand clenched into a fist, the muscles in his face tightening: "What's going on? How has Matthew been taking care of you? How could something like this happen!"
Evelyn cried in Hannah's arms for a while before her sobs finally stopped.
Suddenly hearing Timothy mention Matthew, a flash of hatred crossed Evelyn's heart.
She looked up, her pale face making her red eyes even more striking.
"Dad, he's an outsider after all. How could he possibly care about the Thomas family wholeheartedly?"
An outsider?
Timothy and Hannah exchanged glances, clearly shocked by Evelyn's words.
The past few days, public opinion had been fierce, and they'd heard plenty.
But as people in high society, they understood that public opinion could be manipulated and didn't believe it easily.
Now seeing Evelyn's reaction, they were even more uncertain about the situation.
"Evelyn, what happened?" Hannah held Evelyn's hand with concern. "Haven't you and Matthew always gotten along well? Why are you suddenly saying this?"
"Mom, Dad, the company is the Thomas family's legacy built over generations. How can we just hand it over to an outsider?"
Evelyn looked at them, speaking word for word seriously: "Besides, he's ambitious and scheming. You should kick him out of the company!"