Chapter 21
Evelyn felt both embarrassed and annoyed, and found herself unable to speak.
Whatever she said now would only push things in a weird direction, with no turning back.
"We sleep in separate rooms, so you don't need to worry," Benjamin seemed to explain belatedly, but it only made the atmosphere in the car more awkward.
How had she never noticed before that he had so many tricks up his sleeve?
Timothy and Hannah exchanged glances, with mixed feelings.
As parents, they naturally hoped Evelyn would be happy.
Evelyn marrying Benjamin was marrying up, and Benjamin treasured Evelyn like a precious gem—he was a rare catch.
But no matter how good Benjamin's conditions were, if Evelyn didn't love him, she would be unhappy for the rest of her life.
For a moment, they became even more uncertain about what to do.
Still, seeing someone treat Evelyn well always brought them joy. Timothy and Hannah were very warm toward Benjamin and accepted all his suggestions.
After finally finishing dinner and returning home, Evelyn practically rushed Benjamin out the door.
"Samuel came to see you. You can't just leave him alone at the hotel, right?"
"Right."
Benjamin, whom she thought would make excuses to stay longer, immediately stood up. After politely saying goodbye to Timothy and Hannah, he looked at Evelyn.
"Spend time with your parents. I'll go now."
He gently patted her head and turned to leave.
Even after his figure disappeared, Evelyn still hadn't quite processed it.
"Missing him already?" Hannah's voice came with a smile.
"Mom." Evelyn's voice carried that special coquettish tone girls have, with a hint of shyness in her eyes. "Don't listen to his nonsense."
"What nonsense did Benjamin say?"
Timothy joined in too, with a faint smile on his face. "Having him protect you puts my mind at ease, but..."
After Hannah nodded, he continued.
"Marriage is a lifetime matter. What we want is your happiness, not to use an arranged marriage to help the Thomas family climb higher."
"So, what do you really think?"
Faced with Timothy and Hannah's question, Evelyn froze, her brows furrowing slightly.
"Haven't you always refused to let me break off the engagement, urging me to be with Benjamin?"
They had even argued about it often, and she had even suspected that Timothy and Hannah insisted she marry Benjamin just because they valued the White family's power.
"We urged you like that because he's devoted to you, while Matthew had no feelings for you."
Hannah sighed, clearly thinking of Matthew's pitiful state and still feeling some sympathy. "Now that Matthew has shown he has feelings for you, there's a possibility you two could be together. We naturally don't want you to miss out on love."
Without lovers who loved each other, they had settled for choosing someone good for Evelyn.
If the person Evelyn loved also cared for her, they would naturally support it.
Unfortunately, Evelyn hadn't understood their thinking. Instead, she thought they looked down on Matthew.
She immediately said righteously, "Mom, Dad, my engagement was arranged by Grandpa and Benjamin's grandfather. How can it be casually canceled? I don't agree!"
"You can think about this slowly; no need to rush into a decision." Timothy patted Benjamin's shoulder and led Hannah back to their room.
After washing up, he saw Hannah sitting on the bed with a deeply furrowed brow.
"What's wrong?"
"Timothy, I keep feeling that Evelyn has changed a lot since coming back, especially her attitude toward Matthew."
Her brows were tightly knit, as if thinking of something terrible, and her voice lowered. "Could someone be forcing her to act this way?"
The White family wasn't just wealthy in business—they had enormous power in the underworld that others didn't know about.
Not to mention the Harris family, related to the White family by marriage, who were famous in politics.
For a heir trained by such a powerful family, dealing with a girl in her early twenties would be easy, wouldn't it?
"You suspect Benjamin is pressuring Evelyn?" Timothy pulled Hannah into his arms, seriously considering this possibility.
"I don't know," she sighed. "Others might not know about Evelyn's love for Matthew, but how could we as her parents not know? Now she keeps saying harsh things to Matthew, and Matthew was so badly injured, could it be..."
Hannah didn't finish, but her eyes clearly expressed her thought—
Benjamin was using Matthew to force Evelyn to be with him.
Benjamin and Evelyn, in different places, both sneezed at the same time.
"What bad thing did you do now? Getting cursed at, huh?"
Samuel lazily glanced at Benjamin with a mischievous smile. "Why do you have time to see me instead of staying with your fiancée?"
"Her parents came back."
"So you can't keep your hidden beauty anymore?"
"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything."
"Someone who doesn't even flinch when a blade passes in front of their eyes has become this paranoid? Benjamin, you've really fallen deep."
Was it surprising?
He loved her—it was already carved into his bones.
So she could only be his.
After sneezing, Evelyn felt a chill down her back, with an inexplicable feeling of being watched.
But with so many things happening recently, her own fashion company, Belle & Chic, had accumulated quite a few issues that she had to deal with immediately, leaving her no time to think about other things.
All kinds of news were flying around online, and Belle & Chic had naturally been affected.
"Ms. Thomas, Mr. White is so handsome!"
Evelyn's assistant, Thea Ellis, always looked enthusiastic. "He made everyone apologize to you. With such a great fiancé, when will you invite us to your wedding?"
After speaking, her face showed unease.
Before, whenever she mentioned Benjamin's good qualities, Evelyn might not get angry, but she would definitely be unhappy.
As a subordinate, Thea naturally didn't want to cause trouble.
Evelyn saw through her thoughts at a glance and answered with a smile, "Attending the wedding is nothing! I'll definitely give you a beautiful party favor!"
"Thank you, Ms. Thomas!" Thea continued, "I always said someone as good as you would never like a scumbag and would definitely end up with Mr. White."
Matthew was indeed a complete scumbag, but everyone thought Evelyn had feelings for him, so naturally, they wouldn't say that about him.
Her smile deepened. "You could tell? That I don't care about Matthew?"
Finally, someone believed she wouldn't chase after Matthew anymore. Her mood brightened considerably.
"Of course!"
Thea nodded. "How could someone who's two-faced like that be worthy of you!"
Wait.
Evelyn's brows furrowed slightly. "Do you know something about him?"
"I..." Thea's previously cheerful expression showed some hesitation.
Thinking about all the times she had humbled herself for Matthew, Evelyn understood what Thea was worried about.
She looked down at the contract and sighed softly. "Actually, I only came to my senses after seeing the disgusting things he did. He went too far."
"You saw him being shady with Sophia, right? Matthew acts all noble on the surface, saying he's just caring about your friend, but really, he's just a cheater!"