Chapter 82
When Evelyn heard Benjamin's voice, the tension she'd been holding onto finally released. Her eyes reddened, and tears fell down her cheeks.
Benjamin's face, already dark, grew even darker when he saw the tears on her face.
He kicked the waiter who was grabbing Evelyn, pulled her into his arms, and gently patted her back with his large hand.
"It's okay now. I'm sorry I came late. This won't happen again."
Benjamin's gentle words formed a sharp contrast with the violent aura surrounding him.
When Benjamin's hawk-like eyes landed on Zachary, he looked at him as if he were already dead.
Zachary, who had weathered storms for decades, showed a flicker of fear in his eyes at that moment.
But he had been through too much in his life, and his memories of his younger days had grown fuzzy. He still felt he held the upper hand.
"Mr. White."
He smiled slightly, his face still wearing a kind expression, as if he were just an ordinary old man.
"Coming in here and getting physical right away doesn't seem appropriate, does it? After all, today is my birthday party."
Zachary's polite words didn't earn Benjamin's respect.
Benjamin's gaze was terrifyingly cold: "Can a birthday also be a death day?"
His cold tone created a chilling presence in the hall.
Unease showed clearly on everyone's faces as they backed away, leaving the space to them.
The corner of Zachary's eye twitched.
He had been in a position of power for too long—who would dare speak to him like this anymore?
The corners of his mouth turned down slightly, and displeasure showed in his eyes.
"Young people shouldn't be so hot-headed. This is Emerald City, not your White family's Silverlight City."
"How can young people not be hot-headed?"
Benjamin's lips curved up, but his words seemed laced with ice shards: "As for you, at your age, you should already be lying in a coffin. There's really no need for you to keep standing here."
Benjamin didn't say it directly, but this was the second time he'd suggested Zachary should be dead.
Even someone with a good temper would be angered by Benjamin's words, let alone Zachary, who wasn't exactly good-tempered to begin with.
Zachary's cane struck the ground, making a dull sound.
"The Martinez family has been too polite, which is why people think anyone can bully us."
"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?"
Benjamin gave a sinister smile, but the hand on Evelyn's back continued to pat her gently.
One pat after another, full of comfort.
"Daring to lay hands on my fiancée—do you have a death wish?"
Zachary took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his earlier firmness was gone: "This matter can be explained."
He sighed, looking at Evelyn in Benjamin's arms with apparent helplessness.
"Ms. Thomas doesn't like you—that's common knowledge. Because of this, she and my grandson did some things they shouldn't have done..."
He paused, his face full of helplessness: "But the Martinez family has to give Ms. Thomas an explanation."
"I didn't."
A soft voice came from Benjamin's embrace, muffled and aggrieved, the crying not quite obvious.
"I know."
Benjamin didn't even glance at Jeremy, only lowered his head to kiss the top of her head: "That kind of person—there's no way you'd be interested in him."
Benjamin's undisguised contempt made Zachary's expression darken further.
Zachary knew his descendants weren't particularly capable, and Jeremy was especially useless, but being told to his face by Benjamin that they were incompetent still made his blood boil.
He forcibly suppressed his temper before he could manage to speak calmly.
"Ms. Thomas has always been rule-breaking. To get out of the engagement, it's not surprising she'd do something like this. Besides Jeremy, probably no one else in all of Emerald City would dare do this with her."
"Should I praise Jeremy for being brave?"
Benjamin smiled faintly, his gaze sharp as a knife: "So you've decided that Jeremy and my fiancée had an affair."
Zachary was taken aback by his words, not quite understanding what he meant.
Helplessly, Zachary said vaguely: "The Martinez family has to give the Thomas family an explanation."
"The Martinez family does need to explain, but shouldn't it be to me? Since Mr. Martinez says he had an affair with my woman, I should probably castrate him."
Benjamin didn't argue—he went straight to retaliation?
This was something no one present had expected.
Even though everyone here, regardless of what business they were in, had done some shady things, they all kept them hidden and didn't dare speak of them openly.
To bring such bloody and violent matters out in the open so brazenly, everyone felt a chill on their necks.
"You..."
Zachary gripped his cane tightly. Clearly, he hadn't expected Benjamin to show up at such a perfect time, or to display such a forceful attitude.
Zachary took a deep breath, and his tone softened somewhat.
"I can understand your anger, but this matter couldn't have been accomplished by Jeremy alone. Shouldn't you also ask Ms. Thomas how she wants to handle this?"
Evelyn's brow furrowed tightly.
Leaning in Benjamin's embrace, feeling his familiar scent, her emotions gradually calmed down, and her mind started working again.
For the Martinez family to smear her like this at Zachary's birthday party, in front of everyone, they seemed awfully confident.
Even if they thought Benjamin wouldn't believe her explanation, what about the Thomas family's reaction?
Thinking of how Hannah had insisted she attend this party, she felt this matter couldn't be unrelated to Matthew.
Her fingers clutched Benjamin's shirt. She was about to speak when her head was pressed deeper into his chest.
He didn't want her to speak?
Though puzzled, Evelyn remained silent, quietly waiting for his next move.
Chase whispered in Benjamin's ear about what had happened in the hall, focusing on the birthmark on Evelyn's back.
After Benjamin nodded slightly, his gaze swept over everyone in the hall.
"Does everyone think my fiancée has a birthmark on her back, or doesn't have one?"
As for whether Evelyn has a birthmark on her back, not only does Benjamin truly not know—even she herself isn't sure.
Who looks at their own back for no reason?
But Jeremy said that because he was certain Evelyn wouldn't dare take off her clothes for everyone to see. Jeremy could only use words to prove he had a relationship with Evelyn.
Now...
Benjamin suddenly laughed, but that laugh seemed to carry ice blades, making everyone wish they were deaf.
"Why don't I show you all? If she has a birthmark, I'll castrate Jeremy."
"If there's no birthmark, then I'll just have to gouge out all your eyes."
"After all, I'm a petty person who doesn't like other men looking at my woman."
It was hard to imagine such bloody matters being spoken of so naturally.
It seemed to be nothing more than the usual matters between a man and a woman, yet everyone in the hall felt a chill run down their spines.
If someone else said this, it might be empty threats, but Benjamin, who controlled underworld forces, was different—he had plenty of ways to gouge out their eyes.
Those who had just mocked Evelyn immediately changed their tune.
"With such a good fiancé as Mr. White, how could Ms. Thomas possibly like another man?"
"Looking at Ms. Thomas and Mr. White, their relationship seems very good."
Insincere voices rang out from all directions, but they didn't interest Benjamin. He looked at Zachary, his gaze briefly sweeping over Jeremy.