Chapter 117 Chapter 117
She looked at him as if she were momentarily moved, but she quickly replaced that look with an even more sarcastic smile. She hooked her arm around his neck and whispered, "A man's sweet talk in bed is less trustworthy than drunken ramblings at the dinner table."
Her sharp wit and slyness made him both love and hate her. He gently pushed her away, offering a faint smile. "Grace, you don't need to provoke me. Just wait and see.”
"Oh? Is that so?" She arched an eyebrow and reached up to touch his lips. Her delicate fingertips traced the curve of his mouth, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Unable to withstand the teasing, he bit down on her finger. Instead of pulling away, she used her finger to gently tap his warm tongue. "Alex, hold off on the big talk. First, deal with the engagement ceremony the day after tomorrow.”
Though she said "the day after tomorrow," it was already tomorrow. Unnoticed, daylight had filled the room outside the window.
Yet he refused to release her. Pressing down on her, he took her once more, finally spilling everything inside her.
Afterwards, he held her tightly still, caressing her flushed cheeks as he sighed contentedly. "Grace," he murmured. "You are mine. Only mine."
She lay there lazily and pushed him away with disdain. "Get up. I need to shower."
No amount of washing could remove what he’d left inside her. He raised his eyebrows triumphantly, carried her to the bathroom, and bathed her. He kissed her for a few more moments and, only then, reluctantly let her go. He didn’t even bother with breakfast, rushing out in a hurry. A car had been waiting outside the villa for some time, yet Benjamin still arrived at the company slightly late. The executives waited in the conference room for nearly fifteen minutes before their boss rushed in.
Midway through the meeting, Michael approached Benjamin from outside and whispered something in his ear. The others had no idea what he had said, but they saw Benjamin's expression darken slightly. He nodded briefly. "Tell her to wait."
Michael acknowledged the order and backed out. Back in the president's office, Vania paced impatiently. Seeing only Michael enter, she glanced behind him and demanded, "Where is Benjamin? Why hasn't he come?"
Michael replied, "Mr. Norman said he'd join us after the meeting concludes."
Vania stamped her foot in frustration. She sat in the office and waited. Another half hour passed before Benjamin finally returned. When he saw Vania, a hint of displeasure flashed across his face. He asked flatly, "What happened?"
Emotions are peculiar things. Often, the person who cares more loses the initiative and finds themselves at a disadvantage. Even a strong-willed girl like Vania couldn't help but feel a bit weaker in front of the person she liked. She controlled her emotions, fixed her gaze on Benjamin, and said, "I looked it up this morning. The owner of that phone number is named Wendy.”
Benjamin looked slightly surprised. Vania had acted quickly—just one night without answering the call, and she had already traced the name. This was unexpected.
Vania had been watching Benjamin’s expression and misinterpreted his surprise. She pressed, "You know this Wendy, don't you?"
Benjamin smiled, his expression unchanged. “I don’t know any Wendy.”
He nodded slowly as he listened, then feigned concern. “Is the number still unreachable?”
Ever since Grace made that strange call from that number last night, it had been dead. Not only that number, but the international number Grace had previously called her from also rang as disconnected. Vania was stunned and couldn’t believe it. If not for the call log on her phone, she would have thought it was all a dream.
She called Benjamin immediately, but his phone was unreachable. Unable to wait until the next day, she rushed to his apartment that night to check on him. To her surprise, Benjamin was home. He opened the door in his pajamas, seemingly unaware of anything. He looked at her with puzzlement. "Vania, what are you doing here?"
His question left her at a loss. For a moment, she didn't know whom to believe—her longtime friend or her fiancé. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to ask her fiancé directly. “Do you know Grace?”
He frowned slightly and replied, "No, I don't."
He had clearly shown his displeasure last night, yet he hadn't scolded her. Instead, he asked her what had happened. After listening to her somewhat flustered account, he thought for a moment before saying, "Vania, I don't know anything about this situation, so I don't know what to say. How about this? I'll take you home first. Give me some time to investigate and get to the bottom of this. Then, I'll give you an answer, okay?"
He acted perfectly normal, showing no hint of guilt or panic, which made her unable to read him.
Though filled with doubts, Vania had no words to counter him and could only comply with his arrangement, letting him drive her home. Grace was different from the others, though, and Vania couldn't shake her unease. Even though Benjamin had promised to look into it, she couldn't resist finding out who owned that number.
This was the entire sequence of events between Benjamin and Vania. Aside from his occasional loss of control around Grace, Benjamin was the most cunning and ruthless hunter when dealing with anyone else. He chose the simplest and most effective methods to handle his prey, operating without principles or boundaries, as he had demonstrated with Wendy and was now doing with Vania.
Leaning against his desk, he studied Vania coolly. After a moment, he spoke in a detached tone. "Vania, let's postpone our engagement for now."
He paused, then curved his lips into a faint smile. "Clearly, you can't even trust me right now. Under these circumstances, we're not suited for an engagement."
Having heard Grace's warning, Vania naturally harbored doubts about Benjamin and had considered postponing the engagement herself. Yet she hadn't expected Benjamin to voice it first.
Ignoring her shock, he continued, "It's clear your friend means a lot to you, and you trust her deeply. Though I don't know why she made those accusations against me yet, they've planted seeds of doubt in your mind. Proceeding with our engagement before this matter is resolved would be unfair to both of us.”
"Benjamin..." Vania murmured his name in surprise. She wanted to explain, but she couldn't find the words.
Benjamin studied her, paused thoughtfully, and then said, "Here's what we'll do. We'll find an excuse to temporarily call off the engagement. I'll handle things with the Norman family while you take care of your parents. First, we'll investigate this matter to uncover who's behind it. Then, we'll discuss what comes next."