Chapter 121

"Evelyn, I've always admitted I'm not a good man. So what if I'm using moral blackmail? If that's what it takes to keep you here, then think whatever you want about me. I don't care."

Benjamin's tone was calm and measured as he spoke, completely dispelling the intimacy from moments before.

"I haven't told you this before because I didn't want to sway your judgment, but I will never let you leave. As long as I'm here, you will remain my wife. Do you understand?"

His stubbornness made Evelyn furrow her brow.

A flash of anger sparked inside her. She braced herself against the wall and stood up, not forgetting to shake his hand off her waist in the process.

"Fine. Then don't blame me for doing something extreme. After all, you're the one forcing me into this."

There was no reasoning with him. If that was the case, why not do something that would at least bring her some satisfaction?

At the very least, making Amelia suffer a little wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"Mr. White, I've said my piece. What you think about it is your problem. You refuse to let go, and I refuse to let you ruin my mood. But let me remind you of something—there's someone who desperately wants to take my place, to become your wife fair and square. She's the one you truly care about."

After leaving those words hanging in the air, Evelyn turned and walked away without another word.

She left Benjamin standing alone, watching her retreating figure. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He raised his hand to wipe the blood from his forehead, replaying Evelyn's expression from earlier in his mind. One thing became crystal clear to him.

Not only did Evelyn know Kimball, but they were obviously very close. However, there was absolutely no romantic feeling between them.

For some reason, when he realized this, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

When he snapped back to reality and realized what he'd just been thinking, Benjamin suddenly frowned.

How strange.

Why had he noticed himself becoming less and less like himself lately?

Sometimes, he honestly didn't even know what he was doing—he just acted on impulse.

Like just now.

The moment he'd pulled Evelyn into his arms, there had been no disgust in his heart. Instead, catching the faint fragrance from her body had actually improved his mood.

He kept replaying that scene in his mind, so absorbed that he didn't even notice Maddox coming down the stairs.

Maddox looked down and spotted him. Seeing Benjamin sitting there alone, he frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Trouble at the company?"

Benjamin looked up at him, then said quietly, "I don't know what you're thinking when you say things like that. Are you hoping something goes wrong at the company?"

Maddox replied indifferently, "I'm retired now. The company is in your hands. Whatever you do, whatever you achieve—none of it concerns me anymore."

He let out a long sigh, then added pointedly, "What you do will directly affect the company's interests. If you don't want to be a laughingstock, you need to keep yourself in check at all times."

Benjamin understood perfectly well that Maddox was referring to the situation with Amelia.

He stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and looked at Maddox calmly.

"I know what I'm doing. I don't need your reminders. What you should be doing right now is minding your own business and not overthinking things. The situation between Evelyn and me is for the two of us to decide. The only reason she's still here is because of moral blackmail. If one day she decides to leave without hesitation, even I won't be able to stop her."

Maddox knew he was speaking the truth.

But under the current circumstances, as long as his health didn't improve, Evelyn would never leave easily.

He knew what he was doing was despicable, but it came from a purely selfish place—he didn't want Benjamin to regret it someday if he actually let her go.

"One day, you'll understand why I'm doing this."

With that, Maddox shook his head helplessly and turned to leave.

Watching him walk away, Benjamin lowered his eyes, lost in thought.

Over the next few days, just as Benjamin had demanded that day, Amelia rarely appeared in front of him.

As for the competition, the White Group no longer had a participant and didn't need to make any preparations.

However, Kimball had given him some face by listing him as one of the investors. This meant Benjamin could attend as an investor, observing the competition from an elevated position without losing face.

It was undeniably clever.

Benjamin had to admit that much.

Kimball hadn't offended Benjamin or Samuel, and he could leverage both their influence to attract many people to the competition.

He was curious—had Kimball really thought this through himself?

Or was someone behind the scenes helping him strategize?

At that thought, Benjamin suddenly looked up toward the second floor, in the direction of Evelyn's bedroom.

He'd already made up his mind.

There was no need for further consideration.

He no longer stubbornly defined Evelyn in such a limited way as before. Now, it seemed to him that Evelyn had always been hiding her intelligence, keeping it from being noticed by others. He suddenly understood what Maddox had said before.

The Taylor family had left their true pearl out in the cold while carefully nurturing a fake one in their palms. Sooner or later, that mindset would backfire and consume them entirely.

Now, he was no longer as quick to overlook her as he'd been before.

Meanwhile.

During her phone conversation with Kimball, Evelyn learned about what had happened between him and Benjamin earlier that day.

She wasn't worried that Benjamin would do anything drastic because of it. She was more afraid he'd start to suspect the secrets she was hiding.

After all, she and Benjamin had known each other for so long, practically living under the same roof. He was naturally suspicious—how could he possibly miss any clues?

The current situation was already working against her.