Chapter 77
Brielle followed me out, full of anticipation. Half an hour later, the car stopped outside a lavish hotel. She glanced at the opulent decor and hesitated. "We're meeting... in a hotel?"
"Is there a problem?" I countered. "This is one of Octavius's hotels. He doesn't like to be seen in public. Isn't it more normal for him to arrange for you to meet his friend here?"
Brielle didn't suspect a thing, simply pouting before heading inside. I led her up the elevator to a suite and knocked on the door. Footsteps soon approached from within.
Octavius opened the door, and our eyes met.
Seeing him, Brielle instantly became reserved and shy. "Mr. Capulet."
Octavius gave a slight nod. "Come in. He's not here yet."
"Okay. Thank you for your trouble, I didn't expect you to go to the effort of introducing me to a friend." Brielle acted gentle and well-behaved, constantly flicking her hair, trying to look ladylike. I rolled my eyes behind her back. She was anything but ladylike when she was tumbling in bed with those old men.
She had just taken a sip of water when she couldn't resist prying. "May I ask, Mr. Capulet, what kind of man is your friend?"
Octavius glanced at her. "He's very rich. You'll know when you see him."
Nothing more needed to be said. The mere fact that he was rich was enough to satisfy Brielle. She beamed. "That's great. A friend of Mr. Capulet's is sure to be impressive."
Octavius nodded slightly and glanced at me. I caught his look and spoke up at the right moment. "Mr. Capulet has other things to attend to, so he should be heading back."
Brielle, unsuspecting, stood up enthusiastically to see him off. The moment he was gone, she dropped her eager smile, a haughty smirk playing on her lips. "You've been quite helpful this time, introducing me to a rich young master. If this works out..." Brielle leisurely straightened her hair, not even bothering to look me in the eye. "I'll give you a limited-edition bag. Mom just bought it for me last month. It's yours."
I said nothing, just smiled faintly, hiding the coldness in my eyes. Her used hand-me-downs? I, Seraphine, never take anyone's trash. Not Mitchell, and not anything else.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. I got up to open it.
A greasy old man stood outside, his left leg in a cast. It was Gage Fisher, the same man who had tried to buy me for a million dollars and assault me. Octavius had already broken his leg, and now, seeing me, he showed a look of fear, quickly nodding. "Ms. Whitaker, hello."
I stepped aside, my face blank. "Come in." I turned and walked back inside. "Brielle, your blind date is here."
Brielle immediately straightened her hair and clothes and stood up to greet him. Her shy, expectant expression froze the moment she saw him. Her face turned pale, and she stumbled back a step, pointing at Gage and shrieking, "Why is it you!"
Seeing Brielle, Gage's teeth ground in hatred. He lunged forward and pushed her to the ground. "You bitch, you almost got me killed!"
"You said it was just a pretty woman, but you sent Octavius's person to my bed! You cost me a leg, and today, I'm getting my revenge!" Gage's face was flushed with anger as he pinned Brielle down and started tearing at her clothes. The dress ripped off easily. Even with a broken leg, he was strong, completely overpowering her.
Brielle struggled and screamed, a look of dawning, desperate realization on her face. "Seraphine, you tricked me? You dare to plot against me like this!"
Meeting her hateful gaze, I found it laughable. This was enough to make her break down? The despair I felt when I was strapped to an operating table, forced to give her my kidney in my past life, was a thousand, a hundred thousand times worse than what Brielle was feeling now. This little trick was just a small payback.
"So what if I did? Brielle, you're the one who repeatedly came after me. Did you think I would just take ten million dollars and let it go?"
"I'm just returning the favor for what you did to me." I walked closer, step by step, watching her become more and more exposed, a smirk on my lips. "Don't worry. You drank something. Soon, you'll be very eager to enjoy yourself with Mr. Fisher."
As I uttered those light words, Brielle's eyes went wide. She stared at the glass of water she had sipped from. "That water..."
"Yes. Whatever you put in my water, I put in yours," I said, crossing my arms and looking down at her. "Returned in kind. Are you satisfied?"
Brielle was completely stunned. After a few seconds, she let out a heart-wrenching scream. "I'm going to tell Father! He won't let you get away with this! He'll kick you out of the house!"
I knew she would say that. She had no other leverage over me. Gage was already pinning her to the sofa, ready to make his move. The scene disgusted me, making my stomach turn. I said coldly, "See the camera in the corner? If you dare say a single word to Father, I'll send out your video. I guarantee everyone will know."
Brielle saw the tripod in the corner and froze, her body starting to tremble violently. I watched her, expressionless, savoring her helplessness. With all the grievances from my past and present life combined, Brielle deserved to die. Right now, I was just letting her taste the pain she had inflicted on me. I was already being merciful.
"Enjoy yourself. This is just the beginning." With that, I turned and left without a backward glance.
"Seraphine, stop! You can't go, get this fat pig out of here!"
"If you dare leave, I'll never let you go! I'll kill you!"
"Seraphine! Seraphine, I was wrong, please let me go this once, please!"
I ignored Brielle's words and closed the hotel room door. Wrong? A heartless woman like her would never realize what she had done wrong. Her pleas and apologies now were just because she couldn't bear the consequences, forced out of desperation. I would never trust a demon who was screaming about killing me one second and admitting fault the next.
I let out a breath and stood in the quiet hallway, pulling out my phone to text Octavius that it was done. Soon, his call came through. "All taken care of?"
"Yes," I replied, then suddenly heard the sound of a social gathering on his end, along with a woman's laughter. It sounded familiar. Like... Quinlan?
He chuckled. "Are you satisfied?"
I snapped back to reality, cooing happily, "I'm satisfied. Thank you for helping me, Octavius. I really mean it."
In the dim hallway, Octavius's voice came through the phone, clear and laced with a drunken laziness. "How many times have I told you, thanks can't just be verbal."
My heart skipped a beat. I blinked. "So, how do you want me to thank you this time?"
Octavius didn't answer, but his breathing grew heavier, a soft sound in my ear. "Remember you unconditionally promised me one thing?"
"I remember," I said immediately.
"My request is," Octavius said leisurely, "that you come back to the Capulet Manor with me tomorrow."
I was stunned. "Go back to the Capulet Manor for what?"
"A Capulet family dinner. The elders will be pushing for marriage. I'm bringing you to shut them up." Octavius said calmly, "Tomorrow at eight PM, I'll come pick you up."
My heart started pounding. I felt shy, but also worried. Thinking about the Capulet family's attitude towards me, and Nolan's health, I hesitated. "That... doesn't seem appropriate, does it?"
On the other end, Octavius was silent for two seconds, then his voice turned a couple of shades colder. "You think it's not appropriate?"
"Right, because your grandfather..."
"I understand," Octavius cut me off before I could finish. Just then, a woman's voice sounded from his side. "Octavius, what are you doing? Come have another drink."
This time, I heard it clearly. It was Quinlan. My heart tightened, and I subconsciously called out, "Octavius..."
"I have things to do here. That's all for now." Octavius hung up before I could say anything more.