Chapter 42
"How is that possible?"
Benjamin put down the hair dryer in his hand. His fingers gripped her chin, applying slight pressure to make her lift her head.
"No matter when, you are always my first choice."
"At a time like this, you're still lying to me?" Evelyn pushed his hand away.
His brow furrowed, a hint of coldness crossing his handsome face. "When have I ever lied to you?"
"When I called you this morning, where were you?"
They were both smart people. When she asked like this, it naturally meant she knew his situation at the time.
There was no point in his continuing to lie.
After a few seconds of silence, he considered for a moment before beginning to explain the whole thing.
"The girl you saw at the police station today is called Freya. She's Soren's younger sister."
The White family and the Thomas family were old family friends. Although they weren't in the same city, they knew about each other's major events.
Three years ago, when Benjamin was assassinated in the underworld, it was Soren who risked his life to save him.
The sister of his lifesaver was naturally someone special, and being special meant unlimited possibilities.
Evelyn pressed her lips together, not allowing herself to overthink this issue.
"So what? What does this have to do with you lying?"
He was just visiting his lifesaver's sister. Even if he didn't say it directly, he could have just said "something came up," but he chose to lie instead.
Benjamin's brow furrowed slightly, clear regret flickering in his eyes. "I didn't want you to know I went to the western suburbs."
"Why?"
Just as she asked, Evelyn realized.
The western suburbs were where the amusement park was to be built. The demolition work had been assigned to Evelyn, so his going there would inevitably cause unnecessary speculation.
This seemed like a reasonable explanation, but Evelyn still felt uneasy.
"Freya sprained her ankle, and you took her to the hospital—I have no problem with that. But why did you text saying you'd come pick me up, only to have someone else show up in your car?"
If that person hadn't been driving Benjamin's car, how could she have been fooled so easily?
A flash of severity crossed his eyes, and his tone grew heavier.
"I will get to the bottom of this. Anyone who hurts you, I won't let them off."
As Benjamin spoke, he reached out to gently touch her face.
The red mark on her face had faded, but there was still some swelling. "I bought you some ointment."
Between everything from her past life and his current tenderness, Evelyn felt reluctant to pursue this further.
The truth was often ugly.
If she could maintain peace, she didn't want to shatter this rare calm, even if it was only false peace.
"Benjamin, I know there are many, many problems between us."
"But if you don't want to break off the engagement, it means you want to spend your whole life with me."
"Then, for two people to be together, the first thing is honesty. I hope you won't lie to me in the future."
Especially about things involving other women.
Evelyn had thought her feelings for him were more gratitude, but she hadn't realized she had unknowingly fallen for him too.
The image of him looking down at Freya in the coffee shop flashed through her mind, making her feel very uncomfortable.
"It won't happen again." He reached out to pull her into his arms, lowering his head to kiss the top of her head.
Some mistakes could be overlooked, but some must be avoided.
Otherwise, the result would only be regret.
The next day, the swelling on Evelyn's face had gone down, but she no longer felt like going to the Thomas Group.
She tied her hair in a fresh style and put on casual clothes before going downstairs, wanting to find Benjamin to nurture their relationship.
But all her good mood disappeared when she saw Matthew in his wheelchair downstairs.
"Evelyn."
He seemed oblivious to her displeasure and instead wheeled himself in front of her. "How are you? When I heard about what happened to you yesterday, it was already late. When I rushed over, your lights were already off, so I came today instead."
The incident happened at noon yesterday, but he got the news in the evening.
Did Benjamin block the information?
She didn't even consider the possibility that Matthew was playing the emotional card—after all, why care about things that had nothing to do with her?
"Don't be too upset. I didn't expect Benjamin would do something like this either." He sighed and tried to comfort her. "Don't worry, the Thomas family will always be your home."
"Matthew."
A flash of surprise crossed Evelyn's eyes, and the curve of her lips carried a chill. "Of course, the Thomas family will always be my home. You don't need to tell me that. Also, you don't need to butt into things between Benjamin and me."
She paused, the mockery in her eyes deepening. "Didn't you say before that you hoped he and I would be together forever? What are you saying now—are you trying to drive a wedge between us?"
"How could you think that?" His brow furrowed, hurt appearing on his face. "I heard Louis Cox was released, so I came early out of concern for you."
Louis Cox.
A completely unfamiliar name.
But after thinking for a moment, Evelyn figured it out. "That piece of trash from yesterday?"
"Yes." Matthew nodded. "You and the Thomas family are one. I would never do such a thing. Besides Benjamin, who else would? He released Louis, completely disregarding your safety!"
Faced with his righteous indignation, Evelyn's face remained expressionless, and her already poor mood worsened.
Looking at all of Emerald City, there weren't many people who would interfere in this matter, and even fewer who would release Louis.
Besides Benjamin, there was almost no one else who would do this.
Seeing Evelyn's silence, Matthew continued, "I specifically investigated yesterday. Louis is Freya's boyfriend."
"Freya and Benjamin are very close. She's a junior at Stellar University."
"And Benjamin was the one who approached her first. He even went after Louis, forcing them to break up."
Benjamin hadn't explained the details about Freya and Louis.
But for Benjamin to deal with Louis would only take a snap of his fingers—would it really take this long?
As for Benjamin pursuing a girl who had a boyfriend...
She laughed softly. "So what? Matthew, you grew up in the Thomas family and have seen plenty of wealthy family affairs, right? What are the chances that a man like Benjamin would only have me as the one woman in his life? But it's enough that I'm Benjamin's wife."
Evelyn, who had never cared about power and status, speaking so directly, left Matthew stunned.
He sat in his wheelchair, somewhat dazed, almost forgetting what he wanted to say.
Evelyn walked right past him, with no intention of acknowledging him further.
"Aren't you afraid?"
He turned his wheelchair around, looking at her back, his voice carrying some tension. "Louis dared to kidnap you yesterday, even assault you—these are criminal offenses."
"But Benjamin released him with just one word. Who do you think he's targeting?"
"There's someone out there stalking you, wanting to kidnap you, even rape you. Aren't you afraid?"
She habitually forgot terrible things, but now that Matthew was stirring things up, her delicate face instantly turned pale, her fingers trembling slightly.
This was her reaction when she was nervous. Matthew, who had grown up with her, could naturally see it clearly.
"Evelyn, Benjamin can't be relied on."