Chapter 70
His casual chatting manner couldn't hide the dark, aggressive edge deep in Benjamin's bones.
Though he seemed to have grown up in wealthy circles, he'd actually been exposed to underworld affairs from a very young age.
Bloody killings had long been etched into his soul.
In her past life, this very thing made Evelyn detest him. She felt they were from two different worlds, completely incompatible.
Lost in thought, she felt the arm around her waist tighten, as if some emotion was spreading through the air.
Evelyn instinctively looked up and met his deep gaze.
"Did I scare you? If you don't like it, I won't deal with it."
Nestled in his arms, she could clearly feel the tension in his body.
Did he just think she was scared?
Or...
She pressed her red lips together, her soft cheek gently nuzzling against his neck.
"I don't feel sorry for Matthew. It's just that you saw my parents' attitude. If something suddenly happens to him, they'll definitely be upset."
Her brows furrowed slightly as she tightened her arms around his neck.
Timothy and Hannah were still hung up on their bond with Matthew, unaware of his ruthless ambitions.
She had to find a way to make Timothy and Hannah see his true colors as soon as possible.
"Benjamin."
When she spoke again, her voice carried a coquettish tone.
"What's wrong?" His palm gently caressed her back, his voice unconsciously softening, as if worried about disturbing something.
"If he dies, that's just letting him off easy. People who do wrong things should be punished. We can't make it that easy for him."
Did Sophia's death really cause Matthew that much pain?
Evelyn didn't know, but she knew one thing—
Losing his position as heir to the Thomas Group would definitely drag Matthew into the abyss!
After all, in her past life, a big reason he targeted her was that he worried she would compete with him for the Thomas Group.
She just hadn't expected that now Timothy and Hannah also minded her competing with Matthew for the Thomas Group.
The slight lift in her mood just now deflated again.
His calloused fingers touched her cheek and gave it a gentle pinch.
"Don't pinch!"
She swatted his hand away, glaring at him a bit fiercely. "I've told you so many times, it'll make my face bigger, and then it won't look good anymore!"
Compared to her pitiful look earlier, she seemed much more lively now, and his thin lips unconsciously curved into a smile.
Benjamin pulled her into his arms and lowered his head to kiss the top of her head.
"I was wrong. Will you forgive me?"
He was completely using the tone of coaxing a child, and she just happened to fall for this approach.
Leaning in his warm embrace, listening to his gentle voice, she felt that everything wasn't so scary anymore.
She gave a coquettish huff, a bit spoiled.
"You think I'll forgive you just because you say so? It's not that simple, especially since you keep doing it again and again!"
Her proud attitude made it seem like she was really going to teach him a lesson.
But she didn't maintain this smugness for long—her stomach's growling instantly changed the atmosphere.
Her face flushed with color, embarrassed and awkward, but more than that, a bit wronged.
Because they were comforting Matthew, Timothy, and Hannah hadn't paid attention to her feelings, or even noticed whether she'd eaten enough.
"Should we eat at home or go out?"
He smiled and kissed her cheek, his tone softening even more.
Evelyn pouted, her mood low. "Let's go home."
After Benjamin called the villa, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Since they upset my baby, how about we teach them a little lesson?"
"Them?"
Her heart jumped in alarm.
His kindness to her was real, but so was the bit of craziness in him.
Anyone who crossed her never had a good ending.
She stared at him seriously. "Benjamin, they're my biological parents. Don't think about doing anything crazy!"
Worried that her words only served as a warning and weren't enough to make him drop the idea, she added another sentence.
"Today's incident wasn't their fault either. Matthew was just too cunning!"
Mentioning Matthew, she wished she could drag him out right now and beat him up. Her words carried a tone of gritted teeth.
But she also understood in her heart that targeting Matthew now would only distance her from her parents and bring no other benefits.
He planted a kiss on her puffed-up cheek.
"Since you know where the problem is, why feel wronged?"
Was she wronged?
Actually, when she faced Timothy and Hannah's defense of Matthew at the Thomas Villa, she hadn't felt that hurt.
After all, in her past life, she had blindly protected him the same way.
Now, Timothy and Hannah didn't know anything. They just thought Evelyn's love had turned to hate, and she was being cruel to Matthew, whom she'd grown up with. It was normal for them to defend Matthew a bit.
Reason kept her emotions firmly in check, until...
When Benjamin appeared at the Thomas Villa, she couldn't hide her grievance anymore.
Since when had she started depending on him so much?
She glared at him unhappily. "I am wronged, so what?"
"You're my fiancé. When I'm wronged, you should comfort me, not lecture me."
The words were quite unreasonable, and she felt a bit guilty after saying them.
But Benjamin didn't seem to mind at all. Instead, his voice became even gentler.
"Yes, it's all my fault. As punishment, let me coax you to sleep tonight, okay?"
"You... that's not a punishment at all! I'd say it's more like a reward!"
"How is it not a punishment?" He chuckled softly, leaning close to her ear. "Being able to look but not touch—that's the biggest punishment."
His warm breath fell on her ear, making it tingle and causing her to flinch involuntarily.
She was now quite used to intimate hugging and holding with him. As for the next step...
She bit her lip, her voice so low it was almost inaudible. "Should we try?"
Benjamin froze for a moment, and his breathing seemed to become several degrees hotter in an instant.
However, he didn't dwell on this topic. After the car stopped, he carried her out and walked straight toward the villa.
"Put me down..." She considered herself pretty thick-skinned, but there were quite a few servants in the villa, and being seen would still embarrass her.
The driver thought: Am I not a person? Why weren't you embarrassed just now?
Benjamin remained unmoved, steadily holding her as he walked inside.
"This is the treatment a princess deserves."
Though his words were teasing, they made her heart feel sweet.
She began to understand a bit why women say the opposite of what they mean.
Even though she felt embarrassed, she still enjoyed the way he publicly declared his feelings for her, yet she unconsciously denied it quietly.
"Not listening to the princess will get you punished sooner or later!"
"How about tonight? Let the princess punish me all at once."
Evelyn couldn't help but feel that Benjamin actually looked forward to being punished.
Thinking of what she'd said in the car, Evelyn's face turned red, almost burning up. She couldn't look at him at all.
But in her heart, she seemed to be looking forward to tonight's events too.
She'd been reborn, Sophia was dead, everything had changed, yet Benjamin's feelings for her remained constant.
It was time to take their relationship to the next level...