Chapter 74
At ten o'clock at night, Benjamin finally came home.
He brought in the cold air with him, and Pearl promptly handed him a glass of warm water.
"Mr. White, have you had dinner?"
"Yes, I have."
He took the glass and replied casually, "Where is she?"
"Ms. Thomas has been upstairs since she finished dinner."
Noticing he kept looking upstairs, Pearl thought for a moment before speaking up, "Mr. White, if you're not coming home for dinner in the future, maybe you should let us know in advance."
Benjamin had always come and gone as he pleased. Before, when Evelyn ignored him, she certainly didn't need him to report his schedule.
But now...
He took a sip of water and looked away. "She's upset that I didn't come home for dinner?"
"Ms. Thomas cooked dinner herself today."
Evelyn cooked?
Something flickered in the depths of his eyes.
"Where's the dinner?"
"Ms. Thomas threw it away after she ate."
Benjamin went upstairs to the master bedroom, strode over, and bent down to embrace Evelyn.
"What's wrong?"
The sudden embrace startled her, but she hadn't watched all those TV dramas for nothing.
Only a fool would refuse such an intimate gesture.
She reached out to hug him back and said sweetly, "You're still cold. Go take a shower first."
"Are you upset?" He tilted his head to kiss her cheek, his voice soft. "Why didn't you tell me you were cooking? If I'd known, I definitely would have rushed back."
"Is your work that unimportant?"
Having already forgiven him, Evelyn felt even more pleased now. She smiled with her eyes crinkling.
"It wasn't anything that important. Since I didn't have time this time, I'll just cook again next time."
"You're not angry?"
"What's there to be angry about?"
Determined to be an understanding girlfriend, Evelyn completely brushed aside her earlier displeasure and even gave him a little push.
"Go take your shower."
He kissed her a bit longer before leaving, but he left his phone on the coffee table.
Evelyn had no intention of checking his phone, but when it lit up, she instinctively glanced over.
A message appeared on the locked screen.
[Mr. White, I dropped my necklace in your car...]
There was more, but it couldn't be seen without unlocking the phone.
She stared at that partial message until the phone screen went dark, her mind unable to process it.
When Benjamin came out, Evelyn was no longer on the sofa.
His brow furrowed instinctively. He turned to look for her when his phone rang.
He picked it up casually—several messages had come through.
The more he read, the darker his expression became.
[I shouldn't disturb you so late, but if Ms. Thomas sees that necklace, it might cause a misunderstanding.]
[Please find it as soon as possible, Mr. White.]
With a grim face, he walked out of the room and immediately saw Evelyn wearing only a nightgown.
Her delicate face showed no expression, and she seemed oblivious to the cold.
"I found it for you."
Seeing him, Evelyn spoke first, raising her hand. Between her fingers dangled a delicate necklace, identical to the one around her neck.
Benjamin's pupils contracted.
But he said nothing, stepped forward to scoop her up, and turned back toward the room.
"It's so cold out—why didn't you put on something warmer?"
Why?
She didn't know either.
By the time she came to her senses, she was already in his car searching for that necklace.
She didn't want to speculate, but all sorts of possibilities flashed through her mind.
Eventually forming an unbearable conclusion.
She closed her eyes and leaned against him, saying nothing, wanting to say nothing.
Back in the bedroom, he held her in his arms, gently rubbing her legs that had grown cold from the wind.
But she suddenly pulled back, leaving his hand empty.
The next second, she held the necklace up to him again.
He placed his hand back on her leg, rubbing to warm her.
"You haven't been in a good mood lately, and I wanted to make you happy."
"The headquarters sent Celeste to assist with my work. Her background is similar to yours, so I asked her to help pick out a gift."
Evelyn suddenly understood the series of events that had happened today—none of it was his own doing.
"Booking out the restaurant for dinner—she taught you that, too?"
"Yes."
Benjamin's answer was matter-of-fact. He didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with it.
But in Evelyn's heart, an uncontrollable anger was burning.
Her man wanted to please her, but it was another woman who taught him how, mixed with who knows what motives?
The fury in her chest expanded bit by bit, along with her anger about him not coming home for dinner, reigniting in this moment.
"You didn't come home tonight—were you with her too?"
This time, he didn't answer, but often silence is an answer.
Evelyn casually tossed the necklace onto the table and tried to get up from his embrace.
Even though Benjamin wasn't good at comforting women, he knew he absolutely couldn't let her leave now.
He held her waist tightly, "I can explain."
"Can you explain it clearly?"
"Let her explain."
Without naming names, but they both knew who "she" referred to.
Celeste.
It was Celeste who taught Benjamin how to please Evelyn, and then Celeste wore an identical necklace in Benjamin's car and conveniently dropped it there.
Convenient?
Her eyes narrowed.
Still thinking, Benjamin had already dialed the phone.
The other side picked up almost instantly, followed by Celeste's voice, "Mr. White..."
"Explain to Evelyn, or go back to Silverlight City."
If Evelyn wasn't satisfied, Celeste would leave the White Group's branch office.
For the heir of the White family, handling someone's employment wasn't a problem.
But if Celeste came from the same family as Samuel, that would be another matter entirely.
Evelyn's red lips remained pressed together, but her mood gradually calmed down, her charming face expressionless.
She said nothing and showed no reaction.
After a few seconds of silence on the other end, a sigh came through.
"Ms. Thomas, I'm also a woman, so I can understand your displeasure at seeing this necklace."
"But Mr. White likes you—everyone knows that."
"No matter how shameless I might be, there's no need for me to humiliate myself like that."
"When Mr. White asked me what someone my age would like, I thought you'd like this necklace."
"But this necklace is a new item from the JY brand, very popular and hard to get."
"I specifically asked a friend to buy it, and he's kind of an admirer of mine. Thinking I liked it too, he got me one as well."
Celeste paused, her voice growing more helpless.
"The situation was special at the time, so I put it on."
"But today... to prevent any misunderstanding, I took it off."
"I accidentally dropped it in Mr. White's car, and it still caused a misunderstanding anyway."
In the end, Celeste's tone gave the impression that she hadn't wanted this either, yet had still created this situation.
Realizing Celeste was about to apologize, Benjamin cut off the call.
"Are you satisfied?" He looked at Evelyn in his arms, his eyes dark.
After a pause, he added, "If you don't want to see her, I'll send her away directly."