Chapter 42: I Believe You
Bianca let out a scornful laugh.
"Who do you think you are? What makes you worthy of being compared to him?"
"Even though Terrence's eyes aren't working well right now, he's still the real person in charge of the Anderson family. He could make you and your crappy company disappear with just a flick of his finger. And what about you? Besides groveling here like a rat in the gutter, scheming against others with your disgusting tactics, what else can you do?"
"Compare yourself to him?"
Bianca stepped forward, staring down at Samuel's water-drenched face, her gaze piercing. "You're not even worthy of carrying his shoes, not even worth a single strand of his hair."
"I was blind before, but now I see your true colors. If you dare show up in front of me again, if you dare say one more bad word about him..."
"I don't mind letting you see for yourself whether you and your crappy company can handle the consequences of offending the lady of the Anderson family."
Water droplets were still dripping down Samuel's face, mixed with his twisted expression, making him look utterly ridiculous and pathetic.
He was completely stunned by Bianca's words, the intense humiliation and unwillingness almost making him lose his mind.
Remembering his purpose, Samuel held back and pulled out a somewhat worn pink box from his suit pocket.
"Bianca, look at this."
He eagerly opened the box, revealing a crude clay ring inside.
It was something Bianca had made herself in a craft class during her naive youth, full of girlish feelings. Samuel had complained back then that it wasn't valuable enough.
"Do you remember? You gave this to me. You said it represented the purest feelings between us. After all these years together, is there really nothing left? How can you be so heartless?"
He squeezed out what he thought was deep affection in his eyes, trying to move her with this clumsy performance.
Bianca's eyes were full of disgust.
He actually dared to bring out something like this.
Just as Samuel held up the box, his face even showing a hint of smugness and anticipation from his heartfelt confession.
Bianca suddenly reached out and mercilessly snatched the box away.
Then, under Samuel's horrified gaze, without even glancing at the ring, Bianca gripped the box tightly, raised it high, and threw it hard into the nearby trash can.
Bianca lifted her cold eyes to look at the frozen Samuel.
Samuel was shaking with anger, pointing at Bianca and shouting without thinking: "Do you think Terrence really likes you? Someone like him who stands above everyone else, what kind of woman hasn't he seen? He's just interested in something new right now, or maybe he sees some use in you. Once he gets bored, do you think he'll even look at you twice?"
The more Samuel spoke, the more convinced he became of his own theory, his tone turning vicious. "Bianca, I'm the only one who truly likes you. Can Terrence give you true feelings? He could never fall in love with a woman like you. Wake up."
Bianca watched his performance with cold eyes, only a mocking curve on her lips, about to speak.
However, at that moment.
"When did it become your place to comment on my affairs?"
A deep, cold voice suddenly rang out from the other end of the corridor.
Samuel was like a duck whose neck had been grabbed, all his unspoken words coming to an abrupt halt.
The moment Bianca heard the voice, she turned around almost instinctively.
When she saw Terrence standing not far away, her face was full of surprise.
He was still wearing those sunglasses that hid most of his emotions, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit that made his figure appear even more upright and stern, emanating an aura that warned people to keep their distance.
Bianca immediately walked to his side, naturally reaching out to tightly hold his solid arm, then gently leaning her body against him. Her cheek even rubbed against his arm dependently, her voice soft and sweet, with obvious grievance: "Honey, he kept pestering me and said so many bad things about you."
Bianca's drastically different behavior left Samuel in the distance dumbfounded, almost doubting whether the earlier Bianca had been his imagination.
Terrence looked down, his gaze behind the sunglasses falling on Bianca who was clinging tightly to him.
Worried that Terrence might misunderstand her private meeting with Samuel, Bianca carefully explained: "Honey, don't misunderstand. I didn't mean to meet him. Jessica asked me to come here, and I happened to run into him. He just kept pestering me, I..."
"No need to explain." Terrence's deep voice interrupted her slightly flustered explanation.
"I trust you."
Those simple words instantly smoothed away all the unease in Bianca's heart.
Terrence raised his hand and grasped her wrist.
Bianca was slightly stunned.
She saw Terrence carefully examining her smooth, delicate fingers, gently touching and checking them, his deep voice slowly asking, "Does your hand hurt?"
Bianca froze. He heard everything?
Didn't that mean he knew everything she had just done?
Would he think she was too violent?
With guilt in her eyes, Bianca shook her head vigorously, her voice even softer: "It doesn't hurt."
Terrence's fingertips gently brushed over her fingertips, the delicate, soft sensation stirring his heart.
Her obedient, apologetic appearance was completely different from how she had faced Samuel moments ago.
Terrence's Adam's apple rolled imperceptibly, his gaze behind the sunglasses deepening.
"Next time something like this happens, leave it to someone else."
His voice was gentle. "Your hands aren't meant to touch dirty things like that."
Bianca's cheeks warmed, the burning temperature from where he held her wrist spreading all the way to her heart.
She softly agreed, obediently letting him hold her.
Only then did Terrence look up, turning his gaze toward Samuel through his sunglasses.
Samuel's legs went weak under that gaze, and he spoke almost with a sob: "Mr., Mr. Anderson, I just happened to run into Bianca and wanted to say hello, catch up a bit."
"Catch up?" Terrence's thin lips parted, repeating the phrase, his voice calm but carrying a chilling undertone.
"It seems my last warning wasn't clear enough."
Terrence tilted his head slightly toward two bodyguards who had appeared silently behind him at some point, giving a calm order:
"Take him away. Teach him some manners properly, make sure he remembers clearly what people he should touch and what words he should say."
"Yes, Mr. Anderson." The bodyguards responded and walked expressionlessly toward Samuel.
Samuel was scared out of his wits. Forgetting all about dignity, he quickly looked to Bianca for help.
Bianca couldn't be bothered and stayed nestled against Terrence's side.
Terrence lowered his head, his gaze behind the sunglasses seeming to rest on the top of Bianca's head.
"Let's go, let's go home." His deep voice sounded by her ear.
"Okay, let's go home." Bianca looked up at him with a bright smile, holding his arm tightly.