Chapter 68
Benjamin's ex-fiancée from three years ago.
This statement was like a stone dropped into a calm lake, stirring up ripples but not the storm I had expected.
I looked at this radiant, confident woman before me, at the undisguised scrutiny and examination in her eyes. That initial surprise in my heart was quickly replaced by understanding.
So that was how it was.
No wonder she showed up with that inexplicable hostility, constantly bringing up my relationship with Benjamin.
It was cooperation in name, probing in reality.
And her final comment, "You really remind me of myself back then," felt particularly loaded — like a pitying prophecy, or perhaps a well-intentioned warning.
I didn't lose my composure over this sudden revelation of her "ex" status. I simply let my lips curve slightly. "Ms. Jenkins, you're joking. How could I dare compare myself to you back then?"
I paused, meeting her sharp gaze, my tone calm and steady. "Besides, Benjamin and I started with a business marriage. What we care more about are the benefits this relationship can bring us both. That, I imagine, is completely different from your situation back then."
I was stating facts, and also drawing boundaries.
I wasn't anyone's replacement. My marriage had been clearly priced from the start, straightforward and without a hint of false sentiment.
The smile on Zara's face froze slightly, as if she hadn't expected this reaction from me.
Just as she was about to say something more, a deep voice suddenly came from nearby, breaking the strange silence in the garage.
"What are you two talking about?"
My heart jumped, and I whipped my head around.
Benjamin had arrived at some point and was standing a few steps away, with that familiar Bentley parked behind him.
He was still wearing the cashmere sweater from this morning, but now, those deep eyes looking at me no longer held the morning's tenderness — only silence remained.
He had heard everything.
His gaze fell on me, and the disappointment in his eyes was like a fine needle, unexpectedly piercing my heart, leaving a faint but clear sting.
I almost instinctively wanted to explain.
But looking at those eyes that had instantly dimmed, I suddenly felt that any explanation would seem pale.
I took a deep breath and simply laid out my truest thoughts to him.
"But," I looked into his eyes and said clearly, "that was just the beginning. Now, we understand each other, and we trust each other. I believe you're not the kind of person who would find a replacement. You're good, very good."
I stepped forward to him, looked up at his tense, handsome face, my tone more firm and serious than ever before.
"So, Benjamin, I'm very confident about our marriage."
The moment my words fell, he suddenly reached out and pulled me hard into his arms.
The force of this embrace was a little too much. My cheek crashed against his solid chest, my nose instantly filled with that crisp, pleasant woody scent on him. I could clearly hear his steady heartbeat, one beat after another, pounding intensely against my eardrums.
He didn't speak, just held me with a force that seemed intent on melding me into his bones and blood.
And all my anxiety and fear were completely smoothed away in this domineering, uncontrolled embrace.
"Already hugging?"
A voice tinged with teasing laughter rang out at an inopportune moment.
Only then did I remember Zara was still there.
I felt somewhat uncomfortable and tried to break free from Benjamin's embrace, but he tightened his arms, not letting me move an inch.
Zara stood with her arms crossed, leisurely leaning against her red sports car, her face no longer showing the earlier aggressiveness, only the amusement of watching a show.
"Congratulations, Mr. Wilson." She tipped her chin toward us.
Only then did Benjamin loosen his hold slightly, but he still kept me protected in his arms. He looked up at Zara, and those eyes that had regained their spirit now carried a warning coldness.
"Zara, I don't want there to be a next time." his voice was steady but full of pressure. "Testing my fiancée on your own in this way is very rude."
Only then did I fully understand.
What ex, what resemblance — from beginning to end, it was all a setup deliberately arranged by Zara to test my reaction.
She and Benjamin were simply pure friends.
Being warned publicly, Zara wasn't flustered at all. Instead, she shrugged and spread her hands innocently. "I was just helping you check her out, so you wouldn't get fooled again."
She then turned her gaze to me, blinking slyly. "Besides, Ms. White, it's just an engagement now, not a registered marriage yet. I still have a chance."
Benjamin's handsome brows furrowed slightly at her comment.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you two." Zara knew when to quit. She opened the car door and got in, rolled down the window, and gave me a genuinely sincere smile. "Ms. White, pleasure doing business with you. And, keep an eye on this one — typical case of forgetting his friends the second he sees a pretty face."
The red sports car roared to life and quickly disappeared at the garage exit.
The surroundings became quiet again, leaving only Benjamin and me.
He still hadn't released his arm around my waist, just looked down at me, his gaze focused and serious.
"Ophelia," he suddenly spoke, his voice low and husky, carrying a bewitching solemnity. "Would you be willing to let me be selfish just once?"
My heartbeat became somewhat irregular under his gaze. I asked in confusion, "What?"
"Let's register our marriage early, okay?"
I froze.
I hadn't expected him to suddenly make this request. It completely disrupted all my plans and my rhythm.
Seeing my stunned expression, a trace of barely noticeable nervousness flashed in his eyes, and his grip on my arm tightened a bit more.
Just as I was hesitating, not knowing how to respond, a crisp phone notification sound broke the silence.
It was my phone, with a message from Zara that had just popped up on the screen.
I opened it. There was only one brief sentence, but it exploded in my mind like a thunderclap.
[Forgot to tell you — today is Benjamin's birthday.]
This sentence was like a red-hot branding iron, burning itself into my retinas.
So that slightly nervous "let me be selfish just once" wasn't a sudden whim of dominance, but a birthday wish.