Chapter 154 Chapter 154
The phone was answered almost immediately, yet only silence came through the receiver. Grace's voice was so tight that she could barely utter a cautious, dry, "Hello?"
"Grace!" Adrian called urgently.
Before making this call, Grace had reminded herself countless times to stay calm and not to cry. But all her preparation was useless. The moment she heard his voice, her tears burst out. Her voice choked with sobs. "Adrian, is that you?"
“Don’t cry, Grace.” Adrian forced himself to stay composed, though his voice unconsciously quickened. “This will be over soon. Tell me where you are. We need to meet."
Grace knew this wasn't the time for tears. She roughly wiped her cheeks, trying to calm herself as quickly as possible. There was no time to pour out her sorrows or ask what he had endured after she left. She couldn't dare tell him what she had suffered. They had no time to waste.
Glancing cautiously at the closed bedroom door, she clutched her phone and entered the bathroom. In a hushed voice, she asked Adrian, "Did you get Alex's plastic surgery records from Dr. Willie?"
This was her guess. Adrian clearly hadn't lost his memory. He'd stayed in Alicante, pretending to have amnesia, precisely to find evidence that Benjamin was Alex. He had once asked Vania to relay a message to her, telling her to wait patiently for his return. Now that he was back, he must have obtained what he wanted.
Adrian replied, "I got a complete medical record, including all his pre-surgery data and detailed before-and-after photos comparing his facial features. Dr. Willie is a cunning bastard. He secretly backed up all the medical records just in case.” His voice sounded steady, yet excitement he couldn't suppress lay beneath it. He added, "You mentioned that the Meyer family has Alex's criminal records from his time in Los Angeles. I'm searching for those now. Once I piece all this together, it will be enough to prove that Benjamin is Alex!"
Everything unfolded exactly as Grace had anticipated. She had once tried to use this method to bring Benjamin to justice, only to discover that it was utterly futile. As long as the Norman family stood tall, they could never hold Benjamin accountable—the Normans would shield him.
That was precisely why she'd taken the desperate risk of partnering with Landon.
"Adrian, listen to me," Grace said in a low voice. Her lips were pressed together as she organized her thoughts for maximum impact. "Under no circumstances go to the Meyer house. It will alert Benjamin. I already have that file. Copy the materials you have, sneak them into Mom and Dad's house, and then get out of there immediately.”
“Grace!” Adrian cut her off. “You’re the one who needs to leave. Hand me that file. I'll handle the rest. You focus on getting away from him!"
Adrian's plan wasn't wrong, but he was oversimplifying things, just like when he rashly called the police that time.
"Adrian, this alone won't bring Benjamin down! Listen to me. I have other plans. Leave the files here and get out. Don't contact Vania anymore. We'll drag her into this!" Grace insisted.
"No, I won't leave," Adrian countered. "I won't leave you here alone."
Grace was about to protest when Benjamin's voice suddenly echoed from outside. "Grace?"
The bedroom door had opened unnoticed. His footsteps carried her name toward the bathroom. Grace froze, her heart leaping into her throat.
Panicking, she glanced around frantically, unsure of where to hide her phone. Seeing Benjamin approach the bathroom door, she steeled herself, flung the phone into the toilet, and sat down on the seat.
Almost instantly, Benjamin opened the bathroom door. He stood in the doorway and looked at her, seeming to breathe a silent sigh of relief. "Why didn't you answer? You scared me."
Grace's hands trembled with tension, but she forced her voice to remain steady. She glared at him, feigning anger. "Benjamin, are you out of your mind? Do you have to peek in even when I'm using the bathroom? Get out and close the door!"
Benjamin froze, only then noticing that she was seated on the toilet. It was such an awkward scene—no wonder she was furious. He smiled apologetically, muttered, "I’m sorry," and started to back out. But then he saw the lingering tears on her cheeks. His feet hesitated slightly as he asked, "What happened?"
Grace quickly wiped her face. "Nothing. Just get out!"
He gave her a suspicious look, but stepped back out.
Grace's heart was still pounding wildly. She turned to look at the frosted glass wall of the bathroom. Perhaps because he was too far away, she couldn't see Benjamin's figure outside. Shifting her body carefully, she fished out her water-damaged phone. Since Benjamin was right outside, she couldn't take the phone out of the bathroom. Nervously glancing around for a moment, Grace quietly got up and opened the storage cabinet next to the sink. She shoved the phone into the back of the cabinet.
The bathroom door wasn't locked, and Benjamin could walk in at any moment. She held her breath until she closed the cabinet and turned on the faucet, pretending to wash her hands. Only then did she dare breathe again. She lifted her head and silently studied her reflection in the mirror. She took another deep breath before turning to leave the bathroom.
Benjamin hadn't left. He was sitting on the sofa in front of the bed. Hearing her movement, he looked up, his gaze landing on her face. Her face was clean, but her reddened eyes revealed that she had been crying. He pressed his thin lips together. "What's wrong? Why were you crying?”
She answered casually, "Nothing."
Unsatisfied with this response, he studied her intently.
Glancing at him absently, she asked, "Why are you back so early?"
He had come back early out of concern for her, though he couldn't bring himself to say so. Instead, he said, "Nothing much at the office, so I came back early. By the way, what should we have for dinner? Home or out?"
The housekeeper was already downstairs preparing dinner. His question was purely an attempt to engage her in conversation. She clearly saw through him, but she didn't call him out. "I'm tired," she said flatly. "I don't feel like going anywhere. Let's just eat at home."
As she spoke, she picked up a book from the bedside table, curled up on the cushions by the bay window, and burrowed into herself as she read.
He watched her for a moment before suddenly saying, "Why don't we go get the certificate tomorrow?"
She was momentarily confused. Instinctively, she asked, "What certificate?"
Benjamin curved his lips into a faint, ambiguous smile as he looked at her and countered, "What do you think? What certificate could you possibly get with me?”
Grace finally caught on, her heart skipping a beat, though her expression remained unchanged. She lowered her head back to her book and replied nonchalantly, "There's no need to rush this."
"I'm in a hurry," he cut her off, smiling as he emphasized, "Grace, I'm in a hurry."
She lifted her eyes to look at him silently. After a moment, she nodded indifferently. “Fine. Pick a good date, and we'll go get the certificate."
He knew that even something like getting a certificate required a touch of romance, but he knew nothing about such things. He had no choice but to ask some of the younger women in the company for advice. After much effort, he finally managed to pick a date. Perhaps luck was on his side. It had rained for several days straight, but that day was the only sunny one.
This rare good day naturally drew crowds of couples seeking licenses, forming an exceptionally long line.
Benjamin didn't pull any strings; he simply held Grace's hand and joined the line with everyone else. They stood out strikingly because they were both exceptionally good-looking. Some people even secretly took pictures with their phones.
Benjamin noticed, but didn't mind. He even smiled at the photographers.
His simple, faint smile was naturally captivating. It left the girl who took the photo momentarily dazed, staring at him blankly for a long while.
Her boyfriend, standing nearby, looked both furious and helpless. He turned her head angrily and bumped his forehead hard against hers.
The crowd burst into laughter, and Benjamin couldn't help but smile, too. Only Grace remained impassive, utterly unmoved.
By the time they finished the formalities, it was already noon. Going to the bridal shop for dress fittings in the afternoon and then returning to the apartment for lunch would be quite a hassle. Yet, Benjamin was worried about Grace's well-being. Glancing at her, he asked, "Are you tired? If you're tired, we can go home first and reschedule the fitting for another day.”
Grace wasn't physically tired; she was mentally weary.
It wasn't about registering their marriage with Benjamin—she didn't care about that. She was someone who could easily let things go, rarely dwelling on formalities, much less using them to torment herself. What troubled her was whether Adrian had truly left Seattle, and whether Landon had found the date she was searching for and sent it to Wendy's phone.
The phone Wendy had left her was completely dead. She considered transferring the SIM card to her phone, but she feared Benjamin might have tampered with it, so she didn't take the risk.
Buying a new phone presented another problem—Benjamin watched her too closely. Whenever she went out, someone was always following her.
Still, she could find a way, such as asking Vania to buy one and sneak it to her. It was the simplest and most feasible solution, but she couldn't use it because it would endanger Vania.
Grace knew that Benjamin was far from as lax as he appeared. He was actually constantly guarding against her, never letting his guard down for even a second.
He stood there, still waiting for her answer.
Grace shook her head and replied calmly, "I'm a bit tired. We'll try on the dress another day."
Benjamin said nothing more and drove her back to the apartment.
After lunch, Grace went upstairs to rest alone, as usual. She had barely lain down when Vania called.
Surprised, she hesitated before answering. Vania wanted to meet up for shopping again.
Grace sensed that something was going on, and her interest was piqued. However, when she considered how this might involve Vania, she refused. "I'm not going. It's too hot. I don't feel like going anywhere."
Fearing Vania might not understand, she made it clearer: "Forget about inviting me to dinner. Even if God himself invited me, I wouldn't go."
"Stop being so dramatic. It's just dinner. Not like I'm asking you to sell yourself." Vania's tone was blunt and consistent with her usual style. "My professor from grad school is getting married and sent me an invitation. I've been wanting to get out and clear my head lately, so I figured I'd fly over for a few days. Who knows? I might find the love of my life out there and never come back.”
With Vania putting it that way, Grace felt it would be suspicious to refuse. Reluctantly agreeing, Grace hung up and sat silently for a moment before rising to knock on Benjamin’s study door. Unusually, he was sitting at his desk, smoking. His gaze fixed on her face as she entered, lingering for a long moment before he seemed to snap out of it. He quickly stubbed out his cigarette and asked, "What is it?"
Grace pressed her lips together and replied, "Vania invited me out to dinner tonight. She might be leaving the country. Would you like to come?"
He seemed slightly surprised, raising an eyebrow. "Is it appropriate for me to go?"
Given their relationship, the three of them sitting down to dinner together would indeed feel rather awkward. However, to lower Benjamin's guard, Grace had no choice but to proceed this way. She gave a faint, forced smile and countered, "Why wouldn't it be appropriate? Because you two were once boyfriend and girlfriend? Given my relationship with Vania, we'll inevitably stay in contact unless we completely cut ties. You can't avoid her forever, can you?”
He agreed, "Alright, I'll go."
Grace said nothing more. She glanced at him before turning and returning to the bedroom to continue her nap.
Benjamin sat at his desk and lit another cigarette. Shortly after, Glasses called. "After Miss Taylor called Ms. Hill, she made another call from the office landline—a very brief one. I traced the mobile number, but to avoid arousing suspicion, I haven’t dialed it yet.”
Benjamin said nothing, hanging up silently.
He sat there, lost in thought, until the cigarette burned his fingertips. Only then did he snap back to reality, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle.
She’d always been bold. Even though she’d arranged to meet a man, she’d deliberately brought him along to ease his suspicions.
Benjamin chuckled again, though he couldn't quite pinpoint the feeling. He sat quietly, waiting for the next call to come through.