Pearl focused on the trash around her feet. They were of various sizes and shapes, and she’d be in danger if she ignored where she was walking. If she were to fall onto the piles of trash, her image would be ruined. She could not accept that, so she focused all her attention on the ground. So, she didn’t hear the other things Darius said. Darius tucked his hands in his pockets. When he saw Pearl had no intention of answering him, he frowned and said, “Pearl, it’s fine even if our records are here; there’s no way we’ll track them down by ourselves. Of course, that’s only the first and least important reason. We need to remember that we hail from wealthy families—recreating our records is as easy as snapping our fingers.” He thought she’d be happy to hear this, but he was wrong. Pearl looked up at his words and frowned. “Darius, that’s where you’re wrong. Those records were penned by different people at different times, and I have no way of tracking them down. Even if I were to loca

The two people on the floor didn’t intend to stop, but they turned to look at Darius. He applauded them with a smile, attracting everyone’s attention. Edward stood up straight and said, “Mr. Reid.” Darius nodded and walked forward, asking, “What happened while I was away? I’m a little lost from missing the beginning; that’s gonna affect how much I enjoy this show.” Marion gaped at him. She wanted to speak, but Edward beat her to it. “It started out simple enough—Henry called Marion Brandt by her full name.” Darius raised an eyebrow. “Marion Brandt?” He crossed his arms and nodded. “That’s a pretty nice name. What was wrong with Henry uttering it?” He turned to look at Marion curiously, which she didn’t expect. She widened her eyes at him and gnashed her teeth but knew she was facing someone she couldn’t afford to offend. She exhaled to calm herself, then shut her eyes. “I don’t understand why you’re back here when I already told you everything there is to tell.” She opened her

It was a call from Erin, which made Darius frown. She should’ve been busy at this time; the fact that she was calling meant something serious had happened. He took a deep breath and lifted his hand from Pearl’s shoulder. His eyes were still on his phone, but his words were directed at Pearl when he said, “I’m going to answer a call; wait here for Edward. When he returns to his senses, we’ll find our records in no time.” After that, he left. Pearl remained rooted to the spot as she watched him leave, feeling like her shoulder wasn’t the only thing that felt like something was missing. Her heart felt the same, especially since she’d gotten a glimpse of who was calling. She knew Darius had left to attend to work, but she still couldn’t help looking bitter at the thought of Erin’s face. She had the sinking feeling that she couldn’t compare to Erin, no matter how beautiful she was. A flurry of thoughts flew through her mind, but there was no one around to pay attention to her. It was

However, Edward could tell something was definitely bothering Darius. He trailed after Darius, parting and pursing his lips hesitantly. Finally, he breathed deeply and said, “Mr. Reid.” Darius’ footsteps didn’t falter. “I thought you were gonna keep sighing behind me.” He stopped and turned to look at Edward. Pearl stopped as well, and silence descended upon the three. Darius continued flatly, “Henry Fort is mentally ill. His mental state suffered a major blow upon his son’s death, and he developed dissociative identity disorder. He apparently has two identities now.” Edward’s and Pearl’s breathing hitched at his words, and he shut his eyes to conceal his pain. He sighed and said, “He used to be one of the good guys. But his son…we can seek him out after digging up our records. There could be a huge disparity between what he believes to be true and what actually happened.” Pearl and Edward were curious to know why Darius seemed so tormented and exchanged a look. Then, Pearl asked

Alfred had secretly helped Darius out many times before he returned to the Reid family. Darius shut his eyes as he took a trip down memory lane to the first time he’d met Alfred. Back then, he was still poor and worked at one of the university’s cafeterias to make ends meet. In the process of serving one of the students’ dishes, the plating had gone a little out of shape, and the student in question had immediately wanted to hit Darius. To this day, this incident made Darius sigh and lament the wicked ways of the wealthy. Up to that point in his life, he’d experienced many similar situations after working so many odd jobs and knew he had to do everything to placate his customers. Even if they were supposed to also be fellow students, Darius knew he couldn’t really think that. He stood there and waited for the student’s blow to land on his face. It would’ve been easy for him to dodge it, but he knew he couldn’t—it would only aggravate the student more. As he waited for the pain t

Darius narrowed his eyes. Alfred had always been at the top of the social ladder; something must’ve happened to change this. Now that he had a better grasp on the situation, he turned to look at Aurora. Everyone knew Aurora and Alfred were dating—although their relationship had started out as a strategic alliance between their families, they’d grown to love each other. It was almost given that they’d have a happily-ever-after, but it seemed things had changed drastically. Darius turned to look at Aurora. She met his gaze and said pleadingly, “Darius, please help Alfred. He helped you in the past, didn’t he?” Tears rolled down her face. Darius was surprised she hadn’t asked him to save her. Alfred heard what she said and roared, “No, don’t listen to her! Darius, don’t do as she says! I don’t care what happens to me, but there’s no way I’ll allow Aurora to marry Fraser Johnson!” Darius raised an eyebrow and was about to say something, but Fraser beat him to it. He looked at Darius

Fraser thought about it for a second, then grabbed the lackey who’d spoken earlier by the collar and flung him to the ground by Darius’ feet. He bellowed, “How dare you interrupt me! Or do you think you have the right to represent me? Besides, do you think you deserve to speak to someone like Mr. Reid?” He made a show of reprimanding his lackey, but Darius caught him sneaking a glance at him out of the corner of his eye—he was waiting to see how Darius felt about this. Darius smiled, and Fraser relaxed, feeling he’d probably changed Darius’ impression of him. The lackey was obviously indignant but didn’t dare say anything. He looked at Fraser and asked in a small voice, “Boss, did I say something wrong? Why are you suddenly on his side? Isn’t he a pauper? Didn’t you say you hated people like him the most?” The lackey’s eyes turned red. “Darius is standing right before you, but you took out your temper on me just to make him feel good about himself.” Fraser scowled and forced out

Fraser said, “Well, that was crossing the line. No one would be able to sit by and watch something like that happen, regardless of whether they were wealthy or poor.”Darius smiled faintly. He turned to look at Fraser. “That’s what you think. Many people were present at the time, but no one stood up for me. Alfred was the only one who did, and he’d just returned from a fight. Because of me, he got into another one.”Fraser paled. He could see now that Darius was the type to always repay people who’d helped him; would Darius let him off the hook for giving Alfred such a beating? His heart started to race. As he pondered this, Darius continued speaking. This time, however, his tone and expression were mocking. “The second thing I was thinking of was Kingston University’s new dean—Henry Fort. He’s the one who expelled Pearl Chamberlain and me.”Fraser nodded with a frown. “Yes, everyone knows that.”Darius looked at him. “I bet you didn’t know he had a son who used to be a student here.

"Besides, I know Aurora—my fiancée—will stick with me, no matter what." Alfred finally moved his gaze away from Aurora to look at Darius. "That's why I'll never take my life, even if it's only for her sake. Anyway, Aurora isn't any worse than me in terms of her capabilities."Aurora had been silently watching Darius for a long time now. Suddenly, she said grimly, "Darius, I know you're an outstanding man, and I've also heard of the Reid family before. You've already helped us plenty today—more than Alfred did for you. However, I still have a favor to ask of you."Darius looked at her. It was his first time looking her in the eye—in the past, he felt he didn't deserve to look at her because of how poor he was; after returning to the Reid family, he hadn't had the time to. Now, he finally had the time and status to face her as an equal. His attention wasn't on her face, though she was undeniably beautiful. Instead, he looked at her body and raised an eyebrow. All else aside, she had to

"I say that because I heard my father ranting about this before he went missing. I've never seen him that mad before. After that, he went missing, and my uncle took over faster than you could blink. The following day, they called off my engagement with Alfred and forced me into marrying Fraser." Aurora looked tormented.Darius frowned. He didn't want to admit it, but… "This situation is more complicated than I expected. I'll look into it, but I don't think there's a way to ensure your safety, even if Fraser's your only source of danger." He sighed.Alfred looked bitter. Then, his eyes lit up with determination as he said, "I think there's another angle to this." The hopeful look on his face reminded Darius of the young man in his memories, and he smiled.He walked over to Alfred, put a hand on his shoulder, and looked him in the eye. Darius' eyes were calm, but Alfred felt empowered. Then, Darius said, "I want you to know I'm in far more trouble than you—my life is on the line."Alfre