Louis and Bella were having talks with the Queen’s cafe owner.The star-studded cafe buzzed with a low, melodic hum—the clinking of spoons against china, the murmur of conversations in English, French and many other languages, and the soft jazz drifting from a hidden speaker.Rain pattered lightly against the window, blurring the city lights into impressionistic streaks of color.Benyamin, his dark hair slightly damp from the drizzle, seemingly was captivated not by the view, but by the woman sitting across from him as she told him funny stories from her past.“I’m telling you the truth,” Rebecca said. “The pigeon Elizabeth bought ate the whole croissant right off the table. I’ve never seen anything like it. Elizabeth thought the maid ate the croissant when she wasn’t looking. It led to an argument, until Elizabeth saw the pigeon go for another food item.“After that day, she let the bird go, but that bird would return to Elizabeth’s window for food. She didn’t feed that bird at all,
Benyamin and Rebecca came home in the Porsche.Rebecca looked happy, but Benyamin looked even happier. He was putting on a fake smile as Rye and Uzza were watching from the balcony.He waved his hand at them while Rebecca wasn’t watching.“The nerve of this guy….” Uzza’s jaw hardened. “Please tell me that Maara told Dahlia of the situation here.”“If Dahlia comes and sees what’s happening, all hell will break loose,” Rye opined. “She won’t just talk with him. She will destroy him.”“Yeah. I can see that. Dahlia is very kind in general, but when she gets angry, no one can stop her,” Uzza said.“If she sees Neel like this, she won’t just get angry. She’ll lose her mind. It’s hard to predict what she will do.”Uzza glanced at Rye. “Anyway, what was that back massage all about? Did Benjamin change his mind and give up on Rebecca?”Rye sighed deeply. “I wish that was the case, but he’s so fixated on the 40 day challenge. I was sitting on top of him at some point, and his lips didn’t even b
The next morning.Rebecca’s eyes were a bit red, and she looked drained as she couldn’t get proper sleep last night.She started to draw some designs for bridal wear to distract herself, but to her shock, she found herself sketching love-shaped and love-themed designs.This frustrated her all the more, and she tore apart those drawing papers, even though the designs were good.“What’s gotten into me?” Rebecca bit on her finger nails. “Why can’t I just forget the damn thing since last night?”She began to search online about her sleepless condition. She even paid 50 dollars to privately talk to a consultant.“What? I might be having a crush on him? That’s why I can’t sleep?” Rebecca didn’t like the answer and ended the conversation there. “These people just say whatever they want. I know about myself better than anyone else, so I should figure it out myself.”Rebecca didn’t brush her teeth or go to the bathroom as she didn’t want to look at the walls and be reminded of her dreams again
It was late morning, yet the Salem sun beat down on the terracotta tiles by the pool of the Sterling villa, a heat that seemed to seep into the very bones of the people as well as the building alike.There was apple juice and mango juice among the items Benjamin brought.“Why did he bring two separate juices?” Rebecca wondered in her mind. “Was one of those for himself? Does he want to sit next to her and drink?”Obviously, she couldn’t ask him directly.“What?” Rebecca’s eyebrow, a perfect, sculpted arch, shot up a fraction.“I brought food for you since you didn’t go out,” Benjamin said.“Were you following me?” Rebecca’s voice turned a bit cold. “And who would drink fruit juice early in the morning.”“It’s eleven o’clock now,” Benjamin said.“Huh?” Rebecca checked her blue-dialed silver watch. What he said was correct.Rebecca was surprised because she didn’t remember sleeping here for so long. Did the lack of good sleep last night cause her to slip into deep sleep now without her
Benyamin’s hands steadily clenched into fists, and the dark smoke releasing from him started to wither the flowers and plants nearby.Just then, Riley and her siblings and cousins rushed out of the building and ran to the pool with excitement.Benyamin loosened his fists and controlled his anger.Other than Riley, everybody else jumped into the pool.Riley was surprised to see Rebecca and Benjamin talking. She smiled at Benjamin, “Hey, Benjamin, how do you keep your hair so perfect? I don’t see your hair splitting anywhere. How do you manage that?”“I trim once a fortnight,” he replied politely, even though Riley’s tone was slightly rude.“Fortnight? Pfft, who even uses that word these days?” Riley approached him and tried to lift up his shirt.Benjamin took a step back. “What are you doing?”Rebecca nearly spilled the food she was eating.“I want to see if you have abs or not,” Riley said. “Why don’t you join us in the pool? I’m sure you have a decent body, so show us what you got.”
“Just talking about some trivial things in life,” Rebecca replied, “but in an unusual perspective.”“Oh, I love new perspectives,” Benyamin patted Benjamin’s shoulder a bit hard. “Why don’t you also teach me a little bit, Brother?”“Rebecca marrying you, a pizza-delivery guy, is a joke,” Riley shouted from the pool. “This villa she lives in has architecture that’s more well thought-out than her life choices.”Riley’s siblings and cousins laughed very much from hearing her words.But both Benjamin and Benyamin were upset.“That was a good joke,” Rebecca also laughed, taking it sportively.“Why don’t we crack another joke then?” Riley said. “How about we have a swimming competition with your husband? He has slender, chicken legs, so if you refuse, then it’s the same as accepting that your husband is a joke.”Rebecca looked at Benyamin, “There’s no need for you to accept the challenge.”However, to her surprise, it was Benjamin who began to step toward the pool.“Why is he participating
“Why didn’t you compete with him and put him in his place?” Rye asked Benjamin.“Everything has a time and place,” Benjamin replied.“He’s right,” Uzza supported him.”He already won once, so there’s no need for him to do it again. Even if he won the second time, he might have been asked to do it for a third time.”Rebecca sighed, as it reminded her of her own past when she repeatedly asked Benjamin to fight her so she could defeat him.She did come close many times, but she was never able to soundly beat him.“If you’re not going to beat him, I will,” Rye said. “I think it’s better that I fight him rather than you or Dahlia do it.”Uzza nodded slightly. “You’re the Sovereign now, but Shadow never fully accepted it. So, you’re more fitting to fight him. But how are you going to defeat him without killing him? It won’t be easy, especially if we assume that he’s possessed.”“I will count on my red lightning as usual,” Rye confidently replied, letting out the aura through her fingertips,
Rebecca’s account was credited with 1.1 million dollars after Veronica had taken 200K and transferred the rest of the money.Seeing a number greater than a million, Rebecca expected to feel quite happy and relieved, but strangely enough, she didn’t feel any particular emotion.The money felt just like a number to now, more so than ever now.Rebecca did not waste any time in trying to hire a web developer to build a website for her brand.She also started to talk with certain fabric brands, who tried to make things difficult for her.Some asked her to come and work for them. Some wanted her to be their brand ambassador.Rebecca wasn’t willing to be bound by such stipulations right now. She wanted to be fully independent.After spending hours talking to different companies, Rebecca got tired of them all.So, she posted a video online of herself being interviewed by Veronica, talking about the most controversial topics in designing clothes so that she’d grab attention as quickly as poss