Nigel recounted his childhood memories. “Once, I offended the seniors in my school and Elliot-who was abroad at that time-returned to the country immediately to take down seven of them all by himself! I was cheering for him at the sideline and he won! He was so cool!”
As she was listening to the story, Anastasia could literally picture the scene in her head. She had seen pictures of Elliot in his teens and he definitely had the looks of a rich young boy.
“Has he gone out with other girls?” she whispered.
Nigel shook his head as he did not dare to make up a lie for it either. “Though the girls had been lining up to date him, he didn’t like any of them. Only you.”
Anastasia was giddy with merriment at that moment. “Really? Are you telling the truth?”
“I swear.”
Based on their long friendship, she was able to discern the sincerity in his eyes and trusted his words. “Okay. I believe you.”
After greeting the elderly members, Elliot turned his head to see the duo talking with such proximity. Watching how their heads almost touched, Elliot guessed that Anastasia was prying into his past.
His aroused interest led his feet toward them, after which he crossed his arms while pricking up his ears to hear the conversation.
Both of them were so immersed in the gossip that they did not realize the protagonist was just right there. Meanwhile, Nigel’s eyes lit up as he recalled something. “I’ll tell you one of his dark histories.”
“Dark history?”
“Before he was 16, he drove the car and was caught red-handed. The police gave him a lecture and forced him to rewrite all of the driving rules by hand.” Nigel guffawed without feeling a tad of guilt.
Anastasia let out a hearty laughter as well.
Suddenly, they could feel a cold chill accosting them as a voice resounded. “Is it that hilarious?”
The smile on Nigel’s face went stiff before he cleared his throat. “Elliot, I’m already saving your face by not exposing the time you entered the ladies’ by mistake.”
“Well, it’s not like you’re much better than I am. I have plenty of stories about you too!” Elliot squinted his eyes with a piercing gaze at his brother.
“What? Elliot went to the ladies’ before?” Anastasia’s eyes widened in shock. Was he mistaken as a pervert?
Elliot smiled widely, albeit dangerously. “If you would like to learn more of my stories, I’ll tell you later tonight in bed. Don’t listen to his nonsense.”
She smiled while blushing in embarrassment whereas Nigel patted Elliot’s shoulder. “Patience, Elliot. Be patient. You’re going to get married soon.”
In fact, Elliot’s patience was wearing thin to the point that he could not fall asleep. at night. Although there were three days remaining before the engagement, it felt like a century to him.
Time flew by and it was the engagement day at long last.
The press, which had quite reliable resources, began to offer their sincere wishes to the couple with the intent to spread the news. Soon, the Internet went wild over the engagement of the renowned President Presgrave of Presgrave Group.
On the other side, Hayley saw the news
and shoved everything off the desk in a fit of pique at her rented room. In the end, Anastasia had become Mrs. Presgrave and Hayley was left with nothing.
Due to her face, Hayley had been staying indoors. However, she was left with not much money; even her meals would become a problem if she could not come up with a solution soon.
Desperate times always called for desperate measures. The desperate woman, who met a dead end, had an idea.
She could disguise as the gigolo to receive some money from Anastasia, who was going to marry Elliot soon.
Anastasia would be mindful of her reputation by now. Thus, Hayley could threaten her with the incident that had transpired five years ago.
With that ace card in her sleeves, Hayley was certain that Anastasia would provide her with some money in order to retain her reputation.
A few hundred thousand meant nothing to Anastasia, but it was enough for Hayley to lead a good life for a few years.
Therefore, Hayley had decided to glamble for once. She had nothing to lose anyway, so why would she be afraid?
