Ashley didn’t fully get why her mom was so worried. With Joshua on her side, she thought she could handle Bianca easily.
But to reassure her mom, she pretended to agree. “Okay, I get it.”
Later that night, Olivia called Ashley to go out. Ashley was feeling down after what happened earlier. Since Stacey was asleep, Ashley said yes and went to meet Olivia at the bar.
Olivia was worried. Ashley had been avoiding her since their last talk. Instead, she focused all her attention on Joshua.
But now, Olivia had to talk to Ashley. The hospital was asking for money for her grandma’s surgery soon. Olivia really needed to see Ashley tonight to find out the truth behind that night at Grand Horizon Hotel.
Olivia invited some good-looking guys to join them and kept refilling Ashley’s glass. Soon, Ashley started feeling drunk.
“Is Bianca, the girl you met at the restaurant, your sister?” Olivia asked, pouring more wine for Ashley.
Ashley drank it all at once. “Stop talking about Bianca. I can’t stand her! She’s a bitch!”
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like her? She seems nice and honest to me.”
“Bianca is far from pure at all! She’s a bitch who slept with some random guy!” Ashley’s voice got louder as she talked about Bianca.
“Oh wow! Tell me more, please,” Olivia said eagerly, always interested in gossip.
“This story always cracks me up,” Ashley said with a laugh, putting her arm around Olivia’s shoulder and whispering something in her ear.
Olivia cringed at the strong smell of alcohol on Ashley’s breath, but Ashley didn’t seem to notice. She proudly continued, “Bianca once dated this guy, Haris Carter. But he was only after her family’s money. He didn’t really care about Bianca and didn’t want to be intimate to her. So, he drugged her, hoping to make her think they’d been together by getting a homeless man to rape her!”
“When Bianca woke up, she realized it wasn’t Haris who was there, so she got away fast. The drug was really strong, meant for animals. Without help, she might not have survived the night without having sex. So, she ended up with a random guy for some comfort. Her boyfriend didn’t care about her, and she was given drugs without her consent. She wanted to leave, but she couldn’t. In the end, she was sexually assaulted by a stranger. Isn’t that terrible? Hahaha…”
Ashley laughed loudly, clearly upset by what Bianca had done earlier. She had been drinking more because she was in a bad mood, which made her talk more openly than usual.
But she wasn’t making this up; Stacey had told her all of this.
But Stacey kept some things from Ashley. She didn’t tell her that she and Haris planned to hurt Bianca or that she was having an affair with Haris, keeping him away from Bianca.
“When did this happen?” Olivia asked.
“I think it was around June, just before I finished school.”
“At the Grand Horizon Hotel?”
“Yeah, it was at the Grand Horizon Hotel. How did you know?” Ashley suddenly looked suspiciously at Olivia.
Olivia quickly switched topics, saying, “It’s just a guess. Sounds silly. Bianca’s boyfriend didn’t want to be intimate with her, and he went to great lengths to change that. Maybe it’s because of her not-so-great personality and lack of charm that’s pushing men away.”
“You’re totally right!” Ashley agreed, clearly drunk.
Olivia couldn’t help but smile. She found Ashley gullible and easy to manipulate into spilling everything.
Lately, Olivia had been studying hypnosis, thinking she might need it to get information from Ashley. But seeing how easily Ashley was fooled, Olivia realized she didn’t need those techniques.
She thought if that mysterious man knew how simple this was, he might regret offering a million for the job!
Olivia chuckled and kept pouring drinks for Ashley. “Hey, let’s keep having fun!”
The next day, Dave was in his office at Evans Group, going through papers, when he got a surprising call from one of his employees.
“Boss, Olivia said she checked into it, and I’ve sent the recording to your email.”
Dave’s hand, holding the pen, suddenly stopped. He looked up, and there was a fierce look in his eyes, slowly turning a hint of red.
He hurriedly checked his personal email and listened to the recording from his subordinate…
Olivia told him everything she found out from Ashley.
Dave’s expression changed, and he started to think that maybe Bianca was framed.
With the evidence right there, he felt relieved.
Knowing the truth, he no longer doubted Bianca.
He felt a bit guilty for misunderstanding Bianca before.
Suddenly, he had a strong desire to see Bianca. He wanted to hug her tightly, kiss her cheeks and lips, and protect her from any harm.
At that moment, he couldn’t wait to see her.
The next day was the equestrian competition, and Bianca came home late after training. When she opened the door, she saw Dave sitting on the couch, smoking a cigarette and looking cheerful.
“Mr. Evans, you seem really happy. What’s going on?” She walked over to him, her eyes fixed on his.
With a smile, Dave looked up at her and said, “I’m happy to have discovered something I’ve always been curious about.”
“That’s great. I’m happy for you!” Then, Bianca headed to the bathroom, saying, “Tomorrow’s the big day for the equestrian competition. I need to go to bed early and get some good sleep. Mr. Evans, if you’re free tomorrow, you should come watch the competition!”
As she splashed water on her face, Bianca called out.
But when she dried her face and looked in the mirror, she saw Dave standing behind her. He had one hand in his pocket and was leaning against the door.
A tall, slim man stood in front of the light, creating a shadow. The bright light made his handsome face glow.
Dave wore a white shirt with the top buttons undone. Bianca could see his Adam’s apple, which looked attractive.
Bianca felt like he was looking at her even more lovingly than before.
“Mr. Evans, why did you sneak up on me like that? You scared me a little,” Bianca said, looking at him in the mirror. She realized he had been watching her silently. Then she asked softly, “What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing,” Dave said, smiling slightly.
“Since you’re not saying anything, why are you staring at me like that? Do I have something on my face?” Bianca looked at herself in the mirror and saw her skin was smooth. There was nothing wrong.
Dave pressed his lips together, looked down, and chuckled.