Holden suddenly reached up and took the hairpin from Sarah’s hair, letting her long hair fall around her shoulders. The light scent of her hair brushed past Holden’s nose.
Sarah was surprised and before she could react, Holden pressed her against the wall, whispering, “Don’t move.”
His cold lips brushed her ear, making Sarah’s ears turn red as she froze in place.
The door opened with a click.
The girl in the white dress entered, holding a plate of fruit. When she saw Holden and Sarah in such an intimate position, the plate slipped from her hands, the fruit scattering on the floor.
“Holden, you two…” The girl’s tears began to fall uncontrollably, like beads on a broken string. But she still managed to finish her sentence, “I’m sorry, I wanted to bring you some fruit. I didn’t mean to… disturb you…”
With that, she picked up the fallen fruit, crying as she left the room.
Sarah ground her teeth.
Holden released her.
If it had been the old Sarah, Holden wouldn’t have bothered to get this close. Keeping up a facade of friendliness would have been enough.
But now-
Holden looked at her current state and suddenly smiled, “Twenty million.”
Sarah, feeling like her tail had been stepped on, forced a happy expression, “It’s my honor to be close to you, Mr. Holden.”
Linda Lewis ran out crying. When she saw Nicola, she cried even harder, “Holden, he and that woman… they were…”
Seeing Linda like this, Nicola immediately understood everything.
In the Smith family house, Holden rarely stayed over, and Linda, who spent most of her time there, saw herself as the lady of the Smith family.
If Holden didn’t lock his door, Linda often barged in after knocking without waiting for a response.
If Holden had indeed been intimate with Sarah, it would definitely have upset Linda.
Nicola couldn’t help but scold Linda, “It’s not a big deal. Is it worth crying over like this? They are husband and wife. It’s normal for them to do anything in their room.”
Linda covered her face, “Why? That woman is low-born. How is she worthy of Holden? Auntie, didn’t you say their marriage was just for show?”
Nicola hadn’t expected today to unfold like this. She thought she understood Holden well. His parents must have left a deep scar on him.
Holden, being intelligent and self-possessed, always knew what he wanted. Typically, he wouldn’t get close to women.
Compared to an average family, the Brown family was wealthy, with nearly a billion in assets, but compared to the Smith family, they lacked depth and history.
Holden marrying a girl from such a family was clearly a tactic to avoid Nicola arranging a marriage for him.
Upon closer inspection, Nicola realized Sarah did have an attractive appearance. Even the great beauties Nicola had seen couldn’t compare to Sarah. Holden falling for such a woman seemed perfectly natural.
“Don’t worry, Holden will definitely divorce her,” Nicola reassured Linda. “If you love Holden so much, he will be yours. Now, wipe your tears and compose yourself.”
Linda nodded, still choking on her sobs. She had loved Holden for so many years; she wouldn’t give up now.
******
“Nicola’s niece, Miss Linda,” Holden reminded Sarah. “Be careful around her.”
He and Sarah were in a transactional relationship. They got married not because Holden loved her. He just provided money. If Sarah faced any trouble, she had to handle it on her own. Holden wouldn’t involve himself. This warning was already very generous of him.
Sarah understood, “Mr. Holden, don’t worry. I’ll fulfill my responsibilities.”
At noon, Holden’s grandfather returned.
Old Mr. Smith, with his silver-white hair and stern face, looked to be in his seventies. Standing next to Nicola, they didn’t look like husband and wife but rather father and daughter.
Nicola appeared to be in her early forties but was actually over fifty.
Old Mr. Smith was nearly eighty, and he and Nicola had been an older husband and younger wife pair, with quite an age gap.
Holden also had two younger uncles, both of whom were Nicola’s sons, one twenty-three and the other twenty-seven, both younger than Holden. Despite their seniority, it was Holden who called the shots in the Smith family’s company; his word was law.
After learning about the messy relationships within the Smith family, Sarah couldn’t help but sigh. It truly was a wealthy family-ordinary families couldn’t develop such complex connections.
Sarah sent a twenty thousand gift to the maid who cleaned the courtyard.
The maid was very grateful. She didn’t expect that just by telling Mrs. Holden about the Smith family, she would be so generous.
Compared to the stingy Old Mrs. Smith and the spoiled Miss Linda, the lady Mr. Holden married seemed very easy to get along with.
Even though they worked in a wealthy family, they were still people and hoped for a bit of respect.
Sarah lowered her voice, “By the way, besides all this, can I ask about Holden’s parents?”
Holden was so young, yet his parents were gone; it was quite strange.
Sarah knew she shouldn’t pry into Holden’s privacy, but she was worried that if someone else brought it up, she would be completely in the dark.
The maid was startled, her face changing.
Sarah frowned, “Is this something I shouldn’t ask?”
The maid looked around and said to Sarah, “Lady, Young Master’s parents have been dead for many years. They passed away when he was very young. No one in the Smith family dares to mention it. It’s best if you don’t bring it up.”
Sarah was stunned.
No one in the Smith family dared to mention it?
Alright. Since it concerned Holden’s privacy, Sarah didn’t want to ask further.
She nodded, “Okay.”
After this, Sarah planned to return to her room. On her way, she encountered Linda.
To be honest, Linda was a beauty. If Elisa were here, she wouldn’t even be worthy of holding Linda’s shoes.
Linda wore a white dress, with long, straight golden hair cascading over her shoulders, and her face was quite pretty, though her eyes were swollen and she looked at Sarah with unfriendly eyes.
Sarah had been mentally prepared. After all, twenty million… such a sky-high price wasn’t easy to obtain.
“I’ve been thinking these days,” Linda walked up to Sarah, her voice deliberately lowered, her pretty eyes hostile as she looked at Sarah. “Holden must be blind to fancy a woman of your background.”
Sarah tilted her head to look at Linda.
If she wasn’t mistaken, the Lewis family hadn’t been so prominent initially, right? The Lewis family hadn’t even been as well off as the Brown family at first.
Nicola Lewis, young and beautiful, married Old Mr. Smith, who then supported Nicola’s brothers. With such a powerful backer, the Lewis family gradually rose, and Linda became the distinguished Miss Lewis.
Linda had been accustomed to being domineering in the Lewis family, habitually seeing herself as the young lady of the Smith family.
She looked at Sarah with a condescending gaze, her tone full of disdain, “If I’m not mistaken, you’re the kind of woman they call an ‘angelic bitch,’ right? You used tricks to capture Holden and now refuse to let go, is that it? You look pitiful on the outside but are full of schemes inside.”