The place was far from the city, so the signal wasn’t great.
Lillian played a game for a while, then decided to get out and enjoy the breeze by the beach.
A pretty, lone woman by the ocean was always a beautiful sight.
A bold guy came up and asked for her number, but she waved him off.
Conrad squinted his eyes at the tiny figure down below, blowing a puff of smoke.
Daisy had just come back from the restroom and sat down across from Conrad.
His black shirt was unbuttoned halfway, showing a bit of his chest. The muscles were clearly defined, and the cold, scrutinizing look in his eyes made her blush and her heart race.
A man with power and influence was like an aphrodisiac, his strong presence alone made her want to conquer him.
Daisy smiled gently. “I hope I’m not disturbing your schedule by inviting you out like this.”
“It’s fine.”
Conrad’s response was short and to the point, but it was saying a lot for someone who rarely wasted words on things or people he didn’t care about.
Daisy skipped over the Evelyn part. “Martin caused you some trouble today. That’s just how he is-don’t let it get to you.”
Conrad looked at her with a half-smile, “I can’t interfere with your family’s business, but when he does whatever he wants, he doesn’t realize we don’t have time for his little drama. We had to pay to suppress some pointless trending news just because of him. This isn’t really acceptable.”
Daisy smiled softly. “I understand, I’ll talk to him. Even my dad said Martin should learn from you.”
She poured him a glass of wine. “This restaurant has good food, and this wine is something I found out you like.”
Conrad looked at the wine, narrowing his eyes in a cold smirk.
He didn’t share his preferences with anyone.
This wine? It was clearly Alvin’s choice.
It reminded him of that time when Lillian was waiting for him in the yard in the middle of the night, burning with a fever, calling out Alvin’s name in her dreams. She even said she wanted her father’s favorite wine for her 18th birthday, refusing to take medicine, crying, and throwing a tantrum in bed until he went all over town looking for it.
The search had caused a huge mess, but they eventually found it, paying an outrageous price for it.
In the end, the wine was poured all over her, and she drank it all.
That girl, once a delicate little lily, had turned into a soul-stealing mandrake in his hands.
Martin had been infatuated with her when he was younger. It wasn’t strange that he still couldn’t forget her now.
No one understood better than Conrad how magnetic Lillian was. She was everything he liked, from head to toe.
What he liked, naturally, was the best.
Conrad turned his gaze back to Daisy. “Thank you!”
Getting a compliment from him made Daisy nearly overjoyed.
From Lillian’s point of view, in the restaurant, the handsome man and beautiful woman, the engaged couple-it looked like such a perfect picture.
And there she was, an unnecessary third wheel, standing in the corner, looking out of place.
Her throat suddenly felt a little scratchy, and she wondered if Conrad could get the specialist to come out and see her grandmother.
“Lillian.”
She turned her head, and the next moment, her neck was in pain, and she immediately lost consciousness.
Inside the restaurant, Conrad took a sip of his drink. “By the way, did your family hire a specialist from abroad?”
“Yeah, something like that. My grandfather’s health hasn’t been great lately, and he wanted to see his grandchildren get married. He just doesn’t want to leave without seeing that final wish come true.”
Conrad pretended not to understand Daisy’s subtle hint.
The White family wanted to arrange a marriage with him, but they hadn’t shown any real sincerity. He could easily find someone else to marry.
“How about lending me that specialist for a while?”
“Well…”
“That person is important to me,” Conrad said.
Daisy almost asked who it was. But instead, she smiled and said, “I’ll check with my family and get back to you.”
“Fine. If you’re not willing, I have my own ways.”
Daisy’s smile froze.
“Let’s eat.”
Daisy nodded awkwardly, and after dinner, she suggested a walk with Conrad.
Conrad didn’t really want to agree, but he figured it might be a good chance to mess with Lillian a little, so he decided to go along with Daisy. But when they reached the beach, there was no sign of Lillian.
Had she gone back to the car?
Conrad felt a bit impatient and headed toward the car, with Ford nearby.
“Where’s Lillian?”
Ford glanced at Daisy before replying softly, “Miss Lillian left earlier. She got into a car on her own, and the driver couldn’t stop her. Should we go after her, Mr. Conrad?”
Conrad thought about how she’d been throwing tantrums and trying to leave lately.
“No need. If she wants to leave, then let her. After all, she’s got legs, and it’s her choice.” It seemed like she wasn’t really concerned about her grandmother after all.
As night fell, Irene rushed over to give Daisy a shawl.
Noticing Conrad was absent, Irene whispered, “I heard Booth’s been visiting Evelyn every day. She’s almost out of the hospital. Ford arranged a place for Evelyn. Hogan and those other guys who are tight with Conrad, they’re calling Evelyn ‘sister-in-law’ behind her back”
Daisy scoffed coldly, “So what? There will be plenty of ‘sisters-in-law’ in the future.”
“Someone like Conrad will never be controlled by desire. I’m not afraid of anything else.” Daisy said lightly. “What I’m most afraid of is if he ever falls for someone. Once he starts caring about a woman, that’s when he’s truly lost.”
As long as Conrad had no feelings for anyone, what did it matter if he played the field? Mrs. Conrad had always been her-Daisy, and that was enough.
She didn’t care about the movie queen, Pandora, or the mysterious woman behind the scenes.
Daisy watched Conrad approach, his face cold, the smoke from his cigarette swirling in the sea breeze, his black shirt highlighting his perfect figure.
A man like him could never be tied down to just one woman. As long as he knew who the right woman for him was, that was enough.
Lillian was jolted awake by a sharp pain in her hand.
She opened her eyes to see a man sitting across from her. Her pupils contracted, and for a moment, she thought she was seeing a ghost.
Outside, it was dark, and the noise from the surroundings suggested it was a lively place-probably downstairs-but she had never been here before and didn’t recognize the man.
He sat there, his chin resting in his hand, watching her with a smirk when he saw the fear in her eyes.
“Is this really Conrad’s girl?”
“Absolutely. She’s been with him for three years.”
Lillian froze for a moment, then turned to see who was speaking. It was Booth’s voice.
Booth cleared his throat. “I’ll say it now, don’t do anything crazy. Just teach her a lesson.”
The man waved him off. “You can leave now. I’ll have someone transfer the money to your account.”
Booth glanced at Lillian, noticing how eerily quiet she was, and warned again, “Don’t go too far, alright?”
As much as Lillian annoyed him, he didn’t want her dead.
The man didn’t bother listening to Booth’s rambling.
Booth happily took the money and left to have some fun.
The music downstairs was so loud it felt like it could shake the entire floor, and Lillian could feel the vibrations.
Soon, it was just her and the man in front of her in the dark room.
He reached out, grabbed the chain, and yanked her chair closer. Lillian nearly bumped into him as the chair scraped across the floor.
Her hands were tied to the chair, and she couldn’t do anything about it.