Someone he cared about?
Was he confessing to her?
Evelyn blushed and said, “I live on this floor.”
Martin walked her back to her room, but when he saw it was a VIP suite, he stopped at the door and said gently, “I shouldn’t go in. If you need any help, you can reach out to this number.”
Evelyn took the card and noticed the golden embossing that read Manager of the White Family Group. When she looked back at Martin, she felt completely different. Of course, he had to be someone important-the White Family Group was a big company, wasn’t it?
“Goodbye, then,” Martin said, studying her for a moment. He noticed her cheeks were always flushed, and his interest dimmed slightly.
Lillian would never behave this way around him.
As Martin turned to leave, Evelyn suddenly remembered something-the lady Conrad was about to get engaged to was also from the White family!
So, could Martin be part of the White family?
The thought made her anxious again. Would Janet’s parents spill the truth? There was no way she could let Conrad find out what she had done behind his back.
She quickly pulled out her phone and called Ford.
“Assistant Ford, I don’t want to stay in the hospital anymore. What happened earlier really scared me. Can I move into the house Mr. Conrad prepared for me?”
Ford, glancing at a report, responded, “I’ll arrange for someone to take you there. Anything else?”
“Well… my parents came to visit me. Could I move into a bigger place? Maybe something like the Taylor Mansion? I’m not trying to take Lillian’s things; I’m just asking if it’s possible.”
Ford didn’t hesitate. “I’m sorry, but the Taylor Mansion is a private property Mr. Conrad gave to Miss Lillian.”
Evelyn fell silent.
Ford added, “If that’s all, I’ll get back to work now.”
After the call ended, Evelyn sat back on the bed, her face blank.
Taylor Mansion. A place where every inch of land was worth a fortune. Why should someone like Lillian get to live there? A bankrupt heiress? Evelyn thought she was better-purer, and she loved Conrad more.
And wasn’t Lillian still tangled up with Gordon?
Evelyn gripped her phone tightly. She wasn’t going to let Conrad slip away. No one was taking him from her!
Ford’s people arrived soon after, but Evelyn suddenly made a request, “I’ll come with you to pick up my parents. I want to bring them to thank Mr. Conrad in person.”
The staff didn’t think much of it, assuming Evelyn was just Conrad’s latest companion. One of them glanced up, noting she looked like an ordinary college girl, and thought to themselves, So this is his type now?
“Okay,” they replied.
******
On the way back, Conrad received a call.
It was from the Brown family estate.
Old Mrs. White, who had been hospitalized after being angered by him shortly before her 80th birthday, was the topic of concern. The family wasn’t pleased that Conrad had taken away the doctor Old Mr. White had specially arranged.
The people from the White family complained to Conrad’s elders. Meanwhile, the Brown family was urging Conrad to return and explain what was going on.
Conrad frowned, irritated by the endless rules and drama in his family.
“Stop the car.”
The car pulled over.
Conrad stepped out and said, “Head back to Taylor Mansion. I need to stop by the family estate.”
Lillian watched as Conrad got into Andrew’s car, leaving her with just the driver.
“Can I change the destination?” she asked.
“Miss Lillian, Mr. Conrad instructed me to take you to Taylor Mansion. I can’t change the location,” the driver replied.
“Forget it.” Lillian didn’t want to make things difficult for the driver.
She closed her eyes to rest, and when they reached Taylor Mansion, she got out of the car. Another vehicle was already parked at the entrance.
Lillian’s expression turned complicated as she looked at the ‘golden cage’ Conrad had built for her.
As she stepped back inside again, she tried to convince herself-he wasn’t married yet; there was still time to maneuver and negotiate. Maybe she could achieve a win-win outcome.
However, before she even reached the door, Nancy’s angry voice echoed from the foyer.
“I don’t care who you are; this house doesn’t belong to you! Stop messing with the place!”
“Hey, you’re not allowed upstairs!”
“Get out of my way!” a stranger’s voice yelled.
Lillian frowned. The driver, sensing trouble, stepped out of the car, and the bodyguards Conrad had assigned to her quickly followed suit.
“What’s going on?” Lillian asked.
Nancy turned to see her and nearly burst into tears. “Miss Lillian, I don’t know where these people came from. As soon as they got in, they started making a mess everywhere. The kitchen and living room are in chaos, and their luggage is all over the floor.”
Lillian looked around and saw the disorder-decorations she had carefully chosen for the living room were scattered about, and even Conrad’s collection of fine wine had been disturbed.
“Hey, don’t talk nonsense!” a middle-aged woman snapped. “My daughter said this place is for us to stay in. Who are you, just a servant, to boss us around?”
“Exactly!” the man chimed in. “I’ll let Mr. Conrad know and have you fired!”
Then, shouting upstairs, the man called out, “Hey, you two, stop messing around! Someone’s here!”
Lillian’s frown deepened as she looked up.
Two twin boys peeked out from the second floor, and her heart sank. She rushed upstairs, her steps brisk.
The middle-aged man tried to block her path. “Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”
One of the bodyguards stepped in, shoving him aside effortlessly.
“My back! My poor back!” the man wailed.
“Oh, the injustice! They’re attacking us! Somebody stop them!” the woman screeched.
Lillian felt her temples throbbing in frustration. When she reached the second floor, she found her vanity ransacked, and her belongings scattered everywhere. In the walk-in closet, Evelyn was spinning around in one of her gowns, clearly having tried on everything in the wardrobe.
The room’s superior soundproofing meant Evelyn hadn’t heard any of the commotion downstairs.
Meanwhile, the twin boys had torn through her study, pulling out books and papers. They had even broken into Conrad’s media room, leaving video game discs strewn across the floor.
Having grown up experiencing both the height of luxury and the depths of poverty, where she had to stay in her uncle’s house in the worst room, Lillian had developed a strong sense of territoriality. She hated anyone touching her belongings without permission.
“Big Sis! Help us, Sis!” The twin boys, restrained by the bodyguards, were wailing.
Evelyn snapped back to her senses and looked toward the doorway where Lillian stood.
She quickly set down the items in her hands, clearly not expecting Lillian to return so soon.
“Who gave you permission to come here?” Lillian asked coldly.
Evelyn chuckled nervously. “Naturally, Mr. Conrad did. I told him I wanted to bring my parents here, and he didn’t say no.”
Lillian nodded. “Fine.”
She turned to leave, but the bodyguards immediately stepped in to block her path.
Lillian’s expression didn’t waver as she said, “Don’t you see that Taylor Mansion has new occupants now?”
The bodyguards hesitated. Evelyn’s status was currently a tricky matter, and without clear instructions from Mr. Conrad, they weren’t sure how to handle the situation.
“I’d only make the new lady of the house angry by staying here,” Lillian said, only to realize there was a lump in her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Conrad had told her before giving her the house that it was hers and hers alone.
She had thought about the possibility of someone else taking over, but when faced with that moment, she couldn’t shake the feeling of sudden disappointment and rising jealousy.
Lillian quickly left the house, and Nancy chased after her. “Miss Lillian.”