At the thought of this, Valeria pretended that she didn’t understand the meaning behind Lucian’s words, “Why do I need to rely on him? I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I only need William to love me, and nothing else matters!”
“Miss Brown, I know you won’t want to hear what I have to say next, but love isn’t everything in life. You might not see it yet, so you won’t be aware of that now. But one day, when you come face to face with danger, you’ll realize the struggle of fighting alone. By then, you’ll regret, and I don’t wish to see that happening to you.”
Although Valeria was aware that Lucian had meant well, she also knew that Lucian’s advice had a hidden motive. So, Valeria decided to play along, “I know that you mean well, but I have no other choice because I really do like William a lot. I fell in love ever since the day I set my eyes on him, and I’m telling you… I’m not giving him up even if he’s just a nobody and not someone from a powerful family like the Howards.”
It was clear to Lucian that Valeria was too madly in love to have any regard for anything else. Natalie and Archer used to be like that as well, as they were head over heels for each other and unwilling to heed any advice from others.
However, Lucian wouldn’t give up so easily, so she continued to coax Valeria, “Miss Brown, I think you should be extra-careful about everything. You’ve pledged your heart and soul to William, but has he done the same for you? As far as I’m aware, Hayden isn’t happy about your relationship with William, so you have to be prepared. What would you do if the Howard family forced him to break up with you?”
“You’re right. I’m worried about this too, but what can I do about it? I couldn’t possibly just leave him, could I?” Valeria replied with a look of distress.
“Then why don’t you take necessary precautions now Instead of going through pain in the future?” Lucian continued to persuade her. “By the way, Miss Brown, don’t your father and grandfather disapprove of your relationship with William as well?”
“Of course. How could they not? But they can oppose all they want. After all, I’m not emotionally connected to them in any way. I’ll just cut off any ties with them if they condemn my relationship with William!”
The innocent look on Valeria was flawless, and Lucian couldn’t find anything odd or suspicious. In fact, Lucian had come to see Valeria that day not only to counsel Valeria but also to confirm her suspicions on William’s identity.
However, it seemed to Lucian as though Valeria was oblivious to his secret identity too, and Lucian didn’t believe that Valeria could be that astute. After all, not long before this, Valeria had come crawling to her for help. She couldn’t have possibly turned so discerning in such a short time, right?
If Valeria wasn’t the problem, then it could only be William, and there were only two possibilities. Either William really was who he seemed to be, who was an utter philanderer, or he had hidden his secret identity from Valeria as well.
If that was the case, Lucian would just be wasting her effort in trying to probe Valeria.
The whole situation was starting to give Lucian a headache, but she didn’t dare to let her guard down. After all, Valeria was the daughter of Natalie and Archer, and no child of them could be a halfwit.
Yet, Lucian couldn’t keep asking Valeria about William either. So, she changed the subject, “Miss Brown, I heard that Raelyn has come to Juxemburg.”
“Really? When did she come and how did you find out?” Valeria looked astonished.
“Last night, and she’s here because of what happened to Talitha. After such a huge fiasco, Raelyn obviously wasn’t just going to sit there and do nothing about it, you know. I purposely went to the hotel Talitha is staying at before coming to see you today, and that’s how I found out that Raelyn is here.”
“I see… I’ll have to be more careful, then. You said she’s vicious, right? What do you think she would do to me?” Valeria put on a look of concern.
“She should be busy dealing with Talitha’s matters at the moment. So, I think she’d only be making a move against you after the issue has died down.”
“Well, that’s a relief!” Valeria sighed and picked up her phone. “I have to call Abbie right away to warn her about Raelyn.”
Then, she proceeded to call Abbie in front of Lucian, “Abbie! Talitha’s mother is here. I heard that she’s a vicious and ruthless woman, so you’d better bring your bodyguards with you whenever you leave the house. And please be careful, okay?”
Lucian was dumbfounded to see how open and candid Valeria was in front of her. Earlier, she was worried that Valeria might be suspicious of her. Since she had seen Valeria’s reaction, Lucian realized that Valeria was just a really dense girl.
Since that was the case, there was no need to probe further. Therefore, Lucian excused herself not long after.
Valeria smiled brightly as she walked Lucian to the elevator, “Hey, my dad will be throwing a party for me in a few days. Come join us if you’re free!”
To which Lucian agreed without hesitation. After making sure Lucian had entered the elevator, Valeria turned around, and her lips curling into a sardonic smile.
She picked up her phone and sent a message to William, “Honey, I think Lucian knows something about your identity. She came to see me just now and asked me a lot of questions. Also, she told me that Raelyn is here in Juxemburg.”
“How did she know that Raelyn’s here?” William replied.
“She said she found out when she went to the hotel where Talitha was staying. But I don’t think she’s telling the truth. She must be concealing something important from me. William, do you think she’s in it with Raelyn?”
“You’re having suspicions now… Not bad! Lucian is, in fact, conspiring with someone, but it’s not Raelyn.”
“Who is it, then?” Valeria asked.
“I’m busy right now. I’ll let you know when we get home.”
Since William seemed occupied, Valeria decided not to disturb him any longer.
Meanwhile, Lucian left the building and got into her car. She put on her Bluetooth earphones and made a phone call while starting the car. She said, “Are you sure you’ve got it right? I’ve just felt her out, and she seems to know nothing about it.”
The man on the other end sounded skeptical as he replied, “That’s impossible. I trust my intuition. Maybe she’s wary about you.”
“Wary about me? Why would she? Not even Lamont has suspected me!” Lucian retorted.
“It’s hard to say. If William is indeed the president of the Wolf Group, I’m afraid that you’re already under his radar. You’d better be careful. Someone who can climb to that position isn’t a fool.”
“Is it really that serious? I haven’t done anything to harm Miss Brown. So why would William Howard have any reason to doubt me?”
“There’s no doubt that you haven’t done anything to harm her, but haven’t you harmed Raymond Saunders? Did you forget what you’ve done at the holiday resort?”
The man sneered, “Anyway, just be more careful now. Natalie’s still receiving treatment at the hospital, isn’t she? I think you should consider transferring her.”
“Where do you want me to transfer her to?” Lucian asked.
“Here, with me. I can take care of her!” the man suggested.
“No way! She has already begun to lose her memory. If I put her in your care, she’s going to forget me in the future. And besides, your wife isn’t some saint either. President Garcia will be in a terrible situation if that woman finds out about her.”
“Fine. But you should remember that Natalie is a huge target right now. So you’d better handle the situation properly. If anyone finds out about her, all our efforts will go to waste overnight. You wouldn’t want to see your hard-fought plan ruined in one fell swoop, would you?”
His words rendered Lucian speechless. After a while, she recovered and said, “I’ll think about it!”