Love Behind the Facade

Willow Warma was known to be a well-behaved lady in the circle of socialites. The wildest thing she had ever done was dating her brother’s rival for three years behind his back and letting him take countless intimate videos of her. Chapter 1 Willow Warma was known to be a well-behaved lady in the circle of socialites. The wildest thing she had ever done was dating her brother’s rival behind his back for three years and letting him take intimate videos of her. At present, she was naked in a Maybach, while he was still dressed properly. He even had a phone beside him. “Andrew…” she whispered softly. “Could you… stop filming?” Andrew Sullivan, her boyfriend, froze for a moment before he chuckled. He looked up, and her image reflected in his eyes. With a doting but teasing look, he said, “What’s wrong? Feeling shy? “Don’t worry. The video won’t go out. I’m just going to watch it when I miss you. Babe, just satisfy this desire of mine, please?” Willow’s ears burned when he called her “babe,” and, as if his voice alone had cast a spell on her, she found herself unable to say no. As time passed, the car finally stopped shaking. Everything had ended. Andrew fastened his belt slowly before lowering his head to check on her. He stroked her hair. “I have a gathering later, so I’ll have the driver send you back. I’ll keep you company after that, okay?” Willow nodded and said shyly, “Okay.” After Andrew got out of the car, Willow put on her clothes, but her mind wandered. Just as she was about to tell the driver to drop her home, she noticed that Andrew had left his card holder in the car. She grabbed it, opened the door, and ran after Andrew. After she asked a staff member where Andrew’s gathering was, she went to the room. The door was only partially shut. As Willow was about to go in, she heard laughter from within. “Andrew, what you did in the Maybach was obvious! When I came over, I saw it shaking so much! Say, if Rias Warma knew that his sister is so wild with you, wouldn’t he suffer a stroke?” "What?" Willow murmured. She stood frozen, stunned, looking as if hit by lighting. “Hahaha! He’s Rias of the South, and you’re Andrew of the North. You’ve been going head-to-head with Rias Warma for years, and if he weren’t your rival, you wouldn’t have pulled the whole hero swooping in to save the damsel in distress act with his sister to make her fall head over heels in love with you.” “You’ve been dating her for years, so you must have taken at least one hundred videos of her, right? When are you going to upload them? I want to see what she looks like when she’s naked under you! Of course, I want to see Rias Warma’s expression even more! Hahaha!” Andrew’s friends were excited and did not notice the extra person standing outside their room. Willow’s mind went blank, and her ears rang. What they had said echoed in her head and grew increasingly louder. In the end, they were as loud as a thunderclap that threatened to break her mind. Andrew… hatched a plot to save her? He dated her just so that he could fight against Rias? “Andrew, why aren’t you saying anything? You got closer to Willow to toy with Rias and make it so that he can’t go up against you anymore, right? Are you telling me that you’ve grown to like his sister?” “Me? Like her?” The man who had just called her “babe” was currently surrounded by his friends. He took a sip of his wine and sneered mockingly. “Rias Warma is my rival, and I want him dead. I was just wondering when the best time is to upload the videos. Why don’t I upload them on Willow’s birthday? Rias’s expression would surely turn interesting when he sees his obedient sister being so wild in bed.” “You’re amazing, Andrew!” His friends laughed in excitement. Willow’s hands trembled, and she almost collapsed. Suddenly, she heard an attendant’s voice. “Miss, why aren’t you going in?” Finally, Willow snapped out of her daze. She stuffed the card holder into the attendant’s hands in panic. “I… won’t be going in. Please hand this to Andrew Sullivan and tell him that someone picked it up for him. Don’t tell him that I was here.” She then turned tail and ran as tears streamed down her face. In her ears, Andrew’s cold words kept ringing. “Rias Warma is my rival, and I want him dead.” Her heart ached as if an invisible hand had seized it. It hurt so much that she had a hard time breathing. So, he had planned their meeting all along! In the past, Willow had gone to Northvalley to study despite her brother’s wishes. It was all because Northvalley University had the best dance degree in the country. After she graduated, she insisted on staying in Northvalley and refused to return to Southvalley, no matter how her brother tried to convince her. The reason? Her parents and her brother doted on her too much and spoiled her silly, but Willow wanted to build her success with her own hands. Until she met Andrew, all she cared about was dancing. The man was her brother’s rival, and apparently, these two had been fighting for land and projects for years. They fought so fiercely that they were like oil and water. But Andrew had saved her twice. The first time was when someone bumped into her and ran. The passersby did not want to get into trouble and ignored her cries for help as she lay in a pool of her own blood. As Andrew was driving past in his Maybach, he scooped her into his arms like a savior. The second time was when she was drugged and nearly taken advantage of. He had saved her and taken her away. That night, he helped her get the drugs out of her system. When she woke up the next day, he was dressing up in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. While he buttoned up his shirt, he heard her waking up and turned around. She nearly drowned in the pools of his charming eyes. He slowly approached her and leaned down. “I’ve been wanting to ask you since we first met. Do you like me, girl?” Her mind went blank. As she stared at his stunningly handsome face, she stammered but could not utter a full word. He just smirked. “You don’t? Why do you blush every time you see me, then? You even kissed me this morning. If I recall correctly, those drugs already wear off.” She was so embarrassed that she wanted to run, but he dragged her back. With amusement shining in his eyes, he kissed her gently. After that, they started dating. During the three years they were a couple, she always thought that they loved each other and had often wanted to take Andrew back to Southvalley to meet Rias. She believed that with her around, those two would surely make up. In hindsight, she had been so stupid that it was pitiful. Aimlessly, she ran along the street. It was not until the rain drenched her face that she stopped. Just then, her phone started ringing. It was Rias. Willow sucked in a deep breath and answered it. “Willow, I’ve opened the biggest dance studio in Southvalley for you and found you a fiance. Could you break up with your current boyfriend? You know just how much we do not want to see you marry someone from so far away and want you to stay in Southvalley with us…” When she heard the familiar voice, Willow could not stop her tears. She did her best not to sound choked up as she mumbled in agreement. “Sorry, Rias. I’ve made you worry so much over the years. I’ll return to Southvalley and do what you say. I’ll also contact the fiance you found for me.” Chapter 2 Willow could tell that Rias was in disbelief. “You’re really going to come back? You’re also going to meet the man I found for you? What about the boyfriend you love to the core?” Willow said softly, “I don’t like him anymore. I never want to see him again.” Rias was delighted, but after he calmed himself, he noticed that something was wrong, and his voice turned cold. “Did he do something to you?” The harsh words, the intimate videos Andrew had mentioned so casually, and his cold voice immediately rose to Willow’s mind. Her heart ached, but she had to maintain her rationality. Rias had always been protective of her. If he learned the truth, he would surely come straight to Northvalley. She could not let Rias be worried about her anymore. She had to deal with these problems on her own. “He didn’t.” She forced herself to calm down. “Once I’m done with my stuff here, I’ll come back.” After telling her to take care of herself, Rias reluctantly hung up, and Willow went home. She first went to the bathroom to take a shower and get rid of all the dirt and tears on her. Then, she went to the tea table, took out a piece of paper, and started listing out the things she had to do. On the paper, she wrote down a list. [Throw my things away. Pack up. Resign. Say goodbye to my friends. Delete the videos.] These were the things she had to do before she left. But her eyes lingered on the last few words on the list for a long time, and her hands trembled. When she remembered that the people in the private room had talked about her birthday, she knew she had to leave before that. At that thought, she picked up the calendar from the tea table and drew a circle around the date of her birthday with a red pen. “Are you circling the date because you’re worried that I won’t remember it?” The door to the mansion swung open, and she heard Andrew’s voice behind her. It had a lazy, amused tone to it. Willow’s hand froze, and the pen left a long scratch on the paper. She turned around and saw Andrew leaning against the door with his suit jacket draped over his arm. His shirt was slightly unbuttoned at the top to reveal his collarbones. His eyes landed on the calendar she held, and he smiled. “How could I possibly forget your birthday? I’ve prepared a huge surprise for you that day.” Willow gripped the pen tightly before she looked up and met his gaze. She smiled. “I’ve prepared a huge surprise for you as well.” Andrew was stunned for a moment, then he laughed. “Why would you prepare a surprise for me on your birthday?” He went to her and caressed her hair as he said affectionately, “Will you be asking your brother to come here on your birthday?” Willow’s heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively tightened her grip on the edge of the table. She looked at him and feigned composure as she asked, “Would you like me to ask him?” As Andrew met her gaze, a complicated look flashed in his eyes before he laughed and said, “Go on. It’s time for us to bury the hatchet. I’ve been fighting against your brother for years, and I don’t want to admit defeat, but I just love his darling sister too much. Giving up something for love is never shameful, anyway.” Willow felt as if something was stuck in her throat, and she could not say a thing. Andrew wanted to kiss her, but she turned her head to the side and whispered, “I’m feeling sick today. Let’s not do it.” Andrew froze for a moment before he chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Alright. You should rest, then.” He went to the bathroom. Willow stood where she was. As she heard the sound of water running in the bathroom, she gripped the edge of the table again. Her eyes landed on the phone Andrew threw casually on the couch, and her heart raced so quickly that it almost jumped out of her chest. Quietly, she picked up the phone and tried a few passwords, but none of them worked. Her hands trembled, and she felt helpless. In the end, she could only put the phone back and force herself to calm down. She would think of a plan later. The next day, when Andrew woke up, he found Willow packing her things. By her feet were all of their matching items: their matching cups, slippers, pillows… Andrew frowned and walked to her. He asked in confusion, “Why are you suddenly throwing these away?” Willow did not even look up when she said, “I don’t like them anymore. We can buy more later.” Andrew did not push further and just laughed. “Stop wasting your time on this. I’ll ask a servant to help you pack these up later. It’s almost time for you to go to your dance studio, anyway. Shall I take you there?” Willow shook her head. “No need. I’ve already called them and told them I’m resigning.” Stunned, Andrew frowned. “But I thought you loved dancing! Why did you suddenly resign?” Willow looked up at him. With a calm face, she said, “I’m tired and want to take a break.” After a few seconds of silence, Andrew patted her head. “Then, it’s a good thing for you to resign. Dancing can be too tiring. Also…” He slid his hand across her waist and whispered, “I don’t want other people to see just how flexible your waist is.” Willow avoided his touch and said coolly, “You should go to work already.” Once Andrew left, Willow spent most of the day packing up and finally threw away all the matching sets of things. As she stood in the empty living room, she felt as if something was pressing down on her chest, and she could not breathe. At that moment, her phone suddenly vibrated. She picked it up and checked it. It was a message from an unknown number. [Meet me at Blue Mountain Cafe at 3 p.m. I’m Andrew’s fiancee.] Willow gripped the phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Chapter 3 When Willow pushed the door of the cafe open, the wind chimes rang. She looked around and soon fixed her gaze on a woman sitting in a corner. She wore a Chanel set that was tailored to her figure, and her makeup was done very delicately. Every move she made exuded an air of superiority that she seemed to be born with. Willow walked over to her, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Her face betrayed no emotion. “I’m Eve Jenkins, Andrew’s fiancee.” Eve got straight to the point, and she spoke with a bold tone. Willow said nothing and just stared at her. Her eyes were as calm as still water. Clearly, Eve was not expecting this reaction from her. She frowned. “You’re Andrew’s girlfriend, and I suddenly popped up to proclaim that I’m his fiancee. Don’t you have any questions for me?” Willow just smirked, but her heart felt full of despair. Questions? What questions could she possibly ask? Ever since she had heard the conversation in that private room, she had completely given up on Andrew. No matter what he did, she no longer felt surprised. Willow’s silence made Eve’s face darken. She had stated her position just to see Willow losing her mind and having her heart broken, but she was like a block of ice, and Eve had no idea how to break her. Gritting her teeth, Eve spoke even sharper words. “Andrew has agreed to marry me soon. No matter who you are, he’s going to break up with you. I suggest that you leave him on your own, or you’re going to end up embarrassing yourself. I can even give you some money.” Willow looked up and stared at Eve calmly. “When are you announcing your wedding?” Eve was stunned at first, but then she grinned. “At the beginning of next month. We haven’t decided on a precise date, but we won’t be waiting too long.” At the beginning of next month? That was after her birthday. By the looks of it, Andrew had long since planned to play the videos on her birthday, dump her, and then marry Eve. ‘Andrew… Andrew… You truly are heartless,’ she thought. Willow said flatly, “Have you looked into who I am? If you did, you’d know that I don’t want money. If you sought me out to humiliate me today, then you only wasted your time.” Eve’s expression turned dark. Willow cast her a glance before she added, “Also, a word of advice: Andrew is heartless. He loves no one but himself. You can get married to him for the sake of getting what you want from it. But if you fall in love with him, you’re done for.” She stood up and turned to leave, but Eve shot to her feet and grabbed her wrist. She screeched, “You have no right to say that about him!” Before Willow could react, Eve grabbed the coffee on the table and threw it at her. The warm liquid flowed down Willow’s hair and cheeks before staining her clothes. Eve was still seething. She shoved Willow to the floor. Willow crashed into a corner of the table before landing on the floor. Her head crashed against the tiles, and a sharp pain spread through her head. Her vision blurred. When she touched her forehead, her fingers were stained red with blood. At that moment, someone shoved the door open. “What’re you doing, Eve?!” Suddenly, a cold voice tinged with suppressed anger rose behind them. Willow looked up and saw Andrew striding over. Behind him were a few of his friends. He wore a black trenchcoat that made his dark expression look even more frightening. He shoved Eve away and grabbed the other cup of coffee on the table before throwing it at her. Then, he removed his coat and wrapped it around Willow. With a quivering voice, he said, “Are you okay, Willow?” In disbelief, Eve stared at him. “I’m your fiancee, and you threw coffee at me for her?!” Chapter 4 Andrew ignored her. He only stared at Willow and spoke very gently. “Be good now. Wait for me in the car. Once I’m done with this, I’ll come to you.” Willow said nothing and let him help her up before she walked to the entrance. Her mind was still blank, and her ears rang. She only recovered slightly from her shock when she was inside the car. Soon, Andrew’s friends walked over. One of them knocked on the window. “Please don’t misunderstand, Willow. Andrew’s family found him a fiancee. He never told you about it because he wanted to take care of the problem himself. He just wasn’t expecting Eve to provoke you like this. He likes you, so he doesn’t want to be together with someone else.” He liked her? She found that hilarious, but she lowered her head with no expression on her face as she sat quietly like a lifeless statue. Soon, Andrew came out of the cafe. Eve ran away while crying, and she looked pathetic. Once he chased his friends away, Andrew got into the car and helped Willow put some balm on her wound with a worried gaze. His movements were so gentle that it felt like he was treating her like a fragile piece of treasure. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse. “Willow, my family is the one who arranged an engagement with Eve. I won’t marry her and will make things clear with my family soon. Please don’t overthink this.” Willow said nothing and just stared ahead. “I know. You should start driving, Andrew.” Andrew cast a glance at her. He looked like he had more to say, but in the end, he just started the car. The atmosphere in the car was suffocating. Willow shut her eyes. Her thoughts were a mess. Suddenly, a piercing screech rose. Willow’s eyes snapped open, and she saw a truck come straight at her. Her eyes flew wide open. In the next second, Andrew lunged at her and hugged her tightly. Bam! There was a loud crash, and her world spun. Willow fainted in a puddle of her blood. When she woke up next, she found herself lying in a hospital bed. The white light above her pierced her eyes. Andrew sat by the bed. Despite his pale complexion, his eyes lit up with pure joy. “You’re finally awake, Willow! I was so scared.” Willow parted her lips and asked hoarsely, “How’s your injuries?” Andrew caressed her hair and said calmly, “I broke a bone, that’s all. I’m fine. I failed to protect you.” He then got up. “Keep lying down and don’t move. I’ll call a doctor over to check on you.” After he left, Willow’s phone suddenly vibrated. She picked it up and saw that Eve had sent a video to her. It was taken not too long ago and from within the cafe they had met in. Andrew’s friends were animatedly explaining something to Eve. “Miss Jenkins, how many times do we need to tell you before you believe us? Andrew is with Willow only because he has a plan. He’s only pretending to love her to take his revenge on Rias Warma. Since the two families have agreed to the marriage, he’ll definitely marry you. Look, he’s a man of his word when it comes to business deals. So don’t go ruining his plans already, seriously!” Eve just stared at Andrew and said in a trembling voice, “Are they telling the truth, Andrew? You don’t love her but are using her to take revenge?” His friends quickly said, “Of course! How could he possibly love his rival’s sister? That’s not how Andrew does things. If he really was in love with her, Andrew wouldn’t be trying to humiliate Rias. Instead, it would be Rias insulting Andrew! Holy… I can’t even imagine that!” “I want Andrew to tell me this himself!” With teary eyes, Eve looked at Andrew. “Tell me, Andrew.” Andrew had a complicated look on his face as he stared at the car where Willow was. In the end, he nodded. Eve threw herself into his arms and said in a choked voice, “But I still don’t feel confident. We’re about to get married, but you’re pretending to be in a relationship with another woman. Why don’t you just pretend that your brakes fail and turn your car so that the front passenger’s seat crashes into something? Just make Willow get into an accident, and I’ll believe you, okay?” After a moment of silence, Andrew said, “Okay.” The video ended. Chapter 5 Willow’s hands trembled, and her phone fell to the floor. So, Andrew had planned this accident too. She shut her eyes. Sadness, despair, indignation, and all sorts of complicated emotions swirled in her heart. They raged so wildly in her that she felt as if there was a heavy weight pressing down on her chest. She could not figure out just when Andrew would feel satisfied enough to quit this. She remembered that when they got into the accident, he had indeed turned his steering wheel so that she would be the one who faced the brunt of the crash. Only when the truck was about to hit her, he had protected her. She could not figure out what he was thinking. Since he wanted to use her for revenge, shouldn’t he be happier if she was injured even more? Why would he shield her at the last second? It was so unnecessary. He even got a broken rib. A thought popped up in her head, but she did not want to continue down that route. ‘Andrew, I hope that you really don’t have any love for me and just want to use me to take revenge, just as you said. Otherwise, if you love me even in the slightest, you’re going to suffer,’ she thought. Over the next few days, Andrew took care of her. Despite the doctor telling him to rest because of his broken rib, he stubbornly insisted on staying beside her 24/7. He fed her, tucked her in, cut some fruit for her, and even told her stories. Anyone who saw it would think that he loved her dearly, but Willow just could not find it in herself to feel happy. She knew that all of this was fake. His gentleness and concern were all a meticulously planned lie. On the day she was discharged, Andrew saw that she was feeling down. To make her happy, he took her to the dance club his friend had opened. The room was dark, and the sound of music was deafening. Andrew was very attentive toward her. His friends also surrounded her and took care of her. But Willow felt awkward and kept having the gnawing feeling that something bad was going to happen. Just then, the door opened, and Eve strode in. Everyone’s faces darkened. When they saw that Andrew was about to fly into a rage, his friends went up to her and whispered, “Didn’t we tell you already? You asked Andrew to stage the accident and get Willow injured. He did it, so why are you here to cause another fuss?” Eve smiled and said airily, “Don’t worry. I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here to join your plan. No matter what, Andrew and I are about to marry, and I want to add fuel to the fire on the person he wants to humiliate.” She whispered something in his friends’ ears, whose eyes lit up, and they smiled meaningfully. Willow wanted to know what they had talked about, but the music was just too loud, and she heard nothing. After Eve was done whispering her plan, she went up to Willow with a fake smile on her face. “Miss Warma, I was wrong. Andrew already taught me a lesson. He hasn’t agreed to our marriage because he loves you too much and won’t marry another woman.” Willow frowned. The ominous feeling in her heart grew. She did not know why the haughty Eve would suddenly concede and why she would say this, but her instincts were screaming at her that things were not as they seemed. Andrew’s expression turned dark as he looked back and forth between Willow and Eve. But Eve was no longer as confrontational as before. Suddenly, she grabbed a set of keys from her handbag and handed them to Willow. “This is a mansion I just bought. It’s located in the city center. I want to give it to you as a token of apology for what happened at the cafe.” Willow did not take it. She said coldly, “You don’t have to. I’m not staying in Northvalley for long.” At that, Andrew’s expression instantly changed. He grabbed Willow’s hand. The man who always looked like he had victory in his grasp suddenly spoke with a hint of uncontrollable panic. With a grim voice, he asked, “What do you mean by that? I’m in Northvalley, and you’re definitely marrying me in the future. If you’re not going to be here to be with me, where are you going?” Willow stared at him calmly. Of course, she was going back to Southvalley to marry the person she was supposed to marry and spend time with her family as she should. Chapter 6 But Willow did not give Andrew the truth and just humored him. “I was just saying whatever came to my mind to refuse her gift. Don’t read too much into it. No one can really predict what will happen in the future, anyway.” “Everything in the future is predictable with me around.” Andrew clearly did not believe her and wanted to question her further, but Eve interrupted him. “Miss Warma, I heard that you’re a professional dancer. You should go and dance instead of sitting here, then!” Willow shook her head. “I don’t want to dance.” But Eve refused to back down. “Don’t worry, Miss Warma. I’ve already booked the place, and there’s no one else on the dance floor. We’ll dance with you.” Andrew pulled a long face. Clearly, he did not want Willow to go either. He wanted her to explain what she had meant just a moment ago. Yet, right then, his friends started pestering him to persuade Willow to dance. “Andrew, make Willow dance already. We want to see how she looks when she dances too.” Then, one of them whispered into Andrew’s ear. Andrew’s expression instantly turned dark. In the end, after hesitating for a few seconds, he nodded. Eve dragged Willow away, and that sense of unease in her grew. Just as she was wondering what sort of plan they were cooking up and how to finish dancing as soon as possible so that she could leave, they arrived on the dance floor. Suddenly, Eve tripped and fell on the floor. She cradled her ankle and cried. “Andrew, my leg hurts. Take me to the hospital, please?” Andrew scowled. It was a clear display of his impatience. But Eve grabbed his sleeve and said in a choked voice, “No matter what, our families are friends. You won’t just ignore me, right?” Eventually, Andrew agreed. He turned to Willow. “I’m taking her to the hospital, Willow. Have fun here. If you don’t want to dance anymore, go back home. The driver is waiting for you outside.” Willow nodded, but her unease just kept growing. After Andrew left, Willow turned to leave too, but his friends stopped her and insisted that since she was out today, she simply could not be a spoilsport. She was practically surrounded and could not leave even if she wanted to. The only thing she could do was to sit down as she listened to the music from the dance floor. Andrew’s friends sat with her for a bit before they said, “We’re going out to make a phone call and will be back soon.” Willow’s heart leapt to her throat. She knew that something was off. After his friends left, the dance floor was deserted. Willow immediately grabbed her handbag and turned to leave, but someone suddenly opened the door. The ones who entered were not Andrew’s friends but a group of beggars in disheveled clothes. When they came in, their gazes immediately fixed on Willow, and they cackled lewdly. “Hahaha! Her skin looks so tender! We’re going to have fun today!” Fear and panic shone on Willow’s face. She was so terrified that she took a few steps back, but those people lunged at her like a pack of starving wolves. She fought back fiercely, but her strength was no match against these men. They tore away at her clothes, and her screams were drowned out by the music. “Get off me! Don’t touch me!” Willow’s voice trembled, and tears streamed down her eyes. She punched and kicked, but these men moved like lunatics. They grabbed her wrists and pinned her to the floor. Her dress was torn off, and her skin was exposed to the cold air. A wave of nausea churned in her stomach, and she almost vomited. “Help! Anyone! Please, save me! Help!” she cried out in despair, but no one answered. Her vision blurred, and all she could hear was perverse crackles and heavy panting. Just as despair was about to drown her, someone kicked the door open. Andrew charged in like a demon with ruthlessness burning in his eyes. He grabbed one of the beggars and punched him in the face. The beggar cried out in pain and fell to the floor. But Andrew did not stop. His fists rained on the others, and he continued attacking them until they lay on the floor and groaned in pain. As Willow trembled, her vision went dark, and she fainted. Chapter 7 When Willow woke up, she found herself lying in the mansion’s bed. From the living room came shrill, pained cries. With great difficulty, she got out of bed and opened the door a tiny bit to see Andrew standing at the center of the living room with the beggars lying by his feet. Andrew had a knife in his hand as he said coldly, “Which hand did you use to touch her?” Terrified, the beggars trembled. They did not dare speak. Andrew sneered. “Looks like you used both hands to touch her.” The knife went down and stabbed straight into one of the beggar’s hands, who cried out as his blood instantly dyed the floorboards red. The others were horrified and cried out. “Left!” “Right!” Without hesitation, Andrew ruined their hands. His friends stood by the side and watched him with complicated faces. “Do you really need to go that far? Didn’t you agree to Eve’s plan?” “Exactly! Eve pretended to have a sprained ankle so that you could take her to the hospital. That’s how you got a reason to leave. We then excused ourselves and found a group of beggars to force themselves on Willow. No one else was in the club, so no one would answer her cries for help. If Rias Warma learned that some beggars took advantage of his beloved sister, he would be devastated. Why did you suddenly go against the plan and run back? You nearly beat those beggars to death! It’s been a long time since you’ve been so bloodthirsty. You were far too wild back there.” Hearing this, Willow felt all her strength drain from her, and she nearly collapsed. She simply could not believe that the beggars were part of their plan. Eve had whispered to Andrew’s friends, and Andrew’s friends had whispered back to him. Andrew said nothing and watched coldly as the beggars were dragged out. His friends stared at each other. It only made Andrew’s expression turn even more dour. Finally, one of his friends was unable to hold it in any longer. “Andrew, have you really fallen in love with Willow? If you’ve forgotten, I’ll remind you: she’s your rival’s sister! You’ve been fighting against Rias for years! If you’ve seriously fallen in love with his sister, you’re going to—” The words made Andrew’s expression darken like a thundercloud. He kicked the tea table, and his voice was laced with rage. “I don’t like her! If I ever did, I’ll cut my own head off so that Rias Warma can kick it! Happy now?! Get out of my sight! Don’t talk to me for the next few days!” Once he chased the people away, Andrew walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and lit up a cigarette. The smoke curled around him and made his expression look especially somber. He sucked in a deep breath. The smoke took a trip through his lungs before it wafted back out. His thoughts were a mess as he recalled how Willow had looked when she was pinned down. Her despair and pain stabbed into his heart like knives. He could not understand what he felt toward Willow. In the beginning, he had indeed approached her with the sole purpose of using her to seek his revenge on Rias. So, why did he feel like spilling blood when he saw her being treated that way? She should not look like that. Whenever she let him embrace her, she was always so demure. Her eyes were filled with love, and she was like a tamed kitten. Yet, that day, all that was left in her eyes was fear and despair. He did not dare think further about this. All this thinking was only making him feel more suffocated inside. Halfway through the cigarette, he suddenly remembered that Willow did not like the smell of smoke. With a frown, he snuffed out the cigarette on an ashtray. Then, he tip-toed to the bedroom to not wake her up. The sound of his footsteps made Willow shut her eyes. She held her tears back as she pretended to sleep. Her heart raced as she clutched the blankets tightly. She was worried that he would notice she was only pretending to sleep. Andrew stood by her bed and observed her for a moment before he caressed her head and left. Over the next few days, Andrew did not go to the company and spent almost every day keeping Willow company. He spent a lot of money buying all sorts of jewelry for her. Every morning, he gave her a bouquet of flowers. He even cooked for her. But the sight of the presents on the table brought Willow no joy. She knew that Andrew was trying to make her happy, but her heart was already as dead as a doornail. No one talked about what had happened that day, but everyone knew that Willow was unhappy. She smiled less, and her expression always seemed sad and dull. Eventually, Andrew was unable to keep his composure. Once, after dinner, he held her in his arms and asked softly, “Babe, I’m sorry for failing to protect you. Could you try to forget about that day? You can ask me for whatever you desire.” Willow looked into his eyes and whispered, “Whatever I want?” Andrew nodded. “Whatever you want.” After a beat of silence, Willow finally said, “I want to know your phone’s password.” Chapter 8 Andrew was stunned for a moment, then he laughed. “That’s it?” He said a series of numbers, and it was Willow’s turn to be shocked. That was her date of birth. “Why did you use my birthday as your password?” she asked in a trembling voice. Andrew kissed her forehead and said gently, “Because I love you.” Willow was taken aback. She did not know whether he was telling the truth. Regardless, she could no longer trust him. Andrew handed his phone to her and said, “Are you asking me for the password to look through my phone? I’m innocent as a newborn baby, so you can check whenever you want.” Willow took his phone and finally smiled. Seeing that, Andrew sighed in relief and hugged her tightly. “You’re finally smiling.” His voice was affectionate. “It’s your birthday in two days, and I’ve prepared a grand surprise for you. That’s why I won’t be able to keep you company all the time over the next few days. Will you be able to stay at home alone?” Willow nodded. After a brief pause, she asked, “Should I ask Rias to come?” That made Andrew fall silent. It lasted for so long that Willow thought that he was not going to answer her, but he finally said, “Go ahead.” Willow smiled, but she had tears in her eyes. “Okay.” Then, as Andrew was busy preparing for her birthday, Willow started packing her bags. She put away all her belongings and said farewell to all her friends. The day before her birthday, Andrew returned. He hugged her and wanted to kiss her, but she avoided it by making an excuse that she was on her period. Andrew did not force it. But he did leave behind a string of hickeys on her neck rather possessively before he whispered, “That way, everyone will know that you are mine.” Willow said nothing and just let him kiss her. By the time midnight arrived, Andrew was asleep, and Willow quietly grabbed his phone. She immediately saw his chat messages with his friends. In the chat, his friends talked about their plans for tomorrow. [Andrew, it’s Willow’s birthday tomorrow. Didn’t you say that you’re going to play those videos you have of her when she slept with you? Why haven’t you sent those videos over?] [That’s right. Send them over already, Andrew.] [Didn’t you see the message, Andrew? We’ve been reminding you about it since the morning, and it’s already night now.] With trembling fingers, Willow left the chat and went to Andrew’s folder so that she could delete those videos. She deleted all of them and even cleared the recycle bin. Once done, she finally felt free. The next morning, she grabbed her bags and wanted to leave. At that moment, Andrew woke up and saw her standing at the door. For a time, he was unable to wrap his head around what he was seeing. “Babe, where are you going?” “To pick Rias up,” Willow said calmly. At the sight of her bags, Andrew felt puzzled. “If you’re just picking him up, why would you need to take your luggage?” “These are my clothes for dancing. I’m going to ask Rias to take them back with him.” Willow had become incredibly skilled at lying. Perhaps she had learned it from Andrew. Just as she expected, she managed to fool him. He did not ask anything further and just got out of bed to hug her. “Wait for me. I’ll go with you.” But Willow shook her head. “Let’s only go public during the birthday party. I’m worried that Rias won’t be able to accept it. Head to the party first.” After some thought, Andrew was convinced that he had been too eager, so he patted her head and nodded. “Alright. Come back soon. I’ll wait for you at the birthday party.” Once he washed up, he headed to the birthday party while Willow stood where she was and watched the car leave. Then, she hailed a cab and left for the airport. The entire process of checking in, dropping off her luggage, and boarding the plane went smoothly. When she got on the plane, Willow opened her chat with Andrew to send him a final message. She had thought about many things to say to him. She wanted to tell him that she had heard everything he had said in the room. She also wanted to demand an answer to why he would do this to her. Yet, at that very moment, when it was time to truly end things, she only typed one short message. [Let’s break up, Andrew. I no longer love you.] After she sent the message, the plane departed. Willow stared at the white clouds outside and blocked all of Andrew’s numbers before she turned off her phone. She was never going to see Northvalley or Andrew ever again.