Irene covered her face with a scarf when she walked out of her apartment. Whenever she opened her eyes, a dozen camera flashes were shot at her, making her head spin around and want to throw up.
The bodyguards were walking in haste, trying to guide Irene to the parking lot. A few reporters pulled her arms and shirt because they wanted to gain Irene's attention. However, the auburn-haired woman didn't want to respond to them, even though those reporters kept asking a dozen questions.
"Miss Irene, do you feel jealous of Miss Catelyn's success?"
"I heard that you are also into jewelry design. Are you interested in following in your sister's footsteps?"
Irene kept raging in her mind because those questions sounded demeaning to her pride. Why should she envy Catelyn when her jewelry design could have rocked the world if her bitchy sister hadn't stolen her design.
Unfortunately, Irene could not clarify that because Catelyn had a good image in front of the media, many people would be trying their best to defend her.
When she got to the lobby, a black car was waiting for her in front of the apartment. She hurriedly got into the car and asked the driver to speed up.
She looked back, seeing that several identical black cars were following her. Maybe those cars were prepared to trick the reporters.
"Why don't they just give up?" Irene asked herself.
"The news about the dispute between the wealthy siblings is such a hot news. Therefore, they won't tire of hunting you down to make a drama."
Irene suddenly looked at a center mirror, noticing the gray eyes that looked familiar to her. She hesitated at first, but it was impossible for her to misrecognize an important person. "Mr. Delacroix?"
"Good afternoon, Miss Russell." Sebastian smiled through the center mirror.
"Why..," Irene's mouth suddenly felt numb for a few moments. "Why are you here? Mr. Delacroix, I bet you're a busy man, so why pick me up in person like you don't have any job?"
Sebastian whistled. "You really know how to rub lemon into someone's wound. You're the hot topic now, so I had to accompany you before people kidnapped you."
Irene clicked her tongue. "You're too much. No one will kidnap me."
After all, they had nothing to gain by kidnapping Irene. Her family would probably just report her as a missing person but had no intention of seriously searching for her.
"Are you sure? You're the hot topic, Miss Russell."
Irene, "I'm not deaf. You've already said it twice."
"Let's think about it, Miss Russell. Wouldn't your presence harm Catelyn if the reporters knew the facts? I'm sure they won't believe a word you say now, but we can't guess the future."
Irene folded her arms. Her eyes went blank as she began to think about Sebastian's words. There were too many problems that had befallen her lately, so her intuition had become dull.
"So, you're telling me, Catelyn began to feel anxious because my name was suddenly in the public spotlight. She was afraid that I'd expose her rottenness, so she decided to kidnap me or even try to get rid of me?" guessed Irene.
"Bingo." Sebastian scoffed at her, "It's such a pity a clever lady like you has such a miserable life."
Irene ignored Sebastian's insult. "That's why I don't understand why you have to stain my name if you know the consequences of it?"
"Besides smart, you're also stubborn as hell." he slammed the steering wheel to the side of the road, then stopped so he could see Irene's face as he spoke to her. "I do nothing, Miss Russell."
Irene still had a hard time believing Sebastian's words, but his expression looked so solemn that she doubted her own thoughts. "Are you telling me the truth?"
"You can cut my tongue if I lie to you," Sebastian said confidently.
Irene nodded and sighed. "I believe you."
However, if Sebastian didn't put her name in the media, then who did? Catelyn wouldn't do such a risky thing, while Daniel didn't want to deal with her anymore.
"But to tell you the truth, I was already planning to have those reporters come to your house." Sebastian smiled. "It's such a shame, someone else has taken a step before I can do that."
Irene caught her breath and closed her eyes. The anger that had dimmed gradually rose again. If she had lived with Sebastian all these years, she would probably have high blood pressure, and all the hair on her head would turn white.
Just be patient.
After she drained his fortune and settled her business, Irene would throw the divorce papers to his annoying face. After clearing up their misunderstanding, Sebastian drove his car back.
However, Irene realized they were not heading to his residence after seeing his car navigation. On the screen, it said the car was heading to a hotel not far from Irene's apartment.
"Mr. Delacroix." Irene looked at Sebastian with suspicion. "Are we not going to your residence?"
Sebastian glanced at his navigation and said, "Ah, you must have misunderstood me. I brought you to the hotel because I wanted to trick the reporters. I'm afraid we can't go straight to my house because one or two reporters are still following us."
They had to be careful because Sebastian didn't want their relationship to be out in the open before the official announcement of their marriage. Besides, the members of the Delacroix family would hate her to death if Irene dragged them into her scandal.
"That's why you shouldn't have forced me to live with you." Irene sighed tiredly. "Our relationship is too complicated."
Sebastian chuckled. "I don't mind. Besides, I like doing something with an adrenaline rush."
"But I'm not." Irene tried to maintain her smile, though her intonation sounded sarcastic. "Please, clear my name before we get married, Mr. Delacroix."
"Do not worry, Miss Russell. I will have your name cleared within 24 hours," assured Sebastian.
Irene said nothing more after that. She looked out the window and thought that her life would never be the same again after getting married to the annoying but rich man before her.
• • •
"What is this, Mr. Delacroix?" Irene let out a heavy sigh. She held her head, which was beginning to hurt from dealing with so many problems.
"What's wrong?" replied Sebastian innocently.
Irene pointed to the bed in front of her. She tried to question Sebastian's intention to rent only one hotel room for them.
"Why not rent two rooms?"
Sebastian raised one of his eyebrows, thinking that Irene was overreacting. "Why? This room is spacious enough for two people to stay in."
Irene bit her lower lip when she realized that Sebastian's words were not wrong. He rented a luxury suite hotel room, which was ten times larger than a regular room.
Besides having a living room separate from the bedroom, the beds in the bedroom were also spacious, probably it could let five people sleep in it, so Sebastian did not need to rent two rooms for them.
Still, Irene felt uncomfortable sharing a bed with a man she didn't know well.
"I'll sleep in the living room tonight," Irene stated. She wanted to rent a regular room for herself, but she forgot her wallet when she rushed out of the apartment.
"Are you the Virgin Mary? Why are you so scared of sharing a room with a man? After all, we'll get married someday." Sebastian took off his suit and lay down on the bed. He patted the empty place beside him and said, "Here. There's enough room for you, Miss Russell. I promise not to touch you … or maybe just a bit, if you don't mind."
In the end, Sebastian couldn't lie down with Irene because he received a call from his secretary. As Irene said before, he was a busy man, and it was impossible for him to play around at the hotel before sunset.
The call after call rang on his phone, and his secretary started sending him many documents through his mail, making Sebastian couldn't take his eyes off his laptop screen. He looked so busy that he no longer noticed Irene's presence.
Irene stood on the hotel's balcony, her eyes staring into the cloudy sky above her. The autumn air brushed against her skin, making her shiver a little before she lit a match. The balcony was beginning to be covered in puffs of white smoke, carrying the nicotine smell that made Irene's head feel lighter.
Leaning against the railing, Irene blew slowly, watching as the white smoke mingled with the wind before dissipating into the ether. She stared at the cigarette between her fingers, feeling a little guilty for smoking nicotine again after quitting for three months.
She thought she no longer needed to seek solace through a cigarette because she could seek her happiness from Daniel and her jewelry business. However, her business and boyfriend eventually evaporated like smoke, making Irene run back to nicotine.
When she wanted to light her third cigarette, the balcony door suddenly opened, and Irene could hear someone walking toward her. "Miss Russell, are you trying to burn our room?"
Sebastian waved his hands several times, trying to get rid of the white smoke that had made him cough. Irene put the lighter back in her pocket. She didn't want to light a cigarette once her room was occupied by strangers.
"It's just two cigarettes." Irene turned around. She sat on the chair and crossed her legs.
Sebastian approached her, then took a cigarette between her fingers. "Even one cigarette can set a building on fire."
Irene laughed out loud because it was unusual for a man to lecture her about the negative things about smoking. "You're not a fan of smoking, aren't you?"
He smiled at her before throwing the cigarette into the trash can. "Instead of burning my lungs, I like to drown my liver with booze."
"What's the difference?" Irene shrugged, "Those things can kill us."
"At least, I only choose to consume one of them, Miss Russell." Before Irene could reply, Sebastian showed Irene something on his phone. "Do you know anything about a news company called Daily Fact?"
Irene took the phone and noticed the silver pen logo on the screen. "Not really. Why?"
"According to Mrs. Cain, Daily Fact is the first news site that release gossip about you." Sebastian sat beside Irene so they could talk more comfortably.
Irene tapped her fingers on the screen. She didn't say anything for a while because she was thinking about something. "Actually, I know someone who works in Daily Fact, but we haven't spoken for the past few years, so I'm not too sure if she did it."
"Your friend?"
She shook her head. "No. She's my cousin from my mother's side."
Her name was Anetta Ramos. When Irene's mother was still alive, she used to play around with Anetta many times. Their relationship was good, even with Anetta's mother, the younger sister of her late mother always invited Irene to stay at her house after her mother died.
However, when her father married for a second time, Anetta and her mother never contacted her again. Even her aunt changed her number so Irene could not call her anymore. It was such a horrendous memory for Irene because she lost everything at that time, even her father also began to forget her presence.
After years, Irene never tried to contact Anetta or her mother anymore. Sometimes, she would try to find information about their whereabouts but did not do anything with that information.
"We don't have any problems, so why is she suddenly trying to throw my name under the bus?" Irene bit her thumb, feeling anxious because someone close to her wanted to betray her.
"We can't assume that yet." Sebastian doubted, "Maybe it's just a coincidence. I'll have Mrs. Cain investigate this further."
"It's alright." Irene sighed tiredly. She leaned toward the chair because she was tired. "Being betrayed by my family is nothing new for me. Just focus on clearing my name before morning."
Sebastian, "It's better to know more than nothing."
Irene lowered her gaze and thought Sebastian had the point. If Anetta wasn't the one who wanted to bring down her name, then Irene would be harboring hatred for the wrong person.
Nonetheless, it was also possible that she was the one who did it. Whether she knew the facts or not, Irene's heart still wouldn't be at ease.
"Tell me if you find anything." Irene murmured, "I want to know more."
Sebastian curved his lips and offered candy to her in exchange for the cigarette he had thrown earlier. "Glad to hear that."
Irene stared at the milk candy in her hand for a few moments. Rather than feeling annoyed at being regarded as a child, she was more curious as to why the man, who was considered a tyrant was carrying around candy in his pocket.
Sebastian, who felt her doubt stare, immediately came to his defense, "What? Sweetness is good to stimulate your brain."
"I said nothing, Mr. Delacroix." Irene grinned like a Cheshire cat while her hands were busy unwrapping candy. "You're not going back inside? Don't you have a lot of work to do?"
"I have." Sebastian teased her, "But seeing a beautiful woman smoking alone on the balcony makes me unable to focus on work."
"I'm just eating candy now."
"I also can't work when I see a beautiful woman sitting on the balcony alone."
Irene giggled after hearing those nonsensical excuses. "You're just trying to find an excuse to escape from your responsibilities, right?"
"Ah, you caught me, Miss Russell." He said, "I just want to stop looking at the mail notification on my laptop screen for a while. Besides, it's better to stare at a beautiful woman in front of me rather than those workloads."
Irene guessed that Sebastian deliberately took her to the hotel not because he wanted to escape from the reporters but because he wanted to take a vacation for a day.
She was sure that running a business network that spanned across continents was no easy task for one person. Nonetheless, Irene thought it was better to occupy herself to death than to desperately search for money on the streets. "You're quite lucky, Mr. Delacroix. Not many people were born under the lucky star."
"Not really," Sebastian spoke in low intonation. "I don't even know if I'm a lucky person or not."
Before Irene could refute his words, Sebastian had already suggested something. "How about a drink tonight to celebrate our marriage?"
Irene raised her eyebrows. "We're not even married yet, so why celebrate now?"
"Well, how about celebrating your coming to my house?"
"I don't live in your house yet either," said Irene.
Sebastian, "But you will. So, are you interested, Miss Russell? Wine and steak don't sound so bad, right?"
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