Chapter 3 Unexpected Encounter

After tossing and turning for half the night, it was very late when I finally got home.

The house was quiet. Everyone seemed to be asleep.

I walked slowly up to the second floor. At the corner, I came face to face with a pale girl staring at me with anger and resentment.

"Vera," Sophia called my name. "Did you go see Marcus?"

"Yes." I was too tired to say more than one word.

Sophia twisted her mouth into a bitter smile. "I knew you would mess things up for me."

I was exhausted and didn't want to argue with her. I tried to walk around her to get to my room, but Sophia stepped in front of me again.

"Vera, are you proud of yourself now? Our family is finally in trouble. It's all falling apart. You must be so happy inside, right?"

"Shut up!"

A voice trying to stay controlled came from behind Sophia. Then my stepmother Evelyn quickly stepped forward and grabbed Sophia's arm. "Stop talking nonsense! Apologize to your sister!"

Sophia kept her neck stiff. "Sister? What kind of sister is she? She even changed her last name. She and her mother have the surname Sinclair, not Quinn! She wants our Quinn family to die, so why should she still have power in our house?"

Evelyn raised her hand and slapped her. "Don't you know what you did wrong?"

"What did I do wrong? What's wrong with trying to help my family get through hard times?"

"You still don't get it!" Evelyn's voice got lower and lower, but she sounded angrier. "There's enough trouble at home right now. Your father's health gets worse every day, and you go mess with someone like Marcus. Do you want to make him die of anger?"

"No matter what, I'm better than her!" Sophia pointed at me. "I want to help the family! What about her? She wants to divorce Damien right now. Is she afraid our family won't fall fast enough? She planned this from the beginning when you married Dad. Now she finally found her chance for revenge. She wants our family completely bankrupt, and you still count on her! She's just an ungrateful snake."

I had a headache and was too tired to listen to their fighting. I turned and went back to my bedroom.

After taking a hot shower, I still felt drowsy and sick. I was probably catching a cold from last night. When I opened the bathroom door, I saw Evelyn sitting by my bed. I didn't know how long she'd been waiting.

"Vera, Sophia is young and doesn't know better. Don't take what she said seriously."

I had insisted on changing my name to follow my mother's surname the year my parents divorced. After that, my father Richard Quinn only called me by my childhood nickname. Evelyn started doing the same after she married him.

I walked to the bed and sat down. "Don't worry. The Marcus situation should be fine now."

Evelyn nodded, as if she'd expected me to handle it well from the start.

After a moment of silence, she asked, "What about you? He didn't give you any trouble, did he?"

It sounded like concern, but her tone was still cold.

She was always like this. I didn't care anymore. I just shook my head.

Evelyn didn't ask anything else. She stood up. "Thank you for your hard work. Get some rest."

I nodded and fell back onto the bed.

I thought I was tired and sleepy enough to fall asleep quickly, but two hours later, I was still wide awake.

There was too much to think about.

Damien hated me, and he hated the Quinn family too. He'd rather disgust himself than give me a divorce. He wanted me to watch the Quinn family go bankrupt and fail.

Whether I kept the title of Mrs. Blackwood or not, everyone in the city would look to Damien before making any moves.

In that case, the Quinn family couldn't be saved no matter what.

Richard had been exhausted recently. Evelyn seemed cold and hard but only cared about her husband and her two children. Sophia had just turned eighteen, and my younger brother Lucas was only sixteen. Anyone looking at the situation would say the same thing: no hope.

But was it really hopeless?

Somehow, I found myself thinking about the mysterious man in Marcus's room again.

He stayed hidden in the shadows, like he didn't want anyone to know who he was.

Marcus, who loved to party and cause trouble, had no women around him that night. He was so bored he could only play with his phone.

It seemed like the mysterious man had a good relationship with Marcus, but none of Marcus's wild, messy lifestyle had rubbed off on him.

Among all the wealthy families in the city, I'd never seen anyone like him.

I wondered who he could be.

After a restless night, I only managed to sleep for an hour or two. When I woke up in the morning after dozing a bit more, my whole body felt even more tired. I definitely caught a cold last night.

I went downstairs to find some cold medicine and swallowed two pills. I sat on the sofa for a while before remembering I had plans today.

Tonight was the annual charity dinner hosted by the Vale family on the west side of town. I almost never attended events like this before, but this time I'd already made an appointment with a stylist. I was ready to attend the party as Mrs. Blackwood.

Even though it was late winter, I still chose a custom-made modern cocktail dress. The midnight blue background looked understated, but it was covered in tiny sparkling details, like wearing the stars themselves.

"This color looks perfect on Miss Sinclair. It makes your skin glow. You look absolutely stunning."

Since I was a new customer, the stylist didn't hold back on the compliments.

I sneezed heavily and put on a pair of sapphire earrings. "Well, it's rare for me to leave the house. If I'm not going to look good, who's going to notice me?"

Damien wanted me trapped in the role of Mrs. Blackwood forever, and he really could make that happen.

But only if Mrs. Blackwood hadn't made any mistakes in the past two years.

Even though Damien hated me, as Mrs. Blackwood, I'd never done anything truly scandalous.

That's why he could stand it and try to torture me this way.

But what if I changed?

Could Damien still put up with it?

My phone rang at just the right moment. I glanced at the caller ID, picked up the phone, and walked out to the hallway.

This styling studio was a small standalone building. While answering the phone, I tried to push open a door at the end of the hallway.

The room was empty except for a large sofa, probably a place for clients to rest. There was another door that should lead to a bathroom.

I walked in, closed the door behind me, and then answered the phone.

An apologetic laugh came from the other end. "I'm sorry, ma'am. The male escort you booked earlier had an accident and can't make it today. We can substitute someone else for you. Is that okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "I already paid everything up front, and you're telling me this now?"

"I'm really sorry. We'll substitute someone whose height, looks, and physical condition are just as good. We guarantee you'll be completely satisfied with the service."

"In other words, after I spend money with you, you get to decide which man I end up with?!" I wasn't feeling well and didn't want to argue more. "Refund me ten times what I paid, or go bankrupt as soon as possible."

After saying that, I hung up and walked toward the bathroom.

The moment I pushed open the door, I suddenly realized something was very wrong.

Wet steam hung around the white ceiling light. Under that light stood a tall man with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, wearing only a bath towel, leaning quietly against the sink and watching me burst through the door.

Deep, dark eyes, steady and unwavering.

Obviously, I had only seen him last night.