Bam!
There was a heavy sound of the door closing akin to a massive hammer knocking right on Victoria's heart, and she could not help but shudder.
She stared blankly at the door that was closed in a daze. A long while after that, she lowered her gaze and hid the loneliness expressed by her eyes. She clasped both hands tightly before thinking about it, then peered down at the sexy nightgown she had changed into and sighed. Finally, she pulled the blanket away and got down from the bed.
She quickly took her own clothes out from the wardrobe and swiftly put them on. Then, she left the bedroom.
When she reached the entrance of the study room, she saw that the light in the room was still switched on. Peeking through the gap of the door and seeing him sitting by the desk and smoking, he seemed lonely. Her beautiful eyes dimmed and she could not help but bite on her lips out of habit. Then, she said to Ethan inside,
"Ethan, I'm going home now. Don't sleep too late. I'll worry."
She turned around and was about to leave.
"How are you going back this late? It's quite far to go back from here."
Ethan looked up, exhaling a puff of smoke and looking at Victoria by the door. His silent eyes were filled with conflict.
Victoria sniffed a little, her voice remaining gentle yet carrying a hint of her choking on her sobs.
"It's fine, I'll go by myself. You should rest earlier too."
"Victoria!" Ethan frowned. He then abruptly stood up and walked quickly toward her. He held her by the hand and said,
"It's already so late right now. You should wait till tomorrow morning even if you want to go home!"
Victoria struggled for a while before she gazed up with her tearful eyes and stared at him stubbornly.
"I'm going home right now. I don't want to stay here and suffocate you, making you unhappy!"
"I'm not unhappy. I'm just a little tired," Ethan explained weakly,
"If you think it's because of all these scandals, I'm already used to it. Victoria, why don't you quit the entertainment industry? Just be a good Mrs. Martinez. Wouldn't that be great?
"The showbiz is mixed with the good and bad. There are a lot of troubles too. Why don't quit? You don't have to be associated with these wicked people anymore. After we're married, you can just help Grandmother manage Johns Media."
As Ethan said this, his hand on Victoria tightened. There was a hope that could not be concealed in his eyes.
This was not his first time mentioning this, but every time he did, Victoria would immediately reject him, he wondered if this time, it would be the same as all the times before?
When Ethan said all of that, Victoria instantly turned nervous. Her pale and weak face held a hint of darkness. Suddenly, she turned to her side and her little hand gripped onto Ethan's hand tightly too.
"Ethan, you know that taking the path of stardom and becoming a superstar is my dream since I was young. Now, I'm already so close to it, so why shouldn't I persist? I promise you that the instance I achieve my dreams, I'll go all out and be your good Mrs. Martinez, okay?"
Her beautiful eyes begged him. "When you proposed to me, didn't you already promise me this?"
"But now is a precarious time. You might as well quit now during this storm. Victoria, I've always gone with your wishes. Can't you just go with mine for once?"
"Ethan! Don't you know how much I've given up to take on this path to stardom? Now that I'm finally here, you want me to give up? Why should I give up? You don't understand how important it is to me just like how the Martinez Corporation is important to you. I've persisted till now. I really don't want to give up... I don't want to see all my years of hard work be destroyed just like that! I'm begging you; I'm begging you, okay, Ethan? I really need you to be marching on with me..."
As she said this, Victoria was suddenly tearful. Her voice had also become raspy from her crying and her fingers on the hand that held onto Ethan turned slightly pale.
"I know that this time, it was my carelessness, but I can guarantee you that I really wasn't intentional. I've never thought about threatening Sister even if she treats me this cruelly. I've never blamed her. I'm begging you to not tell me to give up. I'm really afraid that I won't be able to hold on alone. I really need you, Ethan... Don't be mad at me, okay?"
Teardrops started to fall, making her beautiful face appear pitiful with the glistening tears. Even if she seemed like she tried her best to hold them back, but she could not seem to stop the surge of tears.
She could no longer resist and leaned into his arms as her hot tears instantly soaked the front of his shirt. Momentarily dazed, he looked down at Victoria who was hugging him sadly. Her hands around his waist seemed as if she was clutching onto life-saving straws; it was that tight.
Quite a while after that, he finally sighed disappointed and worriedly lifted a hand to hug her by the shoulders before consoling,
"I've always let you be. When can you accommodate me in return? Victoria, I can be tired too. This thing has already made Grandfather and our parents a little upset. If we don't quickly think of a way to calm things down, it'll be bad for everyone."
Victoria wiped away her tears and sniffed with reddened eyes.
"I know, but... who would've thought that the document would go through so quickly? Initially, Mother went looking for my uncles to see if they could retract it, but unexpectedly, Sister... She... Why did she do this to me? Did I not compensate her enough?"
When Arya was mentioned, Ethan's eyes shifted in a turmoil. The scene by the South River earlier that day started to flash in his mind again, her words echoing in his ear.
"As for Arya's matter, can't we just let it pass? Whether or not she forgives us wouldn't really affect our lives just like the years we spent abroad. Didn't everyone live in harmony? Is there something you can't let go of right now?"
As if he was a little worn out, Ethan's tone sounded quite frustrated and helpless.
"It's not me who won't let go right now. It's she who won't let go of me. She wants to take revenge on Mother and me. All these years, she's been resentful of my mother and me for taking away what was originally hers! I'm also the daughter of the Johns family and Father's daughter too, aren't I?"
Victoria took in a deep breath and blinked her moist eyes. She continued,
"As for Sister, I've always respected her. If she forces me to my wits' end, I wouldn't... wouldn't..."
Victoria did not continue after that, but from her eyes, Ethan could understand what she was trying to say.
"If taking a step back can resolve this quarrel and grudge, then take a step back, Victoria," Ethan softly said, then he slowly let go and suddenly turned to walk into the study room.
The scandal did not die down. Instead, it was gaining more and more traction.
The media started reporting it.
Due to New York City paying attention to the development of healthy children lately, words like "orphanage" had become seemingly sensitive. Needless to say, the whole matter turned into a pretty big deal.
Huge crowds of reporters flooded the entrance of Johns Media Culture Media Company. Everyone wanted an explanation from Victoria, including the Martinez Corporation as well.
Kristina succumbed under the pressure and held a press conference to give an explanation regarding this matter. It was the stakeholders' meeting tomorrow, after all, and she needed to be cautious.
Johns Media's current situation was like a ship sailing in a storm. One more large wave and it would sink, and since Johns Media was Kristina's heart and soul, she could not just let it go down.
Naturally, Victoria attended the press conference, and as Arya predicted before, she gave up on the ownership of the land.
At this moment, Arya was standing on the edge of the New Era Plaza. She raised her head and looked at the enormous television screen on the wall, which was live-streaming Victoria's press conference.
Under the pressure of countless flashlights, Victoria was still able to remain composed as she gave her explanation to the crowd. Of course, she was just following a perfectly edited speech.
"I genuinely apologize for causing many doubts and misunderstanding. I've been keeping an eye on the orphanage for a long time and have mentioned it to CEO Martinez several times. He was concerned as well. Recently, the government has been very active in charity work for children with a purpose to encourage everyone to pay attention to the children in our city and be concerned about their development. I think that I should do my part as well, and the decision to buy the orphanage land was made after a long discussion with CEO Martinez. It was to help them protect their home..."
...
In the end, Victoria was forced to donate the land to the orphanage as well as $3 million as renovation fees.
Arya herself was shocked by how valuable that piece of land was. Victoria did not have a choice now but to let go of this extremely valuable land.
Impressed by Victoria's decisiveness, Arya had a sarcastic grin on her face as her eyes were filled with interest.
Victoria, how did it feel like to suffer a double loss after trying to trick me?
Naturally, it was a rare occurrence for such a large donation in New York City. Even with a top star like Victoria, it was unnatural for her to just give it away, especially when Johns Media Culture Media Company was infamous for being stingy in the industry.
Doubts started coming from the reporters.
"Ms. Johns, Children Orphanage mentioned there was neither any discussion about the purchase of the orphanage nor any donations at all, yet you told us about this today. Are you just doing it out of guilt?"
"Ms. Johns, please explain!"
...
The reporters were asking tough questions. Victoria's reasoning did not seem convincing enough. Of course, she dared not mention Arya's name in public because not only would this make things difficult with Benjamin, but it would also become a much worse mess than this.
Victoria just wanted this matter to end as soon as possible.
...
Arya stopped watching. She turned around and walked through the crowd focused on the enormous screen, arriving beside her car after a while.
The moment she reached the car, Xavier opened the door for her from the inside.
"What took you so long?" He asked quietly as she got into the car.
She buckled her seatbelt and started the car as she replied,
"I took a look at Victoria's press conference. As I imagined, she gave up on the orphanage. I'm really impressed though. She's really generous."
"You made her do that, didn't you?"
He laughed as he grabbed a document and put it inside her briefcase.
"Vice President will be waiting for you at the office tomorrow. Get these documents to him."
"Mmm, by the way, Mia and Aaron's wedding is the day after tomorrow. I picked a set of jewellery out for them and I gave it to them under our name in case I'm alone that day... Are you really going to play golf with Grandpa that day?"
He nodded. "I have something to talk to him about. Attend the wedding with Mother."
"What is it about?" She frowned in doubt as she could tell that something was up.
"You probably guessed it. It's related to the South River project." He placed the briefcase back.
"So, it really is about the South River project... I remember that Smiths Corporation and the Martinez Corporation are interested in this as well. Grandpa mentioned it before, remember? Smith's Corporation is pretty capable. Didn't I give you some information on Smiths Corporation before? Smith's Corporation's Master, Aiden Smith, had just taken on the role of the Vice CEO, and he seemed very confident about this project. Did you check them out?"
He was startled for a moment. An obscure light appeared under his eyes and he did not reply as he was in deep thoughts.
"I'm talking to you. Hello?" Arya glanced at him and saw the coldness in his quiet eyes unlike the silence from before, which was why she asked.
Xavier snapped out of his thoughts quickly and placed a finger on his forehead.
"I'm fine. I know our chances of winning are surely much higher with Johnson backing us up. Don't worry. I've got this."
"I'll check Smiths Corporation out in these few days. They seem to be working with a foreign company. Our city has been encouraging forging bonds with external forces. Smith's Corporation's power is nearly the same as us Glory World, so we have to be careful about them doing something behind our back. They are known for pulling tricks." Xavier suddenly remembered that Michael had reminded him about this before as well.
"Mmm, I've asked Vice President to take note. Don't worry."
She was doubtful as she could feel that he was not really paying attention. While she tilted her head over and was about to ask something, he looked outside with a lonely expression.
After some hesitation, she averted her gaze away and did not say anything. She focused forward and sped the car up.
After returning to Maple Residence, he went upstairs after dinner as usual. Arya only went up after she was done with the dishes.
It was pretty late at night when she came out of the bathroom with her half-dried hair. She noticed that the bedroom and the living room were dark. She could see the faint light from the study room. After giving it some thought, she grabbed a glass of water and walked towards the study room.
As she arrived at the door of the study room, she looked inside and he was nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, she could smell the scent of a cigarette in the wind as question marks filled her head.
She looked over at the windows and saw the man smoking right beside the tall bookshelf.
"Don't always smoke. It's bad for your health." She went over and grabbed his half-burnt cigarette before handing him the glass of water.
Xavier looked at the frowning little woman before him. He smiled when she took his cigarette away.
"I'm just a little bored... Pack up your things for tomorrow and go to bed soon."
"Is something troubling you?" She could not help but ask as she extinguished the cigarette in her hand.
"What can trouble me?" He took a sip from the glass of water.
"Don't overthink. I'm just a little tired."
"The year has just started and you're already tired. There's still a long way to go." Arya laughed, sweeping the cigarette ash on his collar off.
"I used to think that people at the top only know how to order their subordinates around and ignore everyone's feelings, but now that I'm at a higher position, I realize that the higher-ups sometimes might have much more pressure like when I just entered the company..."
"So, people like me are like the devil in your eyes?" He grinned and gave her an odd smile.
Arya shrugged. "I was in the Sales Department when I just entered the company. My manager was a very old-fashioned person. She was strict towards all her subordinates and wanted us to be independent. Every time something happened, she would ask us to solve it ourselves while she just watched. All of us were very unhappy with her. We secretly gave her a nickname, 'The Stern Lady'.
"Afterward, we got used to it. I was transferred to become under Vice President as my performance was pretty good. I faced more and more challenges but overcame each and every one of them, so I'm actually pretty grateful to her. She was my first supervisor since I started working and she had a great influence over me... She's actually very nice..."
She suddenly took a pause and looked up at him with her pair of serious eyes.
"You too, be yourself and you'll be able to influence us, your subordinates, no matter work or life."
"Are you lecturing me, Director Johns?" His eyes were getting cheeky as he patted her head with his large hands again as if he were comforting a little child. Arya sulkily pushed his hand away.
"I'm being serious right now!"
"I'm taking you seriously right now too!"
"Don't ever pat my head again!"
"I'm just measuring the EQ in your brain... Mmm!"
"Xavier! Stay there! You watch out! Damn it!"
Two little shadows chased each other late at night as peals of laughter burst out from time to time and vanished along with the wind.
After a while, Arya was out of breath and she lay down on the bed. The man put on a big smile.
"I'm not my usual self today. I haven't been training lately. I used to actually be pretty good at running and represented our school... I'm serious! Don't look at me like that! I'll prove it to you one day!"
Xavier laughed and handed a towel to her.
"That's enough. Wipe your sweat and take a shower."
Arya grabbed the towel and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She then handed the towel back to him.
"I'm not going to shower. I just took one. I'll go to sleep."
"Go and shower. Don't be lazy..."
Before he could finish, Arya already hid beneath the blanket. He put a finger onto his temple and just let her be. Soon, he started picking up the bolster and towel from the floor.
After he was done, she was already fast asleep. She just lay down quietly and he could hear the faint sound of her breathing. He pulled her into his arms to escape from the loneliness.
Suddenly, hugging her felt real and solid to him, unlike the vagueness he felt before...
...
The next day, when she arrived at Vice President office, and his secretary were already waiting for her.
"Vice President!"
Arya bowed down apologetically and smiled. "Have you waited for long?"
Vice President took a glance at his watch on the wrist and smiled.
"It's alright. The time is right. The stakeholders' meeting is at 9.30, so there's another hour to go. We can go over now."
He then stood up. "Let's go!"
Arya nodded and handed her document to Reena behind her before catching up with Vice President.
"I might need you to help out on this for a while. Chairman Knight told me about you. I never expected you have such relationships with Johns Media, and you've already married to..."
Vice President suddenly turned his head back and looked at Arya.
Startled, Arya closed her eyes and said,
"Mmm, thank you for your concern, Vice President. I'm just the owner of the shares. Most of the operational matter still rely on you. I'm not really sure how things work here. Don't mind me. Just do whatever you need to do and prioritize the company's benefits."
"Mmm, it must be tough for you, Director Johns. You might need to take care of both sides. I hope the South River project is going well. Please take care of yourself." Vice President was evidently concerned.
"Thank you, it's fine. Don't worry, Vice President, Chairman Knight has arranged several capable assistants for me. I'm just analysing the data, so there isn't much pressure. I'll be in your care on matters regarding Johns Media. I'm afraid I won't be able to do much in the future," Arya replied genuinely. She had always been respectful and grateful towards a mentor such as Vice President.