Scalding tears slid from the corners of her eyes, indistinct in the dim light, but Jasper Ford saw them. A powerful shock shot through his heart. He suddenly stopped, his expression complex, with a hint of sothing unreadable in his eyes.
"Vivian Quincy, have we t before?" he asked in a low, steady voice that was surprisingly pleasant.
Vivian Quincy was terrified by what Jasper Ford had just done. How could she possibly register his words? She wanted to push him away, but her hands were still held fast by the man, rendering her completely immobile. She cried even harder, tears streaming down her face.
It was different from when Wanda Quincy cried. Whenever Wanda cried, she made as much noise as possible, as if desperate for everyone to hear her and know she was upset. But Vivian Quincy’s sobs were silent.
’The girl from that night... she had cried just like this, too.’
Jasper Ford watched her in silence. One second passed, then two. Finally, he reached out to lift her clothes.
Terrified, Vivian Quincy quickly curled into a ball, the tears blurring her vision. Her small fra trembled violently, as if she had suffered so terrible injustice.
Jasper Ford suddenly felt he had gone too far. His expression hardened, and he said sternly, "Move your hand."
"I won’t." Her one free hand clutched the fabric over her chest, her voice thick with tears, sounding utterly pitiful.
Jasper Ford knew she was scared. He said patiently, "I’m not going to do anything to you. Move your hand. I just want to look."
Vivian Quincy still shook her head. ’A man who would climb into my bed in the middle of the night and force a kiss on is capable of doing even worse things.’ She no longer trusted him.
But Jasper Ford wasn’t willing to let it go. He had to figure out what was going on.
CLICK. He flipped on the light, planning to have a proper talk with Vivian Quincy. But when the light flooded the room and he saw the tear-streaked figure huddled on the bed, Jasper Ford’s heart tightened. He fell silent, the words he had prepared suddenly impossible to say.
At that mont, Vivian Quincy’s hair was disheveled, as were her clothes. She looked a complete ss, as if she had just been assaulted.
Her large, sparkling eyes were now red and swollen from crying, her nose flushed as well. Tear tracks stained her face. The sight made Jasper Ford uncomfortable. ’If I force her any further right now,’ he thought, ’I really will be a monster.’
He swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue, watching her in silence...
"I’m going to sleep with Beanie." Wiping the tears from her eyes, Vivian Quincy scrambled out of bed and ran without even putting on her shoes.
Jasper Ford’s gaze fell on her small, bare feet. "Put on your shoes," he reminded her impatiently.
Vivian Quincy turned a deaf ear to him. She ran as if a ghost were on her heels, throwing open the door and bolting. In monts, she was gone.
Jasper Ford stared silently in the direction she had fled, leaning back lazily against the pillows, his emotions a tangled ss.
After a long while, he lit a cigarette and took a brooding drag, but it was tasteless. He just felt uncomfortable—and the discomfort wasn’t from the smoke, but from Vivian Quincy.
’Am I going crazy?’ Jasper Ford wondered. He actually missed her a little.
’I must be out of my mind tonight,’ he thought, ’to do sothing like that to such a sordid woman.’
Jasper Ford stubbed out the cigarette and went into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. Now wide awake and unable to sleep, he decided to give up on it entirely and went to his study.
For so reason, the butler was also up in the middle of the night, and he happened to run into Jasper Ford as the latter was leaving his room.
"Young Master, you’re still up so late?" the butler asked respectfully.
Jasper Ford said, "I can’t sleep. I’m going to review so docunts."
"Shall I prepare a late-night snack for you?" the butler asked.
Jasper Ford shook his head. "No, that won’t be necessary. You should get so sleep."
"Very well." The butler replied with a sigh of resignation and stepped aside, watching Jasper Ford enter the study. The more the butler thought about it, the more he felt sothing was off. He hurried toward Jasper Ford’s bedroom. The door was closed.
’If I rember correctly, that little assistant, Vivian Quincy, slept in the Young Master’s room last night. And the Young Master just ca out of his own room...’
’Oh no. This is serious.’
’To have a girl sleeping in his room and still get up in the middle of the night to review docunts...’
The butler didn’t sleep a wink all night.
Early the next morning, the butler couldn’t wait to go and report to the Old Madam.
Many people knew that Vivian Quincy had spent the night in Jasper Ford’s room. Many also knew that Jasper Ford had erged from his study that morning.
In the morning, everyone wore strange expressions. When they saw Vivian Quincy, they kept their distance. But when they saw Jasper Ford, they lowered their heads and greeted him in hushed tones.
While the family was having their al, so idle maids gathered in the backyard to gossip in hushed tones.
"Have you all heard? Vivian Quincy slept in the Young Master’s room last night."
"Who knows what those two got up to all night? It’s so scandalous. I heard the butler went to see the Old Madam twice this morning. Word is, he was looking for a doctor for the Young Master."
"Don’t tell the Young Master really... can’t perform, can he? Then why would Wanda Quincy stay with him for so long?"
"What’s so strange about it? Even if our Young Master has a... secret problem, he’s handso! And he’s so capable and rich. Forget Wanda Quincy, *I’d* be willing to be with the Young Master."
"Just look at that Wanda Quincy. Rember how dirt-poor she was? After she got with our Young Master, her career skyrocketed and she reached the heights she’s at today. Countless people must be green with envy."
"Sigh. Looks like this Vivian Quincy is about to strike it rich, too. I heard Master Kaye is also very fond of her. With our Young Master in one hand and Master Kaye in the other, her life is pretty much set."
The maids were overco with unspeakable envy.
Beanie, who had been wandering around aimlessly after a full al, happened to overhear the maids’ conversation. He tilted his little face up high. Although he recognized every word they were saying, he found that when they put them all together, he couldn’t understand a thing.
The little guy craned his neck and edged closer. "Who were you guys saying is going to get rich?"
"Beanie?" The maids jumped in surprise and quickly asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Where’s the Old Madam?"
"What did you hear just now?"
Seeing them look as nervous as thieves caught in the act, Beanie said, "They’re all inside. So, who were you saying is going to get rich overnight? Tell ! I heard you."
Beanie squatted down as he spoke, blinking his big, beautiful eyes with an innocent look on his face.
One of the maids said, "We weren’t talking about anything. You must have misheard."
"No way, I know I heard you! If you won’t tell , then I’ll go tell on you to Ford." With that, Beanie turned as if to leave.
When the maids heard Beanie was going to report them to the Young Master, they panicked. How could they let that happen? They quickly grabbed him. "Wait, don’t go! We’ll talk! We were just talking about Vivian Quincy."
"Why were you talking about her?" Beanie asked, a little displeased to hear his mommy’s na.
A maid said, "The Young Master was with Vivian Quincy last night!"
"Is there a problem with that?" Beanie blinked his big eyes in confusion.
The maid exclaid, "A problem? It’s a huge deal! You have no idea, the entire Ford family is in an uproar over it!"
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