Owen drove Elise to the nearest bay. At night, the sea was mysterious and calm like a sleeping baby. As the gentle breeze blew, Elise leaned against the railing and took a deep breath before exhaling. She felt more relaxed compared to being at the crowded banquet. However, from Owen’s point of view, he felt that she was heaving a sigh of relief.
“Is something bothering you?” Owen started to play the part of a patient confidant.
With that, Elise played along and took the chance to feed him information about her being on bad terms with Alexander. “It’s nothing. I just feel that what you said is right; Alexander doesn’t love me as much as I thought he would.”
“At any rate, men understand how other men think. Why would he fall for someone else when there’s already another woman in his heart?” Owen couldn’t hide his smile but tried to contain himself. “Don’t be too sad. It’s bad for your mental health, and it’s not worth it either.”
Seeing that the timing was about right, she deliberately wrapped her arms and lifted her sleeve to reveal the bruise which she had drawn. using some makeup earlier on. “I don’t understand how a person could change that quickly. Could it be that those promises that he made in the past were all just to make me happy?”
The bruise wasn’t in a very prominent position, but that was Elise’s intention. It would seen too suspicious if it was done too deliberately, so it was better to be discreet and let things take their course.
In reality, the concern that Elise and Alexander had was unnecessary since Owen wouldn’t let any chances of getting close to her slip. “Are you hurt?!” He immediately grabbed onto her wrist upon spotting the bruise. “Did Alexander do it? How dare that b*stard hit a woman? I can’t believe it! I’m going back right now. I’ll hit him to teach him a lesson!” he urged anxiously.
Owen’s acting was so realistic that if Elise hadn’t known his actual intentions, she would’ve been touched by it. “Don’t.” She stopped him and looked at him with mixed feelings. “This is between me and him. I don’t want to complicate matters.”
As she spoke, she slowly walked to the side to avoid having any physical contact with him. “To be honest, I shouldn’t be blaming it all on him. I shouldn’t have constantly mentioned Elise’s name, but I just can’t help it!”
As she spoke, she started wiping tears off her face. “He only has that dead woman in his heart, and I hate him for that. I regret my decision. If I’d known that things would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have agreed to marry him!”
“Anastasia! It’s still not too late for regrets!” As he stood behind her, Owen placed his hands on her shoulder and declared, “If you’re willing to, I can be someone you can lean on at all times!”
Hearing that, Elise pretended to wipe the tears from her eyes as she turned around, looking confused. “You….”
“That’s right. I knew that you had taken up an important spot in my heart the first time I saw you. Ever since then, I was mesmerized by you every time we met. Anastasia, I’ve fallen for you, and I’m pretty sure you know how I feel about you.” Owen heaved a sigh of relief after finally confessing to her. After all, he had been setting the stage for a long time.
Elise’s eyes lit up upon hearing that as though she had found hope. However, she immediately looked away without daring to look him in the eyes, making it seem like she wanted to accept his confession but was hesitant.
“No, I can’t. Only he can decide when to end the relationship, and we’d be dead meat if he finds out about us!” Elise almost laughed after saying that but managed to hold it in. As Jack put it, one had to possess the qualities of an actor to become one, and breaking character was a no- no.
“You don’t have to worry about it since I’m with you. I’ll help you out!” Owen squeezed her shoulder to show his determination. “To tell you the truth, the Morgan Family’s business isn’t that much smaller than Alexander’s. If you collaborate with me, I’ll be able to surpass him in no time. By then, he would be fearful of me. He won’t be able to reject me if I insist on being with you.”
Hearing that, Elise was in a daze as she looked at him in confusion. When Owen noticed that she had wavered, he added, “Think of how Alexander is treating you. Are you willing to be Elise’s substitute for the rest of your life?”
Elise knew that Owen would start getting anxious if she did not agree to his proposal. After all, she had been playing hard to get. “Alright, I’ll believe in you!” Elise nodded earnestly. “However, what am I supposed to do since I don’t know anything about running a business?”
“Don’t worry, you just have to keep an eye on Alexander’s every move and let me know when I ask you about it,” Owen replied.
“Just like that?” Elise made an innocent and ignorant expression while she played the role of a naive woman.
“How complicated do you think it’s going to be?” Owen smiled, not forgetting to show his love to her. “You’re the only person I care about, so I’d never want you to get too stressed over it. Just act normal when you go back. Whether you can get any information from him or not doesn’t matter. Either way, I will work hard and rescue you from his side as soon as possible.”
“Thank you, Owen.” Elise made herself cry, but when she saw that Owen was about to wipe her tears off with his hands, she immediately wiped them off and uttered, “It’s getting late now. You should send me back. Since today is an important day, a pretty face like me should be by his side and act like we are very much in love. I’d be reprimanded if I ruin his plan.”
“It must have been hard for you.” Owen extended his arm out but retracted it halfway through. ‘Let’s get into the car.”
He was being a gentleman by walking her to the front passenger seat and opening the door for her to get in before walking back to the driver’s seat. The whole process took about ten seconds, but thanks to her quick wits, she successfully hid the tracking device Zephyr had given to her in the vehicle’s power outlet.
Owen didn’t notice anything as he entered the car. He flirted with Elise throughout the whole drive back, not knowing he had taken the bait.
Alexander suddenly appeared next to Elise two minutes after she returned to the banquet. “Your have very light footsteps!” The startled Elise patted her chest to calm herself down.
“Why do I feel like you’ve done something. wrong?’ He leaned in and sniffed her like a dog. Indeed, she had bad-mouthed Alexander, leading Owen to believe that there was a crack in their relationship.
“Have I? Nah, hehe. Hang on.” She called out to a waiter and took two glasses of champagne before handing one to Alexander. “It’s a success. Cheers!” Then, she clinked glasses with Alexander.
Meanwhile, Owen’s subordinate, who was hiding in a corner, teased Owen when he saw the scene in front of him. “Alexander and his woman seem to be very much in love.”
However, Owen sounded calm as he replied, “They are just putting up an act in front of everyone. There’s already a crack in their relationship, and Alexander’s good days are coming to an end.”
