Chapter 52

Yulia understood this well. She quickly went, jogging there and back, thinking Winnie wanted to wear it for Van to see. Winnie took it and handed it to Van. "Last time you forgot, so I dared to wear it for a few days. Now it's returned to its owner." Van looked at her and didn't say a word. As he left, he casually tossed it into the mailbox by the door. There was a soft thud—whatever "queen" or "princess" it represented, it would probably never see the light of day again. Once in the car, Eric repeatedly seemed on the verge of saying something but hesitated. Van gave the order, "Tomorrow, have Wendy give you Miss Loxley's account, transfer 1 million to her." "Why?" Van responded calmly, "Kissing fee." Eric was stunned, even unconsciously tapping the brake. He steadied the steering wheel, unsure whether he should be shocked that they actually kissed, or mock the absurdity of a million-dollar kiss, which was probably more expensive than a scam. Ultimately, he settled on a feeling of regret. "Miss Loxley doesn't seem like that kind of person." Van remained noncommittal, only saying, "Let her be." "And you?" Van closed his eyes at that moment, his face expressionless, his brow neither furrowed nor smooth, calm and deep like a still pond. The streetlights outside slowly passed over his face, illuminating his nose, his brows, his eyes. After a long pause, Eric finally heard Van's calm voice, "Settling everything with money, each to their own needs, it's fine." Eric had always known about his plan — to find a woman to play along for a year or two, just to deal with the family's pressure for marriage. In recent years, Van's emotions had grown cold, and he had no interest in sharing his life with anyone. Perhaps his last relationship had hurt him so deeply that his mother, Gina, worried for him day and night, trying to push the best girls in the world into his view. Van had been raised with the education that a gentleman should understand and do whatever is necessary to be a good heir for the family. He was tired of the subtle pressure from his family to get married but couldn't ignore it either. But Eric knew that Van wasn't in a hurry with this plan. If he found the right person, he would go along with it. If not, he would leave it. He was selective—choosing based on looks, character, personality, whether the person was interesting or charming. After all the picking and choosing, it was because he wasn't planning to strictly distinguish between pretense and reality, though he understood both the contract and his true feelings. After a moment of thought, as the car drove out of the neighborhood, Eric suggested, "Since Miss Loxley isn't the kind of person you were expecting, why not choose someone else?" The eyes that had been closed, reflected in the rearview mirror, slowly opened at that moment. Eric suddenly understood, and closed his mouth tightly, no longer bringing up the idea of finding someone else. "What happened between you and Mr. Marlowe?" Yulia almost exploded; as soon as the guests were gone, she asked. "It's nothing much. I probably said something wrong; who knows?" Winnie shrugged. "He showed up suddenly today and scared me. I hope he doesn't come back next time." Yulia stayed silent, thinking to herself that when Winnie saw him, her eyes had clearly lit up. But she didn't call her out on it, quietly getting to work tidying up the study. As she put the throw pillow back in place, she noticed a watch reflecting a cold glimmer in the gap of the sofa. "Mr. Marlowe's watch," she picked it up and looked at it. "Why would he take off his watch to sleep?" Winnie suddenly remembered the heat of his body when he was close, and the arms that had wrapped around her waist, pressing against her back—those strong, broad, and scorching hands. She had considered resisting, but that thought only lasted for a second. It crumbled when his breath came in. He was very good at kissing. "Who knows?" Winnie didn't even look at the watch. "Give me the phone." Yulia found the phone and handed it to her. She saw Winnie sit on the arm of the sofa, staring at the screen while muttering to herself, occasionally rolling her eyes toward the ceiling, as if calculating something. "Ugh, I can't figure it out. Stop cleaning up, just press the calculator for me." Yulia understood. After all that, she was calculating her savings. After some calculation, it was clear—her income rate had been shrinking every year. After years of lessons learned the hard way, her financial management now consisted of long-term investments, fixed assets, and large time deposits. "Total is 13,580,206 dollars." "You just bought that French winery with Evelyn. I told you, you don't even like drinking wine, you said you like eating grapes," Yulia kindly reminded her. "Also, there's Ruby's Porsche, the apartment in Graceland, oh, and you bought an entire floor of that building, but it seems the developer went bankrupt. That seaside resort you invested in is about to be demolished for violating reclamation laws, and the Snow Mountain Hotel probably lost about 5 million because of management issues." Yulia sighed, full of envy. "You're so rich." "Wait, wait," Winnie forced herself to calm down. "Give me the calculation again. After taxes, I get 6 million from the company for my appearance fees. 100 million divided by 6 million equals…" "167. I rounded it up for you," Yulia said. "It's just that with 17 movies, I can only shoot two to three a year. Assuming it's three, that's six years. In those six years, the movie industry won't improve, and considering the possibility of my popularity decreasing and the reality of aging, my pay will likely drop even further. Plus, after six years, I might not even be popular anymore." Yulia: "..." Winnie took a deep breath. "F*ck." Yulia asked, "Why the F-word?" "No, I mean this business can be done." "What business?" "I'm asking you, if someone offered you 100 million, after taxes, to pretend to be his girlfriend for a year, with no obligations, would you do it?" Yulia's eyes lit up with excitement. "Such a good thing? Let me do it! Let me do it!" "And this man is a decent person, someone you know well. You have mutual friends, he doesn't gamble or visit prostitutes, and he's busy with work, so he won't even pay attention to you. All you need to do is pretend to be his girlfriend during holidays and family gatherings." Yulia started stomping her feet, excited. "Do it, do it, do it!" "A great thing, right?" Winnie said with a bright smile. "Right, right! And Mr. Marlowe's image and reputation are so good. Being with him won't be embarrassing. Plus, it will clear up any rumors about you and Wyatt, so people will stop saying you're a mistress." Winnie's face turned cold in an instant, and she snorted. "Who told you it's Mr. Marlowe?" "Who else would be so generous but Mr. Marlowe?" Winnie pressed her lips together. "He would definitely think I'm a materialistic woman, vulgar and shameless, willing to bend for money, craven for wealth and power, and lacking integrity. But—" She raised the corner of her mouth. "Does it matter what he thinks? It doesn't. 100 million, I've never seen that much money." Yulia clasped her hands together, as if she were already sharing in the wealth. "Then can I get a raise? Another three thousand?" "I'll raise it by thirty thousand." "But you didn't account for your endorsement fees, variety show fees, and all the other miscellaneous appearance fees," Yulia said, laughing with her for a while, before calming down and speaking seriously. "If you don't make reckless investments, you'll earn that 100 million in five years. You don't need to make quick money; you're already rich. If you want Mr. Marlowe to think you're a woman of integrity, you don't have to take this deal." Winnie slowly stopped smiling. She was wrong. Yulia, though a bit slow, always knew when to be smart. Winnie looked at Yulia, gently pressed her lips together, and her eyelashes curled up. Yulia sighed. "Yulia, if I don't take this deal, in his eyes, I'll just be a woman of integrity. That's it. That will be his entire impression of me for the rest of his life. During holidays, at friends' gatherings, or when he happens to run into me at places where Terry is around, or when he hears Terry and Stephan talk about me, he'll casually mention that we've met a few times and I'm a woman of integrity." "I'm not willing to do that," Winnie added after a pause.