Chapter 2

"Wendy's back?" Her mother, Lisa White, called out.

She brought a fruit plate to the sofa, smiling: "Come here, have some."

"How was today?" John was using his tablet with reading glasses. Seeing her return, he asked casually.

"Thanks, Mom, Dad." Wendy sat down, much calmer now. "My presentation went really well. After the meeting, William invited our entire project team for an in-depth collaboration with his company."

"William? The Ford Group?" John was so surprised his glasses slid down his nose. "He told you this himself?"

"Yes."

"That's wonderful news!" Lisa smiled too. "But William has very high standards. Once you're in his company, Wendy, you'll be under a lot of pressure."

Wendy caught the hidden meaning in her mother's words and immediately said, "Why don't we let my sister lead the project team to the Ford Group instead! I really don't have the confidence!"

"Your sister isn't busy enough already?" John shook his head. "You need to get some experience yourself. This is a good opportunity."

Although her parents didn't say it outright after Shirley was readmitted to the family, Wendy still felt the distance growing.

So she would deliberately act incompetent at work, pretending she couldn't do things, giving Shirley more opportunities.

Lisa was satisfied with her behavior, but John had always wanted to leave her with a career substantial enough to last a lifetime.

"Are you guys gossiping about me?" Just then, Shirley came back from outside. "What were you saying?"

Wendy quickly explained, not forgetting to add at the end: "It's all because you helped me revise the proposal!"

"Not at all. You wrote the main framework well yourself. I just added some finishing touches at most." Shirley smiled in response.

The smiles on both their faces looked exceptionally genuine, showing no sign of mutual flattery.

John observed them thoughtfully but said nothing, only stating: "I still suggest Wendy go to the Ford Group."

"Go ahead." Shirley also sat on the sofa, eating fruit. "What if Mr. Ford happens to take a liking to you? Our family would be set!"

Wendy choked: "How is that possible?"

Her heart raced wildly, her cheeks flushing. Afraid her family would notice, she quickly changed the subject: "Besides, I already have a fiancé!"

When she mentioned her fiancé, Charlie Smith, everyone in the living room fell slightly silent.

Bound by generations of friendship between the Smiths and the Moores, Charlie and Wendy's engagement was sealed when they were still kids.

But since Shirley came back, Charlie's attitude toward Wendy had grown much colder, while he showed considerable interest in Shirley instead.

After a brief quiet moment, Lisa sighed: "He hasn't been here in a long time."

Shirley lowered her eyes, saying flatly: "He seems to be busy with a new project."

Wendy didn't want to stay downstairs anymore. "Anyway, Mr. Ford said he'd give me a week to think about it. We can discuss it later."

She found an excuse to slip upstairs and lie on her bed, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

With William's ruthless methods, if he found out she was the one from last night, he definitely wouldn't have been so calm today.

The only loose end was that necklace...

Why couldn't she find it, no matter how hard she looked?

Wait three more days, she thought silently. If William still hasn't discovered she was the one that night after three days, it means she's safe. She'll decide then.

The next day, Shirley went to work at the Moore Group as usual.

Traffic was a bit heavy. When she was one intersection away from the company, a stretch Lincoln cut in front of her car.

She immediately recognized whose car it was. Shirley's heart suddenly raced.

The passenger door opened, and an assistant wearing white gloves respectfully invited her into the car.

On the luxurious sofa, she and William sat facing each other.

"This necklace, is it yours?"

In a transparent crystal box lay a diamond necklace, designed by the internationally renowned master Konnit, the only one of its kind in the world.

No one knew, and no one would think, that the one before them was a replica.

Shirley's mind raced, not answering immediately.

"I found out you bought this at the Splendid Crown Auction. At the party the night before last, were you wearing this necklace?"

William's voice wasn't as cold as it was in public.

This gave Shirley some courage. She looked up: "Yes, it was me."

The Moore family members always believed in one principle: people don't need luxury goods to stand out, so the expensive jewelry they bought was usually stored in bank vaults. Most of the time when attending parties, they wore replicas.

Shirley knew very well that she had personally stored the authentic version of this necklace in the vault, so this replica with artificial diamonds was naturally the one she had lent to Wendy that night.

Recalling how Wendy had tried to act calm when she caught her coming home late that night, she understood everything.

"That night..." She lowered her head slightly with feigned shyness, saying softly, "I'm sorry, I panicked."

"I'm not blaming you." William's voice was mellow, and as he spoke, his eyes were also studying her.

He remembered the woman's scent that night, how she looked like a kitten in bed... It didn't quite match the person before him, but his memory wasn't that clear.

"So, Mr. Ford's intention is..." Shirley looked at him tentatively.

"I'll take responsibility for you." William asked her calmly, "Are you willing?"

For a moment, Shirley almost forgot to breathe! Be William's girlfriend?

Or, what countless socialites in elite circles dreamed of—Mrs. Ford?

Of course, she was willing!

But William was asking because he mistook her for Wendy.

What if Wendy found out...

After thinking for a few seconds, she asked: "Can I make one request first?"

Actually, Shirley had wanted to agree right away at first.

But if she got together with William this quickly, Wendy wasn't stupid—she would definitely suspect the identity swap.

Once Wendy stepped forward to expose her, everything would be over.

Shirley decided to keep a low profile for now and secretly seek another opportunity to address this problem.

William hadn't expected the woman before him to dare bargain with him. He looked at Shirley with more scrutiny and interest.

"Go ahead."

Thinking of the woman's impressive performance that night, he was suddenly quite curious what request Shirley would make.

Shirley took a deep breath and said cautiously: "I can date you, but on the condition that..."

"We keep our relationship private for now."

Hearing Shirley's request, William looked at her with more interest.

In all of Starlight City, countless women wanted to get close to him. Now he was giving Shirley a chance, and she didn't want to make the relationship public.

What was the issue with him? Did she find him somehow... unpresentable?

Shirley nervously glanced at William's expression.

He didn't seem angry.

Shirley explained softly: "I... I've never been in a relationship before, so I wanted to give us both an adjustment period."

William naturally knew that the woman that night had been a virgin. When he thrust, she was in so much pain she almost cried, and couldn't help cursing, "Bastard! You're terrible at this!"

That comment nearly made him devour her, but in the end, he held back his savage desire and silently guided her to sit on top of him.

For the first time in his life, he coaxed a woman, though his tone was very stiff: "This way will be better. Take your time..."

After the difficult initial phase passed, their bodies proved surprisingly compatible.

His body had never felt this good before.