Chapter 538 The Severest Trials
“You’re so smart, Edwin. Indeed, I have a favor to ask of you at the moment. It’s just that I don’t know how to put it…” Celina said before pausing in hesitation.
Edwin didn’t conceal his desire for Celina at all, and his eyes showed nothing but love as they opened and closed. “You needn’t ask me for favors. Your business is mine, too, so just say whatever you want to ask of me.”
Celina curved her lips into a perfunctory smile while leading him to a deserted corner. After looking around and seeing that nobody was approaching them, she asked cautiously, “Edwin, do you know about Elise Sinclair?”
Elise had attracted a lot of publicity today, and people were talking about her everywhere, so Edwin knew her, of course. “Yeah, I do. What’s wrong?”
Instantly assuming a meek and mild demeanor, Celina lowered her eyes and sniffled on purpose. “Actually, she’s the second daughter of the Anderson Family. I accidentally wore the same dress as she did at someone else’s party before, and she has been holding a grudge against me since then. This time, she’s here on purpose to ruin my birthday party. Even her sister—the lady who came in wearing a red dress just now—did something so stupid because she had tricked her into doing it. Because of that, my dad was nearly angered to death. I’m scared… I’m scared that she won’t let me off!”
“What? This is outrageous!” Edwin instantly burned with indignation. After taking two more sips of wine, he boasted right away, “Don’t worry; I’ll never let you suffer any injustice in my presence. Moreover, your dad has always been nice to me. I’ll keep a close eye on Elise for you during the rest of the party so that she won’t be able to create any trouble!”
“Now that you’ve said so, I can rest assured, of course. It’s just that I’m worried, since she could trick Faye into wearing the red evening dress without noticing anything wrong. Who knows when she’ll do something harmful to the Saunders Family and me if I don’t fight back in time? I’m really scared…” Celina pretended to be terror-stricken while paying attention to Edwin’s response consciously or unconsciously.
Edwin thought about it for a moment before nodding in agreement. “You’re right; we shouldn’t sit on our hands. Alright, I’ll bring some men with me to teach her a lesson right away for your sake!”
Upon hearing his words, Celina was secretly delighted. Raising her bright eyes, she stared at Edwin, saying, “Actually, I’ve had everything arranged. I’ve got a plan, but the plan’s gonna be really difficult without you.”
Even though Celina was dumb, she had a pretty face that looked quite pitiful. After all, she was the apple of David’s eye, and he raised her to be a slim and graceful lady. Men could hardly resist her beautiful eyes even when they weren’t showing any feminine charm. Furthermore, Edwin had been lusting after her for a long time. “Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Nana. As long as you give the word, I won’t bat an eyelid, even in the face of the severest trials!” he said with a look of unswerving determination, as if he was ready to risk everything.
Celina’s lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. This guy’s still unwilling to give up, huh? Is he still hoping that I will see him in a different light even now? He should’ve looked at himself in the mirror. How dare he have designs on me while looking like that? He does have an exaggerated opinion of himself, doesn’t he? Anyway, this works for me, since it’ll save me much trouble.
With that, Celina told Edwin everything about her plan without forgetting to dangle a carrot in front of him. “I know about your feelings for me, Edwin. As long as the plan works, I’ll definitely take some time to consider our relationship…”
Before her voice could fade, though, a bunch of ladies walked up to them. One of the ladies stepped forward right away, holding Celina’s hand while saying excitedly, “Celina, didn’t you say last time that you’d show us around your newly renovated house? Don’t forget about this after the guests have left later on!”
Celina instantly put on a big smile. “Who knows what time it’ll be when the party ends? I’ll speak to Dad right away so that we can see it in a while. My dad has surveillance cameras installed in the smoke detector in every room, so we can see the entire room. Say, let’s come to an agreement first. If any of you doesn’t like how the rooms are renovated, don’t say that to my face, or I’ll be angry!”
“Haha! Aren’t you ashamed of saying that? You’ve grown a year older, yet you’re still so petty!”
“Okay, okay. Nana is the one whose birthday is being celebrated, so why don’t we just let her be? We’re not gonna say a word no matter how much we end up disliking the renovation. We’ll let you keep staying in the house, ho ho…”
Just then, one of them noticed Edwin. Casting a sidelong glance at the man, she asked with disdain, “Who is he, Nana?”
Edwin’s shabbiness was obvious when he was compared with the ladies.
The ladies exchanged knowing glances. This guy didn’t belong to their social class, but he was walking side by side with Celina. What was his relationship with her?
“Oh, uh, he’s a relative from my hometown,” Celina replied. Fearing that she might become associated with Edwin, she hurriedly explained, “My dad keeps his relatives and old friends in mind, so he invited a lot of people from our hometown to the party this time.”
“Oh… So he’s someone from your hometown, huh? No wonder,” the lady replied sarcastically before dragging the other ladies away. “Alright, we’re not gonna keep you two from reminiscing about the past. We’re gonna wait over there, so hurry up and come over, Nana.” Before they left, they even threw a look at Celina.
Of course, Celina knew that the ladies were saving her from embarrassment. This was exactly what she had wished for, so she turned to say to Edwin, “Please take some time to think about what I’ve just told you, Edwin. There’s only one opportunity. If you miss it, nobody knows when the next time will be. I’ve got to entertain the guests, so I’ve got to go.” With that, she turned around and left.
After Celina and her friends were out of sight, Edwin put out his hand to reveal the antidote-containing syringe in it. That’s right. Whether I can rise to the top or not depends on this. There’s nothing to have scruples about. I’m a guy, anyway, so I’m not gonna be at a disadvantage when it comes to this kind of thing. As long as I marry Celina, the Haymond Family will never be held in contempt anymore! At the thought of this, he made up his mind.
Five minutes later, Edwin showed up at the door to Elise’s room by following Celina’s instructions.
The instant he turned the door handle, he took a deep breath. Celina had told him that there was a hallucinogenic drug in the room, but he wouldn’t be affected as long as he injected himself with the antidote in advance. After what was done was done, he would shift all the blame onto Elise. Once word got around about it, Elise would lose all her reputation. It’s so easy to destroy a woman; it hardly costs anything, he thought.
He looked at the antidote in his hand. After a moment of hesitation, he capped the syringe and put it back in his pocket. After all, the drug inside the room was sexually stimulating, so it would be bad if he wasn’t in the mood for sex. Better wait until we’ve finished making out before injecting myself with the antidote.
After letting out a breath, he forcefully turned the door handle, pushing the door open before walking inside. Then, he sniffed the air, but he didn’t smell anything.
Elise was already lying unconscious on the sofa, and Edwin could only see her round head from his perspective. “Miss Sinclair?” he called out to her tentatively. After making sure that she was unresponsive, he closed the door and walked toward her.
