Willow didn't have time to react before the man grabbed her slender wrist and, with a gentle tug, swept her up with one arm!
"You were asking if we're sleeping together?
We are!!!"
Without waiting for Willow to say another word, the man bent down, scooped up the high heels she had dropped, and strode toward the car parked by the curb.
Willow hadn't expected Aiden Pierce to be so astute.
Zenith Group was supposed to be focused on the new energy sector.
To think that Aiden Pierce also knew so much about holography!
She refused to marry a scumbag like Bianca Sterling, and she certainly wouldn't become a pawn for Melanie Ulrich to control!
Her life could be destitute, it could be bleak, but it absolutely could not be left to fester and rot like this!
That night, her audacity marked the beginning of her counterattack!
But Willow never expected to get tangled up with Aiden Pierce!
Whether it was Aiden Pierce or Robin Sutton, if they could be used in her schemes, if they could help her break free from this cage, Willow would seize the chance with everything she had.
「That night.」
A light rain pattered against the floor-to-ceiling windows. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the intertwined figures before the window!
Aiden Pierce was a master of slow torment, like a knife wrapped in silk.
He held her tightly, trailing a line of soft, incessant kisses from her plump, dewy lips to the corners of her mouth, then down the elegant line of her neck, continuing their journey downward.
He was in no hurry to break the sharp-tongued Willow, choosing instead to torture her slowly, like a frog in water being brought to a boil.
The rain outside began to hammer down, drumming against the glass.
The downpour had come on fast and furious.
Willow's phone kept flashing as messages flooded in.
Noticing her furrowed brow, Aiden Pierce leaned in and gently bit her earlobe.
"Pay attention!"
After their passion subsided, Aiden Pierce's arm remained locked around Willow's incredibly slender waist. He placed a soft, pecking kiss on her tender, slightly swollen lips.
He looked completely sated.
Aiden Pierce fell asleep, his profile resting gently in the crook of her neck. His thick, curled lashes hid the sharpness in his eyes.
Such intimacy reminded Willow of a particular phrase: necks entwined in sleep.
The kind of intimacy reserved for couples madly in love.
She curled her lip in a sarcastic smile, shaking the inopportune thought from her mind.
Watching the sleeping man, Willow slowly sat up, lifting the arm from her waist.
'Men really are naturals at certain things.'
This time, Aiden Pierce had thoroughly worn her out.
Her back felt like it was about to break!
The wind and rain had stopped. Willow stood on the balcony, a slim cigarette held between her fingers.
The faint, pulsing glow of its tip was stark in the pitch-black night.
Her phone chimed with another notification.
The notification count showed 99+.
She swiped open her phone and tapped on the pop-up notification.
It was from Bianca Sterling.
"Willow, I've had too much to drink. Come get me from the bar!"
"Willow, stop ignoring me!"
"Willow, I called you here today to apologize to Ruby!
You just up and left without a word. I guess I've been too good to you, haven't I?"
Willow lowered her gaze, picked up her phone, and dialed a number.
It's unclear what she said to the person on the other end, but she soon hung up, gathered her things, and cast a sideways glance at the man sleeping deeply in the bed.
She turned and left.
When Aiden Pierce woke up, the spot beside him was completely cold.
A look of melancholy slowly filled his eyes.
'Little West. So she really is the type to sleep with a guy and then disappear.'
'Gone again, right after we slept together!'
He sat up against the headboard. In his palm was a lustrous, radiant pearl.
He had taken it from Willow's ear the night before, in the heat of their passion.
When Willow returned to the Vireon River Residence, she kicked off her high heels and collapsed onto the soft leather sofa.
The sound of a door opening came from the entrance, and Willow's gaze shifted towards the sound.
Robin Sutton was helping a staggering Bianca Sterling walk in from outside; the two of them looked incredibly intimate.
Robin Sutton's lips were outrageously swollen and glistened wetly.
Seeing Willow, Bianca Sterling's mind cleared a bit, but he didn't let go of Robin Sutton.
He jabbed a finger at Willow, his tone imperious. "Willow, where the hell have you been!
I told you to come get me from the bar, why didn't you go!
Are you trying to piss me off?
Everyone says the daughters of the West Family are well-bred and sensible! The most well-behaved women you could find!
Don't you know how to take care of your own man?!"
Willow merely sat up, not bothering to get off the sofa. She simply leaned back languidly, watching the drunken man's tirade and the woman's transparent acting as if she were watching a show.
She remained perfectly still.
Bianca Sterling couldn't stand Willow's dead-eyed indifference.
His temper instantly flared!
"Willow, did you go mute?"
Robin Sutton spoke softly, "Bianca, don't be so harsh!
Willow's probably still upset about what happened before!
Willow, Bianca's had too much to drink. You should take good care of him!"
"When Bianca has too much to drink, he likes to have some honey water!
There's some Tolia honey… the one I brought over last time… in the upstairs cabinet..."
'The second floor is where the bedrooms are!'
'This was Robin Sutton's way of subtly staking her claim, showing that she hadn't just been to the Vireon River Residence before—she could come and go from Bianca Sterling's most private spaces as she pleased.'
'Their relationship was anything but ordinary.'
Robin Sutton looked at Willow, who simply watched her back, a constant smile on her lips, not saying a word.
Robin Sutton thought of the two slaps Willow had given her today, and she couldn't help but shiver. Her cheeks began to ache faintly again.
"Willow, you're not getting the wrong idea again, are you?
Bianca and I just have a purely platonic, brother-sister relationship. Please don't get the wrong idea..."
Willow pointed to Bianca's neck and said coolly, "Before you start pointing fingers at me, maybe you should wipe your own ass first."
The panic on both of their faces was plain to see.
'They must have gotten too careless.'
'And left a mark by mistake!'
Flushed with humiliation, Bianca Sterling snapped, "It was just a forfeit for losing a game!
Willow, are you really going to make a big deal out of this?
They all say the eldest Miss West is supposed to be magnanimous, sensible, and obedient!
So why are you being so utterly classless?
What are you, some ancient relic dug up from the ground?
So damn prudish!
If there were really something going on with Ruby, you think you'd still be in the picture?!"
Willow laughed. "But I didn't say a thing.
Why are you getting so worked up?
Ohh...
So you two did kiss.
I must be really out of touch. It's the first I'm hearing of a 'purely platonic' friendship that involves making out.
Maybe I should try that sometime!"
Bianca Sterling sputtered with rage, "You dare!
Willow, you fucking played me, didn't you!
You already made me lose face tonight when you snuck off. Then I tell you to pick me up, and you don't even bother to reply!
So what if Ruby brought me home?!
Always so paranoid! Are you crazy or something?!"
As Bianca continued his one-sided rant, Robin reached out to gently stroke his back. "Bianca, don't be angry!
Willow might not have heard her phone. I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose!
Oh? Willow, you're still in the same dress from the bar. Did you just get home now, too?"
Bianca Sterling's gaze fell on Willow.
She was indeed still wearing the same dress from that evening, and her makeup hadn't even been removed.
Her high heels were lying on the floor, making it obvious she had just returned!
He sobered up considerably in an instant.
"Willow, where the fuck were you fooling around in the middle of the night!"