Chapter 15
Chapter 15 Embarrassment
Annalise raised her eyebrow cheekily as she smiled at Samantha. "This man has done
his research. He even knows you like piano songs," she teased.
"I wish that Benjamin prepared this for me," Samantha thought bitterly.
"Let's go. Let's see if he's good-looking or not," Annalise joked.
Samantha's eyes flickered as both of them entered the Moon Hall arm in arm.
Annalise was stunned when she saw the person who was playing the piano on the stage in the middle of the Moon Hall.
Benjamin was wearing a white shirt and tie. His slender fingers danced across the black
and white keys as music sprang from the piano. The whole setup accentuated his elegance and nobleness.
However, Annalise was utterly disgusted.
No matter how good he was at playing the piano, how good-looking he was, or how elegant he looked, she thought he was absolutely disgusting.
After Benjamin saw that Annalise had arrived, he continued playing the piano as he smiled gently at her. She used to say that she liked the way he looked when he was playing the piano.
Annalise was grossed out by Benjamin's smile. She removed Samantha's hand from her arm and looked at her suspiciously. "So, is this the blind date that you were talking about?"
Samantha immediately grabbed Annalise's arm and apologized, "I'm so sorry, Anna. Benjamin did all these romantic gestures because he truly loves you. I'm your best friend, so I want you to be happy."
"No. You're not my best friend. You're Benjamin's best friend!" Annalise pulled her hand away as she was hurt. by the deception.
She might not have many friends, but she treated each one of them sincerely.
Furious and disappointed, she turned around to leave the private room.
"Anna, wait up! At least hear what Benjamin has to say, Samantha urged as she
extended both of her arms to stop Annalise from leaving.
Benjamin also became anxious when he saw that Annalise was leaving. He immediately gestured, and rose petals started falling from the ceiling.
One of the petals managed to land on Annalise's head.
"Anna, I really want you to be happy," Samantha said.
Annalise fixated her gaze on Samantha and suddenly realized something.
"Samantha has never thought of me as a friend because she secretly looked down on me. That is why she subconsciously thinks I'm not worthy of Benjamin when she
doesn't even know the whole picture. So, she thinks I should accept him if he confesses to me," Annalise thought to herself.
Annalise blocked Samantha's phone number and her WhatsApp in front of her and turned to leave.
"I'm sorry, Anna. I really love you!" Benjamin called out after Annalise.
"I've told you before. You're not worthy of loving me!" Annalise snapped as she walked outside.
"Annalise Barton!" Samantha yelled.
She had stopped calling her "Anna," and there was anger in her tone.
Turning around, Annalise was amused as she looked at Samantha and asked, "What's the matter?"
"What are you thinking? Someone as noble as Benjamin loves you. What more do you want? To put it bluntly, you're just a girl that came from the village. Aside from your good looks, what more do you think you have? You should consider yourself lucky that Benjamin wants to be with you. There are a lot of girls that want to be with him, and they don't have a chance! Yes, you are beautiful, but how long will your beauty last? Are you still going to be beautiful in ten years? When the time comes, what would you have left?" Samantha ranted.
"Are you finished?" Annalise responded as she looked at Samantha coldly. Samantha seemed to be angered by Annalise's cold gaze. She continued furiously, "With Benjamin's qualities,
do you have any idea how many women tried their best to get married to him? It's a blessing to your family that he has his eye on you! He just made a mistake that any man would have made. Why are you holding it against him? Anna, listen to me. Just reconcile with Benjamin. You won't meet another man like him anymore. I'm not saying that there aren't any better men than Benjamin out there, but with your qualities, those men won't be interested in you."
Annalise looked at Samantha in amusement and retorted, "If you like disgusting men like him, why don't you marry him?"
As expected, some friends only showed their true colors after something had happened.
Annalise turned to leave while Samantha yelled after her, "You'll be sorry! After turning down Benjamin, you won't find another man like him in your life!"
"What's so good about him?"
All of a sudden, a man's voice was heard at the door.
Benjamin and Samantha were stunned to see Julian.
Even the staff who were getting ready to produce the man-made snowflakes were stunned. "Oh, no. Things aren't looking good for Mr. Quigley. This man has such an elegant aura. Although he is just wearing a regular shirt and pants, he gives off such a noble aura," they thought.
"Why are you here?" Annalise asked.
"My wife is getting bullied. How can I not be here?" Julian said as he walked toward Annalise and put his arm around her waist.
He tilted his head and smiled at her. It was as if his smile had warmed up the world. Subsequently, the atmosphere instantly became cold when he stopped smiling. He glared at Samantha, and his cold tone was full of mockery. "Did you say my wife won't find another man that's better than Mr. Quigley in her life? What qualities does Mr. Quigley have that made you so confident about that? If I'm not wrong, the Quigley family only has a net worth of 10.5 billion dollars. The company that Mr. Quigley is handling only produces a profit of not more than 75 million dollars annually, right? Well, I guess it's understandable for country bumpkins like you to think that it's a lot. Let's not talk about the net worth of 10.5 billion dollars - 1 billion and 50 million dollars is already a lot for you," he mocked.
Samantha was stunned when she heard Julian's words.
"A mere 10.5 billion dollars? What is he talking about? Who does he think he is? How can anyone disregard a net worth of 10.5 billion dollars just like that?" she wondered. Benjamin was also stunned because he had seen Julian before.
He had run into Julian when he was chasing after Annalise after she ran out of the room. He still remembered that Julian was looking at him with a weird look on his face. Benjamin's eyes were full of hostility as he frowned at Julian. "And you are?" "What does he think he's doing? How dare he touch Annalise?" he wondered.
"I'm Annalise's husband, Julian Parks," Julian said as he introduced himself. His face
beamed with pride when he mentioned Annalise's name.
Benjamin frowned and asked, "You're not from Horington?"
The Quigley family was the most influential family in Horington, and no one dared to look down on them.
Julian suddenly scoffed and looked at Benjamin. "What's so good about Horington? Is it embarrassing if I'm not from Horington? Are you trying to stir up trouble? If that's the case, I'm the eldest son of the Parks family in Jadeborough. You're welcome to visit Jadeborough and stir up trouble anytime," he taunted.
Although Benjamin was standing on stage and Julian was below the stage, his presence easily overwhelmed Benjamin even though his voice wasn't even loud. Samantha was surprised when she learned about Julian's identity.
She felt jealous as she stammered, "The Parks family from Jadeborough? How is Annalise so lucky?" Ignoring everyone in the hall, Julian continued to put his arms around Annalise and said softly, "Let's go, Darling. We better not spend too much time with these bumpkins, or they may cheapen our value."