Inside a magnificent large office, with several paintings hung on the wall, a man sat behind the desk. At his back a large bookshelf with all sorts of books arranged there.
The man had an extraordinary face, very handsome, but he carried a certain cold aura that made him look like one of those domineering overlords.
In front of him was another man who looked younger than him, dressed in a suit, a pair of glasses, and holding a tablet as he reported something.
"Sir, it's been confirmed that the two are divorced!"
"When did that happen?" the man asked curiously as he tapped the desk rhythmically with a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"A few hours ago. However, from what Iris sent, it seems that the Willow clan's leader didn't tell his ex-wife the truth."
When the man heard that, his fingers froze briefly before landing on the desk, his lips curled into a sly smirk.
"Oh~ it seems that it's going to be interesting!" the man leaned back as he chuckled lightly.
The other man pushed his glasses over the nose bridge, asking, "Then how do you want to solve this? Mr. Willow doesn't have any good intentions. And we can't let his ex-wife follow what you wanted before if she doesn't have the full information."
The man raised his eyes so that he was locking gaze with his assistant, his mind calculating. After a moment of thought, he nodded at him as he said, "Then reveal the truth to her!"
"Huh~" the assistant exclaimed as he looked at the man in front of him. He wasn't expecting that his boss would suggest such a direct method like that.
"But … sir, aren't you afraid that it might affect her?" he asked worriedly.
The man chuckled lightly as he rose to his feet and started walking towards the floor-to-ceiling window. Once he got there, he could see a beautiful night view of several villas lit up.
"It might not be unfair to her, but the sooner she knows the sooner she settles down in the clan. I won't have her thinking about another man when she already belongs to me!" he said domineeringly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he said that.
The assistant shivered when he heard that but recalling the contract, he could only support his boss.
"Then that can be done but what if she refuses to accept that?"
"Heh!" the man chuckled sinisterly upon hearing that. "Don't we still have the culprit to take into consideration? Sometimes seeing is believing. She will hurt now but be grateful about it in the future."
Once that was said, the assistant knew that it was going to be the most painful night, that woman was going to have in her life.
Anyway, just like the boss said, suffering now was better than in the future. The sooner she accepts her fate, the sooner everyone can live their lives peacefully.
*****
Meanwhile, Gloria was in awe all the way from the airport to the villa complex where she was brought.
Unfortunately, it was at night, so she couldn't see much. However, what she saw, left her in awe.
The place she was going to was a gated complex with large and beautiful villas. The security was top-notch. She saw people and large hounds patrolling. With a glance, she had an inkling that this might be where that clan leader lived.
Could this place be the clan family grounds? Or they were just living separately?
If they were living in the same complex, she didn't know how that would make her feel. The level of richness was too much to bear.
The car drove for a while, taking turns and all that before ascending a hill where a large mansion was. Despite being night, the magnificence of that mansion couldn't be hidden.
'This is the clan house!' she thought to herself, her eyes wide as if they would pop out at any time.
Thinking about the house she had always boasted about and then looking at this, what more could she say at this point?
"Please, madam!" once the car came to a stop, Iris gestured for her to alight.
Gloria politely nodded at her and alighted from the car without showing any attitude.
There was no point in hating the messengers and, in her case, Iris and Ian, have been nothing but good and attentive to her. Why bother to hate them?
"Thank you!" she said with a forced smile after she landed on the ground.
"I am just doing my job," Iris responded before gesturing her to follow her.
Gloria nervously clutched the hem of her blouse as she followed, with Ian and the others bringing her bags.
There was a sort of distance from the car to the door. So, they didn't walk for that long. However, before they reached the door, an older man opened the door and stepped out.
Looking at the way he was dressed, Gloria felt that he was the butler, and she was spot on.
"Welcome to the Frost clan, lady Gloria," the butler warmly welcomed her, which stunned her for a moment.
She wasn't expecting that kind of reception, to be honest. Looking at the smiling butler, she couldn't help but think to herself, 'Did we misunderstand the clan's intentions?' the seed of doubt was planted.
Gloria forced a smile on her face and responded to the butler, "Thank you for having me."
The butler waved his hand nonchalantly as he opened the door wide. "It's the clan's honor having you here," his tone sounding very serious. It made Gloria feel confused as she couldn't grasp how taking care of gardens could be regarded highly like that.
Unfortunately, she couldn't ask any further lest she expose herself. She could only smile faintly at him before she was brought into the mansion.
When she stepped into the welcoming hall, Gloria was out of words _ speechless at what she was seeing.
How could people waste so much space and just decorate it luxuriously like that?
Thinking about how empty the clan house was because of repaying debts, Gloria closed her eyes briefly, trying to calm herself down before opening them.
Just because she wasn't feeling well with the luxury she was seeing, didn't mean that the tour was going to end.
The butler had his mouth open, explaining something to Gloria, but she didn't hear a single word. Like a puppet on a string, she followed the butler who was leading her somewhere with the elevator and before she knew it, she heard him saying, "This shall be your room for the moment until the clan leader has other orders. Please make yourself comfortable and you are free to go anywhere. Iris and Ian shall be in charge of your protection. An assistant shall be brought to you tomorrow," before leaving.
By the time she realized what was happening, not only the butler but both Ian and Iris were no longer in the room and the door was closed.
Finding herself alone in such a large room, smelling fragrant and decorated beautifully, Gloria didn't know how to react for a while.
However, after her mind came back online, her eyes flashed with a mysterious glint before clenching her fists.
'Umph! Don't think that you can buy me with this!' she angrily thought as she looked around and the more, she saw how well the room was decorated, the more convinced she became.
She couldn't help but recall Simon's words. "The more these people treat you well, the more you know that they have an agenda against you. Otherwise, why would they bother to treat you well?"
Although these words weren't targeted at her, at that moment, Gloria couldn't help but think about them.
The treatment she had received in these few hours couldn't help but make her feel that she was being bought little by little. Thinking about how bad these people were, she anxiously took out her phone from her bag and spent a while taking photos of the room before sending them to Simon.
[Dear, I have just arrived at the clan and you were right. These people have ill intentions. I will do my best to return to you very fast. Even if I fail to do so, I will send you anything useful as soon as I get it. Please take care of yourself and comfort Sia for me. Remember that I love you and good night.]
She sent that message alongside the pictures that she had taken. She didn't want him to worry and also wanted to let him know that she wouldn't be bought with money. That couldn't shake her love for Simon.
Unfortunately for her, she had no idea that when her message reached Simon, the man didn't even look at his phone but was busy sweating as he rolled on the sheets with Sia, whose voice sounded very coquettish and it was driving Simon crazy.