NovelEnglishThe waiter promptly brought the red wine. The secretary picked up her glass. She straightened up and stroked her long hair
before she walked over to the woman. “Miss Bennet,” she said politely as she stood behind the woman whom she thought was
Rachel The woman was standing near a rail, looking edgy. She clenched her hands into fists. The secretary thought the woman
was acting strange so she looked her up and down. Why would she be nervous, the secretary wondered. All she did was greeted
her. “Hello, Miss Bennet!
I’m Tiffany, secretary to the president of the Chamber of Commerce.” Tiffany tried to sound as casually as possible to hide her
suspicion. The other woman lowered her head, not uttering a word. She was trembling slightly. Tiffany, on the other hand, was
waiting for the woman to turn around. Her hand holding the red wine glass was getting a bit sore.
Tiffany was confused by the woman’s reaction. She was the secretary to the president of the Chamber of Commerce. She might
even become the leader of Apliaria’s Chamber of Commerce. All the young men and women from rich families showed regard
for her. But this woman was not even turning around to look at her. ‘Who does she think she was? Does she think she can be
this arrogant just because of Victor?’
Tiffany shrugged her shoulders and turned around to walk away. But she thought of the president’s order. She took a deep
breath and pasted a smile on her face. “Miss Bennet, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just that I want to say hello to you.
I’ve heard so much about you but I haven’t had the chance to meet you in person. When I chanced upon you, I thought I’d
approach you and offer my greetings.”
Tiffany forced a smile. The other woman swallowed nervously and remained silent. Her body trembled. Beads of sweat collected
on her forehead. Tiffany thought this was getting really strange. She furrowed her eyebrows. This woman looked like she would
not turn around to look at her.
then said tentatively, “Miss Bennet...” And then, the woman turned around. Being face to face with Tiffany made her even more
panicky. She looked down and attempted to step away from Tiffany. In one swift moment, Tiffany caught a glance at the woman
dodging her.
“You are not Rachel Bennet!” Tiffany bellowed as the realization came to her. “Who are you? Why are you wearing her dress?
Answer me!”
The woman was not the real Rachel, but the maid. The maid’s face turned pale. She couldn’t look at Tiffany. “I... I...” The maid
started to stammer. Cold sweat kept rolling from her eyebrows and she mopped it away with her forearm. “Say something!”
Tiffany knew if Rachel went missing on the ship, it would be a serious matter.
She felt she had to question the maid more keenly. “No, no! I... I can’t tell you.” “You can’t tell me or you don’t want to me? You
can’t hide the truth forever.” Tiffany stood cold-faced. She was contemplating on shouting for help. The maid became more
frightened. She turned her back to Tiffany and ran away from her. “Stop!” Tiffany didn’t expect that the maid would be so nervous
that she would run away from her.
The maid kept on running. She didn’t notice the approaching crowd.
Bang! She collided with a person. “Mr. Sullivan...” The secretary stopped in her tracks and gasped when she realized who the
maid ran into.
The maid’s eyes widened in fear. She could feel the blood in her body freezing. In a trembling voice, she could only mutter, “Mr.
Sullivan...” Victor’s eyes narrowed into slits when he notice what the maid was wearing. “Why are you in Rachel’s dress?” he
asked her sternly. The maid immediately knelt on the floor. Crying, she said in halting words, “Mr. Sullivan, I... I... I’m so sorry!
Please forgive me. Miss Bennet asked me to wear to dress.
I’m truly sorry.” So, Rachel asked the maid to wear her dress at the celebration party, but why? ‘What if I don’t want to stay with
you?’ Rachel’s words flashed through Victor’s mind. The veins on his temples throbbed. His dark eyes were filled with coldness.
offered you this dress? Why would she do that?”
“Because... I... ” Out of fear of Victor who was looking threateningly at her, the maid couldn’t string her words together. “Come
on, tell me the truth!” Ivan raised his voice, his face was grim. “You’d better not lie!” “Sir, I am not lying.” The maid shook her
head repeatedly. “Mr. Sullivan... It was Miss Bennet.
She asked me to wear this dress. I... I am not lying. Believe me, sir. I am telling the truth.” Looking at the dress that the maid was
wearing, Victor was fuming mad. What Rachel said kept playing in his mind. “Mr. Sullivan...” “Where is she now?” Victor cut in.
“Miss Bennet...” The maid’s stammering was getting worse. She said...she was not feeling well. She...went to her room to rest.”
Rachel wasn’t feeling well? She needed to rest in her room?
Ivan’s heart sank. He automatically turned his eyes to Victor. It didn’t look like the maid was lying. But then again, Rachel must
be on to something. That was why she asked the maid to wear her dress. If Rachel was not feeling well and wanted to rest, she
didn’t have to ask the maid to pretend to be her.
Victor was thinking the same thing. With his hands clenched into fists, he turned around and left. Ivan was afraid that Victor might
do something impulsive so he followed him. With the two men gone, the maid felt all her strength draining her body. Her knees
weakened and she fell to the floor. Meanwhile, Victor and Ivan turned up at the door of Rachel’s room. The door was closed. The
two men put their ears against the door.
It was very quiet inside. “Mr. Sullivan, maybe Miss Bennet is really resting,” Ivan said. “She has just been discharged from the
hospital. She may not be recovered yet, and...” The rest of his words were struck in his throat. He couldn’t continue, seeing
Victor was looking at him with his cold eyes. “So now, you are on her side?” Victor’s tone was cold. “Of course, not!” Ivan was
quick in his response. He was afraid to ruffle Victor’s feathers.
“Maybe Miss Bennet didn’t want you to worry about her. Your relationship with her is getting better these days. I just don’t want to
see it get worse because of misunderstanding.” Victor looked at the closed door. His eyes were gloomy. He didn’t say a thing. No
one knew what he was thinking about. “Well, it better be that way,” he finally said.
“Or else...” He thought he had indulged Rachel enough. She had crossed his bottom line repeatedly. He would never let her go
easily if she escaped from him. ‘Rachel, you’d better not betray me.’ Victor pressed the doorknob and pushed the door open.
Bright light welcomed them. It illuminated everything, including the pool of blood on the floor.
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