Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Touch My Heart

Influenced by the romantic style of the French, Vicky was more open in the aspect of relationships. She would be honest with her needs and didn’t mind playing games at times.

She wouldn’t be merely giving out hints.

Byron had once been obsessed with her liberal character but her flaw was her disloyalty. She showed her wild side to every man.

She flirted with Byron perfectly, purely because she had practiced her skills in the world of men.

However, he remained calm without showing much interest.

“Did you have a rehearsal in the daytime?”

Rubbing her index finger against his lips as seductively as she could, Vicky answered, “We rehe ar se d all day without lunch.”

“Rest early then.”

Byron got up to go out.

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He had been abstaining from lust for nearly 20 days and surprisingly, he didn’t have the urge, which was beyond Vicky’s expectations.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“Didn’t finish working on my medical case, so I’m working till late.”

Staring at him, Vicky asked, “Did you do it with her again?”

Byron turned to the side and said, “You think too much.”

“I know how often you men do it.”

Even a man in his forties could not go twenty days without getting any sexual urges, let alone Byron who was in his prime.

He would never indulge women he had no feelings for and he would never hold back with women he liked.

Clearly, it was his problem.

Byron paused, looking at his reflection on the floor as he answered, “We didn’t do it. I’ve been preoccupied with some

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thoughts lately.”

“I thought you were doing well at work?”

Massaging his temples, he said, “It has nothing to do with work.”

So it was a personal matter.

He didn’t mention it.

Vicky also happened to not quite believe it, but she couldn’t figure out exactly why.

“Have you ever officially started dating her?”

Byron gestured without answering.

“Started dating her?”

He snapped with annoyance, “Vicky, it’s over, there’s no point in dwelling on it.”

“Do you like her?”

“Not really.”

Chapter 40: Touch My Heart

“Felt good about her?”

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Byron unbuckled his belt and stretched out the hem of his shirt, loosening it up a bit.

“Just about that.”

His equivocation and evasive answers annoyed Vicky as she asked again, “If I hadn’t come back, would you have married her?”

This time, he answered resolutely, “No.”

It was true that he had feelings.

However, he didn’t have a long-term plan.

Feeling slightly better, Vicky asked, “Did you woo her first?”

“No.”

“She wooed you?”

“Not really.”

It’s really unlikely that Byron would pursue a woman.

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He was quite good at h o oking the prey that catches his eye and he could easily get any woman he wanted. Whenever they made the initiative, he would just go along with it.

By opting for such a method, he would leave no stones. unturned when he decides to leave them.

At least the woman was the one who fell for him first so she had to admit that it was a consequence of her own mistake.

Byron had his principles, and that was not to touch the high-level players and married women.

Players had a greedy appetite. Although he didn’t lack the money for it, it wasn’t worth it. Meanwhile, those who were married would end up causing messy trouble if things were to blow out of proportion.

Vicky was in the former category and Candice was in the latter.

Her sense of crisis had thus arisen. Candice had risen to equal footing as her.

She had been embroiled in a complicated relationship with Byron for eight years, the other end while Candice had only been with him for three or four months.

The contrast made Vicky suddenly panic.

Chapter 40 Touch My Heart

‘Is he sick of me?’

She had always prided herself on her rich dating history, with more than ten ex-boyfriends on her list. Byron had always made an exception for her in this regard.

Even after divorcing the rich Italian businessman, he was still crazy about her, and it was only when he hooked up with Robert for the past six months that he became out of

sorts.

If it was because of women, Vicky was sure that no woman would have the ability to beat her and sn atch Byron from her.

In fact, Byron had various “girlfriends” and never stopped seeing them. After all, he was handsome and wealthy, so lots of women would jump at the chance to get close to him. Although he wasn’t as liberal as Enos, he had more ladies than the average man.

He was never serious about any of them.

Byron was extremely conscious and sensible when it came to his feelings.

It was the case even for Candice.

Chapter 40 Touch My Heart

Candice may be pretty and pure looking but Vicky felt that she couldn’t beat drop dead gorgeous women.

Vicky was bent on being the only winner at love. It wasn’t easy to sponge off of men and it all depended on the looks she was born with.

Vicky slowly calmed herself down and thought that perhaps, she was just thinking too much.

When Byron entered the study, he sat at his desk and poured himself a cup of coffee.

At nine o’clock, the landline rang and he picked up.

Enos asked, “What are you doing with your phone switched off?”

“I left my phone at the hospital, guess it ran out of juice.”

While holding his cigarette in one hand, he replied, “What’s up?”

“Rumor has it that Percy inherited the Fortune Group and the Glory Group under the name of Uncle George. These two properties account for two-thirds of your Wilson Family’s wealth, Percy has won big time,” Enos said in disbelief.

Chapter 40: Touch My Heart

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Internal strife within powerful families were vicious battles that cannot be avoided.

In particular, men like George whose sons don’t belong to the same mother, were bound to face the situation in which both children go hard against each other in the fight for power and assets. If one of them was a good-for-nothing, he would be at ease but to his dismay, they were both powerful figures who were not to be trifled with.

Enos had heard of Byron’s mother, Connie Murphy, whom he thought was pretty amazing to have conquered George and remained in favor even after decades. George would go on secret rendezvous with her and remain loyal for her sake.

Connie’s intention to be boss was driven by ambition.

Percy hurried back to take over the business because he was afraid of losing power.

This family was bound to have more battles in the future.

There hadn’t been any response over the phone so Enos comforted him, “There’s a great chance for you to turn the tide. Your mom has impeccable means.”

Byron listened patiently. “Go on.”

“That’s it.”

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Chapter 40 Touch My Heart

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After lots of heavy smoking, his voice had become hoa rse.

“I’m not asking you about that.”

“Are you talking about Candice then?” asked Enos who came back to his senses.

He remained silent.

Enos was amused. The implication that he wanted to cover up was too obvious.

“Are you going to ask or not? I’m rekindling my romance. with my ex tonight.”

“Which ex of yours?” he asked after a long pause.

“Jeannie, the play actress,’

Byron remembered her, Sweetie Pie Jeannie.

Due to her knack for acting cute and coquettish, the investors gave her that nickname. She could easily make men fall head over heels in love with her and even give her lots of large productions to star in.

She had a higher status than Vicky in the theater circle.

Chapter 40 Touch My Heart

Vicky had risen to fame because of Byron’s support and her excellent liquor level.

Meanwhile, Enos’s ex had become famous because she was good at acting and had come from a wealthy family.

She started out as an actress for fun but ended up making it big in the industry.

“Have you guys gotten back together?”

“No,” Enos said.

Byron had never been interested in his friends’ relationships. so he must have his reasons for asking that question.

“Arrange a role for Vicky. Take it as a favor that I owe you,” he said, flicking his cigarette.

Indeed, it was for that bit ch.

Enos pulled the towel and threw it on the floor. “You’re hopeless.”

“Are you going to agree or not?” Byron said calmly.

“I’ll try and sound Jeannie out. She’s very hot-tempered and

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domineering, so no promises. According to the rules, Vicky should be matching up to her.”

“Percy is wooing Candice. Is he doing that to get back at me?” he said with a cigarette in his mouth while the fog clouded his eyes.

Enos said, “Who knows?”

“I treat her rather averagely.”

“A little more passionate than another women.”

Byron hung up.

After smoking the cigarette, he opened Whatsapp, found Candice’s chat profile, and sent her a reminder.

[Behave yourself.]

She didn’t reply.

Byron added: [You’re courting death by messing with Percy. You’d better leave him.]

It was rare that he took the trouble to type so many words without losing his temper.

Chapter 40 Touch My Heart

However, Candice blocked him again.

Byron turned to Harry and asked for Doctor Joe’s number. Harry gave him Doctor Joe’s business card and he got connected right away.

He tapped on his Whatsapp Moments and saw that Joe had posted a status about Candice.

–[Are you really the one for me?]

He posted again at lunch break yesterday.

–[Am I the one for you?]

It was no wonder that Candice didn’t like him. He was being too straightforward, cheesy, and boring.

Byron burst into laughter and exited the page. At the same. time, he left a comment.

[She already has a man.]

–[Who are you?]

–[You don’t have to know. Just know that she’s not

single.]

Chapter 40 Touch My Heart

After a while, Doctor Joe updated his Whatsapp Moments again.

[Daphne Rivera said that pretty women are the best at fooling men.]

Byron was smoking a cigarette and crinkling his nose when he commented at the bottom:

[Daphne Rivera who?]

Doctor Joe replied: [Someone’s mother.]

www

He had seen men who have gotten traumatized by women but not any who have gotten fooled by women to the point of becoming lun atics.

Byron thought that he should at least believe it only if there was evidence.

How weak-willed.

He couldn’t be bothered and thus deleted Roger from his list.

The most attractive thing about Candice as that she was both whole yet broken, optimistic yet brave, and has experienced tragedy.

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Byron couldn’t put into words the special and unique characteristics she had developed after such harsh life experiences.

It felt as if she had plunged from Heaven to Hell, and then bounced back to Heaven again.

Thrilling and exciting.

***

As soon as Candice laid down, she received a call from Percy’s secretary, Rose.

“Mr. Percy is drunk. I took a couple of drinks for him. Would it be convenient for you to drive him home? He’s at the Loyal Hotel.”

She glanced at the screen to see that the time was 22:03. At the end of this trip, it would be midnight..

She was about to excuse herself and ask Rose to call a valet driver but Rose beat her to it.

“Mr. Percy is having dinner with the boss of Silver Group over something concerning you.”

“Concerning me?”

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“You submitted your resume to Silver Group, right?”

Candice immediately sat up and said, “Yes.”

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“You were rejected by HR because of your lack of work experience, but Mr. Percy called and they will invite you to an interview tomorrow.”

The Silver Group was one of the three giants of NY FMCG products. Candice applied for the position of head of the marketing department, and all the people who were competing at the same time were elite talents, so she didn’t have any hopes up at all.

She did not expect that Percy would interfere to help her.

Because of this reason, Candice could not ignore him in any

case.

After all, he had gotten drunk for the sake of doing her a favor.

She got out of bed to change out of her clothes.

“How did he know that I was applying to Silver Group?”

“Miss Candice, you’re a great headhunter, and lots of people know who you are.”

Chapter 40 Touch My Heart

Candice pursed her lips, feeling extremely embarrassed.

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At 10:30, Byron came out to get a snack. Vicky was still awake too. However, the store on East Street that she wanted to get some ravioli from had already closed for the day.

He didn’t go back right away and drove around aimlessly outside. After a while, he passed through Queens Avenue, and found Candice’s Mini, which was in a striking pink color.

There was a green decal on her rear window, which read: What kind of a man are you, Byron Wilson?

Byron sulked and thought, ‘She’s addicted to scolding me, huh?’

She was driving pompously through the city in the middle of the night.

He turned around and followed behind. She was driving

towards East Harbor.

Twenty minutes later, Candice drove into the parking ramp of the Blue Bay Marina.

At this moment, the pier was brightly lit, and the Pearl First cruise ship was moored on the west coast, with Percy’s car 120 meters from the deck and the front and rear doors and

Chapter 40 Touch My Heart

windows closed.

Candice stepped closer and called out, “Miss Rose.”

Rose nodded and pulled open the door. The backseat was dark, with only some faint sparks.

“Mr. Percy has not been in good shape these days due to continuous socializing.”

Candice bent down, and wisps of smoke wafted out from inside. She didn’t have a habit for smoking but she didn’t resent the smell of tobacco either.

She asked carefully, “Miss Rose, can you turn on the light?”

She forgot to bring her cell phone in the afternoon and with the fender covering the window, not a single ray of light could pass through.

Candice fumbled about with her free hand while Percy deliberately leaned forward. As a result, Candice touched his chin.

She could feel his hard, protruding Adam’s apple.

The intense hormones were even more overwhelming than

the smell of smoke.

Chapter 40 Touch My Heart

She jerked and withdrew but it was too late.

The next thing she knew, he was staring at her silky-smooth shoulders with a burning gaze.

Candice’s face was burning up because of how shy she was getting. The man had his back against the light so he could see her but she couldn’t see him clearly.

All she could see was a blurry shadow.

“Why are you touching my chest?”

His voice was like waves that made Candice’s palm throb vigorously.

“Percy?”

He grinned. “Yeah.”

“Are the lights broken?”

Candice couldn’t see anything, and the more anxious she was, the more clueless she became.

Suddenly, she tripped over her right foot, and her entire body plunged forward, but Percy moved very steadily, picked her back up and pushed her back.

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The cruise ship that docked set sail, and the neon lights were lit up from south to north.

His silhouette was reflected in the sea of scarlet lights.

It was incredibly clear.

For the first time, Candice saw a man wearing a black shirt.

He looked obscure and harsh.

Percy was quite a refined gentleman and the stark contrast caught Candice by surprise.

He braced her and his hands slowly moved downwards. Eventually, Percy finally held her in his arms.

“What are you nervous about?”

“No…”

“Why did you fall then?”

His breath reeked of alcohol and floral tea, tinged with the nicotine of debauchery.

A sense of repression and melancholy combined in the face

Chapter 40 Touch My Heart

of this immaculately mature man.

Their position was exceptionally ambiguous and she was almost drowned in his chest.

“Were… Were you having dinner with the boss of Silver Group?”

“Yeah.” His voice was hoa rse and magnetic.

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Like a welding drill, it stabbed violently toward her heart, electrifying her to the point of numbness and unbearable softness.

Hanging her head low, the strands of hair in front of her forehead rubbed against his neck but he was still holding her waist.

“Did he agree to take me?”

“Take you?”

He repeated, and Candice realized that there was an ambiguity with her words.

“Does the Silver Group want me…”

Percy leaned in close to her face and breathed heavily onto

Chapter 40: Touch My Heart

it.

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“Even if they don’t want you, I’ll want you. Will that do?”

She couldn’t speak clearly and her ears were burning up.

“That’s not what I meant.”

The primitive desire under his eyes surged up, but he forced,

down and kept a wide smile on his face.

“I know, I was just teasing you.”

Candice coc ked her head to the side, deliberately avoiding his gaze. “Miss Rose said that you’re always socializing.”

“Yes.”

“Why is your liquor level still so low then?”

Percy knew clearly that she was testing him.

“Do you think I’m not drunk?”

She choked for a moment as he bluntly exposed her.

“No…”

Chapter 40 Touch My Heart

“You’re right. I pretended to be drunk and instructed Rose to lie to you,” Percy interrupted Candice.

The green smoke was blown away by the incoming sea breeze, and the distant ferry faded into a thin circle of light. that swept across the bridge of his bulging nose.

The night was perfect and the harbor was gentle.

Percy sunk all of this in his deep, profound, pent-up manliness.

Feeling a little uncomfortable, Candice moved to the side and tried to slip out of the crook of his arm but Percy tightened his grip and pressed his firm chest against her.

“Since I lured you here, I never intended to let you go.”