Chapter 401
“Are you okay, Shirley?”
Shirley ignored those concerned voices. Instead, she looked up to Zeke, who was slumped on the
couch and clutching his head in distress.
“Z-Zeke! Why did you get mad and pushed me off?” she blurted out, pouting.
Zeke froze briefly, then narrowed his eyes and frowned at Shirley. “You drugged me and then took
advantage of that to sleep with me?” he questioned.
He was sure that he had an intimate encounter with a woman, but he wasn''t sure who it was. His mind
went nk, and all he could remember was that it was someone he was familiar with.
Other than Shirley, he couldn''t think of any other woman who would possibly do that.
Da*n it! This woman...
Zeke''s face fell, and he coldly said, “I''ve already epted the dinner invitation, which shows that I have
relented and am prepared to marry you. Why do you have to resort to such a disgusting ploy?”
Ashen-faced, Shirley quickly tried to exin, “No, no, it wasn''t me! I did not drug you! You were already
in delirium when I came in, and when I went to check on you, you... you...”
She threw herself into Waverly''s arms and started sobbing. “Mrs. Shurmer, I did not do that! I really did
not drug Zeke! Please believe me!” she whined.
Waverly patted Shirley on her back to console her as she turned around to reprimand Zeke. “Rascal!
How dare you use Shirley when it was you who lost control of yourself and took advantage of her?
She was with me all the time until she came looking for you and found you in a confused state of mind.
How is it possible she''s the one who drugged you?” she chided.
Zeke frowned and looked toward the coffee table.
His wine ss had disappeared, and there was nothing on the table.
His expression darkened as he realized someone had already removed all evidence of their sneaky
act.
He was positive Shirley was the one who set him up.
s, he had fallen into her trap, and there was no turning back time to undo his mistake.
It was a fact that he had slept with her, so their fates were entwined, and he could not disassociate
from her anymore.
Sternly, Waverly told Zeke, “Many of our family and friends are outside, and they all know there is some
hanky-panky going on between you and Shirley. Both of you can''t back out of your marriage
arrangement now. Go wash up and then get back to the hall to entertain the guests.”
With that, she helped Shirley up and said, “Let''s go to the restroom to freshen up, Shirley. I''m sorry you
had to go through this nonsense, my poor girl. Rest assured the Shurmer family will make amends to
you for this.”
Putting on a pathetic act, she shakily walked off with Waverly while softly crying, “I really didn''t drug
him, Mrs. Shurmer... I didn''t.”
“Of course, my dear. I know you didn''t do that. Ignore what that rascal said. He knew he did wrong and
was merely trying to find an excuse. I will not let him malign you in this manner!” Waverly reassured
her.
Veins were popping on his temple as a distressed Zeke watched the twodies leave.
He tried hard to recall what had happened but drew a nk in his mind. His foggy and heavy brain
could only remember vaguely that it was a very familiar face. Begrudgingly, he was convinced and
epted it was Shirley whom he shared that intimate time with.
“Fu*k...”
He couldn''t help but let out a string of swear words as he bemoaned his bad luck.
...
In the hall at an unknown mansion, Holden was seated leisurely on a couch, and a man in ck was
standing in front of him.
“What did you find out?” Holden asked.
“They are staying in a resort in the suburb. As it was a highly secured base of the Hoffman family, I
could not get closer to find out more,” the man in ck replied.
Holden stopped swirling the ss of wine in his hand, looked up, and casually asked, “Where did they
confine the young fe?”
“At the same location, but he has more people guarding him. If you wish to have more detailed
information about him, I can try to sneak in during the night to find out,” the man offered.
Holden waved him off, saying, “Let me think about it. Don''t do anything rash and blow your cover.”
“Noted.”
After the man in ck left, Holden dug into his pocket and fished out a photo.
It was a photo of Sebastian.
In the photo, a young Sebastian was seated on a tree, holding on tightly to one of the branches. He
was peeping out from behind the branch, and there was an innocent and bright smile on his youthful
face.
With a solemn look in his eyes, Holden gently caressed the face in the photo with his slender finger.
The more he looked at Sebastian, the more he noticed the resemnce between Sebastian and
himself, and he was pleased.
N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.
Some bonds would never be broken, and blood would always be thicker than water.
...
Meanwhile, in the study at the main house of the Hoffman family''s resort, Raymond was standing in
front of the desk, admiring a masterpiece painting.
A middle-aged man walked in and reported, “Mr. Raymond, our guys found something.”
“Tell me what it is,” Raymond nonchntly replied.
“Lionel had been secretly looking for Holden, who is the vice president of Tarragon,” the man said.
Bang! Raymond looked up in shock, and dropped the magnifying ss he was holding onto the table.
“What are you trying to say?” he demanded.
The man shared his view. “I suspect the bodyguard who led Ms. Wendy to turn against the family many
years back is Holden. He assumed the fake identity of ude in order to get close to Ms. Wendy. His
main motive was to get confidential information from her so he could get control of Zaewora.”
A look of fury shed by in Raymond''s eyes.
ude robbed the innocence of Wendy, who was the heir of the Hoffman family. He also stole
confidential information from her, which resulted in the Hoffman family losing their territory in Zaewora.
He had been the arch-enemy of their family since then.
If Holden was indeed ude, Raymond reckoned he might be able to make use of Sebastian to
ckmail Holden into returning him what he deemed should rightfully belong to the Hoffman family.