Chapter 31
On the way back after enjoying the concert, no one mentioned what Peter Ruiz had said.
Yolanda didn't ask, and Aaron didn't explain.
They acted like the moment that they had heard someone reporting in front of them, "the woman you're looking for" never existed.
Stepping into the house, Yolanda went straight back to her room and closed the door.
Admittedly, she was feeling somewhat upset.
In hindsight, it did ring a bell for her that Aaron was looking for a woman. It was when she returned to Darlington that Lenny White told her that the boss had been tracking down a woman for a long time.
And at that time, Aaron went to meet Wendy Watts.
Their meeting was messed up by her at last though. But it seems that Aaron never stopped thinking about her, judging from what Peter Ruiz said just now.
That means Wendy Watts is very likely not the one Aaron was looking for after all.
And that also means there's someone else that Aaron cherishes but had no luck with.
But he just kissed me and promised that he would be my protective brother in any sense. And the next thing you know is that he is flirting with all the other ladies. Mr. So Phoney!
And the worst thing is that he had nothing to explain to me though he was clear that I heard it. That's his way of acknowledging it then.
Ah! Darn it!
Men are evil. That's for sure!
Unaware of the reason for her irritation, Yolanda's attention was attracted by a sudden beep of her phone while lying on the bed sullenly.
It's a notification from WhatsApp.
Yolanda figured it might be James pestering her again. So, she was surprised to see the message after she took her phone out.
Aaron: [Come to the study room.]
So, I had to be exactly where you want me?
That was just humiliating.
Yolanda texted back: [Is something wrong?]
[Yes.]
Sure, tapping more than one word would definitely claim his life.
Reluctant as Yolanda sounded, her body was certainly more obedient. She got into her slippers, opened the door, and headed toward him.
Sat at the desk in the study, Aaron gestured to her, "Come here." after he caught the sight of her standing in the doorway.
Unsure of why he wanted her here, Yolanda walked in only to notice that Aaron's computer was on. She thought to herself that he must've been watching the video Peter Ruiz sent him. So, she mustered a fake laugh.
"Dear brother, you need me here to help you with looking for that pretty lady, right? "
A voice that dripped with sarcasm.
Aaron smiled, put down the pen in his hand, leaned back on the chair, and looked at her, "Who is the pretty lady?"
God knows who that girl was that you'd been chasing after.
Yolanda wouldn't bother to answer him. She responded instead impatiently, "Then what do you want me here for? I was about to take a bath and turn in."
Staring at her in silence for a few seconds, Aaron pointed his chin to the position beside him and ordered, "Stand here."
A situation that held a harsh lecturing for her.
Yolanda did a quick reflection but to no avail. As far as she knew, she did nothing wrong today. Besides, she provided a correct answer to his question.
Was it still about the boyfriend issue just now?
Yolanda walked over calmly despite the failure to figure out Aaron's intentions.
Till she made her way in front of him, she heard his order again, "Turn around."
Yolanda was like: Excuse me?
She didn't follow his instruction right away. Instead, she checked him with a look of suspicion that said "Are you trying to pull tricks and catch me off guard like last time? Except behind my back for this one."
Aaron understood her expression and explained after a moment of silence, "I am not up to anything bad."
Yolanda immediately blinked playfully and said, "Well, I didn't say you were."
"..."
Fine, he should have said nothing.
Without further ado, Aaron got up, pushed her over, and said, "Stand still."
Yolanda was now left with not much of a choice but to stand there and wait to see what Aaron was actually up to. Just a few seconds later, to her surprise, she felt a special coldness on her skin around the collarbone and her neck.
Immediately after, there was a warm feeling across her nape.
It was Aaron's hand, which seemed to be caressing the back of her neck in a casual manner.
Before Yolanda knew it, she was taken over by tiny electric currents rushing through her body.
She hurriedly lowered her blushed face and that was when she found a crystal necklace around her neck, whose pendant was a tiny ruby.
As a VIP of various luxury brands, she quickly recognized the brand of this necklace.
Uncertain of his true intentions of gifting her with this piece of jewelry, Yolanda remembered vividly the promoting slogan of this style when it was launched among others from the brand.
This was the series of "Unforgettable" launched by a jewelry brand this year. The ruby ​​added the crowning touch to the necklace which would be positioned near the heart, like a cinnabar mole, an emblem of unforgettable love on one's mind.
Was there any implication?
"Done." Aaron said after the chain was fastened, "Turn around."
Yolanda, who had already interpreted the meaning of the necklace behind his back, had some mixed feelings forming in her mind. So, the moment she turned around, she could no longer look directly into Aaron's eyes.
She lowered her head slightly, and her eyes happened to fall on his black shirt.
That was a shirt with one button unbuttoned, adding an unusual air of nonchalance to him. From Yolanda's angle, she could see his collarbone once in a while. And moving her eyes all the way down, she couldn't help but conjuring up images of his naked upper body she saw.
Sensing that her mind was about to go wild, Yolanda suddenly pulled back her thoughts back to the track and asked Aaron, "Why did you suddenly give me the necklace?"
Aaron sat back in his seat and replied casually, " I just wanted to do it."
In fact, Aaron sent someone for this necklace from the counter before he set off to Darlington and it was prepared for Wendy Watts after their meeting.
There's no denying that Aaron was still hung up on the woman who delivered the note. And after excluding all the women on the scene, he bought the gift for Wendy Watts who seemed to be the only possibility.
He just didn't expect that after he actually got to meet her, everything was not what he thought.
Despite the fact that she smelled the same perfume and wore clothes of similar style, somehow, Aaron felt that something was awry.
She was not like her, or, not like the person he had imagined.
Therefore, the necklace was not given in the end.
As for the video from Peter Ruiz, Aaron wouldn't watch it either.
Millions of souls walk across the globe and meet every day. That woman might have left him with an unforgettable impression. However, Aaron was crystal clear about who was the priority in his mind for the time being.
The one who really deserved the word "unforgettable" and this necklace.
So, Aaron didn't see the need to continue figuring out whether Wendy Watts was that woman, or whether that woman was someone else.
Noticing that Yolanda wasn't satisfied with his terse reply, he immediately added, "Wear it and never take it off."
He said it seriously.
Yolanda pursed her lips, still upset about the incident tonight and her words came out in a sarcastic way, "This is such a stunning necklace. Why won't you give it to the pretty sister you've been looking for?"
Aaron looked up to her and responded, "I'd love it to go to my little sister."
Yolanda went speechless.
"Alright, you can go back to sleep now."
Between adults, subtle as the feelings might appear, they were detectable for Yolanda.
Just like the necklace at this moment. Although Aaron said nothing about it, she could still feel his sincerity.
That was his way of explaining the report from Peter, unique and patronizing.
It was so Aaron and Yolanda did feel better, but
she felt guilty to some extent suddenly.
Such a meaningful necklace was worn by a liar like her, like an iron chain weighing thousands of pounds on her chest, and like a rope on the gallows, hanging her neck in advance.
Yolanda swallowed and felt the urge to say something. But she chose to keep silent after long hesitation.
She turned around slowly, and till she reached the door, she gathered up her courage and turned around to Aaron, "Brother, are you free on the 14th?"
There was something unnatural that flashed across Aaron's face. He asked, "This month?"
"Right, I want to invite you to dinner that day."
Aaron paused and looked at her from a distance. He asked again, "Why?"
"Nothing, I just want to have dinner with you. By the way..." Yolanda pondered for a few seconds, and her voice was weakened by her guilty thoughts. "There's something I want you to know. "
Her stammered invitation was interpreted as shyness by Aaron though.
He clasped his hands on the desk, gazed at Yolanda for a while, and chuckled his answer, "Okay."
This was the official date when she turned herself in.
Yolanda let out a sigh of relief and left the study after saying goodnight.
Back to her room, Yolanda sat in front of the dresser, gently stroking her collarbone, and trying to feel the temperature of the necklace.
She grew even more guilty with everything becoming more harmonious and loving. She never stopped feeling that all this is credited in advance, and she had no idea how she could give everything back to Aaron on Valentine's Day.
Yolanda sighed. As the final moment of confession drew nearer, she came to realize that she was not so different from James.
They were both jerks.
They were both conceiving others.
No, I can't stoop so low as to be like that guy.
The mention of his name reminded Yolanda of the sad scene where Happer wept helplessly in the car.
The man was not acting like a jerk in relationships, he even cheated victims of their money for treatment. There was just no limit to his wickedness.
Maybe the public anger last time had sent him into madness. He would do whatever he tried to rake in as much as possible.
Behind those extravagant fan-supporting gifts were countless parents completely ignorant of the horrible situation like Uncle Happer.
That was just too awful. Rotten to his very core.
Thinking of this, Yolanda was immediately reminded of Nina Happer who was still lying in the hospital.
Nothing can be delayed there. She immediately transferred 100,000 yuan to Uncle Happer and assured him that the money had been taken back so he could arrange an operation for Nina Happer right away.
After a pause, she added that it would be better if Aaron knew nothing about this.
She explained, "My brother is already very busy, so there is no need to distract him with such trivial matters."
Happer couldn't be more grateful for this since he never expected Yolanda to get his money back overnight.
However, after doing this, Yolanda did not feel any happiness deriving from helping others.
She felt aggrieved.
Why should she be clearing up the mess he made while he must be squandering all the money and enjoying his life after they broke up?
The miserable memory was still clear including the scene Yolanda encountered on the way back from the shopping mall after picking up the cuff-link, and what James said to her in the hotel room later.
She never forgot any of them.
Among all the sarcastic words James uttered, what impressed Yolanda the most was
"The past is the past and people change."
So,
the former James changed. But would the same happen to the current Aaron?
At the beginning of their relationship, James was also rather affectionate.
Although Yolanda believed that Aaron was nothing like James, that jerk, in terms of character and morality.
But the positions were reversed, and it was she that had been deceiving others this time.
It would make every sense for Aaron to fall out with her any second.
Positive as she had been about his forgiving attitude towards her honesty, she never stopped worrying about the opposite.
He once said that he was a businessman, not a judge.
When the day came, he wouldn't help her to try James.
And that means her efforts over the past three months would be in vain.
The resentfulness of giving the 100,000 yuan made Yolanda more sober and rational. The mistake has been made and she has decided how to confess and why this had to be put to an end.
She should first finish dealing with James before her calm confession of everything to Aaron.
If he were to forgive her, then everything should be fine in the future.
If he didn't forgive her, at least she would have accomplished one thing by then.
Either way, she wouldn't end up getting nothing done.
The night was extraordinarily clear and serene, making Yolanda feel unprecedentedly sober.
It took as short as a few minutes for a perfect revenge plan to gradually form in her mind.
She picked up her phone and found the dialogue window with James.
The phone showed their last chat two days ago when he doubted her identity as Aaron's sister.
After some thinking, Yolanda took the initiative to talk to him this time:
[Sorry, I had a fight with my brother two days ago which put me in a bad mood ever since. That's why so I didn't text you back. /(tt)/~~]
James responded very quickly. [Don't cry, don't cry, Yura darling. What was that about?]
Yolanda spent a whole hour expressionlessly making up a story of a quarrel between a brother and sister, establishing a vivid image of a rebellious sister as she should be.
She knew that she was not warm to James before. Hence the necessity of this warm-up scene first. And then the plot afterward would seem gradual and reasonable.
After talking to James, Yolanda immediately contacted Phoebe Bernard, "Can you find a reason to ask Flora Cohen out tomorrow?"
Since Yolanda asked Phoebe to try and bond with Flora Cohen, Phoebe had been able to derive a lot of information from her after dropping by the next door under the pretense of chatting from time to time.
Among others, the most crucial message Flora learned was that Azel Group had signed a contract with Phoebe and promised her an opportunity to star in Dragon Hunt. Therefore, Flora herself wanted to suck up to her and get closer to her.
Let's just say that both of them were accidentally on the same page.
Phoebe replied, "Tomorrow is out of question since the team of Flora has a big scene coming up at that time. Maybe the day after tomorrow would be fine. I'll find a way to lure her out as she's always been curious about my script of Dragon Hunt.
Come to think of it, maybe it would be better that way. With an extra day, Yolanda would be better prepared.
Once she made up her mind to do it this time, she would accept nothing else except the finish of that jerk.
It would be like handing in the final paper to show what she'd been doing as an undercover in the past three months. When the dust settled, Yolanda could appear in front of Aaron a clean and brand-new girl.
Well, if he would be willing to give her that second chance.
The next day, Yolanda asked Aaron for a day off, saying that she wanted to stroll around the studio city to get immersed in acting for a while.
Aaron considered it a good thing for her to be exposed to the atmosphere at the scene. So, he nodded along and said nothing to interfere.
During this free day, Yolanda did two more things besides continuing to fill James with her complaint and desire for a boyfriend to get out of her brother's control.
First, she randomly picked a five-star hotel and paid for two rooms.
Second, she went to famous red-light district in Capital without being noticed.
After two days of intimate chatting, on the third day, James successfully became the most trusted confidant of "Aaron's sister".
The timing was just right, not too early or too late.
Phoebe sent a message to Yolanda in the morning: [I have made an appointment with Flora at three o'clock in the afternoon.]
After a while, Phoebe was still worried: [Is it really okay to do this. Nothing terrible would happen, right?]
Yolanda had made up her mind that she wouldn't have cleared all the mess with 100,000 yuan for James for free. Everything she'd done previously was just preparation for today. This time, she wanted to destroy that jerk so that he would have no further strength to resist.
She asked Phoebe to go as planned, and then quickly contacted James, enduring nausea for their final conversation:
[James, my dear bro, I just had a quarrel with my brother in the office again. I want to run away from home now, can you come to me? [crying]]
She really couldn't get herself to call him brother and instead used the word bro. Anyway, it was quite normal among youngsters.
Although James had been flirting with her all this time, he had always been conservative and didn't say anything outrageous. Annoying as he appeared, he had brains.
Even at this moment, when Yolanda wanted to get him out, he still hinted at his previous doubts:
[Where are you going? I'm a public figure and appearing all of a sudden out there may be...inconvenient.]
Yolanda knew what he was implying.
After all, up to now, Yolanda had provided no solid proof of her identity as Aaron's sister.
She glanced at Aaron, who was sitting beside her and raised her phone several times in an attempt to secretly take a video of him. But somehow, she opted out of it.
Secretly taking pictures of him and using him without his consent was already impolite. More importantly, Yolanda felt that if she showed Aaron's video to James, Aaron would be tainted.
That was not what she wanted.
After ruminating for a long time, Yolanda stepped back and secretly took a short video of Aaron's office during which she made sure that she got the electronic clock on the wall for the authenticity of the video.
[You don't believe me? I'm in my brother's office right now, I'm so pissed off. How sad am I to tell you all this as a close friend! I'm going to delete you. Feel free to do the same to me.]
James immediately believed her when he saw the two huge letters "AG" which is the abbreviation of Azel Group on the background wall.
[Alright, alright, don't be mad at me. Where are you going? I'm coming now.]
After counting the time, Yolanda pretended to be angry and withdrew the video so that there wouldn't be any evidence for James.
And the next minute she rejected James trying to play hard-to-get. [No need, I'll find someone else to keep me accompanied.]
By this time, James had stopped thinking soberly. He was too worried that someone he'd been chasing after for so long was about to escape. And it was so close to finally getting her. He would never accept failure.
Yolanda pretended to forgive him after all the nice things he said softly to her. [I just booked room 2009 in a hotel. I will stay there for one night, and I will fly to Hayward tomorrow to find my aunt.]
The schedule was so real that even Yolanda herself almost would buy it.
It was no surprise that the jerk had no doubts about it either. [I'll come over later!]
Yolanda wouldn't miss this big scene for the world since she had put a lot of effort into it. So, she asked Aaron for leave again.
"Brother, can I ask for half a day off?"
Aaron frowned: "Again?"
He asked, "What's it for today?"
Yolanda responded, "I want to do some shopping."
There were many things Aaron wanted to ask her. But in the end, he swallowed them back.
After a pause, he warned her, "The last time this month."
Yolanda nodded quickly, "Not only this month. It'll be the last time this whole year. I promise."
Seeing her being so serious, Aaron figured that she might really need to buy something important.
Aaron always knew that Yolanda had always been a clever little girl. It would be hard to find out what she was up to this time, so Aaron approved her leave and said, "Go ahead."
Elevated, Yolanda left the office and headed straight to the hotel to meet with Phoebe.
The room she had booked in advance to trap James was number 2009, and she and Phoebe would be watching on alert from the opposite room 2011.
It was 2:30 in the afternoon, Yolanda had already arrived at the hotel and James would be there any minute, too.
Yolanda checked the surrounding in the aisle and sent a text message to an unfamiliar number: [Be smart later. You still remember every line I taught you, do you?]
There was a quick reply: [One thousand yuan for one line. There is no way that I'll forget. Don't worry, sister, I'm good at this kind of thing.]
Phoebe glanced at their text messages silently, and couldn't help commenting, "You are just unbelievable to set such a complicated trap. Awesome. James is absolutely going down this time."
Yolanda was surprisingly calm, "That's the hope."
It would be a nice end of the story if she confessed to Aaron after she took care of that jerk.
At two forty-five, James finally showed up.
He dressed in a very low-key way, wearing a hat, a mask, and a pair of sunglasses. When arriving at the door of room 2009, he carefully checked everything around him before he knocked on the door.
The door got opened quickly, and a beautiful young girl with double ponytails appeared and greeted him with the sweetest voice, "Brother James, you are really here!"
She was wearing what Yolanda wore on New Year's Eve.
The two rapidly shut the door.
Bravo.
Phoebe didn't even dare to blink, "Where did you find such a girl? Calling him brother with that honey voice is just overwhelming, even for me."
Yolanda smiled silently. She paused while counting the time and sighed, "Such a wonderful play deserves more audiences."
Phoebe, "? What are you doing?"
Yolanda unhurriedly picked up her phone and dialed a number.
Finding a suitable extra actress would be impossible for Yolanda on such short notice. Plus, people sharing the same circle as her are likely to reject to help her with such a crazy show which ended up causing offense.
Only those young women in the red-light district in want of a fortune at any cost would come to her rescue.
Admittedly, it was disgraceful. But still, she won fair and square since everyone had what they craved.
"Ask Flora to get ready." Yolanda said to Phoebe after the phone call, "It's her showtime."
Phoebe went speechless.
But maybe God was on Yolanda's side, before Phoebe could remind Flora, she appeared.
She stood at the door of room 2009 just like Yolanda who stood at the door of the room where she was having an affair with James a few months ago.
God might forgive her. But not Yolanda.
Whatever you had made me suffer, you had to taste it, too.
Flora knocked on the door till it got open only to see a shocking scene that was obviously not the way she'd imagined. She went blank for a moment and then her face changed out of control.
Everything was as Yolanda planned. Flora reasonably decided that she was being cheated and barged her way into the room. Her loud questioning and arguing were clearly heard even with the door shut.
Things started to develop into turmoil.
Phoebe watched with amazement and worried, "Any chance they are already fighting in there?"
Yolanda was reminded of herself back at the time and laughed bitterly: "Wouldn't it be better if they are."
She pointed to the two people who were approaching from the distance, "Look, the audience is here."
At the end of the aisle, two men in police uniforms walked toward room 2009 and knocked solemnly on the door.
The duration of this show was very short. But one after another, it kept getting even more fabulous and exciting. All the phases are within Yolanda's flawless plan.
She heard the police say: "Hello, we have received reports from the masses that there are illegal sex activities here. Please show us all your documents."
Yolanda and Phoebe smiled at each other, quietly enjoying in the dark the shock and fear on James's face and his incoherent explanation.
But it was in vain. It was a designed trap that he can find no way out of.
The three of them in the room were taken away one after another. Guests in several neighboring rooms overheard the hassle, and some took out their phones and secretly took pictures.
James lowered his head with a mask so most of his face couldn't be seen. But that did not matter.
Yolanda also walked out of her room at this time and stood in the aisle. The little girl who followed behind the police made an OK gesture to her behind her back to assure her. Seeing that, she had a weak smile. And then she walked calmly into room 2009 before room service and took her pre-installed camera hidden in the TV wall.
Like a torrent, all happened hurriedly and was put to an end so peacefully.
Phoebe was still in shock, and she asked, "Is it over now?"
"Or what?"
It was already a painful waste to spend an extra minute with such a jerk. This time, it was Happer's 100,000 yuan that pushed Yolanda towards determination to finish the jerk.
"I'm going back." Yolanda said, "I need to edit the highlights of them in advance. If he dares to gag the media, I show him the solid evidence tomorrow."
Phoebe Bernard said nothing.
After returning home, Yolanda immersed herself in editing the video in her room. She had to admit that hiring that beautiful lady was a bit overpriced, but it was money well spent. She was really good at it. After just a few words, she got James all giggling and caressing her hair and stuff.
The turmoil later was all the more thrilling.
It was already 6:30 in the afternoon after editing the short videos and gif photos at a stretch. Yolanda was just relaxing her overtaxed spine when the phone suddenly beeped.
It is a consultation message from a second-hand website: [Do you still have the black onyx cuff-link?]
Yolanda was confused for a moment.
Then it sank in that she posted the picture of the black onyx cuff-link engraved with the letter j that she was going to give to James on a second-hand sales website. It happened at the beginning of her bankrupt days during which she couldn't afford to waste anything, so she decided to sell them.
At that time, her list price was 100,000 yuan, 30% off the original.
She was lucky enough to have solved the problem of this jerk today, and now the money he owed her was about to come back in another way.
Everything was so perfectly coincidental.
Yolanda immediately replied to that person: [Yes, do you want it?]
That person texted back: [Right, this style is very much to my liking. But can you take a close-up of the letter j on the back for me? There aren't any detailed pics on your page.]
Yolanda agreed and asked the prospect to wait for a few minutes.
Then she pulled out the cuff-links from the back of the drawer and put them in front of the dressing table to take two photos before sending them.
[Here. And let me know if you need anything else.]
Just after typing this line, there was a loud bam from downstairs, like something got smashed.
Yolanda was startled by the noise and went out to check before she knew it. Looking down, she caught the sight of Ms. Twelve crouching among a pile of broken glass. The next moment, she hurried to her and asked, "Are you okay Ms. Twelve?"
Aunt Twelve was picking up the pieces deftly while responding to her, "It's alright, go on with your work. It's just I tripped over a chair and lost hold of the vase in my hand."
"Let me help. Be careful not to get hurt."
After helping with cleaning up the ground and returning to the second floor, Yolanda saw Aaron standing in her room. She didn't know when he came up from the elevator in the basement.
Yolanda was in such a good mood that smiled at him brightly, "Are you looking for me, brother? Why did you get off work today so-"
Before the word "early" could be uttered, Yolanda got stuck.
The smile on her face was completely gone while her eyes laid on the thing in Aaron's hand.
The man was standing in front of the dressing table, playing with the pair of gadgets thoughtfully. Seeing Yolanda coming back, he turned to look at her.
There was a faint, subtle smile in his eyes.
"Are these what you went shopping for this afternoon?"
Yolanda turned tongue-tied.