"You know my tolerance better than anyone," Chloe Bishop countered.
Jake Tully raised a hand in surrender. "Fine, half a bottle won’t get you drunk. But does that mean Rob Stark is the one who's crazy? Before today, he probably didn't even remember who Chloe Bishop was. And he says marriage isn't a game? Marrying a literal stranger is the definition of playing games."
"Hmm..." Chloe thought for a moment. "Based on my years of observing psychiatric patients, Rob Stark doesn't seem like his brain is malfunctioning. Besides, it really felt like he made the proposal after careful consideration. Let me think... he was silent for about ten minutes."
"Ten minutes?" Jake rolled his eyes. "Well, for a CEO whose time is worth millions every minute, spending ten minutes to contemplate marriage is practically an eternity. That’s 'careful consideration' for him, I guess."
Chloe felt the same way; otherwise, she wouldn't have used the word "serious" to describe those ten minutes of silence.
"So, what about you? Did you agree?" Jake calmed down and took another sip of wine.
"I don't know if I should. From a practical standpoint, marrying him is the choice that maximizes my interests," Chloe admitted.
As her best friend for over twenty years, Jake didn't need her to say the rest. Having witnessed the suffering and torment Chloe had endured over the past five years, Jake knew that marrying Rob Stark was, logically, her best option.
"Whatever choice you make, I’ll support you," Jake said, pulling his friend into a hug. "This time, Chloe, I promise I will help you overturn your case. I will wash away every drop of dirty water they ever threw on you."
Chloe’s eyelashes fluttered for just a second before her expression returned to normal. In that brief moment, her resolve hardened. She downed the rest of her wine in one go and, with a voice laced with the scent of alcohol, said, "Jake, help me prepare two more agreements."
________________________________________
The next day, Chloe Bishop slept until the sun was high in the sky. After waking up, she got ready and took the agreements Jake Tully had rushed to draft overnight. She hailed a taxi to the famous Lakeside Villa District on the outskirts of New York.
Though she hadn't been here in five years, she had lived here for ten. As she walked down the familiar path to a specific villa, she couldn't help but marvel at how sharp her memory remained.
She rang the doorbell, and a maid quickly came to answer. The woman was a stranger and didn't recognize Chloe. She looked Chloe up and down, seemingly trying to judge her status based on her clothes.
However, Chloe was a disappointment to her. Today, she was wearing an outfit she had made herself five years ago—it was worlds away from the style of a wealthy socialite.
"Can I help you? Who are you looking for?" Judging that Chloe wasn't anyone important, the maid’s attitude turned dismissive, carrying a hint of condescension.
"David Bishop," Chloe stated. "I’m looking for David Bishop."
"You’re looking for the Lord?" The maid was surprised. "Do you have an appointment? The Lord doesn't just see anyone who wanders by." Hearing that the girl wanted to see the man of the house, the maid grew suspicious.
Chloe let out a cold laugh. Losing the patience to argue, she pushed past the maid and stepped into the villa.
The maid froze for a second before reacting with a loud shout. "Hey! How can you be so rude? You can’t just barge into someone’s home! Get out of here right now, or I’ll have the bodyguards throw you out!"
The maid’s shouting attracted the other staff members and the security detail. Almost as soon as she finished her sentence, several bodyguards in black suits blocked Chloe’s path.
"Miss, please leave," one bodyguard said. He was relatively polite, but his tone carried a clear warning.
Chloe looked at the gathered staff with an expressionless face. Not a single face was familiar. It seemed that over the last five years, the Bishop Family’s old staff had been systematically replaced. In this house, there was no longer anyone who knew that Chloe Bishop was the rightful eldest daughter of the home.
"What’s all this noise? Don't you know the Lord is in a video conference?" Amidst the standoff, a scolding female voice drifted down from the staircase.
