Reluctantly, Carlos told Evelyn, "The bidding was a blessing in disguise, though your computer was hacked last time. The game hasn't been released on the market yet, but it's caught some buzz. The Theo Group likes it very much. Plus, it's a big game developed by the game company under our ZL Group. It has a strong background. If people are smart, then they're definitely going to cooperate with us."
'Dad's just basically saying that we won the bidding, ' Evelyn thought to herself. After a short pause, she offered, "How about I handle everything that has to do with the game afterwards?"
"Matthew will take the responsibility. I don't want you to get too tired."
"I'm not. Matthew should focus on school."
However, Carlos didn't agree. He stood up and began, "This is going to be complicated, you know. It's a long-term cooperation between two companies. You can deal with the regular stuff. Hey, aren't you having your birthday party tomorrow? Why don't you just prepare for that?"
"All right." Evelyn didn't push him. She knew her father well. If he didn't want her to take over, she would be unable to change his mind.
After Carlos left, Evelyn heaved a sigh of relief.
She placed an internal call. It was for Nadia.
"Miss Huo." Nadia soon came over.
Evelyn took the vase that held the Bulgarian roses that Sheffield had given her. The roses looked lovely as ever. In order to preserve the roses longer, she told Nadia, "Could you make them into dry flowers before sending them over to my apartment?"
"Yes, Miss Huo!" As Nadia took the vase, she made sure she was careful enough to not break it. She knew how important the flowers were to Evelyn.
Evelyn sat back in her chair and took out her phone. She was silent for a long time. Then she sent a text message to Sheffield, saying, "The man in my apartment that day was Napier Tao. I told you before that one of my best friends died young. She was his girlfriend." Evelyn decided to tell Sheffield through text as opposed to telling him face to face which would just embarrass her.
She had been thinking about it for several days. She had planned to tell Sheffield everything last night, but she was so tired last night that she immediately fell asleep.
Maybe Sheffield was busy since he didn't reply to her message right away.
Evelyn sank into her thoughts. "I always knew he hated me for his girlfriend's death, but I just didn't expect that he'd treat me that way. He'd never behaved like that before…" That was what Sheffield had seen. Napier was trying to get her to sleep with him and in response, she hurt him since he wouldn't take no for an answer.
Napier had to let go of her. Evelyn then called Tayson to come in. As soon as Tayson arrived, he seemed confused. He called for an ambulance upon seeing all the blood on Napier.
Evelyn sent several messages to Sheffield one after another. They were quite long. "His girlfriend had advanced gastric cancer, but because of me, she…" She hesitated for a while before continuing to write the message. "…she passed away sooner than we had expected."
When Napier came to her apartment, she had let him in as she happened to be working from home that day, and she didn't think much of Napier suddenly visiting her.
Napier showed up in rags and reeked. It seemed he hadn't taken a shower in many days. As he paced in her apartment, he left a smell. His shoes were dirty and his hands grimy. Trying to suppress the feeling of nausea, Evelyn poured a glass of water and handed it to him. "Feel free to sit down," she offered.
As he sat down on the couch, he said, "Wow, this place looks amazing. I live in a small hut in the graveyard while you live so comfortably. I'm guessing you have fun around here, huh? When you get bored, you probably call your bodyguard over and have a little fun with him. You can have fun with me anytime, Evelyn Huo. What do you think?"
Evelyn remained calm though she was being spoken to like this. In a flat tone, she said, "I can buy you an apartment in the city and give you a job…"
"I don't need it!" Napier cut her off.
Evelyn didn't respond.
Reclining on the couch, he eyed her from head to toe. "Melody's been gone for more than three years."
"Yeah," Evelyn replied simply.
"I haven't been with anyone in those three years."
"I'll ask Tayson to set you up with a woman." Evelyn sat on the couch, staring out the window.
He suddenly sat up straight, asking, "Are you telling me that you'll give me anything I want?"
"Yes, for now." She figured she could cut him off when he finally got back on his feet.
With a smile, he rose and walked past the coffee table to stand beside Evelyn. Gazing at her, he asked, "What if I want you?"
With the same stony expression, Evelyn said, "Mr. Tao, you need to know why I'm helping you now. If it weren't for Melody, I wouldn't even let you in here."
He reached out his hand to lift her chin. Evelyn was forced to look at him. "Let go of me!" she protested.
"Evelyn Huo, I've known you for a long time. You've been always so aloof. Come on. Stop pretending! Don't think that I'm some oblivious prick who doesn't know how people like you behave in private. I know for a fact that you rich people like playing around. You're almost 30, so it's normal for you to take a liking to younger guys. So, you don't have to pretend in front of me. You have such a great body which just makes me want to…"
"Napier Tao!" Evelyn shook off his hand, stood up, and pulled herself away from him. "Please leave."
Napier snorted, "What? Are you angry now? I said, stop pretending! Is it because I haven't showered? Is that why you refuse to sleep with me?" He took a step forward and grabbed her wrist.
This mere touch already excited him. Evelyn was indeed beautiful. It was difficult to resist her. He pulled her toward him and pressed her against the couch.
Evelyn tried to wrestle herself free, but to no avail. She cried out, "Tayson! Mmmph…" He covered her mouth with his hand.
Napier leaned toward her to kiss her on the lips. Evelyn dodged which excited him even more. He tried to tear her clothes but only managed to rip off one button.
Unable to cry for help, Evelyn had to think of a way to get herself out of the situation. Upon seeing the mug on the table, she grabbed it and smashed it against his head. Then she did it again.
"Aaargh! You bitch!" Crying out in pain, he finally rolled down and away from Evelyn.
Evelyn hit him pretty hard that blood was gushing out of his head.
As soon as Evelyn was free, she went for the trash can and tried to vomit, but nothing came out. She then ran to the door to get Tayson inside.
After that, Sheffield arrived.
She hadn't gone to the hospital to visit Napier since the incident. She didn't want to see him anymore. She didn't care anymore whether he died or not.
