Chapter 4 You Are Our Family

Armani didn't care about what had happened the night before. The night had passed, ad she was already over it. She was, after all, still the noble and proud Miss Armani Xu from Xu Group.

She took a quick shower and wrapped herself up in a bath robe. Undistracted, she turned on her laptop to check her mails.

Before she could do that, her phone rang.

"Ugh." She let out a sound of disgust looking at the name on the screen. It was Ben.

Although she was in no mood to entertain him, she wanted to hear what more he had to say. She swiped up the screen and started recording the call.

"Honey! Why haven't you been answering the phone? Can we talk?"

Ben's voice came from the other end of the line.

There was a time when Armani could talk to him for the whole day. The two of them used to run their own businesses and couldn't meet for weeks. All they had was their phone conversations.

He was a very funny guy and the way with which he spoke on the phone always lifted her spirits.

Whenever she was confused about something, she would ask Ben what to do.

But all of this had passed. She no longer found his voice pleasant. All his talk seemed to her like the hypocritical banter of a cheater.

"We have nothing to talk about," Armani said flatly.

Not only had Ben cheated on her, but also humiliated her publicly by saying she was the one who had ruined his relationship with Jessie.

Even though she was hurt, she thought the entire thing was utterly ridiculous. It was Ben who had proposed to her and promised to take care of her in front of her father. And then he went on to cheat on her!

"Armani, I know it's my fault. No matter what happens, you know you are the only one I love. What happened with me and Jessie was just an accident. I will make it up to her. I will give her whatever she wants to leave us alone. Please don't leave me, Armani," Ben said in a tired, begging voice.

Armani wanted to be indifferent, but couldn't. She had spent so much time loving him. Being betrayed by him hurt her like nothing else.

But people can't always be tied up by a relationship. After all, reality isn't a play, and love isn't its only theme.

Armani swallowed the lump in her throat and let out a small sigh. "Ben, we're over. I'd suggest you face the mess you have created instead of escaping it. Take some responsibility."

It didn't matter if Ben wanted to make amends. He had to be held accountable for what he had done with Jessie. Besides, Jessie was Armani's step sister, so she was a part of her family. This was why she had not been treated harshly. If it was someone else, her reputation would already have gone to the dogs.

Armani, however, respected herself enough to not be with a man who had cheated on her. For her, there was no scope of disrespect and betrayal in a relationship.

She hung up the phone and stared at the black of the screen for a while.

The month of May had begun. She'd been looking forward to spending the 20th with Ben, but that clearly wasn't going to happen anymore...

A notification popped up on her computer, distracting her from her thoughts. It was a message from her assistant, Mary Song.

"Armani! You are more and more amazing. Your news is even on the official website of QM City! What you said yesterday in the airport was recorded and posted online. Now everyone is saying your capability is no less than your father's!"

Mary had added three smiley faces and also attached links to various websites.

Armani skimmed through some articles. As an entrepreneur, she thought she shouldn't have acted arrogantly in front of the media. But in the spur of the moment, she ended up speaking some harsh words.

Turned out people had paid more attention to her worth than her words. They accepted her attitude because of her accomplishments. She was even featured in a couple books because of her excellence as a CEO in the past.

"With the media's help, you can make an appearance next week as the official CEO of the Xu Group!" wrote Mary.

Armani could imagine Mary's enthusiasm. But she herself wasn't that optimistic. Public opinion could take her to the skies but also push her into the abyss. She was just as likely to be doomed.

As she was typing her reply to Mary, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," she said, shutting down her laptop.

Jessie poked her head into the room, wearing a sweet smile. "Sis, we haven't gone shopping together in such a long time. Let's go! I saw new collections at the mall!"

Armani recalled how she used to take her sister shopping and prepare for her birthday parties. There had been no negative feelings between the two, until...

She could never have imagined that Jessie would hook up with Ben in her absence. Didn't she know they were engaged? Why would she do that to her own sister?

Armani knew why Jessie wanted to go shopping with her. She must have read the news and found out that the public was in Armani's favor. All she wanted was to portray their sisterhood to the world so they would be over the matter at hand.

"I'm busy," said Armani flatly.

Jessie made a sad face and batted her beautiful eyes. "I know I was wrong, but I really do love Ben. Don't you love me the most? Why don't you want us to be together?"

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she spoke. She entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed, wiping her tears. "When our father died, you promised you would always take care of me. I'm your sister! You have so many suitors. Ben doesn't love you so why are you holding on to him?"

"What's going on?" Edith's voice suddenly came from the door. Edith was Armani's step mother.

Armani didn't say anything, instead looked at Jessie in disbelief. Was she hearing herself?

Jessie turned to her mother. "Mom, I know it's all my fault. But no matter how much I beg her, she wouldn't forgive me. I think she has no love for me. I should just leave this family. I'm sorry, sister. I don't deserve to be a member of our family anymore."

Jessie got up and sprinted toward the door, but Edith stopped her. She then came in and held Armani's hand. With red eyes, she spoke, "Armani, remind yourself how I treated you after I married your father. After he passed away, I gave you most of his shares. Jessie and I together don't have that many shares! Did we ever fight with you for anything? We didn't, because we are a family. You are our family, but do you think of us as your family? How can you force your sister away from Ben like this?"