Chapter 4 The Video

The engagement ceremony hit a snag with an hour delay, tension palpable in the air.

Verena caught snippets of William's frantic search for Darren, the very person standing right behind her.

She said to the man behind her, "I'll make my exit first. Find your way out when you can."

With Verena gone, Darren stood alone, his eyes betraying a hint of malice as he looked at the closed door.

He couldn't forget his expulsion from Fledo back then, nor could he forget how his mother died.

He was the unwanted child, scorned by all. The Briggs and Fowler families bore responsibility for his misery, and he vowed to make them pay.

And his father sexually assaulted his mother when intoxicated. The most innocent was her.

His mother's passing and his expulsion from Fledo were also influenced by the Fowler family. He would thus not be kind to the members of the Briggs and the Fowler families.

Despite both Eric and Verena resisting the engagement, Darren was hell-bent on seeing it through.

Stepping out, Darren masked his hatred, projecting a cool demeanor.

William was afraid to inquire as to Darren's whereabouts.

Ignoring William's attempts at conversation, Darren made his way to the hall where the engagement ceremony was already underway.

Onstage, the fiance and fiancee appeared to harbor animosity, especially Eric, who wore a sour expression.

Verena, however, seemed resigned, her head bowed as if waiting for something.

Darren sensed something amiss. He knew Verena wasn't keen on getting engaged to Eric, yet she stood there passively. Was she accepting her fate?

Despite their brief acquaintance, he sensed there was more to her than met the eye.

The previous night's advance could have been Verena's plan all along.

Thinking of this, Darren made a face. Twiddling the beads on his wrist, he fixed his sharp gaze on Verena.

As if sensing his gaze, Verena met his gaze, her lips curving into a slight smile.

Suddenly, the large screen behind them lit up!

"Eric... It feels so good, Eric..."

A coquettish voice filled the air, accompanying a provocative scene featuring Eric and Shirley in an intimate embrace.

The man in the video seemed ignorant and sped up his movements while saying some vulgar words, while the woman in the video looked at the camera.

The video, though brief, left no room for doubt.

After the video ended, the room exploded with shocked reactions. "Can you believe it? Eric's already got a side piece! Poor Verena must be devastated!"

"Who's this woman? She must know Eric's about to get engaged, right?"

"Hey, did you catch that? Eric seemed a bit lacking, if you know what I mean!"

The crowd buzzed with noise as Eric, furious, shouted, "Enough! Who's responsible for this?"

William, equally shocked by what he had seen, glanced at the man beside him.

"Does this not make you feel ashamed?" Darren coldly spat out.

William stood up abruptly. "Cut the video! Now!"

The footage went dark, but the tension in the hall lingered. The faces of both the Briggs and the Fowler families turned grim.

Verena's eyes welled with tears. "Eric, how could you?"

Eric vented his pent-up frustration. "Who'd want to get engaged to someone as plain as you? I love Shirley. You don't measure up to her!"

"If you're so repulsed by me, why not call off the engagement now?" Verena said.

"Shut up!" William intervened with a slap to Eric's face. "I don't care who you're infatuated with. The engagement proceeds today!"

"Dad!" Eric seethed as chaos ensued.

Shirley walked up to Eric when she saw him get slapped. "Mr. Briggs, please don't hold Eric responsible. I'm to blame. I love him excessively."

William's fury intensified. He kicked Shirley away. "Get lost!"

Shirley stumbled and collapsed.

Eric, consumed with worry, rushed to her side. "Shirley! Shirley!"

"Call an ambulance quickly!" he said as he lifted Shirley and left the party hall.

With Eric gone, the engagement was in shambles.

William scrambled to salvage the situation, apologizing to the guests and the Fowler family, but he didn't spare a word for Verena, left humiliated on stage.

Verena silently retreated backstage. As she shed her gown, she was confronted by a chilling voice.

"You orchestrated this. You wanted to sabotage Eric!"

Verena turned, bewildered. "Why would I do that?"

"You had a hand in the video, didn't you?"

"Obviously not. Did you fail to notice the video's angle? It is clear that the woman in it took it."

Verena was unrelated to the video. Shirley was the one who did it.

Shirley naturally couldn't watch Eric get engaged to someone else since she wanted to marry into a wealthy family-even if it meant damaging her own image in the process.

But Verena was the one who got Shirley to do this; Shirley chose to play the video.

"You think this will break off the engagement?" Darren said.

Verena lowered her eyes. She was hopeful, but perhaps too naive.

She raised her head once more, her lips curled. Her eyes held the same lure as a fox's.

It was easy to ignore her normal face when she fixed someone with her gaze.

"You must have noticed. Your nephew clearly doesn't fancy me. Why not help me call this off?"

"Why should I?"

"I'll owe you a favor. Anytime you need help, I'll be there."

Darren scoffed. "What could you offer? Just prepare to marry my damn nephew!"

"I just want out of this engagement. If you won't help, are you prepared for the truth to come out about last night?"

"Think anyone will believe you? Your looks would scare anyone off!"

Verena touched her face. "Yeah, I'm not exactly a beauty. But you didn't seem to mind last night."

"So, that was your plan!"

This woman showed a great deal of guts. She didn't spend the night with him at random. She had been after him for a while.

Verena didn't deny it. "Does it matter? You enjoyed it. That's all that counts!"

Darren couldn't argue with that.