From Hiding To Shining: The Billionaires' Surprising Beloved

"What did you say? I'm going to Douburgh and getting engaged to a strange man? No way!"

"Annabel, I'm not giving you the choice to refuse. This is settled. You know me. I can judge people accurately. Rupert Benton became the CEO of Benton Group when he was only twenty-one years old. He's a man of action and resourcefulness. Everyone in the business world respects him. He won't let you down."

Annabel Hewitt bit her lower lip reluctantly.

Her grandfather was the one who raised her. Naturally, she didn't want to disappoint him. But she didn't want to get married this way.

"Okay, Grandpa, I'll go to Douburgh. But I have a few requirements. I don't want the Benton family to know our family's condition. You said that Rupert is excellent, right? If I don't fall in love with him within three months, the engagement will be canceled, and you can't interfere with my marriage in the future."

Leonard Hewitt, Annabel's grandfather, thought for a while. Then he said, "It's a deal then."

Two days later, a tall and handsome man stood at the exit of the train station in Douburgh.

Obviously, he was waiting for someone.

He was so attractive that the passers-by couldn't help looking at him. If there were no bodyguards beside him, many people would have already come over and asked for his phone number.

"Rupert, it's so hot. Why did Grandpa ask you to pick up that bumpkin? What's his intention of doing this?" Cathy Benton, Rupert's cousin, complained. "Will Grandpa let her marry you?"

Rupert didn't say anything. But judging from his expression, he was obviously not happy.

At this moment, a woman in a white T-shirt and jeans walked out of the train station, dragging a suitcase.

She had a delicate face, and her slightly curly hair was casually scattered behind. She had a high nose and cherry lips. Her face was bear, but she looked very beautiful.

When Cathy looked at the woman's face, there was a hint of jealousy in her eyes. But when she saw that the woman's clothes were not from famous bands, she snorted disdainfully.

"I can't believe there are still people who wear such outdated clothes nowadays."

But Rupert just ignored Cathy. He looked at the woman's photo on his phone and approached her. "Annabel Hewitt?"

At the sight of the man, Annabel guessed he was Rupert Benton, the man she was going to get engaged to.

Cathy's eyes opened wide. She asked incredulously, "You are Annabel? Gosh! Grandpa has no taste at all. I can't believe he chose someone like you to marry my cousin. Why did you have to come here by train? You should have told us that you are too poor to afford a plane ticket, so we could have bought one for you. Or, isn't there an airport in the countryside?"

Annabel pouted. "There's no need. I don't like taking the plane."

Indeed, there was no airport where she came from. But Leonard booked the entire train to Douburgh just for her. These arrogant people had no idea how luxurious her trip going here was. The train was worth one hundred million dollars. It was way more expensive than luxury cars and private planes.

Annabel didn't want to waste time talking them, so she looked at Rupert and asked, "Shall we go to your house first?"

Rupert looked closely into her beautiful eyes and was stunned for a moment. Under her arched eyebrows were a pair of bright and pretty eyes that could impress people at first sight.

His eyes darkened, and he lowered his gaze.

"Annabel, it's our grandfathers who settled the deal, not me. I hope you understand that even if I take you to my home, it doesn't mean that I accept the arrangement."

Annabel was about to say something when Cathy suddenly laughed smugly. "That's right. So I advise you not to covet my cousin. You don't deserve to be his fiancee and marry into the Benton family. So you'd better give up now. Stop dreaming!"

"Cathy, that's enough." Rupert turned to Annabel with a frown. "Get in the car. Let's go home first."

Annabel nodded casually. Anyway, she didn't want to marry into the Benton family. She followed Rupert into the car.

The scenery outside the window was unfamiliar to Annabel. They drove for a while before they finally stopped in front of a luxurious villa. Annabel's calm expression remained unchanged all the way here.

This made Cathy very disappointed. She had been expecting that Annabel would make a fool of herself in public.

"You haven't seen such a huge villa, right? Well, cherish your time here. You won't have this kind of chance again..."

Before Cathy could finish her words, Annabel interrupted, "Where will I stay?"

Cathy was irritated by her calm attitude. "Annabel, what do you think this place is? This is not a hotel."

Rupert also felt strange, but he didn't say anything. He turned to Cathy and said, "Take her to the guest room first. I need to go back to the company to deal with something."

"But Rupert..." Cathy stomped her feet, but she could only watch his receding back.

Annabel pursed her lips. "Are you going to take me to my room? If not, I'll go find your cousin."

"You..." Cathy was unwilling, but she had no choice. She took Annabel upstairs and pointed at a room. "You can stay there. But remember that you will only stay here temporarily. After Rupert deals with this ridiculous engagement, you will be driven out..." Cathy was not able to finish her words because Annabel walked into the room without saying anything and closed the door.

A loud bang sounded, and the closed door almost broke Cathy's nose.

Cathy was so angry that she wanted to rush in and tear that bumpkin apart. But she had to control herself.

She looked at the door and smiled. A gleam flashed through her eye.

Actually, the room she showed Annabel was not a guest room but Rupert's bedroom. What Rupert hated the most was someone touching his things. Cathy thought he would definitely be furious when he came back and found Annabel in his room. Then he would drive Annabel away.

When Annabel entered the bathroom and saw it was full of men's products, she didn't think much. She only thought the Benton family did it to embarrass her. She didn't realize it was Rupert's room.

"What an incredible family," she muttered sarcastically.

But anyway, she only had to put up with this family for three months. If she didn't develop feelings for Rupert during this period, she wouldn't need to get engaged to him. Then she could leave.

Annabel took a shower and ate the dinner brought in by the servant. She had an exhausting day, so she fell asleep the moment her back touched the bed.

It was already twelve midnight when Rupert returned home from a business dinner. Actually, he didn't want to go home, knowing that there was a strange woman in their house.

This afternoon, it was his grandfather, Bruce Benton, who asked him to pick up Annabel. Of course, he couldn't refuse. But he had not yet accepted this woman.

Although Annabel was not as noisy as the countrywoman in his mind, it was not reason enough for him to accept her. He still had no feelings for her at all.

Rupert thought that when he made it clear to Bruce, their engagement would be canceled sooner or later.

After returning to his room, Rupert immediately took a shower and walked to his bed to sleep.

Perhaps because he drank too much tonight, he didn't notice a woman in his bed until he lay down.

Rupert was stunned for a moment. The room was dark, so he couldn't see the woman's face clearly. Before he could think straight, she rolled over, hugged him, and muttered, "Teddy, don't be naughty. You should sleep now."

He froze.

This woman had a very familiar scent, exactly the same as the woman in his memory.

Rupert had been looking for that woman for ten years, but he hadn't found her. How could she be in his bed now? So he thought he must be drunk.

Although the alcohol hit his brain, he didn't make a move. He just let the woman hug him, and he soon fell asleep too.

Tonight, Rupert didn't suffer from insomnia like usual. On the contrary, he had a good sleep.

The next day, Cathy stood at the door of Rupert's bedroom.

She went to bed early last night, expecting good news in the morning. But when she woke up, she didn't hear from the servants that Annabel was kicked out of Rupert's room.

What happened? Could it be that Rupert didn't come home last night? But his car was in the garage. There was no doubt he was home.

How could he sleep with Annabel in the same bed? They only met yesterday.

Cathy couldn't help knocking on the door. "Rupert, breakfast is ready. Don't you have an early meeting today? Get up now."

Rupert and Annabel, who were still sleeping soundly in the room, were awakened by the noise. Annabel felt she was in a warm embrace.

As soon as she opened her eyes and met Rupert's gaze, she was so startled that her sleepiness vanished at once. She sat up on the bed and asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

Rupert's eyes darkened.

"I should be the one asking that question. What are you doing in my room?" Rupert looked at her and sneered. "You came to my room and slept in my bed. I must say you are really something."

Annabel looked at him in confusion. What did he just say? She slept in his bed?

Was everyone in the Benton family crazy?

But she suddenly remembered the men's products she saw in the bathroom yesterday. It was only then that she realized she was indeed in Rupert's room. Cathy had tricked her.

Annabel got off the bed and said coldly, "First, let me make it clear to you that I didn't mean to sleep in your bed. It was Cathy who took me here yesterday, saying this was my room. I'm not interested in you at all. And don't forget that it was you who asked Cathy to take me to my room."

Rupert's brows furrowed even tightly. "What? Are you suspecting me of asking Cathy to bring you here?"

Annabel snorted coldly and retorted, "Not impossible. I'm sure I was already asleep last night when you came back. Didn't you realize that someone was in your bed? And why did you hold me in your arms the whole night? Can I think that you have a crush on me?"

As soon as Annabel said those words, a trace of embarrassment clouded Rupert's face. How could he deny that he held her in his arms the entire night?

And just like yesterday, he was stunned when he met her eyes.

And the first time he looked into her eyes yesterday, he found that they were beautiful and resembled that woman's eyes.

Upon seeing Rupert's reaction, Annabel smiled.

She thought of teasing him. "Hey, why are you staring at me like that? Are you obsessed with me now?"

It was only then that Rupert came back to his senses. His face darkened even more. He ordered coldly, "Get out! And don't come into this room ever again."

Annabel left his room without hesitation, taking her luggage with her.

They had only met yesterday, but they already didn't like each other.

Cathy, who was still standing at the door, was surprised to see Annabel come out.

And she was even more surprised when Annabel stopped in front of her, smiled, and said, "Good morning! As you wish, your cousin slept with me the entire night, holding me in his arms. We got along pretty well."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Cathy's face turned livid with anger. She didn't believe Annabel's words at all.

For her, there was no way Rupert would like Annabel, let alone hold her in his arms the whole night.

But no matter how much she denied it, the fact that Annabel and Rupert had slept together the entire night was plain to see.

Annabel walked away with a fake smile.

Cathy lost it. "You bumpkin! Stop right there. I'm not done talking. Let me tell you, Rupert won't marry you!"

Just then, Rupert walked out of the room.

"Ermm... Rupert..." Cathy stuttered, moving back in fear.

Rupert's face darkened. It was obvious that he was angry, so Cathy didn't dare to say anything more.

Annabel asked a maid to take her to her room. She unpacked her things and then went downstairs for breakfast.

Erica, Cathy, and Rupert were already seated at the dining table.

Erica began to criticize her as soon as Annabel sat down. "Weren't you taught proper etiquette? Not only did you wake up so late, but you also didn't bother preparing breakfast. Do you think you're already the hostess here?"

Taking a glance at Erica, Annabel said flatly, "I'm not a servant either."

She would never make breakfast for this family.

Although Rupert didn't say anything as the two argued, there was no denying that he didn't like Annabel either.

The atmosphere in the dining room was tense. They ate in silence for most of the time. After breakfast, Erica held out a bank card to Annabel.

"This card is loaded with about five thousand dollars. Buy yourself some decent clothes before going to the company. Remember to behave well. You mustn't cause any trouble for Rupert."

To develop the relationship between the two, Bruce proposed that Annabel work in the company as Rupert's secretary. Leonard Hewitt, Annabel's grandfather, agreed to the arrangement. She didn't refuse. After all, it was only temporary.

Her new employment was no biggie for her, but the bank card was! It was obvious that Erica looked down on her. "Thanks, but no thanks," Annabel said in a sarcastic manner.

There was nothing wrong with her clothes, as far as she was concerned. They were specially made for her. That was why the Bentons thought they were not designer clothes. Without waiting for Erica or anyone else to retort, she went upstairs to get ready for work.

She had just gotten into her room when her phone buzzed. It was a bank notification. The sum of fifty million dollars had been transferred into her account.

A text message from Leonard came through.

"Dear, I hope they are treating you well over there. I transferred some money to your account. Buy whatever you want. And don't forget to inform me if anyone bullies you. I love you."

Annabel smiled and texted back, "Grandpa, I'm not happy here. They are bullying me. It's not funny at all."

Leonard replied almost immediately, "Glad to hear that. Anyway, I'm going fishing. Talk to you later."

Annabel couldn't believe her eyes.

Sighing, she changed into a professional suit and walked out of the house. The driver opened the door for her. As soon as she got into the car, she found that Rupert was also inside.

"Didn't you say that you had no interest in me? Why did you agree to work as my secretary then?" His charming voice had a hint of irony in it. There was also a smirk at the corners of his lips.

"Don't get any ridiculous ideas just because I agreed. I promised my grandpa to stay with you for three months. Once the timeline expires, we will cancel the marriage," Annabel responded, glancing at him indifferently.

"Huh?" Rupert sneered. "Aren't you worried that you will fall in love with me in the next three months? I guess you'll be reluctant to leave then."

Annabel was amused by his words.

"Funny you, Rupert. You clearly have a swollen head. For your information, I will never fall for you. Get down from your high horse."

Although Annabel knew that Rupert was good-looking, that didn't matter to her. He had the repulsive character that she hated in men.

Rupert pulled a long face at her words.

She would never fall for him?

"We will see about that, Annabel. Don't ever forget what you said just now!"

In Rupert's opinion, Annabel was just playing hard to get. Why did she come to his home if she didn't feel a thing for him or wanted to be his wife?

Annabel smiled and said, "Okay, I'll keep it in mind. Don't worry. In three months, we will go our separate ways. By the way, we have to pretend not to know each other at the company. I don't want unnecessary drama there."

Rupert kept in silent.

Unbeknown to Annabel, she couldn't avoid drama at work. The news about Rupert's engagement had already spread like wildfire. People also knew that his fiancee was from the countryside.

The employees in Benton Group were in a heated discussion.

"Guys, have you heard the latest? Mr. Benton's fiancee will work here. She will be his secretary!"

"Oh my! I heard she's ugly. And that she's from the countryside. Since she's poor, she must have attended a substandard college. Can she even understand the documents?"

"Ha-ha! You can say that again. The way I see it, she won't be able to operate a computer."

The words of the gossipers trailed off as soon as Rupert walked in with Annabel. Everyone's jaw dropped when they saw them.