Chapter 5

After returning from the hospital to her rental, Sylvia washed up and lay in bed in her pajamas. She then picked up her phone and clicked into Tyler's Facebook profile. She wanted to see if there was anything inside that she could use to appeal to his interests. But just like Arnaud, he didn't post much on Facebook. Perhaps guys didn't like posting on social media like girls. There were only a few links to research projects, and some reposts from Kaplan Group's Facebook page about their anniversary. As Sylvia continued scrolling, she suddenly spotted a photo. The setting was a hospital abroad—probably of a gastroenterology department—and Tyler's caption on that post was that he hadn't gotten any sleep the entire night. It seemed like he suffered from gastritis too. Did this illness run in the Kaplan family? Sylvia still remembered that not long after she'd become Arnaud's secretary, he had a gastritis attack right at his desk. The pain had drenched his face in sweat and left him completely pale. The situation had been urgent, and fortunately, she'd always kept the stomach medicine that Margot's father had formulated in her bag. As a last-ditch effort, she'd fed the medicine to Arnaud, and to her surprise, it'd actually worked! After that, Sylvia had asked Margot's father to formulate another type of medicine based on Arnaud's health checkup results. Then, whenever he showed the slightest sign of gastritis, he would immediately take the medicine. After scrolling for a while, Sylvia didn't see anything else that was particularly useful and exited Tyler's Facebook profile. However, just as she was about to click out, she accidentally clicked on his profile picture and gave him a poke. Sylvia wanted to undo the gesture immediately, but Tyler had already texted her a question mark. Feeling embarrassed at being caught snooping through his Facebook profile, she came up with a clumsy excuse. She replied, "Nothing. I accidentally clicked on that." This time, Tyler didn't reply immediately. It wasn't until Sylvia was about to log into the company's backend to handle some tasks the following day that he finally replied. It wasn't a text. Rather, it was a five-second-long video. After Sylvia clicked into it, Arnaud's figure immediately caught her attention. Clad in a black suit jacket and white shirt, he sat in the chair, radiating elegance and an air of nobility. Tyler's video panned across the living room, seemingly showing a family gathering of the Kaplan family. A few elderly people were there too, and they were obviously wealthy and well-maintained. "The Kaplan family organized a full-blown matchmaking event! Previously, I'd used to be the target, but today, Uncle Arnaud's the target!" He sneakily sent over a voice message, and soon a photo too—which was snapped secretly. There was a young lady in the photo who was dressed in a mint green gown, looking graceful and composed. Even her smile looked elegant. Sylvia quickly asked, "Is this your future aunt?" Tyler replied, "That's hard to say. It depends on whether or not Uncle Arnaud agrees to it. I'll let you in on a secret—Uncle Arnaud still doesn't know this matchmaking event was made for him. Well, well. "Why are the Kaplan men averse to marriage? This young lady is stunning. If I were a man, I'd say yes right away," Sylvia muttered as she tapped on the company laptop. She was about to get some work done in advance so she'd have time to see Tyler the next day. However, a text soon popped up on her screen. It was from Arnaud "Can you work overtime?" Huh? Sylvia glanced at the time. It was already 9:00 pm! Besides, why was he asking her to work overtime when he was at a matchmaking event? Nevertheless, she quickly replied, "Sure, Mr. Kaplan. Please provide the instructions." Overtime pay at Kaplan Group was calculated by time. For every hour, she'd get paid 50% of her regular daily wage, and anything under an hour would count as an hour. Who would say no to working overtime? Soon, Arnaud's call came. "I'll ask my driver to pick you up. Get dressed." Sylvia was confused. "We're not going to the company?" "No." "Then just send me the location. I can take a cab there myself." After all, she felt a little overwhelmed to be picked up by the CEO's driver. "It isn't safe," Arnaud simply told her. At that, Sylvia fell silent. She wanted to tell him that she was penniless, and anyone who tried to rob her would burst into tears. However, Arnaud hung up right after giving his instructions, leaving her with no chance to respond. As Sylvia pursed her lips, she crawled out of bed and put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. If she wasn't needed at the company, she could wear something comfortable. Still, she had no idea what Arnaud wanted. Right after getting dressed, Sylvia started the timer on the company's backend app. Not before long, it was personally approved by Arnaud's account. She guessed the overtime work was probably a social event or something related to a project. … Within 15 minutes, the driver arrived. After getting into the car, Sylvia gazed at the passing scenery that grew increasingly bustling. She finally couldn't help but ask, "Where are we going?" It seemed like they were heading toward a wealthy district in Portsham. "The Kaplan residence," the driver replied. "What?" … Sylvia had never been anywhere this lavish. Even the CEOs' houses she saw in TV dramas weren't even this extravagant. The car soon drove into the residence and headed straight for the main lobby. Sylvia glanced out of the window and couldn't help taking a few photos with her phone. She was thinking of showing the photos to Gregory once he recovered. That way, he could also broaden his horizon. "Ms. Reid, we're here," the driver gently reminded her. Sylvia quickly thanked him, then opened the door and got out. At once, she spotted Arnaud standing at the entrance. He was still wearing the suit from the video, which particularly accentuated his tall frame. There was also a cigarette dangling between his fingers. As he parted his lips, the smoke obscured his half-closed eyes. Without a doubt, Arnaud's face was flawless. If one were to nitpick, it would be that he exuded a cold presence. His expression was always devoid of emotion, and he never showed warmth to anyone. Having spotted her target, Sylvia quickly made her way to him. However, as she got closer, she discovered that there were two people standing by his side. They were dressed to the nines and seemed to be in their 40s or even younger. "Mr…" Sylvia was about to greet him when Arnaud cut her off. He tugged at her then pulled her close and lowered his gaze to snuff out the cigarette he was holding. He then announced, "I have a girlfriend. No need to set me up with other people anymore." G-Girlfriend? Who was he talking about? Who was Arnaud's girlfriend? "Arnaud, whose daughter is this?" Liam Kaplan tactfully asked, perhaps sensing nothing from the high society of Sylvia. "Liam, I'll handle my matters myself." Sylvia's shock heightened. Liam? Liam Kaplan? That meant the couple standing in front of her were Tyler's parents? Sure enough, Sylvia shifted her gaze and spotted Tyler standing not too far away! Her heart sank. Was Arnaud trying to kill her?