Sylvia didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.

"Uncle Arnaud? I... Ms. Reid and I were just..."

Sylvia followed Tyler's gaze and saw Arnaud. His brows were drawn tight, and his body was faintly trembling from the pain. 

But he wasn't looking at her. Rather, his eyes were locked on the medicine in Tyler's hand.

He knew that medicine. It was the same one Sylvia had told him she didn't have just a minute ago.

At that moment, time seemed to freeze.

A few seconds later, Arnaud turned and walked away. Even with the stabbing pain in his stomach, his steps didn't falter.

Tyler realized what was happening and called after him a few times, "Uncle Arnaud! Uncle Arnaud, wait up!"

Sylvia knew she was in trouble, but upon thinking of the contract with the Kaplan family and Gregory still lying in the hospital bed, she could only focus on the bigger goal. 

She called out, "Mr. Tyler

Arnaud's kiss was scorching and forceful. His tongue broke past Sylvia's teeth and claimed her mouth like a punishment. 

It wasn't the first time their lips had touched, but the last time had been when he was drunk.

Sylvia's mind went blank, and her whole body stiffened.

This wasn't right. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

After hearing what she'd just said, shouldn't he have been relieved that no one was chasing him or scheming against him anymore? After all, he had always resisted her pursuit and attempts to get close to him.

This kiss nearly stole all the air from Sylva's lungs.

Fortunately, Arnaud was in too much pain from his stomach. Soon, his head slumped and landed directly on her shoulder. 

He hoarsely said, "I told you that I'll take responsibility for you." He could give her a title.

But Sylvia immediately shook her head, her voice heavy with the insecurity of som

Sylvia's mind went blank. How could she have guessed that tonight's "overtime" meant pretending to be her boss' girlfriend?

Just as Tyler was about to turn and leave, she panicked and hurriedly pulled out her phone to text him.

"I'm not Arnaud's girlfriend!

"I swear I'm not!"

But it looked like his phone was on silent. No alert sounded, and he didn't check it either.

Arnaud then tossed out a few words, then grabbed Sylvia's wrist and pulled her back into the car.

Crap. Now, she was actually nervous.

Just the thought of that insane penalty fee in the contract made her voice stiff. "Mr. Kaplan, why didn't you give me a heads-up before asking me to come and pretend to be your girlfriend?"

For once, his secretary was "complaining" to him. Arnaud's brows furrowed tightly. "I asked if you wanted to work overtime."

"But you didn't tell me the task! What if someone misunderstands?"

That piqued Arnaud's interest. He said, "It's all Kaplans at the family dinner. Who are you worried will misunderstand?"

"Obviously, it's—" 

That was a close call. She'd nearly blurted out Tyler's name.

Sylvia quickly lowered her head and said, "The older relatives, of course."

"You've just met them. None of them outrank me."

Right. He was considered as one of the family elders too.

Sylvia didn't know what else to say to that. She just silently wished the overtime would end soon so she could call Tyler and explain things to him.

Then, at the next second, her phone dinged with a WhatsApp notification.

Tyler had replied!

But just as she was about to open the message, Arnaud's cool voice cut in, "When did you have Tyler's contact?"

"I, uh... Mr. Tyler helped me with something earlier, so I saved his number."

Luckily, Arnaud didn't seem to care too much. He simply cleared his throat, lowered the divider between the front and back seats, and asked, "Does it still hurt?"

It took Sylvia a moment to realize what he meant, and her face instantly burned. "No, it doesn't."

"I can take you to the hospital."

Sylvia vigorously shook her head. "No, really, it's fine!"

At that, Arnaud's frown deepened. He fixed his dark eyes on her, as if trying to figure out whether she thought he was lousy in bed, or if she was just playing hard to get. After all, she'd used to seize every chance to be alone with him.

But that was never where his mind went. If Sylvia hadn't been such a capable secretary—sharp, efficient, and never once messing up—he might have already considered firing her for being too forward.

And now, just one night later... her attitude had flipped.

"Mr. Kaplan, it's already late. Isn't it time to wrap up this overtime?" Sylvia was desperate to get home and explain everything to Tyler.

"Mm, it looks like we're staying late again after work tomorrow."

She froze. "Am I pretending to be your girlfriend again?"

"There's a family banquet at the Kaplan residence tomorrow."

"But with the way I look next to you, anyone can tell I'm a fake!" Sylvia protested.

"I'll pay you ten times your salary," Arnaud simply replied.

Instantly, Sylvia's attitude flipped. "Well, in that case, I'll put on some makeup tomorrow and try to look nicer."

…
By the time Sylvia arrived at her rental, she was too anxious to even check Tyler's reply. She just dialed him directly. 

"Your uncle just didn't want to go on a blind date, so he dragged me over. I had no idea about this beforehand!"

On the other end, Tyler's laugh was light and clear. "I figured! But I was a little curious earlier. Why did he pick you to act as his girlfriend? You two don't exactly... look like a match."

"It's probably because I'm the only woman around him." After all, she had been working by his side for half a year, and honestly, there wasn't another woman close to Arnaud.

Tyler seemed to give this some thought. Then, he helplessly said, "That might actually be true."

After confirming that he wasn't overthinking things, Sylvia finally relaxed.

Then, Tyler asked, "So, you'll be at the banquet tomorrow too?"

"Yeah, Mr. Arnaud just told me about it."

He chuckled. "Come to the residence with him early tomorrow after work. While they're busy talking business, I'll sneak you away and show you around."

How could she possibly turn down a chance to get closer to Tyler? 

"Deal!" Sylvia instantly replied.

"Mm. Rest early tonight. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow!"

After hanging up, Sylvia was in great spirits. It turned out that getting close to Tyler was much easier than trying to crack that iceberg, Arnaud. 

She had thought that it might take six months, but at this rate, maybe it wouldn't even take that long.

It wasn't as if she actually wanted to fall in love or marry Tyler. All she needed was to sleep with him, get pregnant, and the rest didn't matter.

...

To make a good impression on Arnaud and not look bad compared to the other women at the banquet, Sylvia had splurged on professional makeup and rented a cocktail dress after work. 

It was her first time trying such a style, but it fit her surprisingly well. She might be skinny, but she had curves in all the right places. The cropped top with an A-line skirt showed off her pale, slim waist as well, making her look pure and sexy all at once.

As she followed Arnaud into the residence's banquet hall, the giant overhead crystal chandelier dazzled her eyes.

Just then, a few people came over to toast Arnaud.

Tyler was there too. He said, "Uncle Arnaud, this is our first toast together, right?"

"Mm."

"Then... cheers?" Tyler then downed his glass in one go, sneaking Sylvia a glance afterward.

Arnaud drank as well. He would at least give his nephew that courtesy.

As expected, a crowd soon quickly gathered around Arnaud, eager to cozy up to him. With that, Sylvia—the stand-in girlfriend—was quickly pushed to the sidelines.

"Are you ready to sneak out?" At some point, Tyler had drifted over and brushed her arm.

"Yeah!" Sylvia then subtly slipped out behind him.

They passed through a traditional-style corridor and came upon a garden bursting with deep red blooms. The garden looked so beautiful that it could have been a painting.

"These... These are real!" She gasped.

"Of course. No fakes are allowed in the Kaplan residence," Tyler smiled. 

However, no faster did the smile appear than his whole body tense.

Sylvia noticed this immediately. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"My... My stomach hurts. It must've been the liquor that was too strong..." The pain hit hard, and Tyler crouched down in agony.

At the next second, Sylvia's phone rang. 

It was Arnaud.

"I was looking for the bathroom and got lost. Do you need something, Mr. Kaplan?"

"Did you bring stomach medicine?" Arnaud asked in a hoarse voice.

He must've been hit with the same liquor burn, and he had drunk even more than Tyler. His condition had to be worse.

Sylvia did bring the medication along, but there was only one left.

"Sylvia?" Arnaud called again.

She glanced at Tyler, whose forehead was covered in sweat from the pain. Gritting her teeth, she answered, "No, I didn't." Then, she hung up and quickly grabbed the last dose of stomach medicine she had, popping it into Tyler's palm. 

She said, "Here, this is very effective. Take it and the pain will stop—"

But before she could finish speaking, she felt someone's presence right behind her.


Sylvia didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.

"Uncle Arnaud? I... Ms. Reid and I were just..."

Sylvia followed Tyler's gaze and saw Arnaud. His brows were drawn tight, and his body was faintly trembling from the pain. 

But he wasn't looking at her. Rather, his eyes were locked on the medicine in Tyler's hand.

He knew that medicine. It was the same one Sylvia had told him she didn't have just a minute ago.

At that moment, time seemed to freeze.

A few seconds later, Arnaud turned and walked away. Even with the stabbing pain in his stomach, his steps didn't falter.

Tyler realized what was happening and called after him a few times, "Uncle Arnaud! Uncle Arnaud, wait up!"

Sylvia knew she was in trouble, but upon thinking of the contract with the Kaplan family and Gregory still lying in the hospital bed, she could only focus on the bigger goal. 

She called out, "Mr. Tyler, take the medicine first! I'll go check on Mr. Arnaud."

"Okay, go ahead! His stomach problems are 

Chapter 7