Chapter 128 - My Very Own Army

Lina observed the picture and rubbed her chin in contemplation.

'I think Reuben was feeling shy to approach the girl so Wayne pushed him towards her just as the photographer clicked the picture. Look at how surprised he is and this little cutie here is blushing!' She touched the geeky little girl's face through the glass frame.

She was spot on with her observation of what had happened on that day but not about Reuben's feelings.

She then moved to the other pictures hanging on the wall.

She saw the picture with the man who looked just like Reuben holding a little baby in his arms.

'Is that Reuben's dad? Oh, he is such a hottie!' She blushed and gave him a thumbs up.

The next one had a couple together with the baby.

'His mom looks good too but not that great.' She scoffed and looked away. 

Renee Ming was a beauty that matched Felix exceptionally. It was Lina who was obviously biased in her evaluation due to their bad encounter.

'So many pictures with my brothers. They really are best friends, huh?' She turned to the next wall which continued their memories together.

'I better keep the fact that I met Reuben a secret from them or else they will bombard me with questions and most probably lock me up.' 

She shook her head when she thought of what their reaction might be if they ever got to know what had happened in that hotel room.

She shuddered just by thinking of the horrible consequences everyone would have to face.

'I'll just have to make sure that they never find out. Let's think of some happy thoughts!' She went back to Reuben's photos.

"Has this guy always been this good looking?" She sneered at his face in the images.

"Why did puberty not make him go through an ugly phase like the rest of us!? What kind of black magic is this!?" She narrowed her eyes when she discovered that every picture of his was perfect and not one of them showed an ugly or awkward side.

"I'm sure you weren't that bad looking when puberty hit you." 

A voice came from behind and the words were followed by a soft chuckle.

"Yea, righ-" Her sarcastic reply stopped midway.

After hesitantly turning around, she awkwardly smiled when she noticed the man standing at the door.

Reuben strode inside and stood before her.

"How much have you heard?" She nervously questioned him.

Though he did not answer her, his smug face showed that he had heard enough to make her feel embarrassed for a lifetime.

'Why are his steps so silent!? I did not notice his presence at all.' She looked at him from top to bottom.

The damp clothes stuck to his skin because of his perspiration and Lina was having a tough time concentrating on his face rather than on those bulging arms.

Reuben noticed her struggle and nonchalantly flexed his arms. He was enjoying the pair of hazel and golden eyes alternating between his arms and face.

"Eyes up here, Lina!" He pointed to his face and narrowed his eyes.

Lina's face burned with embarrassment when he caught her ogling at him.

"Then go cover them up, you exhibitionistic pervert!" She yelled and then ran out of the room.

'Such a smug asshole!' She cursed when she heard his laughter.

Benji watched from the couch as she ran out of the room that Reuben had just entered and disappeared into the elevator.

"Heh? What happened to her?" He was puzzled when he witnessed this scene.

Reuben peeped his head out from his room and only found Benji there.

"Don't you have work to do today?" He sarcastically mocked Benji and watched him scoff as he too left the penthouse.

Reuben and Benji could be considered friends now because they had bonded over their mutual disgust towards Talia's actions.

Finally alone in his house, Reuben started preparing for his fresh week in the office.

'Lots of meetings this week. Haa…" He sighed and went to take a quick shower.

---

While Lina was also getting dressed in Benji's new apartment for her day at the office, things in Yang Manor were taking a different turn.

Mandy Rong was planning something new today and for a change, it was not with her mother but with someone else.

"Are you sure that she has not returned yet?" She questioned the man who stood in front of her with his head lowered.

The man was wearing the Yang family uniform and had short spiky hair. His left ear had a black diamond stud piercing which made him look like a gangster in disguise.

The beautiful and sharp face was a contrast to the ill-fitting and worn-out clothes that he was wearing right now.

'What a pity! Such a good looking face but what's the use when he is just a servant here.' She looked down at him.

"Yes, Young Miss. I have enquired with the gatekeeper, Miss Lina has not come home since Saturday morning." He raised his head and respectfully answered her.

Mandy glared at him when she heard him call Lina's name with respect once again.

But calmed down when she thought of their private conversation from the previous night.

--

Last night after her father had left the house with her crush who turned out to be her brother, she was fuming with unquenchable fury.

Instead of saying a few words to comfort her broken heart, her mother had decided to go play mahjong with her friends. 

Lucille had finally been invited by one of her friends to play with the other noble ladies at a big party after two whole months of brown-nosing.

So there was no way that she would miss out on this opportunity to mingle with these influential women just to appease her foolish daughter's bitterness. 

Thus she soon left the house after Patrick disappeared alongside Wayne.

Having left with no other means of releasing her frustrations, Mandy locked herself in her room and did the same thing she always did when she was pissed off.

She broke all the stuff in her room. 

Torn pillows, broken vases, shattered glasses and scattered flowers were all over the floor.

A few minutes after she successfully wrecked her room, she heard a knock on the door.

"What!?" She snarled as she opened the door.

Seeing a man standing outside her door with a bowl full of freshly cut fruits, Mandy's brows furrowed.

"What is this? I did not ask you to get it." She looked at him suspiciously.

"No, Young Miss. I just thought that you would get hungry because you skipped your meals." He answered in a submissive way. 

Being called 'Young Miss' greatly soothed her anger and her mood lightened.

'Now that is how a good servant must call his master.' She signaled him to come in.

Mandy was pleased that there were still a few servants who knew right from wrong in this place.

She pushed the torn pillows aside and sat on the couch as she gobbled the fruit. 

When she noticed that he was still there, she gave him a questioning glance.

"Miss, can I say something if I have your permission?" The man asked timidly.

"Hmm." She approved because she was happy with his subservient manners.

"Young Miss, I think that the master is too biased with the other lady. I'm sorry if I offended you but he should be treating you better than that other woman who just came here a few days back." He quickly spilled whatever was in his heart.

Mandy's frustrations which were just beginning to cool began to surge once again.

"What did you say?" She spoke through gritted teeth.

The man immediately flinched and bowed low as he began to apologize.

"Pardon me, young miss! I have spoken out of turn, but it is only because I despise how they treat you so unjustly in this place." Though he apologized he still stuck to his words.

'This man gets exactly how I feel with this whole messed up situation.' She was happy to find someone who felt the same way.

"Why are you telling all this to me?" She looked at him skeptically because this entire situation was a little fishy.

'Suddenly he comes to me and says that he hates how I am being treated in this house?' She tried to gauge his reactions. 

She also felt that she had seen him somewhere but couldn't pinpoint where it exactly was.

"What's your name?" She asked in a dominating voice. Just like how the master of the house must behave.

"My name is Richy, Young Miss." He looked up at her and smiled.

"So, Richy? If I am not wrong, I've seen you running around that bitch Lina to serve her snacks before." She smirked when she saw him flinch.

Mandy had finally realized where she had seen Richy before, he was the servant who always brought Lina snacks when they were talking in the main hall and then he would silently disappear.

"If you hate how she treats me then what was that all about?" She spoke in a mocking way.

"When I first saw her I thought she looked so innocent and nice. Which was why I always tried to secretly serve her food but who would have thought that she was so malicious." Richy's eyes glinted and his face distorted when he thought of the many times that Lina had bullied Mandy.

"Young Miss is the heiress and owner here but Lina acts like she owns the house. I tried to talk to Butler Ping about it but he just wouldn't listen to me." He explained his reason for coming to meet her.

"He even threatened to fire me if I spoke about this to someone else!" He clenched his fists.

"Which is why I came to you today after I gathered my courage. I think Young Miss should not allow that woman to walk all over yourself and your mother." His eyes were burning with passion.

"You should stand up for yourself!" He encouraged her.

--

Recalling last night's events, Mandy smiled as she glanced at the man from the corner of her eyes.

Now at the Pavilion, Mandy sat watching the beautiful roses in the garden with Richy standing behind her in the same way that Butler Ping usually stood behind Patrick.

'I need to get more people to stand at my side if I want to regain the title of Heiress without any competition from that bitch!' She tapped on the arms of the chair.

'This man right here can be the first of my very own army that will help me survive in this Yang Manor.' A vicious light flashed past her eyes as she thought of what the future could hold for her and her mother.

Standing behind her, the man too had a wicked smile on his face.

'This is just the beginning of my rise to power here.' His own ambitions seemed to have gotten a step closer to his reach.