Chapter 309 - Stay Back With Me

'Does she not wish to marry me?' Reuben wondered as he held one arm around Lina's waist and the other held the phone to his ear.

While he was in his thoughts of a bleak and dreary future if his doubts were indeed true, he heard the young man speak after a momentary pause.

"I had just called to inform Noona that those designs were not the end products but needed heavy polishing before they could be sent to be made!" Stephen cried out after being thoroughly defeated by this man who had a retort for everything he had said.

This loud cry made Lina and Reuben stop whatever thoughts were swirling around in their minds and pay attention to what he had to say.

"I had sent that notebook so that Noona might show my work to LY and they might decide whether to collaborate with me or not." His doubtful whisper entered their ears, making them sigh.

Reuben connected the dots and understood that Stephen was still ignorant about LY's real identity and this was why he had done that.

'This boy gave me a jumpscare earlier!' Lina shook her head as she cursed him in her mind.

She was LY and showing her the designs was equivalent to showing them to LY.

However, as this was not known to Stephen, he was worried that Lina would ask LY to create designs based on the rough drafts he had given to her in the afternoon.

"LY has agreed for the collaboration, Steph. What should I tell them now?" She questioned while trying to sound as patient as she could.

While rubbing her forehead, she waited for the solution that he might offer for the problem which was also created by him.

Lina had designs in her mind which matched the clothes she had seen in the notebook but she would have to alter her creations if Steph was going to alter his.

"Noona, I will be ready with the latest and final designs by tomorrow afternoon. Why don't you come over and take them from me in the office?" He proposed after giving it some thought.

He did not need the notebook to recreate and modify the designs and hence he did not ask Lina to return it to him.

All he needed was time until tomorrow morning to complete the designs and then hand them over to her in the afternoon.

"That is doable, Steph." She agreed to his plans with a quick nod.

Reuben had been a silent observer once again and he was happy that they were done with their discussions.

"So she will meet you tomorrow at the office. Stop calling her and disturbing us. Goodbye, little brother-in-law!" Reuben enunciated the last words and then disconnected the call before Stephen could react.

Lina glanced up and rolled her eyes at the man who was having too much fun teasing her puppy.

"Do you have to be so mean to him?" She questioned while shaking her head at him.

Reuben did not answer her question but instead had one of his own.

"Does this mean that you can stay back with me tonight instead of beginning your 'cultivation' thing?" He inquired with a devilish grin appearing on his face.

Though Lina was blushing, she was sure that he did not have any ecchi thoughts in his mind thanks to the promise he had made to wait for her to be ready before advancing in their physical relationship.

Thus, she gave him a nod indicating that she could stay back at his home for the night.

'I created a big scene before leaving Yang Manor so there is no way that I can go back there tonight.' She thought to herself and was glad that he had offered for her to stay here.

Reuben was overjoyed when he saw her acceptance as he had a lot going on in his mind today and he needed to speak to her about the same.

"Let me just inform Benji about the change of plans." She added before taking the phone away from his hands.

Just as she was about to dial his number, the faithful assistant had spared her the trouble by calling her first.

"Who were you talking to for so long!? I couldn't reach you now!"

"Aren't you in your boyfriend's house so what's the use of being on call with someone else?"

"Giving him the green hat already, Nana? For shame!"

Three questions echoed in the room before Lina could even say 'hi' to the man who had called her.

The dark and menacing aura that had hit her back made Lina shiver as she turned her eyes towards the man who was seething with anger at the words that he heard through the phone.

"What was that, Benjamin Douglas?" He spoke in a deep and scary voice through gritted teeth, succeeding in making the assistant freeze in his place.

Lina noticed that the atmosphere was getting colder around her and decided that it was best if she acted quickly.

"Benji, the plan has been changed. Steph asked us to meet him tomorrow so get the stuff from the car and ask Derek to go back home." She instructed before Reuben could speak.

Keeping an eye on the man who sat behind her, she held his hand that was on her waist and rubbed her thumb over it in an attempt to calm his anger.

"I will be staying back at Ruby's place tonight. I'll see you in the morning, good night!" She added and then disconnected the call in the next second.

In the apartment a few floors below, the assistant gulped his saliva as he stared at the screen.

"He sounded just like Young Master for a second there…" He muttered to himself and shuddered when thinking of his big boss who was Lina's elder brother, Wind.

However, in the next second, realizing how ridiculous he sounded, Benji scoffed at his weird thoughts and then dialed the number of the chauffeur who was still waiting for them to return.

Derek handed the luggage and notebook over to Benji who had gone downstairs to fetch Lina's things from him and sent him back home.

Though the chauffeur was suspicious about the abrupt change in plans, he remained silent and then went his way with multiple doubts in his mind.

Back in the penthouse, Lina turned around and sat facing the man who was still grumpy after hearing the strange yet harsh words from the assistant.

"Are you doubting me?" She interrogated as she looked him straight in the eye.

Even if Lina had not done anything to betray his trust and everything that Benji had said was nothing but a joke, the man who heard it was nonetheless affected by those words.

'No one would like to hear about his girlfriend cheating on him.' She recalled the men in the novels she read.

The haughty CEO would scorn the FL even though she had done nothing wrong under the influence of the antagonist who was twisting facts to display the distorted truth.

The man whose heart and ego were hurt by this would soon dump the woman without waiting for her explanation only to realize after a long time that he had made a mistake by trusting the wrong people's words.

'Will Ruby be like one of those who would trust others over me?' She stayed silent as she tried to make out what was going on through his mind.