In the Lap of Luxury

"You're impossible." Grace turned around. "I don't want to see you again."

She strode off. Benjamin reached out a hand to try and stop her, but he missed.

Grace's dress flared, and Benjamin caught sight of her bandaged ankle.

He frowned. He had seen that kind of bandaging before. Anyone who had graduated from the police academy would know how to do it.

Every New Year, Alexander refused to return to Hawkins Manor. It always made Elizabeth rather sad, so she would arrange for things to be delivered to him.

Once, Benjamin had been roped into it and had gone to see Alexander.

It had been raining heavily that year, and the police academy had been in a remote location.

As they had been driving, a landslide had occurred. Both Benjamin and the driver had been buried in it. The students from the police academy had rescued them. Alexander had been one of them.

He had been surprised to see Benjamin, but he was mature beyond his years. "You're Benjamin."

"...you're Alexander."

"A stone fell on your foot, but I've bandaged it up for you. You'll just have to rest for a few days."

Alexander hadn't lingered around after he'd finished speaking. He had grabbed his water bottle and left to fill it up.

Benjamin had never interacted much with him. All he had known was that the two of them looked alike, but when he had met Alexander, he had thought that they were very different.

He had surprised himself when he had called out, "Come back home for the New Year."

Alexander had paused in his tracks for a moment, but he hadn't looked back. "I won't."

Benjamin pulled himself out of his memories and narrowed his eyes. The bandage on Grace's ankle looked exactly like the one Alexander had done for him before. They had been in contact again.

Meanwhile, once Grace got back to the table, she began wolfing down her food.

She even downed several glasses of alcohol, one after the other, shocking Noelle, who tried to stop her. "Grace, what's going on with you?"

Grace felt slightly better once she had filled her stomach. "Nothing much. I just ran into a rabid dog."

Benjamin returned to the table at that moment, and Timothy took a sharp intake of breath. He looked compassionately at Benjamin and mouthed, "You bear a heavy burden." Benjamin's expression turned thunderous.

Grace had only come to the party

out of courtesy, and now that Benjamin was back, she had no intention of staying. She picked up her bag and said a few words to Noelle as she got ready to leave.

At that moment, there was a commotion at the entrance. Everyone looked over.

Anthony's voice rang out. "It's Elysium Bank's honor to have Mr. Iverson here with us tonight."

Joshua?

Grace looked over. She saw an older-looking man dressed in a suit. He seemed to be about 40 years old. He had a chilly smile as he shook hands with Anthony.

"This is my first time in Pamore,

which is why I came here to greet the industry leaders. I hope that I

can count on your help in my future developments here."

"You jest, Mr. Iverson. Your father and I are old friends. This is a win-win situation, so we are on an equal footing here."

Anthony treated Joshua with great importance. He made a toast to the latter and looked toward Noelle. "Come here, Noelle."

Noelle was reluctant. She glanced at Timothy, who looked sour, but she couldn't refuse Anthony in front of

everyone. She had no cho x

but to walk over quickly. "Dad."

"Do you still recognize Joshua? When you were a little younger, he used to drive you around."

Joshua looked Noelle up and down. "You've become so pretty. I wonder who the lucky guy will be

in future."

Timothy clicked his tongue. He was about to stand up when Grace stopped him. "This is Elysium Bank's annual party. Are you really going to make a scene here?" Timothy took a deep breath and pulled at his tie. He had no choice but to stay where he was.

"Joshua, you've changed too. You used to look like my older brother, but now you look more like my uncle."

Although Noelle's words were sharp, she spoke in a sweet tone. Hence, one could call her out on it.

"Is this lady your wife?"

Joshua just frowned.

Anthony glared at Noelle. He wanted to set her up with Joshua, but she was messing things up on purpose.

Although the Iversons had lost their former glory, they were still one of the four largest families in Frenda. Their power wasn't to be taken lightly!