Sweet Subterfuge

Chapter 13

Dylan was quite famous in his industry and had been specifically handling divorce cases for wealthy clients in recent years. The remuneration for each case was over a million dollars. In addition to his position as the co-founder of Microworks Corporation, buying a house in Covenford was as easy as pie.

“I happen to have an empty apartment. It’s just nearby in Foxtail Garden.”

Foxtail Garden was one of the elite, high-end neighborhoods in Covenford. Those who could afford properties there were either rich or had high social status. Moreover, Foxtail Garden was the closest neighborhood to the Regal Dynasty Hotel, and the surrounding facilities were readily available.

“Really? You’ll rent it out to me?” Larissa could not believe her luck.

“Of course.” Dylan nodded, his face showing nothing but seriousness. “If you want to rent it, you can follow us to have a look right now.”

“Great!” Larissa agreed at once.

There was a car waiting at the main entrance of the hotel. The moment Kevan and Dylan emerged, the driver got out and helped them put their suitcases into the trunk of the car.

Dylan quickly claimed the passenger’s seat before Larissa could, and said cheerily, “I like sitting here.”

Larissa immediately let him have it. “Of course.”

While they were talking, Kevan had already gotten into the car. He had not closed the door, so his cool voice was able to reach Larissa’s ears. “Hurry up.”

Larissa quickly sat in the back seat. Kevan was sitting close to the middle, as he had nearly occupied two seats at once. To ensure that she would not touch him, Larissa sat as close to the door as she

could. But even then, his face was so stony and neutral that it was frightening.

Larissa’s back was ramrod straight, and she barely dared breathe for fear of angering him. Thankfully, the drive from the hotel to Foxtail Garden was less than five minutes long, so it was not too hard to bear.

The car stopped before a building.

“It’s here.” Dylan got out of the car first. “Floors 18 and 19 are mine. If you want to rent, you can take Floor 19.”

This building contained huge, penthouse-grade apartments. It was the type that had an elevator opening directly into the apartment.

They headed to Floor 19 first. The apartment was nicely renovated and had a minimalistic air to it. But it was clear that Dylan’s furniture was of higher quality than most minimalistic-type furniture.

“After I renovated this place, I never lived in it. So, everything here is new,” Dylan explained to Larissa. “I have everything here aside from food. You can move in any time you want.”

Larissa took a good look at the place and was very much satisfied with the renovation and surrounding environment.

Her only concern was…

“The rent…”

It probably was not cheap.

“Three thousand a month?” Dylan threw out a random number. When he saw Larissa’s shocked expression, he hurriedly backtracked. “If you think it’s too expensive, two thousand is fine too. I’ve

never rented property myself nor rented to someone, so I’m not quite sure about what the market rate is. Anyway… you can pay as you see fit.”

Only then did Larissa realize that he had misunderstood her!

“No, no, no.” She waved her hands quickly. “I just feel that three thousand is way too cheap.”

If his apartment was under a real estate agency, the monthly rent was definitely not going to be lower than thirty thousand dollars. However, the price he gave was only a tenth of that!

Larissa could not help but sigh to herself. Dylan Shields was honestly a godsend.

After hearing her words, Dylan sighed in relief to himself.

“Hey, it’s a friendship discount.” He sounded so natural saying it. “This place is left empty anyway. You renting this place means I have someone to keep an eye on it, and I can even earn some passive income. No matter how I look at it, it’s a win.”

His logic was… rather flawless.

Although Larissa was tempted by the three-thousand-dollar rent, she would never take advantage of Dylan like that since he considered her a friend.

“How about this.” She braced herself. “I’ll pay you 15 thousand per month and take care of the utilities myself.”

This was way beyond her budget, but it was not as if she was unable to pay for it—the most important thing was that she could not rebuff Dylan’s kindness, and besides, she really liked this apartment.

Dylan’s face hardened. “You’re too kind, Ms. Seymour.”

Kevan, who had said nothing then, spoke. “Three thousand. Take it or leave it.”

Their firm attitudes made it look as if she was the one who was losing something. Larissa was torn between amusement and exasperation.

“Three thousand is really low…” she tried to reason with them, but Kevan only pointed at the door without looking at her.

“Go.”

Panicking, Larissa exclaimed, “Alright, alright! I’ll take it. Three thousand is fine.”

She had wasted two days looking for a suitable place. If she missed out on Dylan’s apartment, she did not know how much more time she would have to waste on finding a new place to live in.

Dylan was smiling again.

“Great, I’ll have a colleague send over a contract later. We’ll sign it tomorrow once you have time.”

He handed over an access card to Larissa and added, “If you want to, you can move in tonight.”

Larissa carefully put away the card. “I’ll move after signing the contract.” Otherwise, it may appear inappropriate.

“As you wish.” This time, Dylan and Kevan did not force her to do anything.

“I live downstairs on Floor 18, Kevan’s on Floor 20. You can find us if you need anything,” Dylan added.

Larissa assumed he said that out of politeness and responded in kind. However, she did not think of looking for them at all. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

…

After seeing the house, Larissa wanted to return to the hotel.

Dylan whacked himself on the head and groaned. “Shit!”

Larissa had never seen him lose composure before and was a little nervous yet curious. “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot to tell the driver to wait for us.” Dylan raced over to the balcony connected to the living room and leaned over the rails to look. Then he came back looking despondent. “The driver’s gone.”

“Did you need to go somewhere?” Larissa asked, “I can call a cab.”

“No,” Dylan explained. “I originally wanted to have him send you back to the hotel.”

Well, that made things easier.

Larissa immediately replied, “It’s pretty close to the hotel, I can walk back.”

“No, no.” Dylan looked worried. “It’s too dark out, and there are very few people in Foxtail Garden. What if something happens to you on the road?”

Larissa wanted to say that Covenford’s security was not that bad and that she was not as stupid as they thought she was. But before she could speak, Kevan rose from the sofa with a hand in his pocket and walked swiftly to the door.

Larissa stared at his back in confusion.

Kevan stopped at the door and turned around. He was frowning, and his gaze landed on Larissa, who immediately caught the displeasure in his eyes.

“Well? Why aren’t you following?” he asked with irritation.