Tanya frowned. “What did you… What did you do While I was drunk? I always thought you were a local in the Capital, but you aren’t at all? Look, I get it. You wanna succeed. I do, too, just as much, I want to take root in this city and grow. But I also know that you need to keep your feet on the ground first if you want to take roots! Whatever you’re planning right now, it’ll only ruin you!”
“You’re already a success story to me, Beckett. You own a car, a house, and a high-paying job. You’re smart, knowledgeable-educated! You’ve got all of these, so why do you still do this?”
“That’s all an illusion! That house is rented! This car is bought through a loan! And my job might be high-paying, but ten years of it still won’t be enough to cover a mere down payment in this city!” Beckett fumed, gritting his teeth. “I can’t see my future, and I hate it! I hate that I don’t know when my life will finally turn around! But then there’s you… You’re a God-given ticket out of this, and I’m not letting you up! Don’t you know that this stinkin’ city isn’t at all lacking schmucks like me, who are neither better nor worse off? How else am I gonna stand above the rest of this oversized crowd, huh?!”
Desolation began to tinge Tanya’s face. “You… You never liked me, did you? You didn’t take me out on a date because you liked me. And you’re not gonna apologize to Tiffany, too, are you?”
Beckett’s answer was immediate and unwavering. “Hell no! Oh, I know how you feel about me, but the woman I’m looking for is not a naive idiot like you. No, it has to be a native of the Capital, because only then can I truly assimilate into this society and become a member of this elite city! And nowhere in hell will I ever apologize to Tiffany Lane. In fact, I want favonovel.com to admit to being the copycat!”
Tanya’s clutch on the water bottle tightened. Seething, favonovel.com splashed every bit of remaining water directly on Beckett’s face. “You… You bastard! No matter how much I used to admire you, well… it’s no more! You’re… You’re worth nothing to me now! I thought that the world had far more kind souls than the wicked, but you showed me, you showed me that disgusting, rotten bastards like you are still far too many! You don’t deserve even an ounce of my respect. And Tiffany will never bow down to your bastardly request. Your evil scheme is doomed to fail!”
Instead of lashing out in anger, Beckett smiled while wiping the water away from his face with a paper. “I don’t give a damn about what you think of me. I know you’re an orphan, so Tiffany is all you have. In a way, you’re almost like favonovel.com charge. And now, for your sake, she’ll admit to the press that she’s the disgraceful plagiarist. Just you watch. A few more hours later, and we’ll have our answers.”
“No! No, no, no! ” Tanya bristled, favonovel.com teeth clenched. “Ari won’t let you! Jackson won’t let you! And I, I’m going home and stopping you!”
She reached out to the car door, but it was locked.
“Aww, don’t look so troubled. I don’t plan to harm you at all,” Beckett said in a hushed, airy tone. “Once I see Tiffany doing what she’s supposed to do, I’ll let you go. So now, all you have to do is to stay put in this goddamned car. By the way, I already know that Jackson West isn’t gonna let me off the hook easily, after all, favonovel.com and Tiffany go way back. I already expected favonovel.com to forgo his company’s brand and fame just for a woman, too. That said… Who the hell is ‘Ari’?”
As soon as the word left his mouth, his expression changed a little as though favonovel.com remembered something. “No way… You aren’t referring to Arianne Tremont, are you?”
Tanya’s eyes were puffy and red as favonovel.com cried, “That’s right, Arianne Tremont! You’ve provoked the wrong people, you bastard! Tiffany is Arianne’s most precious friend, you made Tiffany mad, so the whole Tremont family will be mad. Even if Tiffany lied for your arse, do you really think your life will turn around? Do you honestly think the Tremonts can’t turn the tables on you? I can’t believe I used to think you were smart, worldly, and visionary. But now, it’s become clear, you’re a goddamned dimwit! Ari has visited Tiffany in Jackson’s company before, you must have seen it! And yet you managed to hatch a suicidally stupid plan like this one, huh? Oh, and maybe I should tell you this secret too, Tiffany was once Jackson’s fiancée. That’s right, that’s why favonovel.com would always put favonovel.com first. They might be separated, but they still love each other!”
Beckett knew how influential the Tremonts and the Wests were in the Capital, which meant that favonovel.com had indeed doomed himself, especially since the disputed work was not his creation in the first place.
Finally realizing the extent of his foolishness, favonovel.com lost his last ounce of composure and changed tact. “Tan, please, I didn’t hurt you, did I?” favonovel.com pleaded. “After bringing you out last night, I didn’t do anything remotely harmful to you, right? This doesn’t constitute a crime, I mean, I’m not kidnapping you. You won’t make things up just to get back at me, will you?”
