Chapter 393: Each More Handsome Than the Last

In Brandon Jacobs’s office, Damien Vaughn sat on the sofa with his arm around Cecelia Archer and questioned him directly.

"What kind of stunt are you pulling?"

Brandon Jacobs tossed a marriage certificate down in front of him.

"I’m married. Just what everyone wanted. Isn’t this what you wanted to see?"

Damien Vaughn hadn’t expected him to be so impulsive.

Two days ago, he’d mentioned he had a childhood fiancée, and now he’d already gone and gotten the marriage license.

He did want to see him move on, but not like this.

"You’re so childish. A grown man still pulling these kinds of stunts? Is that fair to her?"

Brandon Jacobs sat down behind his desk, stretched out his long legs, and propped them on the desktop.

"We’re each getting what we want. What’s fair or unfair got to do with it? She’s the one who suggested it. I’m not a three-year-old kid, Vaughn. You don’t have to worry about my every move. I know what I’m doing."

Since he’d put it that way, Damien Vaughn was left speechless, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling of regret.

He regretted introducing Brandon Jacobs to Elsa.

’He often felt torn these days. On one hand, everyone was growing up, maturing, and settling onto their predetermined tracks. Their social circle was growing quieter. On the other hand, he felt that everyone was just suppressing their true natures, and that a violent storm was brewing beneath the calm. He was a man accustomed to strategizing and planning for every contingency. This uncontrollable feeling of an impending storm made him deeply uncomfortable.’

However, there was nothing he could do.

Matters of the heart were far more complex than business, and everyone had their own path to walk.

After their conversation, the three of them chose not to head back downstairs immediately. They all preferred peace and quiet over a noisy crowd, so they sat in the office, slowly sipping their tea.

Some time later, there was a sudden knock on the office door.

Brandon Jacobs asked in a low voice, "Who is it?"

Faye Fisher’s bright, youthful voice came from the other side. "It’s me."

"The door’s unlocked. Come in."

A slight breeze carrying a faint, elegant fragrance drifted in.

Faye Fisher’s stunning, sultry figure appeared before them.

"I’ve had enough fun, and I’m tired. I came to change. Are you finished talking? If you are, you can take me home in a bit. It’s about that time."

With that, she expertly made her way into the private lounge attached to Brandon Jacobs’s office.

In the blink of an eye, she emerged, having changed into a simple and elegant white dress, holding a makeup bag in her hand.

Making herself right at home, she sat down next to Cecelia Archer. She pulled a small mirror from her makeup bag, holding it up with one hand to look at her reflection while the other rummaged inside the bag.

"Brandon Jacobs probably already told you, but I’m Faye Fisher, and you’re Cecelia Archer, right? You’re the only other woman here, so I guess I’m stuck talking to you. I just got here and don’t know my way around Veridia at all. I’ll be counting on you to show me the ropes. Let’s add each other on WeChat."

As she spoke, she pulled out a bottle of cleansing mousse, squirted two puffs of foam onto her face, and began gently rubbing it in. Cecelia Archer was stunned by her brazenness.

’One moment she was all fire and sex appeal, and the next, she’d changed into a dress and become the picture of simple elegance. And yet, despite that elegance, she was shamelessly removing her makeup in front of everyone. This girl... she certainly had an interesting personality.’

Cecelia Archer took out her phone and pulled up her QR code.

Faye Fisher gestured toward Brandon Jacobs with her chin.

"My phone’s over there with him. Sorry, my hands are a bit occupied. Could you do me a favor and go get it from him?"

Cecelia Archer got up and walked past her to where Brandon Jacobs was sitting. He pulled a small white purse from a corner of his desk and slid it over to her.

’So this was her purse.’ Cecelia Archer opened it and took out the phone.

"Could you unlock it for me?"

"0-5-2-4-8-8," Faye Fisher rattled off the passcode without a second thought.

Cecelia Archer couldn’t help but smile. She’d never met a girl so refreshingly blunt.

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll snoop through your phone?"

"Snoop away. It’s brand new. There’s nothing on it, and no money linked to it."

Faye Fisher gave her a mischievous grin, then peeled off her thick false eyelashes and began wiping away her heavy eye makeup with a cleansing towelette.

Instantly, her large, bright, dark eyes were revealed.

Without such heavy makeup, she actually looked much younger and had delicate, pretty features.

Cecelia Archer used the phone to scan her own QR code, sent the friend request, and once it was accepted, she happened to glance at Faye’s contact list.

There were only six people in her WeChat contacts.

"All done."

"Thanks."

Faye Fisher continued removing her makeup. "Besides our parents and Brandon Jacobs, you’re pretty much the only person I know now. If I asked you to go shopping with me tomorrow, you wouldn’t turn me down, would you?"

"Of course not."

Although Cecelia Archer now held an important position at the Vaughn Group, she still had time to spare for shopping.

Besides, she had never had many female friends. It was about time she made some.

"Great! It’s a date, then. I’m going to be hitting you up all the time to go shopping, buy clothes, get facials, and just hang out."

With that, she turned to Damien Vaughn. "You don’t have a problem with that, do you?"

’To Damien Vaughn, her personality was a bit too wild, too goofy. He wasn’t a fan. But since she was Brandon Jacobs’s wife now, she’d have to be integrated into their circle sooner or later. And besides, Cecelia really did need some female friends.’

"Feel free."

’Pretty standoffish,’ Faye Fisher thought, her eyes lingering on Damien Vaughn’s face for a few seconds before shifting to Brandon Jacobs.

"Is there something in the water here in Veridia? Or is being gorgeous a requirement to get into your circle? How is every single one of you so handsome?"

’When she first met Wyatt Wynn as a teenager, she’d thought he was the most handsome man in the world. So tall, so bright and cheerful, with such sharp, defined features. Even in the Norden, surrounded by a crowd of tall, long-legged foreigners with high-bridged noses and large eyes, he held his own. She’d been absolutely smitten. But then she came to Veridia and found that her fiancé was no less attractive than Wyatt Wynn—just as tall and handsome. She’d regretted it instantly. If she had known, she would have started building a relationship with him back when they were teenagers instead of wasting all those years. When her parents first forced her to come here for the marriage, she had been worried, afraid that Brandon Jacobs would be a good-for-nothing idiot or a promiscuous scumbag. She never expected him to be a quiet, aloof, noble-born young master. Faye Fisher didn’t have many virtues, but she did have one major strength: she was exceptionally good at reading people. Perhaps it was because she’d spent her whole childhood finding ways to please her father, but from the moment she first saw Brandon Jacobs, she knew the marriage was a sure thing. She had no feelings for him, and he had none for her. He was in love with someone else, someone he could never be with. It was a perfect match! So she had confidently laid out her terms to Brandon Jacobs, and they had smoothly registered their marriage. There might not be any feelings involved, but having a young, handsome husband to support her and be her arm candy at social events... that wasn’t half bad. She just hadn’t expected tonight to be such an eye-opener. This man, Damien Vaughn, was even more handsome and had an even more powerful aura than the others. That natural air of ruthlessness, nobility, and detachment he possessed... Faye Fisher couldn’t help but wonder: if she had met him a decade ago, wouldn’t she have gone completely wild for him? Veridia really was a great place. She was glad she came.’