Eva being sold… For Christian, every time this subject was mentioned, he would always become angry, even if he didn't express it. But now, hearing her talk about love instead, he couldn't help but interrupt her, and with an expectant tone, he asked.
"So, did you find the love of your life?"
Eva despite catching the intent behind his question, replied with a teasing tone, not giving him the answer he wanted, and then continued.
"When I was sixteen, the Ashvale family finally made contact with the Infinitel company."
"It was after a long discussion... one I still don't know the exact details of, that it was decided I would be handed over to them."
"Even then, that old fucker, Vincent Quinn, thinking he had some kind of ownership over me, wasn't satisfied with just that."
"And he wanted to make me some kind of prize for a competition between his sons."
Christian couldn't help but clench his fist, his eyes narrowing. He increasingly felt that he really needed to get rid of this father and son duo, and looking at Eva's expression, which held nothing but hate, he knew that, at least in this matter, they shared the same opinion.
"Well, it was just to give a chance to his illegitimate child, with the excuse that someone who couldn't even win the heart of a sheltered girl wasn't fit to take over the company."
"Everything was fucked up bullshit."
"And I was filled with despair at that time."
With resentment-filled eyes, Eva added,
"I had always wanted to rebel against my family, so I studied a lot about how I could do that, focusing on business, politics and the like… things they now seemed to want to be involved with."
"I considered myself a genius, as by the age of sixteen, I could easily write a business graduation essay and was proficient in many things."
"... Well, when reality hit me and everything I learned proved useless with the entrance of the Infinitel company..."
"I knew that it was wrong."
Even if insensitive at this moment, Christian couldn't help but interrupt her and ask.
"Wait, could it be that you have some kind of special ability?"
Recalling that Eva built her company and accumulated wealth on her own, combined with his knowledge that children of ancient families have a higher chance of manifesting special abilities, he felt that maybe there was a chance.
But giving him a self-deprecating chuckle, Eva replied.
"As if! Those who have special abilities are always talented; it's a guaranteed thing."
"And my case was different. More than saying I was some once-in-a-century genius, it was more like I matured early, was a bit smarter than others, and, of course, worked harder… just that."
Christian, who didn't know this information, decided to stay silent, unsure of what to say, and Eva continued normally.
"Anyway, it was at that time, when I suddenly had an idea, with more than one candidate trying to pursue me, that I decided to handle the situation in a way that would be most advantageous for me, with the best possible outcome."
"I started gathering information about the two sons, from searching behind their backs to gathering what I could during the meetings I was forced to attend with them."
"That's when I discovered how of an incompetent, womanizer, greedy, and pathetic man, Damian Slate was."
"Even for someone like me, who didn't know much about the outside world at that time, I was able to gather all kinds of things against him, after all."
"From incidents I could blow up, to the son he had with some whore, which she was trying to blackmail him, but only ended up backfiring against herself."
"Really, there were all kinds of things about this trash."
"And that's why I chose him, so I could gain the upper hand in my negotiations."
"But, even with all of that, a call from his father could render everything useless, after all."
"So, I asked supposedly the only ally I had inside the Ashvale family, my cousin, to act as the mediator, and fortunately, she agreed."
"Even if all kinds of contracts and promises with just me were useless, with my talented cousin in the picture, someone who could represent the Ashvale family, that was another story."
"With that, I made a deal with that trash."
Hesitating as she looked at Christian's hard to decipher expression, Eva continued, still finding the next part, the hardest one.
"Where, after I became pregnant, which by that time I knew one of their purposes was actually the child, as he or she could possibly be someone talented who could make many things different for them."
Seeing his expression clearly darken this time, she hurriedly continued.
"Anyway, it was just for me to pretend to be in some relationship until I got pregnant. After that, he would not bother me at all or even try to come close to me."
"And for him, who didn't care about the woman as long as there was a hole somewhere. I was not that different in his eyes, if I was slightly more beautiful,"
"He just cared about that sense of conquest, that he beat his older brother. So, just giving me the label that I was his woman was enough for him."
Eva, arriving at this point and noticing Christian's reaction, how, despite being silent, he seemed immensely angry, deliberated whether she should reveal the next part about her deal with Damian. In the end, seeing how his gaze still didn't hold disgust, she felt a sense of relief and joy and decided against it. She let him stay angry at him for a while. It could also be some kind of surprise for him later, anyway.
"Anyway, we had a meeting with his father at that time, and his status rose, getting the current company he is now working at. But his happy time didn't last long… right after I became pregnant, when he thought his status would rise even more."
"We got an invitation to the wedding for his brother and my supposedly only ally... my cousin."