Rejected By Her Family, Claimed By The Masked CEO

Susan’s face turned completely pale. She stared at Miranda as if she had seen a ghost. Her lips trembled, but no words came out. She had been so sure. She had believed Miranda had fallen for her lies. She had even imagined Abigail crying after being betrayed by her closest friend.

Instead...

She was the one standing there like a fool. "No..." Susan shook her head repeatedly. "Impossible..."

Miranda folded her arms and smiled. "You really thought I would betray my best friend?"

Susan slowly stepped backward. "You... you lied to me?"

Miranda shrugged. "You lied first."

Susan looked at Oliver standing at the entrance. His calm expression frightened her more than shouting ever could.

She turned around, hoping to escape through the other door.

Unfortunately...

Oliver had already moved. He blocked her path with one hand still resting inside his pocket.

His sharp eyes landed on her. "Leaving already?" Susan’s breathing became heavy. "O-Oliver..."She forced a smile. "I... I can explain..." Oliver looked at her for a few seconds before speaking calmly.

"No need." He turned his head slightly. "Take her."

Immediately, two men in black walked forward.

Susan screamed. "No! Don’t touch me!" She struggled wildly, kicking and scratching as they grabbed both of her arms. "Oliver! I’m the victim! You can’t do this!"

Oliver didn’t even spare her another glance. Instead, he looked at the two half-naked men standing frozen beside the dead body on the floor.

The men immediately knelt. "W-We were forced! We only wanted money!"

Oliver nodded slowly. "I know." Then his expression turned cold. "Take Susan to the room they prepared for Abigail."

Susan’s eyes widened. "W-What?"

Oliver continued as if he hadn’t heard her. "Do your job well." His voice remained calm. "And record everything."

The two men instantly became frightened. "N-No, Young Master! We don’t dare!"

Oliver slowly looked at them. "Then..." "Would you rather switch places with the corpse on the floor?"

One quickly lowered his head. "We understand..."

Susan screamed louder than before. "No!! Oliver!" I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!" She cried until her makeup ran down her cheeks, but nobody pitied her anymore.

The door closed behind them. The room finally became quiet. Miranda walked toward Abigail before smiling helplessly.

"You are honestly a terrible actress." She untied the ropes around Abigail’s wrists. "You were supposed to cry." She continued untying the ropes around her body.

"You should’ve screamed." She laughed softly. "You were meant to look shocked after I betrayed you."

Abigail stretched her sore arms before laughing. "I tried."

Miranda rolled her eyes. "No, you didn’t. You looked bored."

"I was bored." The two girls burst into laughter.

...

A few minutes later...

The black car drove quietly along the empty road. Oliver concentrated on driving while Miranda sat beside Abigail in the back seat.

Nobody spoke for several minutes.

Finally... Miranda broke the silence. She turned toward Abigail with a guilty smile. "Thank you."

Abigail looked at her in confusion "For what?"

Miranda lowered her head. "For trusting me.... I honestly didn’t expect it after everything I did...I thought you would never believe me again."

She laughed softly. "But instead...You followed me without asking too many questions."

Abigail smiled. "I knew something strange was happening."

Miranda blinked. "You did?"

Abigail nodded. "I just didn’t know what. When you suddenly insisted that I followed you somewhere...I became suspicious." She smiled. "But I trusted you more than my doubts."

Miranda’s eyes became watery. "So...You really believed me?"

Abigail nodded without hesitation. "You’ve never betrayed us before."

Miranda looked away and laughed quietly. "I almost cried when you agreed."

Abigail gently bumped her shoulder. "So...Tell me.How did Oliver know?"

Miranda looked toward the front seat. Oliver remained focused on the road as if the conversation had nothing to do with him.

She smiled. "It started last night."

...

Earlier that night...

Miranda dragged Oliver into his living room before closing the door behind them.

Oliver frowned.

He looked down at the hand still holding his sleeve. "You can let go now."

Miranda quickly released him. "Sorry." She walked toward the sofa before sitting down heavily. Her hands rested on her knees. She stared at the floor for a long time.

Oliver stood quietly. He had never seen her like this before. After waiting for almost a minute, he sighed. "What happened?"

No answer.

He frowned again. "What exactly do you want to tell me?"

Miranda slowly stood up. Her eyes were already red. "Susan approached me this night. She wanted me to drug you."

His expression changed immediately.

Miranda continued. "She said once people found both of you together...the Lancaster family would force you to marry me. They won’t care whether you like me or not"

She’s aware that they only want to see him involved with a woman.

Oliver stared at her in disbelief. For the first time that night... He looked genuinely shocked. "She asked you to do that?"

Miranda shook her head "I couldn’t do that to you..."

Oliver let out a long breath and gave her a meaningful look" why would she give you that offer?"

Miranda suddenly smiled bitterly. She slowly raised her head. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "because I love you."

The room became completely silent.

Oliver froze.

Miranda wiped away another tear before forcing herself to continue. "I’ve loved you for a long time.... even before Abigail knew me well. Back when I first joined our little group..."

"You were always making everyone laugh. You always acted like nothing could bother you. You protected all of us. You annoyed us every day."

She laughed through her tears. "You talked too much. You were childish.You never acted like those cold rich young masters. My heart...It slowly chose you."

Oliver remained speechless. Everything suddenly made sense. The way Miranda sometimes looked at him before quickly looking away. He had never noticed any of them.

Miranda smiled sadly. "I know. you don’t feel the same and that’s okay."

She wiped away the last of her tears. "If I didn’t pretend to agree with Susan...she would’ve found someone else and she would’ve still tried to destroy you."

She laughed softly.b"I never knew saying it out loud would feel this easy."

Only then did she realize Oliver was staring at her. Her cheeks instantly became red. She quickly looked away "I’m not asking you to love me. I only wanted these feelings out of my heart."

She smiled weakly. "I’ll start dating I will move on."

Oliver sighed deeply."I’m sorry...i honestly didn’t know....."

Miranda quickly shook her head. "No, this isn’t your fault. You never promised me anything. So don’t apologize."

She smiled gently. "I only have one request. Please...don’t tell Abigail or Madeline about Susan’s plan...Not yet."

She took a deep breath. "Let’s act like nothing happened." Oliver looked at her quietly before giving a small nod.