Chapter 181 The Contract
But someone as proud as Rafael would naturally believe he hadn’t done anything wrong during their previous meetings. However, Hera could see he wasn’t a hopeless case. She noticed patterns in his behavior likely shaped by his upbringing, which explained how his parents were raising Minerva similarly.
She had heard from a friend that people often use their family as a benchmark for how others should treat them. In Rafael’s case, being spoiled and coddled by his family led him to grow up arrogant and egotistical. This upbringing explained why Minerva became a spoiled brat and Rafael developed such a haughty attitude. Among all the male leads, Rafael was the most arrogant.
Hera might not be a psychology major, but her experiences in customer service have taught her a lot about reading people and adapting her behavior accordingly. Customer service is one of the hardest jobs out there—why, you ask? Because every interaction demands enthusiasm, even on bad days. You have to smile even when you want to cry because of the last difficult customer, and you have to keep going, undeterred by harsh words or curses. This industry also teaches patience, as customers often push you to your limits.
In a way, Hera learned to become numb to what people said about her while also honing her ability to read them. She learned when to push forward and when to back off to keep customers comfortable, mastering the art of choosing her words carefully. Though it wasn’t always perfect, these skills proved to be immensely helpful.
It didn’t mean she lacked a temper; she was simply being patient. Now, seeing Rafael’s stance, it was time to settle the score. She needed to make it clear that she wouldn’t tolerate this behavior again, lest he assume she was a pushover who would endure such incidents repeatedly.
"Since we’re on this topic, Mr. Briley, I hope you haven’t forgotten about our contract. I assure you, I never provoked your sister, and I have thousands, if not millions, of witnesses to back me up." Hera’s sudden reminder caught Rafael off guard. He was indeed surprised and seemed to have forgotten about the contract they had signed just last week. Perhaps he hadn’t anticipated Hera would bring it up, or maybe it had simply slipped his mind.
Rafael choked up upon hearing her reminder and suddenly recalled the contract they had signed. It stipulated that he would owe Hera $100 million in compensation if he failed to prevent his sister from causing trouble with her. Both he and the netizens had clearly witnessed who was instigating the trouble. It was evident that Hera had never once provoked Minerva, yet Minerva had shamelessly slandered Hera in front of everyone and the cameras without remorse.
He had been the one to initiate the contract, ensuring that Minerva understood multiple times not to seek trouble with Hera again. He had even barred her from going out for days to contemplate her actions, but it seemed useless. Not only had he failed to teach his sister a lesson, but he also lost the opportunity to sign Hera as his artist. The contract with Hera was meant to show her how much he valued her and that he wouldn’t allow her to be bullied by his sister in his own company. He wanted her to feel assured enough to sign under his entertainment company. Instead of winning her over, he ended up losing $100 million.
Rafael gritted his teeth as he confronted the consequences of neglecting to discipline his sister and his parents coddling her with her antics. While he had always been aware that his sister had a way of manipulating their parents, he hadn’t seen it as a significant issue beyond the incident with Alexi. After all, she had always been their princess, and they had spoiled her accordingly. However, now he realized the gravity of the situation. Their indulgence had prevented his sister from considering the consequences of her actions.