One Should Always Be Grateful
Rachel stared down at the red wine with an ice-cold expression on her face. She did not intend to take it.
“What’s this? You don’t want to make a toast to Alicia and wish her a happy birthday. Miss
Bennet?” Rachel remained still and Lori, Alicia’s roommate, noticed that she had been quiet. With a
sneer, she pushed the glass of wine towards the newcomer again. Everyone else in the room was
giggling, eyeing Rachel with mockery. Alicia never thought that her roommate would do something like
this out of the blue. She hesitated for a while whether or not she should intervene because she assumed
Rachel was pregnant and couldn’t drink.
In the end, she just clenched her fists and averted her gaze. Her eyes fell on the bar counter. Victor had
already stood up from his seat and placed his empty wine glass on the bar’s counter. He was still looking
at them, but Alicia knew he had his eyes focused only on Rachel She unconsciously bit her lower lip and
tightened her fists even more. Her perfectly manicured nails dug into the skin of her palm, causing a
burst of pain.
Lori’s hand was a little sore and numb from holding the glass of wine, but Rachel still seemed
unconcerned. She couldn’t help but feel frustrated. “Are you…” But before she could finish, someone
abruptly took the wine glass in her hand. Carson sniff the wine and said, “Miss Bennet is allergic to
alcohol and is unable to drink. Since I was the one who invited her, she’s under my watch. I’ll drink the
three glasses of wine on her behalf. Would that be okay?”
Lori was taken aback and stuttered, “Mr… Mr. Scott, you want to drink it for her?” “Of course.” Carson
raised his eyebrows. “How about this? I’ll double that and drink six glasses of wine. Is that sincere
enough?” Lori pressed her lips tightly. She never expected Carson to suddenly step in and help Rachel
out. When he came in with Rachel earlier, they all thought that he wanted to embarrass her. But judging
from Carson’s attitude, this was clearly not the case. But why?
Everyone knew Carson and Victor were best friends. Everybody knew that Victor despised Rachel, and
after their divorce, he had driven her out of the Sue Garden. How could Carson help Victor’s ex-wife?
Before the others could react, Carson released his grip on Rachel’s hand and asked the waiter to
prepare the glasses. The waiter obliged and poured the drinks for him and he wasted no time chugging
down six glasses of wine on the table.
Rachel frowned, rubbing her aching wrist and immediately distanced herself from Carson. She looked
around, trying to find an opportunity to leave this damned place. But she couldn’t shake off the icy glare
from Victor. Suddenly, a clap echoed throughout the entire room. “Mr. Scott, hands down to you!”
Someone took the initiative to applaud. The rest followed cheering as soon as he ended. Carson’s face
lit up with a smile as he glanced at Rachel. Then, he turned to look at Alicia’s dumbfounded roommate
and said, “is that okay now?” Lori suddenly snapped out of it and felt embarrassed. It felt like she was
slapped in the face multiple times. It was humiliating. “…. Um…” Her family wasn’t rich. She wouldn’t
have met with these wealthy people if she had not been Alicia’s roommate. That was why she was keen
on fitting in and becoming one of them.
And the best way to achieve that goal was to please Alicia. Alicia had told her so much about Victor and
Rachel. Seeing her roommate holding back, Lori wanted to please her and decided to pick on Rachel,
planning to embarrass her in front of everyone. But now, her plan backfired.
She thought Rachel would become a laughing stock in everyone’s eyes, but she ended up humiliating
herself for offending Carson. To think of she had offended Carson! Lori pursed her lips and lowered her
head. 1 Rachel turned to glance at Carson and saw that he seemed to be fixed on Lori for now. She took
a step back and turned around quickly, planning to sneak out. As soon as she headed to the nearest exit,
she felt something on her skin.
“Where are you going, Miss Bennet?” There was no escape. Carson caught her again. But something
was off. Carson felt a cold glare from behind. As he got closer to Rachel, that intensity continued to
freeze him. Without any doubt, it had to be Victor. He couldn’t help but grin. Carson tricked Rachel in
since he thought the birthday party would be boring. Not only that, but he also wanted to confirm his
suspicions. He wanted to confirm whether his best friend was falling in love.
“I just drank six glasses of wine for you, but you don’t seem to appreciate it. Is sneaking out your way of
thanking me?” Carson chuckled. Since his grip wasn’t as hard as before, Rachel managed to slip her
hand away. “No,” she murmured sarcastically, taking a step back to keep her distance.
She didn’t need Carson’s help. Rachel didn’t care if things would get awkward or it would screw up
Alicia’s birthday. She could’ve saved herself. Carson was stunned for a moment, then chuckled. He didn’t
expect that Rachel could still be so feisty. Rachel looked at him with a confused expression. She didn’t
know what Carson was laughing at. “It’s honestly a shame, Miss Bennet. If only you weren’t my best
friend’s woman, I think I’d really like you.
You’re quite an intriguing woman.” With one hand in his pocket, Carson tilted his head and smiled
mischievously. Rachel would’ve ignored him. But when she heard what Carson said, she felt wary and
stood her ground She could feel that Carson was up to something. She needed to be prepared for
anything. “Since no one has taught you, I’m going to do the honors.
You’ll have to learn to be grateful.” Carson came closer and grabbed her hand again. “Besides, did you
really think you can leave? I don’t think you came to the Crown Club for nothing, am I right? If I tell Victor
about this, what would happen? Do you think he’ll try to investigate why you came to this place? Huh?”
Hearing the threat, Rachel raised her head and met his eyes defiantly.
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