Chapter 189

Valeria’s body tensed, suddenly getting a very bad feeling. She looked over at Anastasia, biting her lip and putting on her innocent little lamb act. Sometimes, Anastasia wondered how Valeria could fake it so convincingly – anyone who didn’t know better would think she was genuinely hurt.

“Sister, I know things are tough for you. Spending two million just to save face must have been painful. If you’re struggling financially, just tell me – I’ll help you, I promise I will.”

Anastasia looked at Valeria with a cold laugh. “Valeria, your acting is getting pretty bad.”

Valeria bit her lip. “I’m not acting.”

Anastasia patted Valeria’s shoulder in mock affection, leaving her hand there. “Don’t worry, I’m really not hurting for that two million.”

Valeria’s lips twitched. Of course Anastasia has money now that she’s latched onto Cassian. But Cassian will get bored of her soon enough. I wonder what he’d think if he knew she just blew two million on a membership card. How amusing.

“Because Jasper gave me four hundred million.”

“WHAT?!”

Valeria completely lost it, roughly shoving off Anastasia’s hand. She snarled, “Why the hell would he give you four hundred million?!”

Anastasia had been speaking quietly – only the two of them could hear. But now Valeria had lost control of her volume, and everyone heard her outburst! All eyes turned toward them with curiosity.

Anastasia said casually, “Oh, he didn’t tell you? You should probably ask him about that.”

Before Valeria could react, Anastasia walked away.

Sharlene hurried after her, looking totally fascinated. “Ana, what was that about? Four hundred million?” Sharlene had only seen that many zeros in math class. She was living paycheck to paycheck – forget four hundred million, she didn’t even have four hundred dollars in her account! “Can you show me what four hundred million looks like?”

Anastasia was surprisingly generous, showing Sharlene her mobile banking app.

Sharlene counted out loud, “One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million… hundred million!”

Sharlene gasped. “Holy shit, it really is four hundred million!” Her eyes sparkling, she joked, “Sugar mama, please adopt me.”

Anastasia burst out laughing. Sharlene was such a character – having her around the office made work so much more fun.

“Order whatever boba tea you want, all the toppings you can dream of,” Anastasia said.

Sharlene was easy to please – her “adoption” request was just playful banter. The promise of unlimited boba toppings had this little foodie practically floating with joy. Later, she ordered a drink with literally every single topping the shop offered, so many that the store called to confirm she hadn’t made a mistake. When the drink arrived, even Anastasia was amazed, joking that Sharlene had ordered porridge instead of tea.

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves.

Griffin was already seated in the viewing area, waiting for Anastasia and Valeria’s performance. Watching two women go at it should be entertaining. Someone came running over breathlessly. “Mr. Orlando, we have a problem – the two Miss Kingsleys there are fighting!”

Griffin immediately jumped up, looking frantic. “Damn it, how did they start fighting so fast? They could’ve given me a heads-up!”

Chapter 89

Everyone: “…”

They were just learning that their young master had such a twisted sense of humor.

When Griffin got to the stables, he discovered that Valeria’s assistant had been trying to inject something into Anastasia’s horse, but Anastasia had caught her in time.

“Mr. Orlando, perfect timing. They were about to sabotage your horses. These are your prized animals – they can’t be harmed. How could they do such a thing?” Anastasia immediately “tattled” when she saw Griffin.

Griffin played along. “Exactly! These are bred from the finest bloodlines. You couldn’t afford to replace them even if we sold you!”

Valeria’s face went white as she frantically explained, “No, we never intended to hurt your horses.”

She looked at her assistant, who immediately said, “I wasn’t trying to inject the horse! That needle is mine – I’m diabetic and might need emergency insulin.”

Did she really think anyone would buy such a pathetic excuse?

Anastasia said, “If that’s true, then this injection should be helpful, not harmful. So inject yourself with it right now – let me watch.”

“I…”

The assistant’s pupils contracted. That needle was poisoned! How could she possibly inject herself with it?

SLAP!

Valeria struck her assistant hard across the face. “I can’t believe you’d do something like this! I’m so disappointed. Get out!”

The assistant covered her face and ran off.

Valeria turned to Griffin. “Mr. Orlando, I had no idea my assistant was planning something so horrible. I swear I’m innocent – I didn’t know anything about this.”

Did she really think he’d believe such obvious lies?

But Griffin didn’t call her out. His attention shifted to Anastasia, who had changed into riding gear.

Chapter 189

She looked stunning – brown boots, form-fitting white jodhpurs, and a fitted vest that emphasized her tiny waist. Her hair was in a high ponytail that swayed with her movements, seeming to give off the faint scent of freesia.

Damn, Cassian’s got good taste.

Seeing Griffin’s appreciative gaze on Anastasia, Valeria internally sneered. That bitch is so disgusting, flirting with men everywhere she goes!

But Griffin only looked for a moment before turning away. “Since everything’s fine, let’s continue with the competition.”

When Griffin returned to the viewing area, Cassian and Yinsen had arrived.

“Cassian, I’ve got a surprise for you,” Griffin said.

“What kind of surprise could you possibly have?” Cassian glanced at him dismissively.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.”

Just then, Yinsen, who’d been watching the track, let out a startled exclamation. One of the riders leading their horse out looked exactly like Anastasia!

“Cassian, do you see that? That’s Anastasia, right?” Yinsen said.

Actually, Yinsen didn’t need to point it out – the moment Anastasia appeared, Cassian’s gaze was completely riveted on her. He watched her intently as she led her horse, her brilliant smile in the sunlight making her look like a radiant sprite dancing through golden rays, so graceful and captivating he couldn’t look away.

Griffin made a disgusted sound. “Look at Cassian, totally lovestruck.”

“Whoa,” Yinsen suddenly exclaimed.