"Ma'am..." Wayne was shocked. He glanced around nervously, then leaned in and whispered, "Please don't say that, Ma'am. If Uncle Carter or Mr. Landon hears you, you'll be thrown out."
"I saw everything." Seeing Wayne trembling, Aria Sterling offered a comforting word. "You don't have to be afraid. Your destiny is not a weak one. You'll be fine."
With that, she held out a small black brocade pouch. "Take this. It will keep you safe."
"Ma'am, this..."
"Take it. But in return, you have to tell me everything you know about this mansion." Aria Sterling paused, then added, "Don't worry. Uncle Carter won't find out what you say, and Landon Hawthorne certainly won't."
"This is for you, too."
Wayne saw that, in addition to the black brocade pouch, Aria Sterling was now holding a gold bar.
Overjoyed, Wayne quickly took them. He even bit the gold bar. It was real.
After tucking the pouch and the gold bar away, Wayne leaned in close and whispered, "Ma'am, it's true that Azurewave Manor is strange. People die here every day. But the Hawthorne family is rich and pays very well, so they can always attract people to come work here."
"Even if you die here, the Hawthorne family gives your family a huge compensation payment. It's a good deal."
"Is that what you think, too?" Aria Sterling asked. "Aren't you afraid?"
Wayne said nervously, "Of course I'm scared! Scared to death. Every day I'm afraid I won't see the next day's sun. But I have a wife and kids, and old parents. Without money, you can't get by. Even if I'm terrified of dying, I have to come."
"Tell me about Landon Hawthorne," Aria Sterling pressed. "The rumors say he's bitten people?"
"He really has," Wayne nodded repeatedly. "On my first night of official work after training, I was in the backyard and saw Mr. Landon. His eyes were glowing red, and he grabbed a maid and bit her. The scene was horrifying."
"Even though he didn't bite me last night, that was definitely Mr. Landon."
"And every night, Mr. Landon smashes everything in his room. The next day, it's all replaced with new things, and then he smashes it all again at night. Mr. Landon is really insane. When he has an episode, he bites people."
He spoke with such conviction that Aria Sterling didn't doubt him.
Wayne glanced around before leaning closer to Aria Sterling and whispering, "Ma'am, you're so capable. Can you tell what's wrong with Mr. Landon? Has he run into something unclean, or does he really have rabies? Can he be cured?"
"You don't need to be so nervous," Aria Sterling said lightly, her gaze falling on the rockery behind the pond over yonder.
There was someone hiding there.
'Are they watching me?'
「Midday.」
Landon Hawthorne was in his office, typing on his laptop. His assistant, Harrison Thorne, stood before him, reporting, "Mr. Landon, your wife..."
Upon receiving a warning glare from Landon Hawthorne, Harrison Thorne immediately corrected himself, "Miss Sterling has been asking the servants about you. Also, as you instructed, the box carrying the fake corpse was dropped in the main hall, and a hand fell out."
"Did she jump up in fright, then start screaming and crying to leave?" Landon Hawthorne asked.
He was already prepared to rush back and divorce Aria Sterling, but Harrison Thorne said, "No. Miss Sterling was very calmly watching television."
"Hm?" Landon Hawthorne thought he had misheard. He narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure she saw it?"
"She should have seen it." Harrison Thorne stepped forward and handed him a video clip from the security footage.
The video showed that just as the box's lid flew open, Aria Sterling happened to look over.
From that angle, she would have been able to see the hand.
But the woman in the video only glanced at it for a moment before turning back to her television, completely ignoring the hand she had just seen.
"Is she blind?" Landon Hawthorne asked, extremely suspicious.
Harrison Thorne explained again, "Even after questioning Wayne, Miss Sterling was very calm. She might... not be afraid."
"She's not very old, but she's got some nerve!" Landon Hawthorne had intended to use this to scare Aria Sterling away, but he hadn't expected to fail.
She wasn't even afraid of a dead body. Scaring her away was probably going to be difficult.
Seeing this, Harrison Thorne offered another explanation. "Mr. Landon, perhaps Miss Sterling has a resilient destiny, which is just what's needed to neutralize yours. She could be the one fated for you."
"You believe that crap?" Landon Hawthorne scoffed, his voice cold and full of disdain.
Harrison Thorne didn't dare say another word.
After a long moment, Landon Hawthorne printed out a document. "Take this to her and have her sign it."
In the afternoon, Aria Sterling received an agreement that Landon Hawthorne had someone deliver.
It was a cohabitation agreement, containing the terms Aria Sterling was required to follow while living at Azurewave Manor:
You are not permitted to wear revealing clothing within Azurewave Manor.
You are not permitted to enter Landon Hawthorne's bedroom without authorization.
You may not enter Landon Hawthorne's study without permission.
You are not permitted to dine at the same table as Landon Hawthorne.
You are not permitted to travel with Landon Hawthorne.
At no time are you permitted to have any inappropriate thoughts about Landon Hawthorne.
If Aria Sterling wishes to leave, she need only say so.
A new term she'd recently learned suddenly popped into Aria Sterling's mind: delusionally overconfident man.
'He doesn't even take a look at what a monstrous wreck he is, yet he thinks every woman is coveting him?'
'How shameless!'
「Evening.」
When Landon Hawthorne returned, Uncle Carter handed him the signed contract. "Mr. Landon, Miss Sterling said she will *try her best* to abide by the terms."
Those were Aria Sterling's exact words.
The phrase "try her best" made Landon Hawthorne very suspicious.
Glancing at Aria Sterling's signature, Landon Hawthorne tossed the contract to Uncle Carter and muttered, "What is this signature? It looks like chicken scratch. Bring dinner to my room."
Uncle Carter stood there, looked at the flamboyant, flourishing signature of "Aria Sterling" on the contract, then looked at Mr. Landon's retreating back. He suddenly felt that the two of them were actually quite alike.
They were an extraordinary match.
Uncle Carter was arranging dinner when someone from the old family estate arrived and gave him a packet.
It was a medicinal powder. Not daring to use it recklessly, Uncle Carter immediately called the old estate to verify with the old master. "Sir, was it you who had this medicine sent over?"
The voice of the old master, Alexander Hawthorne, came through the phone. "Give that medicine to Landon. It will help Aria Sterling get pregnant."
"Should it only be given to Mr. Landon? What about Miss Sterling..."
"Give it to whoever isn't cooperating," Alexander Hawthorne said, clear and direct.
Clearly, when it came to the matter of continuing the Hawthorne family line, the uncooperative one was Landon Hawthorne.
Before this, Landon Hawthorne had already been the death of two fiancées and scared off three others. No woman was willing to be engaged to him anymore.
To ensure he had an heir, the Hawthorne family had even found several women who, by mutual consent, were willing to bear his child without an engagement or marriage.
But Landon Hawthorne himself refused, no matter what.
He said it wouldn't be proper or legitimate, and a child born under such circumstances would have their status gossiped about.
They had no choice but to recruit a bride for him.
But those were all just Landon Hawthorne's excuses.
Even now that he had a legal wife, he wasn't about to obediently fall in line.
Thus, as his father, Alexander Hawthorne had no choice but to resort to a few tricks.
Both Landon Hawthorne's and Aria Sterling's dinners were delivered to their rooms. When clearing the dishes, Uncle Carter saw that Landon Hawthorne had eaten everything. He then timed it perfectly and went to knock on Aria Sterling's door.
Aria Sterling opened the door. Dressed in a bathrobe, she looked fresh and elegant. "Uncle Carter, is something the matter?"
"Ma'am, Mr. Landon is waiting for you in his room."
With such a suggestive statement, how could Aria Sterling not understand?
"Alright, Uncle Carter. I'll head over right now," Aria Sterling nodded.