He doesn't believe me at all. He thinks Connor and I are in cahoots. That I'm not truly being forced and have wanted to do these all along. Dammit. I know he's paranoid, but this is too much. Still, I need to keep up the act. At this point, giving up would be worse for me.
Anya took a deep breath as she tightened her hold on the armrest before forcing a smile. "President Fuller, I know you don't believe me, and I understand why. I shouldn't have gone after Miss Reed, and I regret what I did. I was being forced to. If you hadn't exposed my fake identity as Connor's real daughter, I would have kept everything a secret. I mustered a lot of courage to tell you this. If Connor finds out that I sold him out, he'll bite my head off. I'm in danger now, President Fuller. Can you—"
"Enough." Toby stood up and put his hands in his pockets. Then, he fixed his gaze on her with an icy look in his eyes. "I won't believe you, no matter how much you say. So, stop scheming, or I'll make you suffer before Connor does."
She froze, and all the color drained from her face. She tried to say something, but not a single word came out. His icy tone and withering look scared her. How could he not believe a single word I said? Goddammit! She hung her head low and gritted her teeth.
He then looked away coolly. "I don't know why you told me so much about your deal with Connor, and I don't care. Get this through your head: no matter what you're trying to do, it won't work. Though, now you've piqued my interest."
She raised her head at that. Huh? What's that supposed to mean?
Anya was trying to figure out why he said that, but then he narrowed his eyes and stared at her. "I'd like to know what your true identity is."
Horror welled within her eyes as she had never expected Toby to blurt that out. That's the one thing I can't let him find out! Her heart thumped as loudly as thunder, and she couldn't even muster the courage to look him in the eye. She was afraid if their gazes met, her soul would be sucked into his eyes, and he would know who she was. By instinct, she pushed herself backward and looked away. Stiffly, she said, "Stop poking fun at me, President Fuller. I'm just a nobody. I'm an orphan with great ambition, so Connor wanted me to help him out. That's all. I don't deserve your attention."
"If you're an orphan, you wouldn't even have the courage to attend this event, nor would you come and talk to me. Besides, you don't even have the insecurity most orphans do. You look like you're well-bred and groomed. Didn't even show any confusion when you saw the hall. It's resplendent. Most people would be mystified. Yet, you look like you're used to it. That's not what most orphans are used to, but you proved otherwise. I'm really interested in knowing who you are." The look in his eyes became colder.
The world was split into two classes: the rich, and everyone else. And they lived in two separate worlds. The quality of life, education, mannerisms, capabilities, and knowledge possessed by the rich was far from what the masses could imagine. Any layman who made their way to the world of the rich could never act as calm as Anya.
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