"What did you do, Reuben?"

The moment he answered the call, everyone in the room could hear his mother's voice because of how loud she was.

Excusing himself from the two people who stifled their laughter, he walked to the floor to ceiling windows.

"What is it now?" He whispered and turned back to check if Lina and Benji were listening.

He sighed when he saw that they were looking at their phones but in fact, they were straining their ears to try and eavesdrop on his conversation.

'She reminds me of my mom!' Lina smiled and sent a sudden 'I miss you' text to her parents.

Reuben on the other hand was patiently listening to his mother rant about her hectic day with the Zhengs who had stopped by for lunch.

'Asst Kim was right! That stupid woman couldn't control her big mouth!' He rolled his eyes.

"Reuben, why was Talia crying so bitterly when she came home?" She sternly interrogated him.

Eve Zheng was an old friend of Renee's and they would often hang out together whenever Reuben's mom came back from the countryside.

"So she really did come to snitch on me? If anyone has the right to complain then that person should be ME!" He scoffed and clenched his fists.

"Did your friend's daughter tell you about the stunt she pulled on me last night?" He controlled his anger and spoke through gritted teeth.

Reuben had no intention of concealing Talia's evil deeds because that would only encourage her to try something bolder the next time.

"Yes, I heard. She gave you a little something to help you do the deed." She answered as if it was not a big deal.

Renee wanted Talia and Reuben to get together so that she might have grandchildren soon.

'Is that what she told the others'?' He clenched his jaw.

"What else is she supposed to do when such a beautiful young woman is throwing herself at you but you show no emotions whatsoever?" Renee screamed from the other side.

"The words 'beautiful' and 'Talia Zheng' do not look good together, mother!" He hissed right back.

*Gasp*

Reuben turned back when he heard a loud gasp. He found Lina's eyes widened and Benji holding his hand over her mouth to shut her up.

When she had heard Talia's name, she subconsciously gasped out loud because that could only mean one thing.

'That thirsty woman last night was Talia Zheng from Talia's Jewelry?' Her mind spun after learning this new information.

'Obsidia's biggest rival is run by such a dumb woman?' She tried to recall more about her encounter with her rival.

'I thought she's just some stalker that went to such great lengths like drugging him but it turned out to be the so-called queen of the socialites.' She shook her head and pulled Benji's hand away from her mouth.

While Lina was having a mental battle with herself, Renee on the other side of the phone call had her eyes widened in alarm.

'That was a feminine voice I just heard! Why is there a woman with him at this time and who can it be?' Renee glanced at the watch and it was already 9 PM.

She felt suspicious because right now Reuben should be working in his home office, alone.

"Is someone there with you?" She asked her son, having a slight hope that it really was a woman and not something being played on the TV.

"Um… No.. I'm alone." His answer wasn't very convincing.

'Yea right!' She rolled her eyes.

"Fine. But what is it about some woman who you spent the night with?" She asked and anxiously waited for what his answer might be.

"Yes, I did. I have witnesses as well if you doubt me." Reuben confidently spoke and a smug smile was plastered on his face.

"Witnesses? I did not know that you had such a fetish! My son turned out to be an exhibitionist!" She wailed in a loud voice.

Once again Reuben turned around when he heard the sounds of suppressed chuckles coming from the pair.

This time they had silently moved closer to where he was so that they might hear his conversation properly.

'Such gossip mongers!' He shook his head and walked towards them.

Lina and Benji panicked when their sneaky deeds were caught red-handed. They stiffly watched as Reuben drew a chair towards them and turned the speaker on after he sat down.

"You finally lost your virginity, you 28 year old ex-virgin!" Everyone in the room heard his mother's joyous screams.

'Oh my God! This lady is awesome!' Lina hid her face in Benji's shoulders and her entire body shook as she silently laughed her ass off.

Benji shook his head at Reuben with disappointment clear in his eyes.

'What's the use of such a nice face when he never even used it to get a girl?' He clicked his tongue.

Reuben felt like burying himself alive when he saw how these two just laughed right at him.

"Mom!" He complained but it came out more like a child's whinings.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop now. But can you ask the young lady with you to speak to me for a second?" Renee suddenly instructed him.

Lina's body froze and she looked up from Benji's shoulder to face Reuben's puzzled look.

'What should I do?' She asked with her eyes.

'Just answer.' He shrugged without a care. He was sure that she would not be mean to Lina.

"Hello, Reuben's mom." She nervously spoke to his mom.

"Ohho… There really was a girl with you? I was just trying my luck!" They heard Renee's laughter and all facepalmed. She lied to annoy her son and her plan worked.

'Did she just trick us?' Lina was dumbfounded.

"What's your name, darling?" Renee questioned.

"Lina, Madam." She respectfully replied.

"So Lina, how much money have you demanded from my son?" They heard her sarcastic and mean voice.

Lina was stunned to hear the sudden change in her tone and her brows furrowed.

'What the hell is mom doing? She'll offend my new friend this way!' He wanted to snatch the phone away and hang up but Lina did not let him.

She picked his phone and quickly took a few steps away from them.

"Excuse me, Madam? I do not understand what you meant by those words." She moved away when Reuben followed her again.

"I meant what I said. I heard everything about what happened last night. So there's no need to lie about it! How much money do you want from us?" Renee mocked her.

"I think there's been some misunderstanding here. Why would I ask for money from him?" Lina tried to explain this in a calm way but her anger was rising by the second.

"Who do you think that you are kidding? With his status, do you really think that women like you won't try to take advantage of him?" She scowled at Lina.

"Women like me?" Lina was trying hard not to be disrespectful right now.

"Mom! Stop it!" Reuben yelled as he tried to snatch the phone away.

"Now I get where Reuben gets his 'status and surname' crazy mind from." She shook her head and handed the phone back to Reuben.

Taking one last disappointed look at him, she entered Benji's room and locked herself inside.

Reuben was pissed that his mom had suddenly attacked Lina in such a vicious way.

"That was not cool, mom! You went too far this time!" He admonished her in a scary voice.

His mother had a playful demeanor and often she would pull pranks on others. But this time it did not seem to be the case when he heard his mother's next words.

"You're yelling at me because of that woman? She is after the Ming family status just like the others!" Renee glowered through the phone.

"What status will she be after, when she doesn't even know what my last name is! Not everyone is like your beloved Talia!" He scowled at his mother.

"Huh? What are you talking about!?" Renee's brain froze when she heard his words.

"She only knows me as Reuben and nothing else! Just so you know, she's the reason I am stable now and not in prison or a hospital!" He then explained what had happened.

He was sure that his mother had certainly misunderstood something so he found no sense in continuing this charade and told her the exact truth about what had happened that night.

When he had reached his office, he asked Asst Kim to call for his personal doctor and got a check-up done, in case those drugs gave him some side effects.

Turns out, that they were highly dangerous drugs that would make the person delirious and increase their sexual appetite.

It was thanks to Lina's help that he snapped out of that drug-induced trance or else it would have affected his nervous system the longer it had worked on him.

If someone actually had sex while they were high on these drugs then their internal organs were at a high risk of shutting down but the person wouldn't even realize that they were in pain because their brain would only heighten the pleasure that the body felt.

"But… Talia… told us that.." She mumbled.

"I don't care what Talia told you but now you know the entire story of what happened! You can decide who you want to believe in." After finishing his words, Reuben hung up.

He stared at the closed door and noticed how Benji glared at him viciously.