Prosperous Marriage: Married to My Brother-in-law

On the Pedestrian Street of Mansion Avenue, Adele Horne and Orlando Evans were shopping. Othiel Evans, acting the perfect gentleman, followed them, helping carry their items and generously paying for both women. Adele, accustomed to paying her own way, was having a man pay for her for the first time. His nonchalance in the face of high expenses impressed her, further improving her opinion of him.

However, her mood soured when she received a phone call.

"What's going on? You can't even handle her? Are your men even competent enough for this? They're in the Police Station? Hansen Ruiz got involved? How did he get dragged into this? Alright, I know. Find a way to bail your people out. I'll pay for it."

After hanging up, Adele lost all interest in shopping.

Earlier today, she had coincidentally seen Rachel Bailey setting up a stall in front of the Fashion Flow clothing store. Rachel's business was surprisingly good, which reminded Adele of Rachel's previous disrespect. Coupled with her animosity towards Julia Bluen, this prompted her to hire people to trash Rachel's stall. Adele had assumed her status would be enough to make Rachel beg for mercy; she hadn't expected things to escalate this far.

The thugs she hired had all been arrested and taken to the Police Station, and Hansen Ruiz had also gotten involved. She was certainly familiar with Hansen Ruiz; he was her elder brother's most capable Assistant, the second-in-command at the Valence Group. In this city, he held more status and importance than even she, the young mistress of the Horne Family—a truly formidable man. What puzzled her was how Hansen Ruiz could have gotten entangled with Rachel Bailey. Wasn't it said that he had little interest in women? Wasn't he known for being elusive?

Adele had another worry. The person on the call had also mentioned Benjamin Robinson's involvement. Benjamin was known for his impartiality. If he discovered she was behind the incident, not only would her most disliked sister-in-law, Julia Bluen, be angry, but her elder brother would undoubtedly be furious. If she was found to be targeting her sister-in-law's friend, it definitely wouldn't end well for her. Her brother doted on Julia, meaning Adele was in for a severe reprimand.

Thinking of this, Adele immediately made another call, instructing the other party not to reveal her as the instigator. Otherwise, she wouldn't pay them and would ensure they couldn't survive in the city.

Only after the other party repeatedly assured her they would not betray her did she feel somewhat relieved and end the call.

Having lost her desire to shop, she offered no explanation to Orlando and Othiel Evans. She simply told them she no longer felt like shopping and wanted to go home. After bidding the Evans siblings goodbye, she hurried home.

In her heart, she prayed to God to help her through this; she didn't want to face her elder brother's wrath, fearing he'd metaphorically strangle her.

Even though she could be unreasonable and bratty, she knew that what she had done was illegal.

It was all Julia Bluen's fault!

If it weren't for Julia, she wouldn't even know someone of Rachel Bailey's standing and wouldn't have broken the law.

Adele's resentment towards Julia deepened.

A romantic candlelight dinner always progresses slowly.

Glades Horne and Julia Bluen's candlelight dinner had started at seven in the evening and, by nine, showed no signs of ending. It wasn't that they had particularly large appetites; rather, both were savoring the romantic and deeply affectionate atmosphere.

Tall wine glasses, filled with red wine, sat before each of them.

Glades was indifferent to red wine. However, he always chose it when he was with Julia because her alcohol tolerance was extremely low; even a small amount of strong liquor would intoxicate her.

Deeply affectionate, they exchanged endless sweet nothings. They hadn't eaten much, but they had certainly drunk a fair amount of wine.

Julia had nearly finished a whole bottle by herself.

Red wine can be sweet, and adding a sweet beverage can make it even sweeter and less potent, but that doesn't mean it won't cause intoxication. Although Glades had specifically requested a sweet beverage be added to the wine, the hotel's bartender, wary of altering the wine's delicate flavor, had only added a small amount. As a result, it tasted stronger than the wine Glades usually mixed for her himself.

Given Julia's low alcohol tolerance, after nearly a full bottle, she was feeling dizzy. A flush crept up her fair, delicate oval face, a clear sign of her intoxication, rendering her so exquisitely beautiful that one couldn't look away.

"Glades..." Setting down her glass, Julia couldn't help but raise a slightly weak hand to rub her forehead. Her eyes, as alluring as silk, gazed at Glades opposite her; to her, it seemed there were suddenly two of him. Her voice became soft and languid, tinged with a laziness that sounded flirtatious to Glades's ears. "Let's go back. I'm feeling tipsy."

Glades also put down his glass. He first sat opposite her, quietly and carefully admiring her charming, tipsy face. Then, he stood up, moved to her side, and gently helped her lean into his embrace. "You're such a lightweight," he said tenderly. "How will you handle business socializing in the future?" Just one bottle of red wine, and she was drunk. If she had to meet clients and attend social functions for business, how would she manage? Negotiations often involved drinking, and he really wasn't comfortable with her handling them alone.

But he had promised her he wouldn't interfere with her work anymore and would let her strive on her own.

He caressed her flushed face and said in a low, hoarse voice, "On Monday, I'll have the Administrative Department hire a Secretary for you—specifically, one with excellent alcohol tolerance. From now on, when you have business negotiations or social engagements, take your Secretary with you. She can drink on your behalf."

Julia, her head spinning, simply listened and readily agreed, "Okay."

Hearing her consent, Glades's deep, gentle eyes twinkled. If she weren't drunk, she probably wouldn't have agreed to such a proposal. Her current state of intoxication had one distinct advantage: she'd agree to anything he said. By tomorrow, when she sobered up, it would be too late for her to go back on her word.

Only by hiring someone to drink for her could he feel at ease about her attending social engagements.

Now that she had taken over the company, her social engagements were bound to increase.

If he didn't adore her so much, he wouldn't be so inclined to indulge her like this, allowing her to pursue self-reliance. It wasn't that he disliked career-driven women; he simply didn't want her to exhaust herself. But since she insisted on being independent, he could only support her, especially since it wasn't a bad thing.

Glades gently lifted the drowsy Julia into his arms, turned, and left the Private Room, heading downstairs.