Chapter12 Hard to Win His Heart
Hard to Win His Heart
Under the chandeliers and as the guests talked and laughed, the banquet went on. Ben had the eyes
of all the guests on him as soon as he showed up.
Many businessmen in suits approached and flattered him. Claudia had to stay beside him, smiling.
After a while, she felt her face muscle stiffed.
After a while, she went to a quiet place alone for a drink.
Suddenly, someone asked behind him,
“Isn't that Miss Evans?”
Claudia looked up and saw a woman and three men approaching her with disdainful faces.
Claudia knew their type. Those guys were born rich and might spend their whole life wasting their
family property.
“No, she is not welcome in the Evans family, and they don’t even want to take her as family.” A man
said.
The woman followed him and said, “You are wrong. Claudia is the lineal daughter. Amber is just the
stepdaughter who followed her mother to the family! She may not even know who her biological father
is!”
“Is that so?” The men murmured, and then they have a thoughtful sneer.
Claudia frowned. She was losing her patience.
The woman continued, “I really envy Miss Evans. She married Mr. Crawford even though she’s a
mute.”
“That was the furthest her luck could take her, or she wouldn’t have failed to win his heart.” Said
another man.
The woman covered her mouth and sneered, “Then let's take a bet. Does Mr. Crawford really love her
or was he forced into this marriage?” This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
They were saying this in Claudia's face as if Ben and her relationship was a laughingstock.
Claudia was offended and clenched her fists.
Suddenly, a clear and dulcet voice rescued Claudia from anger.
“What about you guys?”
They turned over and saw a slender figure walking over. She had a unique temperament, a graceful
posture, and a beautiful face.
Hanna stared at the young woman and asked, “I have never seen you before. Is your family an
upstart?”
“You...”
Hanna had no fear, and she continued, “No matter how the relationship between Mrs. Crawford and Mr.
Crawford is, you have to address her as Mrs. Crawford, do you understand?”
The woman gritted her teeth in anger. She was afraid. After a glare, she walked away with the three
men.
Claudia looked at Hanna with gratitude and smiled nervously.
“Hello, Claudia, we met again!” Hanna gently smiled and stretched out her hand very kindly.
Claudia looked surprised and shook hands with Hanna awkwardly. She felt sad.
After a while, Ben saw them from a distance, and walked over quickly, “When did you get here?”
His voice sounded a bit hoarse because he had had quite a few glasses of wine, but that made him
sound more charming kind.
Hanna looked up. Her gaze crossed with Ben’s. She smiled slightly. “Just a few minutes ago.”
His face was calm. Hanna and Claudia couldn’t read what was in his mind.
His slender hand took over Hanna's in such a smooth and natural way. Claudia had seen all of it.
Hanna smiled softly, “I saw you and Mr. Connor talk about developing the western suburbs. How’s it
going?”
“It will be fine.”
Ben answered carelessly, but his eyes were telling a different story.
Claudia looked at them numbly, thinking that the two looked so well-matched...
They seemed to have ignored Claudia, treating her like someone irrelevant.
Bitterness and pain surged her heart.
“Do you regret marrying a man like him?”
Scott Palmer came over with a bright smile. He held Claudia's hand and then whispered to her, “You
know nothing about Ben's love affairs, and I guess you wouldn’t want to know them.”
Claudia flushed and bit her lower lip helplessly, not knowing what to do.
Scott’s smile grew even brighter, “But I’ll tell you no matter how. What do you think of it, Claudia?”
His eyes were as deep as an ocean.
“Claudia.”
He called her name with the last syllable going up, which sounded so gentle, and affectionate.
Claudia frowned at the cheeky man.
“I remember that you were able to speak when you were a kid. What happened to you then?” He
looked at her and asked in a low voice.
She was surprised, but then she turned calm again.
The social circle of the upper class was a small one. Scott and Ben had known each other since they
were young. She had met Scott back then for some reason she couldn’t recall.
At that time, she was still the respected Miss Evans, a healthy little girl who could speak fluently and
smile brightly.
God then made fool of her and twisted her destiny.
She was no longer the one she used to be.
“Is it an accident, or...”
Scott deliberately spoke slowly and stared at her with confusing eyes. His eyes were clear and dark.
The man looked a bit dangerous somehow.
Claudia wanted to get rid of him, so she nodded politely, and turned around. However, his hand stroked
her shoulder again and he said, "It doesn't matter if you don't tell me, because I will find out by myself!"
He said as if he meant it.
Scott leaned over and inclined to her ear. He added, "Those who bullied you… I’ll never let them end
well!"
He seemed to have had a clear target, for he didn’t take his eyes away from Ben while speaking.
As for Ben, he was drinking with Hanna. He looked sideways at the two, gripping his glass firmer and
firmer.
Hanna noticed his subtle change.
Claudia finally got rid of Scott and hurriedly went to the bathroom.
She knew the contradiction between him and Ben.
They were both domineering, just like the same electrodes who repelled each other.
She'd better stay away from Scott.
Amber saw Ben from a distance and hurriedly walked over. On her halfway, she yelled coquettishly,
“Ben...”
Hanna looked over and saw Amber shimmying in a red dress.
When she came over, she tried to put her arm around Ben, but he pushed her away.
His big palm held Hanna's hand almost out of instinct.
Hand in hand, fingers entwined.
Amber was stunned and asked in a low voice, "Ben, who is this young lady..."
Before Ben spoke, Hanna introduced herself gracefully, "I'm Hanna Lewis. Amber, nice to meet you!"
Amber was stunned again and yelled, “Hanna Lewis?”
She knew Hanna was the dancer who had an affair with Ben. Their stories were all over those tabloids
recently.
Amber had secretly had Ben's past investigated before, which was very hard work, but she found a
name on social media at last.
Hanna Lewis.
A calculating and low-key person like Ben would never sign up on a social platform and share pictures
of his girlfriend, but he had done it for just one girl.
His public display of affection was all for this woman, Hanna.
This was the best evidence to prove how much she meant to him.