The Underestimated Tycoon

Chapter 2

"Do you even hear yourself right now?"

Aria let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

"You must be talking about those clueless girls back in whatever small-town dump you crawled out of." 

" I honestly don’t know if they’re clueless. Perhaps you’re right. But they are definitely not from the dump." Ethan replied in a thoughtful tone.

"Like, the princess from Valmora. She’s fabulous, but right, she’s never really left her country."

"And the genius scientist who looks like she stepped out of a Japanese anime. Spends all day in the lab, and sure, a total homebody."

Aria cut him off, eyes blazing.

"Stop making up this ridiculous crap!" she snapped. "Do you even know who I am?"

"I don’t. I just transferred to Tussauds University," Ethan replied in a sincere tone.

A broke, delusional student. Just another charity case for the university to look good. Aria rolled her eyes inwardly.

"I'm a daughter of the Whitman family," she said, her voice icy as she crossed her arms and glared at him.

"I'm not the kind of girl you can fool with those made-up stories."

"Do you seriously think I’d lower myself to date someone like you?"

Ethan stated in an exasperated voice.

“I’m not making things up, you should at least get to know me.”

“And why not? As I said, I could give you anything you want.”

Aria snorted.

"You think you can ‘give me anything I want’?"

"The money you make in your whole life probably wouldn’t even cover one hour of my spending!”

"Oh, so it’s about money?” Ethan replied enlightly. “Well, that’s easy, how much do you want?"

Aria crossed her arms.

"Five hundred million," she said offhandedly.

"No problem. What’s your account number?" Ethan replied without missing a beat, pulling out his phone.

Aria stared at him for a moment, unable to decide if she should pity him for being so delusional or feel irritated that he was wasting her time. 

"Save your ass and your so-called 'five hundred million'!" She was driven crazy.

“Look,” she said, shaking her head, “you’re clearly just another guy who thinks he can talk big to impress me.” 

“But the powerful people I know? They could make someone like you disappear without a second thought.”

Instead of backing down at her words, Ethan chuckled softly. 

“Is that so? They might want to be my friends once they know who I am.”

Ethan replied with an amused smile. It was as though he didn’t care about any powerful person she knew whatsoever.

Aria rolled her eyes at his cocky response, and she felt her patience significantly run out at his words. 

“You must be out of your mind."

"If you made things up just wanna blackmail me, you are completely wrong."

"I’m not going to give you a single penny, and don’t even think about using what happened last night against me."

"I don’t want anything to do with a broke, crazy loser like you!"

"It was a mistake, and if you’re smart, you’ll keep your mouth shut about it.”

“Or what?” Ethan said, raising an eyebrow at her subtle threat.

“Or I’ll make sure you regret it. Now get out of my sight. I don’t want to see your face again.” Aria threatened, her voice cold. 

Surprisingly, Ethan didn’t argue with her. 

“Okay. If you insist.” He nodded.

He simply watched her for a moment, a thoughtful look crossing his face before he stood, grabbing his own clothes and quietly leaving the room.

The moment Ethan stepped into the hallway, the expression on his face shifted. 

The lighthearted, almost playful facade he had worn with Aria melted away, replaced by a calm seriousness. 

He entered the lift, pressing the button to the ground floor, his mind racing back to the events of the night before. 

Although he hadn’t mentioned it to Aria, the drug that Thomas Langford used was not just any drug. 

It was an aphrodisiac, and the aphrodisiac Thomas Langford had used was extremely lethal. 

If he hadn’t intervened when he did, Aria would have suffered far several lasting complications that would have ruined her life for good. 

Sleeping with her hadn’t been his choice; it was the only way to save her life.

Nonetheless, he felt no need to explain that to her. 

If anything, it would only complicate matters further. 

"Lucky I won’t see her again."

Ethan muttered to himself, chuckling lightly.

"A spoiled girl who looks down on anyone who doesn’t have money? Judging people by their appearance?"

"If she finds out who I really am, will she break down and cry?"

The elevator dinged as it arrived on the ground floor.

Ethan strolled out of the hotel without much thought, but the moment he stepped through the front doors…

He was met with an unexpected sight.

“Thwap-thwap-thwap-thwap-"

The unmistakable sound of a helicopter blade whirring just outside the hotel.

Ethan narrowed his eyes as he stepped through the glass doors.

A middle-aged man standing beside the sleek, black helicopter that had landed in the courtyard, the rotors slowly coming to a halt.

“Mr. Ethan, welcome to Tussauds!” 

The imposing man said, his voice respectful but barely audible over the loud sound of the helicopter’s engine.

"It's our great honor to have you here!"

"Wherever you're headed next, this helicopter will take you directly there."

He bent down respectfully to Ethan.

If Aria were here, she would surely gasp in shock. Because Edward was none other than the most powerful entrepreneur in the city.