Once she understood what was happening, she brushed past us and shoved the door open.
Samuel was sprawled across the bed, flushed and tugging desperately at his shirt.
Evelyn turned back and flicked both of us on the forehead.
"You fight every day trying to move up, and now that the chance is here, you're suddenly playing shy?"
She crossed her arms, clearly losing patience as she eyed the two of us as if we were defective merchandise.
"Both of you are very fertile. Whoever goes in tonight is going to get pregnant. Figure it out and get in there."
She was desperate for a great-grandchild, and Samuel spent most of the year on business trips.
Of course, Rhian and I were the leading candidates.
We exchanged a look, but neither of us moved.
We both knew the truth.
If I went, I would die.
If she went, she would die.
So the best solution is to send in the woman he actually loves.
But with eighteen mistresses living here, who on earth knew which one she was?
Thinking that through, I spoke up carefully, keeping my tone sweet. "Madam, everyone is watching. Isn't it unfair to choose like this? And… shouldn't we consider Mr. Grant's preferences too?"
I turned slowly toward the bed, testing the waters.
"Mr. Grant… who would you like to choose? It's alright if she doesn't get pregnant the first time. We wouldn't want to upset the one you actually care about."
In my first life, when I secretly gave him the antidote, everyone else had been fast asleep.
Now, his beloved was right in front of him. Surely he would not willingly hurt her.
But to my surprise, Samuel looked straight at me and forced out a strained answer.
"Then… Leslie, you go."
Listen to that: reluctant, helpless, almost resentful.
Evelyn nodded approvingly.
"Leslie, go. Consider your wish fulfilled."
She wasn't wrong. Marrying Samuel had always been my dream.
Back in my senior year of college, a group of thugs cornered me in an alley outside campus. They wanted to violate me.
It was Samuel who saved me that night.
Afterward, he looked after me in every possible way, checking on me constantly, comforting me with gentle words, and showering me with gifts until my hands were full.
As an orphan who grew up in a group home, even the slightest bit of warmth was enough to make me fall.
Even when people warned me that Samuel was a player who would never settle down with someone like me, I still became his seventeenth little mistress.