<h4>Chapter 300: Pretending to Be a Couple</h4>


    E had shown Rachel mercy time and time again, letting her off easily. But Rachel, undeterred, had the audacity to team up with Mason and even attempt to seduce Eric.


    There was no way things would go that smoothly for her. So Eric and E decided to take matters into their own hands and ensure Rachel got what she deserved.


    Hand in hand, E led Eric away from the chaos, unwilling to waste any more time watching Rachel get what wasing to her. A person like Rachel was finally facing the consequences of her actions—something long overdue.


    Meanwhile, Mason was jolted awake by the shouting outside his room. The woman in his arms stirred, and as Mason nced down at her, he was shocked to find it was Be.


    "You—" Mason began, only to be interrupted by Be’s sudden scream. As she panicked, there was a loud banging at the door, and Mason, now fully awake, yelled, "Stop banging on my door!"


    But before he could react, the door was kicked open, and several men, along with a few reporters, stormed inside.


    "You scumbag! How dare you drug ourdy and rape her?" one of the bodyguards bellowed, throwing a punch at Mason without hesitation.


    Mason, still dazed, stumbled back from the blow, his face contorted in shock and confusion.


    "Miss, are you alright? What are we supposed to tell the mayor?" another bodyguard asked, trembling as he looked at Be, who was now clutching the nket around her body.


    Be waspletely stunned, unable to process what had happened. How could this have gone so wrong?


    The staff had told her that Eric had switched rooms, and this room was supposed to be his. Be, the spoiled daughter of the mayor, had always gotten what she wanted. She had set her sights on Eric, even though he was already married. In her mind, if she could just get close to Eric and make E find out, it would create enough drama to break their marriage apart, leaving her with the prize—Eric.


    So when she got the information from the staff, she had no hesitation. Armed with a bottle of special "perfume" sold to her by the staff, she sneaked into the roomte at night.


    But now, the man she had ended up with was Mason, not Eric. Where had things gone wrong? Had she entered the wrong room?


    "Take him to the police! This scumbag raped our youngdy!" the bodyguard shouted in a frenzy. Protecting Be had been his job for over a decade, and now that something so humiliating had happened, he was seething with anger, ready to tear Mason apart.


    "Shut up! Be and I... we’re in love!" Mason blurted out in a moment of desperation, trying to stop the situation from spiraling out of control.


    Everyone froze, including the bodyguards.


    Be, shaking, quickly caught on and nodded. "Yes, that’s right! We’re... in love. Now, get out of here! And smash those cameras!" she demanded, her pride as the mayor’s daughter kicking in.


    Though she had clearly been set up, she couldn’t afford to let word get out that she had been drugged and raped. If the news spread, her reputation would be ruined.


    But if they imed it was a consensual rtionship, it wouldn’t be as damaging.


    Eric, watching the scene unfold from the hallway with a faint smile, spoke up. "My, my, Mr. Scott. You truly are a man of many affections. Yesterday at the restaurant, you were confessing your love to my wife, and now, you’re saying you’re in love with Miss Rodriguez. How unexpected." Eric’s voice was calm, but his words stung, and Mason red at him with cold eyes.


    Mason had underestimated Eric. He hadn’t considered that Eric could obtain the same "perfume" he had given Rachel to use on him.


    The bodyguards, realizing the situation, hurried to shoo away the curious onlookers and shut down themotion, embarrassed by the entire ordeal.


    As the crowd dispersed, Mason fumed, his n thoroughly backfiring. Be’s n to trap Eric had also failed miserably, leaving her reputation in tatters. Eric and E had yed them both, using their own tactics against them.


    "Mr. Nelson, that was quite a move," Mason’s eyes zed with fury. "Fine. I look forward to our next encounter!"


    "You’ll lose just as miserably next time," E replied coolly, tugging Eric’s arm. "Let’s go, darling. They’re apparently ’in love,’ so there’s no point in us sticking around. But Miss Rodriguez, please make sure to inform your bodyguards next time you and Mr. Scott n a rendezvous, so as not to disturb the other guests."


    E’s parting shot left Be fuming, her rage evident in her trembling frame. She hade here with ns for Eric, only to find herself humiliated instead.


    "I understand. Thank you for your ’concern,’ Miss Davis," Be replied icily, deliberately calling her "Miss Davis" instead of "Mrs. Nelson," clearly refusing to acknowledge E’s status.


    E wasn’t bothered—her identity didn’t need Be’s validation. Today’s incident had served as a harsh wake-up call for Be: her husband was not someone others could scheme after so easily.


    As the crowd dispersed with murmurs of disbelief, Be’s bodyguards slipped away in shame. Mason mmed the door behind them, turning to re at Be with a cold, piercing look.


    Still enraged by E’s parting words, Be trembled with fury. "That wild girl... how dare she speak to me like that! I’m furious!"


    Mason strode over and harshly gripped her chin, startling Be. "What are you doing?" she snapped.


    "What am I doing? Why did you crawl into my bed? Are you that desperate, Miss Rodriguez? You’re the mayor’s daughter, and yet here you are, throwing yourself at a man like me?" Mason’s voice dripped with disgust as he looked at her.


    Be’s face flushed with embarrassment, and she shifted ufortably, realizing how sore she was.


    "Mason! You’ve taken advantage of me, and now you’re questioning me?" she retorted, her anger rising.


    Be wasn’t used to being treated this way. She was the daughter of Y City’s mayor, someone many men would do anything to please, hoping to marry her. And now this?


    "Taken advantage? You’re the one who drugged me. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t even bother touching you. And let’s not forget how eager you werest night," Mason sneered, his gaze falling on the faint marks on Be’s neck, remnants of their night together.


    Be’s fury boiled over. "Mason! If it weren’t for me being set up, I wouldn’t even have looked at you! Someone told me that Eric was staying in that room and sold me that bottle of perfume, saying it would..." Be trailed off, her mind spinning.


    She realized toote that she had let her desire to humiliate E cloud her judgment. She had wanted so badly to assert her dominance over E that she had thrown caution to the wind.


    Spending a night with a man she desired wasn’t a big deal for Be, but the fact that it had all gone horribly wrong made it unbearable.


    Mason’s eyes narrowed, his cold demeanor enough to make even the enraged Be fall silent. Slowly, her anger began to subside as the full weight of their situation dawned on her.


    "We were set up," Mason said, his voice calm but filled with bitterness. "So for now, we’ll just have to y along and pretend to be a couple. It seems you don’t have much of a choice."


    Be clenched her teeth, barely containing her frustration. "It must have been E! She’s the one who set me up!"