Standing Right Next To You - Chapter 340

Driving at a high speed, Talia Zheng continued with her troubled thoughts on the obstacle to her path of becoming Mrs. Ming.

Those who had threatened her future position as the matriarch of the Ming family had been dealt with before they could try to scheme against her.

She had never allowed any woman to stick to her Brother Reuben no matter what the reason might be.

There were some women who had used false publicity to get closer to the Emperor only to be blocked by Talia who always stood strong to protect him.

Talia would make sure that no one would harm her loved one as long as she was around.

Hence, many women who had tried to curry favor with Reuben or tried to take advantage of his popularity to gain fame for themselves were taught the perfect lesson by the Queen of socialites.

Reuben was cognizant of this heiress of the Zheng family’s efforts to distance the flies that buzzed around him.

As he was also trying to achieve the same, he had turned a blind eye to her actions and let her do as she pleased.

He would never interfere as long as she accompanied those women and stayed away from him just like she wanted others to stay away from him.

However, she failed to understand what was truly in his heart and kept pestering him every time they met either by chanced encounter or by a pre-planned scheme.

She knew that he did not share the same feelings as she did but that did not matter as she was confident to win him over with time.

What she had been unable to accomplish since her childhood days, she was still in hopes of achieving now that they were at the marriageable age.

Thus, the only anomaly in the present situation needed to be dealt with at the earliest to ensure that her future was not threatened.

Talia had managed to chase the other women with ease because she had the power as a Zheng and Reuben’s unspoken permission to do so.

Unfortunately, things weren’t the same this time around.

The woman who was standing beside her Brother Ming was someone whom he had chosen by his own free will.

She had neither schemed nor played tricks to mislead people into thinking that they were together.

Therefore this time it was even more essential that Lina, her latest roadblock was cleared.

It was clear to her that her Brother Reuben had also shown interest in the new woman which made things difficult for her.

This was the biggest thorn in Talia’s chest that was piercing through her heart every time she saw them together.

Her Brother Reuben who avoided her like the plague was touching that woman’s hand without a single expression of disgust appearing on his face.

They were holding hands while all she could do was clench hers until she was in pain.

This had never happened before and a certain sense of dread was taking over her body.

She was fine with watching him from the sidelines and admiring him from the shadows as she was sure that he was alone under that bright spotlight.

There was no woman by his side and she had the confidence that their families would bring them together in matrimony one day or the other in the future.

However, things had gotten way out of her control and expectations with the appearance of this new and younger woman.

Her sense of security was being threatened and she did not like the feeling of being insecure especially when it came to matters concerning love.

Hence, there was only one thing that she could do to ensure that her future with Reuben Ming remained safe.

‘Lina Yang needs to be eliminated at all costs.’ She declared and was keen on achieving this goal.

While she was in her vengeful thoughts, her sister’s words brought her back to the present.

“Hmmm…. As she is out of the country it is easier for us to act against her.” Valerie’s speculations brought out a burst of loud and roaring laughter from the other side of the phone.

Confused and worried, the little sister stopped speaking and waited for the other one to calm down.

“That bitch is still in the country and I just met her. Guess what? She and Brother Reuben are going out to eat shrimps!” Talia’s furious voice echoed in her ear.

Swerving her car to take an abrupt turn, she zoomed in the direction of the Zheng Villa.

Valerie took a moment to absorb the information she had received.

“So that idiot gave us false information?” She sneered at the spy they had in the Yang Manor.

It was Mandy Rong who had leaked the information about Lina’s trip abroad but as it appears, the information was inaccurate.

Talia was not bothered about this but about their next move which she needed to see in action very soon.

“Call that man and arrange for a meeting tonight.” She commanded and smirked when her sister agreed to it.

Valerie as usual was willing to do all the dirty deeds on her sister’s behalf without any complaints.

The sisters soon bid farewell and decided to meet in Talia’s room the moment she reached home.

Ending the call, the Queen of the socialites zoomed through the busy streets as she drove towards her house.

“Lina Yang has to go.” A silent whisper echoed in her car following which the only sound that could be heard was that of tires against the concrete roads.

____

The events that took place before Talia left the Ming Enterprise building,

The woman who was being schemed against continued to hold hands with her boyfriend as they stepped towards the elevator.

Reuben did not care that his employees were staring at him as though they were witnessing the revelation of the existence of aliens on their planet.

All the eyes in the lobby were focused on the woman who walked next to him and the hands that were being held.

‘I told that I will not publicize our relationship but I never promised to treat it as a secret.’ He recalled and was happy with his decisions.

There was a difference between keeping a relationship private and keeping it a secret.

Their relationship was not a dirty little secret that needed to be hidden from public eyes.

They only wished to have their privacy so that others, especially the media might not disrupt their quiet and peaceful lives.

Lina was also aware of this difference which was the reason why she had not pulled her hand away when he had taken the brave step of holding her hand in public.

Reuben wanted the people in his company to know that the woman who was by his side was someone special in his life and they needed to be watchful of what they said and did in matters that concerned her.

This message was loud and clear in everyone’s mind who had witnessed this scene today.

They would now keep her face in their minds and remember to never offend her as their boss treated her as a special existence in his life.