“Who do you think you are, then?”Wendell looked askance at Charlie as he said coldly, “You are nothing but a loser, you can’t even watch your wife stray around. It’s such a waste for Claire to be with you, why don’t you let her go for her to be with me? I can give her whatever she wants!”A layer of ice hovered beneath Charlie’s face. He started with a cold and deep voice, “I’ll give you two choices. One, apologize to Claire and take back everything you said in front of everyone or two, I’ll make your family’s company go bankrupt. Decide now.”“Hahaha! Are you kidding me? Who the heck do you think you are to make my family go bankrupt?”Wendell laughed out loud as he shot a contemptuous glare at Charlie. Obviously, he did not take Charlie seriously.“Are you out of your mind, you crazy piece of sh*t? Are you daydreaming? Do you have any idea what our company’s net worth is? What can you do to make us bankrupt? Haha!”Charlie wore an inexpressive expression on his face while look
When Wendell fled the scene, Harold was walking into the hall along with his sister, Wendy, and her fiancé, Gerald. Walking next to Gerald was a young man in a smart suit. There was a slight facial resemblance between the two of them.When Harold met Wendell head-on, he hurriedly approached him and said, “Hey, Wendell! When I came in just now, I heard that something happened to your family. Is it true?”Wendell shoved him away hastily, mumbling, “I’m done, it’s over, I’m done…”Harold asked with concern, “Mr. Jones, what’s wrong?”Wendell shook his head in panic, not daring to say anything.Right now, he had no doubt that if he said something he shouldn’t, he would be a corpse lying somewhere tomorrow.Thus, he pushed Harold’s hands away and ran out of the hall like his life depended on it.Harold looked the way he ran and sighed. “I bet it’s really the end for the Jones family. D*mn, isn’t it all a little too fast? They were still fine yesterday but they’ve gone bankrupt today!”Then
Charlie slowly stood up as everyone gaped in disbelief.In an instant, the gaze of the entire banquet hall focused on him.“Charlie, what are you doing! Sit down!” Elaine shrieked in horror.Didn’t he look at where he was at now! None of the fearsome bosses dared to stand up at a moment like this, but what did this loser aim to steal the limelight right now!Gerald and Kevin exchanged glances and whispered, “D*mn, is he really the chairman of Emgrand Group?”Immediately after that, they shook their head earnestly.No way, if he were really the chairman, how could he be scolded by his mother-in-law now?“Loser, what do you think you’re doing? Sit down!” Harold shouted in an annoyed tone on the stage.Charlie glared at him coldly. Then, ignoring everyone’s bewildered and confused glances, he went straight to Doris and whispered in her ear.Doris nodded slightly while listening.The scene made everyone’s hearts skip a beat!Doris Young! The vice-chairman of Emgrand Group! The f
After Charlie ran out the door, he realized that Claire didn’t go far. She was crouching in the corner of a pillar, sobbing in grievance.He approached slowly, took his coat off, draped it on Claire, and said, “Dear, don’t be sad. The director of Wilson Group is just a mediocre position, you can do better than that…”“No, you don’t understand. If I become the director, my parents will be able to stand upright in the family again. How could Grandma go back on her word…” Claire whimpered dejectedly.Charlie continued, “Who knows? Maybe they’ll come begging you to become the director. Look at you with your crybaby face, you won’t be pretty when you go on stage later…”“No way, it’s impossible. Grandma has already made the announcement, there’s no turning back. You go ahead, get back inside. Let me be alone…”At this moment, Lady Wilson and Harold ran out of the hall too.The old lady was huffing and puffing after running, with a large crowd of busybodies behind her to watch the dram
Everyone returned to their seats while Lady Wilson walked on stage hand-in-hand with Claire.She gave a gentle and sweet smile as she said, “I’m really sorry for what happened earlier, I made a mistake. Actually, Claire is the outstanding descendant of our Wilson family. Thanks to her, we are able to score such a lucrative contract with Emgrand Group. She has made great efforts for such an amazing achievement.”Standing next to them, Doris glanced at the old lady contemptuously. She waved her hand, gesturing at her to stop talking, and said, “Allow me to correct something. Miss Claire has not only made great efforts for this project but she has accomplished it by her own efforts entirely. It has nothing to do with anyone.”She sounded very impolite and rude, but everyone was accustomed to it. With Emgrand Group’s status in the city, even if Doris slapped Lady Wilson right there and then, she dared not say anything.Lady Wilson nodded quickly. “Yes, Miss Young is absolutely right. C
Charlie was totally clueless. He could only imitate the elders around him and protest. As they were chanting, he asked the uncle beside him to understand what was going on.It turned out that this Axel Insurance company was offering some insurance packages with extremely high returns. This group of elders had been attracted by the high returns that they became the company’s clients by buying a lot of insurance products under the name of the company.According to their agreement, today was supposed to be the day they received their dividends, but when these people came to claim their money, they found out that the door was locked tight and only a few employees were left at the door to block them using lame excuses.Eventually, they realized that they were victims of a fraudulent investing scam.No wonder Elaine had urged him to come and help her to protest.Charlie massaged his forehead in agitation. He asked Elaine, “Mom, how much did you buy?”Elaine said frantically, “They said
The call was answered quickly.Elaine hurriedly said, “Hello, is it, Kevin? Hi, I’m Claire’s mother…”Ever since meeting Claire at the banquet, her beauty knocked him off his feet. He couldn’t get her out of his mind.He was frustrated as to how he was supposed to approach Claire when coincidentally, her mother called him. He figured that Elaine must be in some kind of trouble and of course, he would not miss the chance to woo her.Thus, he put up a sincere tone and said, “Auntie, are you in any trouble?”“Well, there is something I need you to help me with,” Elaine hurriedly said, “Kevin, some old friends and I have bought some participating policies from an insurance company called Axel and we literally used all our money to buy it. However, the company isn’t paying us our dividends now and they don’t even want to return us our money! Could you find a way to help me get the money back, please?”Kevin was delighted upon hearing it, figuring that it was time for him to perform. H
“Yes! If my daughter can marry him, I can die in peace!”“Phew, stop dreaming! Even if you are dead, he will not like your daughter!”As soon as Elaine saw him, she rushed to his side and said earnestly, “Hey, Kevin, you’re here finally! I was so anxious waiting for you!”Indeed, it was Kevin.Kevin said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m very sorry to have kept you waiting!”“Oh no, Kevin, you’re too kind. I think it had taken you only ten minutes to get here, you came so fast!”“As soon as I heard that you’re in trouble, I drove over quickly. I even ran some red lights on the way here.”Elaine looked very smug, but asked with concern, “Will it get you into trouble for running the red lights?”“No,” Kevin said indifferently, “The guys in the traffic department are all my acquaintances. A phone call is all I need to settle the traffic tickets.”Kevin cleared his throat and started again, “Anyway, back to your business. How much have you been scammed out of in total?”Elaine sighed de
Reservations in Heaven Springs had always been unpredictable, and most rooms weren't open to the general public—even if said rooms were vacant for the night.It was not as if Albert Rhodes didn't want to make money when he built Heaven Springs. He simply didn't do it solely for profit, but only mostly for social events and posturing.Back when he was a humbler member of society, he realized that many bigwigs and even his fellows cared for pride a lot. Be it food, liquor, or even simply everyday consumption, they always strove for the best and the most expensive.That was why polite society valued their privacy and established their respective social circles, which was why Heaven Springs ensured that everything was first-rate: atmosphere, service, food, and clientele.Just like how bigwigs wouldn't dine at the same table as their goons, said goons wouldn't eat at the fancy places those bigwigs frequented even if they had money, as it may appear as if they were overstepping.That wa
As such, intent on keeping up his pretense, Jacob answered the phone, "Looking for me, Matilda?""Uh-huh," Matilda replied, and asked, "You didn't show up at Senior University, and your sub is saying you probably won't be coming for a while? Is that true?""Oh—right, that," Jacob quickly said. "Well, it's true—the gist of it is that the Association is getting busy with a project. As the vice president, I probably shouldn't be staying at Senior University all the time, right?""Heck, Mr. Bay called me last minute, telling me how busy we're going to be and that I was needed. That's why I had to go back, but I will head over to campus again when I have the time."Matilda knew right then that those were all excuses.However, she did not expose Jacob, instead asking, "Well, when are you free? So that I can send you my wedding invitation?""Oh, the invitation?" Jacob quickly chuckled. "You really didn't have to come to me—just pass it to Walker, my sub lecturer. He can pass it to me wh
The next afternoon, there was a sudden change of lecturers for the calligraphy class.Despite being the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, Jacob never showed up, instead getting a substitute instructor to replace him.Matilda had come with the invitation Yolden had written for Jacob, but seeing that Jacob wasn't at the lecture hall, she waited until the class was over to ask the sub, "Excuse me, can I ask why Mr. Wilson wasn't teaching this class?""He's busy at the association," the sub replied. "So, I'm taking over his class."Curious, Matilda pressed, "Then, would you happen to know when he will be coming?""Probably not for a while," the sub replied. "He delegated other classes to me as well, telling me that I could just stick to the PowerPoint slides."Then, he asked, "Do you have business with Mr. Wilson?"Matilda nodded. "Yes, but I can call him myself. Thank you."Leaving the lecture hall, Matilda called Jacob, who was goofing off in his office
On the other end, Matilda was left staring at Jacob's reply in confusion.She had presumed that Jacob would understand when she mentioned inviting his whole family that he should be coming up with an excuse to skip attending her wedding.That was the most ideal solution.As such, she was shocked that instead of playing along, Jacob's reply was short and blunt.[No problem. The four of us will be there!]Perplexed, Matilda was left wondering what Jacob meant. Was he really going to attend her wedding with Elaine?The thought left Matilda frowning as she absolutely didn't want to see Elaine—especially not at her own wedding.Yolden was writing an invitation when he saw the somber look on her face, and he couldn't help asking, "Is there a problem?""Jacob replied," Matilda admitted. "And he's saying that he will bring his whole family.""Really?" Yolden was confused too, as he was hardly as eccentric as Jacob. "But he's afraid of his wife and shouldn't be telling her at all…
Charlie was driving Jacob to Thompson First when the latter received the text from Matilda.Seeing that they were reaching the front gates, Jacob promptly snapped at Charlie, "Charlie, stop the car now!"Charlie did so and asked in curiosity, "What's wrong?""Matilda just texted me," Jacob replied, showing the chat log between him and Matilda.Charlie was just glancing at it nonchalantly when he saw that Matilda's contact name was 'AAA July Florist'."Wait, why is that Aunt Matilda's contact name?" He exclaimed in surprise."I changed it."Jacob explained gingerly while reading through the text Matilda sent. "Her profile picture is an iris, so I changed her contact name to a florist since I'm mostly worried Elaine would peek into my phone.""Anyway, she's asking if I'm attending her wedding with Yolden. They would send us an invitation if I accept, extended to our whole family… what do you think I should say?"Charlie asked in return. "You're planning to skip it, aren't you? T
Then, Matilda suggested, "How about this—I'll ask him before deciding." "I'll pass on inviting the rest of my former classmates too. They're too vain and love comparing, so I'd rather not have anything to do with that. Also, there are our Korean friends who have it together, and they were telling us to invite them if we were going to get married. We have to keep our promise, right?""Yeah—then, it's basically decided. Aside from Charlie, we shall invite our colleagues and Korean friends while we wait for an answer from Jacob."Yolden nodded and said, "Now, I'll talk about the honeymoon—cut me short if you have a different opinion."Matilda nodded, resting her chin on her hands and smiling. "Shoot. I'm all ears."Feeling a little embarrassed by Matilda's glowing stare, Yolden took a sip of his ice water before continuing, "My idea is to head to the States for our honeymoon after the wedding…"He trailed off, staring at Matilda and waiting for a response.However, she was merely
"Oh, Jacob…?"Matilda chuckled awkwardly. "Just today, he offered to buy me dinner, but I said I didn't have the time, and I also told him about our wedding… So, we should invite him since he's aware of it.""Jacob offered to buy you dinner?" Yolden exclaimed in surprise. "Did he say why?""Nope," Matilda shrugged, smiling. "Probably just dinner between old classmates."However, she was actually smart enough to guess Jacob's intention even though Jacob was inviting her somewhere near campus. That was why she had also mentioned she was marrying Yolden while turning down Jacob, all so that he would give up on her.After she had managed to get over their past fling completely, she didn't want to give Jacob false hopes before she walked down the aisle.In the same regard, she didn't want to worry Yolden, and therefore, had deliberately discouraged Jacob.Be that as it may, Yolden was smart too.He knew about Matilda and Jacob's past and that her son, Paul's full name was Paul Jam
Before Charlie had arrived, Jacob was still furious that Matilda would soon marry Yolden.After Charlie came, however, he was instead worried that Matilda would send him a wedding invitation.Meanwhile, Matilda and Yolden were discussing their list of guests.They had different social circles, but most of their friends were Stateside, and they only had some distant relatives in this country.Still, they had colleagues in Aurous Hill. Matilda had classmates too, but she was out of touch with them aside from Jacob, whom she often met.Still, as they discussed who should be invited, Matilda first suggested, "Let's go through everyone. First, our Stateside friends… I don't think we should tell them at all since it's a long journey, and inviting them would seem tactless. What do you think?"Yolden nodded, smiling, "I was just thinking the same thing. We're close with our Stateside friends and always keep in touch, but inviting them to our wedding might be a stretch. We'd just hit a wa
With that being said, once Matilda was thrown in the mix, Elaine would suddenly become an African honey badger, with every bit of black air force energy that was implied.As such, if Jacob had managed to be brave and take that one step back then, Charlie would have tried to help, stopping Elaine from harassing Jacob or Matilda.However, the reality was that Jacob had to bungle the chance when Matilda offered it to him.That was why the best option was for Jacob to understand that he couldn't get together with Matilda now so that he would feel much better.And since he had always been a coward, Charlie's slight intimidation cleared his head considerably.He then sighed, "Well, that's just life—you don't always get what you want, and you should never try to claim what you couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to choose Matilda over thirty years ago, so not being together now only makes sense.""Now, I can only pray that Elaine never finds out… or at least that things don't get out of h