Claire was very curious about the series of strange events that had happened today.First was the car racing incident. Why was Charlie’s BMW 520 twice as fast as Clinton’s 540?Second, the ancient painting that was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars!Third, how and why did Charlie know the people of the underworld? Not to mention how polite and respectful they were towards him.On their way home, Charlie provided some explanation about the whole string of events.Firstly, the BMW 520 was a test drive car that was modified by the showroom in order to make buyers mistakenly believe that the model was very powerful.Claire didn’t know much about cars, so she believed him.Secondly, he explained about the painting when they were at the restaurant. He had bought it at a low price from an acquaintance out of courtesy and he gave it to Douglas as a gift as a token of affection.However, the matter about Scarface was a bit tricky. He had to find a solid and believable explanation t
Claire frowned in confusion. Was this where Charlie had booked their anniversary dinner tonight?She couldn’t help but ask suspiciously, “You’re not bluffing, are you?”Charlie chuckled gleefully. “Of course, not!”Then, he continued, “I made a reservation a few days ago. Let’s go in and check if you don’t believe me.”Claire shook her head. Charlie had never once deceived her after being married for three years, especially not on such an important day as today. So she said, “Nah, I believe you.”She tilted her head curiously and asked, “Did you reserve the seat in the Sky Garden? There’s some VIP guy who booked the whole place for today, right?”Charlie quickly explained, “The seat I reserved is next to the Sky Garden, it happens to have a view of the inside of the garden. We can peep to see who on earth booked the place later! What do you think?”Claire giggled. “I’m not such a busybody like you are!”Then, they walked into Shangri-La Hotel.As when they were waiting for the
Julie didn’t notice how Claire’s expression suddenly changed. She pulled the man next to her with a smug smile on her face and said, “Let me introduce you to my husband, Kyle!”Then, she complimented, “He is the young master of the Sullivan family and also the heir apparent to his family’s fortunes worth hundreds of millions!”Claire nodded politely.Charlie, on the other hand, glared at the young couple in annoyance.He brought his wife here for their wedding anniversary, who knew such an annoying blockhead would appear in their way!Julie continued in her smug tone, “Oh, by the way, my husband is a platinum member, so he has a lot of benefits and privileges here. I guess the best Charlie could get is the normal suite, am I right? Why don’t I let Kyle upgrade you guys to the luxury suite?”Claire was about to reject her offer when Charlie chuckled and said, “Well, I booked quite a nice place, so thanks but no thanks.”He had booked the entire Sky Garden to make up a grand weddi
“During your freshman year, according to records, you checked into different hotel rooms no less than a hundred times with eight different men, including Brett Cooley, Jack Pierce, and Austin Cannon.”Julie’s face turned pale, her eyes wide and her mouth agape in extreme shock. She blurted angrily, “What the h*ll are you talking about! I’ll sue you for slander!”On the other hand, deep frowning wrinkles started forming on Kyle’s forehead. He was obviously shocked and traumatized. Charlie started again, “Wow, this one is amazing. There were a few times that you checked in a hotel room with two men, Ben Decker and Jay Decker, at the same time. They were brothers, weren’t they? Were you in a threesome?”Julie shrieked in horror, “Shut up! Shut up! It’s all bullsh*t!”Charlie ignored her and continued, “Also, during your sophomore year, you had a sugar daddy. He was the vice president of Herolutions Enterprise and paid you thirty thousand per month for three years. During this period
Kyle’s face was as green and ugly as it could get, suppressing his outburst.He finally felt how it was like to be cheated on by his wife repeatedly!Eventually, he couldn’t hold it anymore and started slapping Julie hard while cursing, “You b*tch! You’ve been lying to me all along! You cheated! I’m going to kill you, sl*t! I’m going to kill you!”Julie screamed in agony and wailed loudly, her hair flying all over the place.Kyle shouted while slapping her, “I want a divorce right now! You won’t get a penny from me! Otherwise, I’ll get someone to make your parents and your brother perish from this world!”Julie was completely devastated!She tried, by all means, to marry into the Sullivan family and she finally succeeded. She was dreaming of becoming a rich wife for the rest of her life, but today, her dream was totally shattered!It was all because of Charlie Wade!She hated Charlie so much, but Charlie simply grinned contemptuously and said to Claire, “Dear, let them fight ea
Just as turbulent waves were tossing in her confused mind, the elevator reached the top floor of Shangri-La Hotel.A waiter standing next to the door bowed respectfully and said with a smile, “Ms. Wilson, on behalf of our Shangri-La Hotel, I would like to extend my heartfelt blessings to you and Mr. Wade for your wedding anniversary tonight.”Charlie waved his hand and said, “Okay, you can go off now!”All the staff nodded and left.In an instant, only Claire and Charlie were left in the empty Sky Garden.Claire felt like she was in the middle of a sweet dream.In front of her was a vast space with luxurious decoration.The gorgeous crystal chandelier was hanging on the ceiling, casting bright and clear sparkles that emphasized the elegant and serene ambiance of the lavish Sky Garden.The soft sound of piano masterpieces echoed across the Sky Garden that slowly warmed the heart of its listeners, easing away the tension and anger within them.Fresh and rare flowers delivered di
The whole Aurous Hill was watching the extremely lavish wedding through the hazy frosted crystal glass.While they were extremely envious of the couple and their setting, they couldn’t help but wonder who the couple who held their wedding in the Sky Garden was.Moreover, they were so mysterious that there were only two of them at their wedding. Not a single relative nor friend was present, not even a witness!On the crystal stage, Charlie took Claire’s hand and retrieved the jade necklace he had prepared for a long time.“Claire, this is my wedding anniversary gift for you. I hope you like it!”Claire stared at the crystal-clear jade necklace and exclaimed, “This…isn’t this the prized possession of Emerald Court? Charlie, how and where did you get this?”Claire was astonished when she said it.Was Charlie the mysterious billionaire in the video?How else could he have had this jade necklace?But…But it didn’t make any sense!She was very clear about Charlie, how could he be
Overnight, the grand wedding at the Sky Garden became the hottest topic in the city.However, the bride and groom of the wedding remained unknown.Charlie drove the modified BMW 520 and went home with Claire.Claire was still immersed in great happiness, almost as if she was laying in the center of cloud nine. She couldn’t help but ask, “How did you book the Sky Garden? They’ve never allowed that ever.”Charlie smiled coyly and said, “Frankly, the senior executive of Shangri-La is a good friend of mine back at the orphanage. We used to share our hard and difficult times together and I always shared half of my steamed bun with him, so when I asked him for a favor, he said ok.”Claire nodded lightly. “Oh, I see. Why haven’t I heard about this before?”“I have a lot of friends at the orphanage, I might need at least three days to talk about all of them. I’ve never mentioned anything because I thought you didn’t like listening to it.”Claire uttered in an earnest tone, “You are my h
Hearing what Jacob had said, Elaine became anxious and pressed him as he hung up, "What's going on? You're leaving? But we just got here! My shoes have just caught Dubai dirt, so why are we leaving so soon—"However, Jacob was wiping the sweat off his brow as he mumbled quietly, "Well, at this point, I have to leave or I won't be vice president anymore."Elaine immediately fumed. "We've been married for half our lives, and this is supposed to be our honeymoon, yet we're just leaving? I've posted about this on social media too—there are plenty of people who're waiting for more posts on our trip!"And don't forget—we spent a lot on our flight tickets and our hotels! The hotel bookings can't be refunded either!"Jacob scowled dolefully. "Well, what can we do? Why don't you stay? I'll go home and get this sorted out first….""Well, how long would that take?" Elaine asked."How should I know?" Jacob sighed, uneasy and annoyed. "Don Albert is saying I have to go back and donate the 300
"But I spent 98 thousand on that bronze sculpture!" Jacob exclaimed in agitation before he knew it. "I made 300 thousand from it, and that means my profit was 200 thousand at best, but I'm supposed to return that to him as well?! That means I'd have lost my own capital too!""I can't help you if you can't bear to part with that money, Mr. Wilson," Don Albert said quietly. "In that case, you'll just have to handle it yourself.""Wait, wait, wait!" Jacob immediately became antsy and cried out right then, "Please, Don Albert! I'll return the money! I'll return it, alright?! The entirety of my profits—202 thousand, okay? At least let me keep the money I spent, okay?""By that reasoning, Mr. Wilson, when a phone scammer is told by the cops to return the money they've made from defrauding, should he be allowed to keep the money he spent on telco charges? ""Oh, I…" Jacob was left stumped and could not come up with an answer.Don Albert then pressed on, "Mr. Wilson, I've offered a prom
"Mr. Wilson, what you boys did was truly heinous!" Don Arnold growled. "I scolded Zachary myself when I found out, and I was the one who told him to post that statement!"Jacob was shocked. "But why, Don Arnold? Are you friends with Raymond Cole?""Never met the guy," Don Arnold replied.That left Jacob even more confused. "Then why are you taking his side?""I've been doing my best to clean up my image over the past couple of years," Don Albert replied coolly. "I rarely get involved in mob business or anything illicit, and everyone in Aurous Hill knows that Zachary is my right-hand man, yet he confessed to committing such a heinous crime behind my back. What is that if not sullying my reputation?"Jacob was left reeling as he didn't expect Don Albert to be so serious, but he quickly explained, "I'm sorry. I didn't expect it to affect you so terribly… It's all Zachary's fault! I wouldn't have been aware that Raymond had returned at all, but he just had to tell me and come up with
At this point, Don Albert could very well be Jacob's personal messiah.Even if he did threaten Zachary with calling Charlie persistently, he actually wouldn't dare call Charlie.After all, how would he start explaining that he was involved in a crime? And telling Charlie was basically telling his daughter—what would they think of him after this? Would he ever be able to hold his head high in the family again?As such, his only option now was to ask Don Albert and see if he would help.What he didn't know was that Don Albert was with Charlie, who had already anticipated Jacob's move.When Jacob realized he couldn't stop Zachary, Jacob would find someone who could, and Don Albert was the best man for the job!To no surprise, Don Albert's phone soon started ringing with a call from Jacob.Don Albert didn't answer right away, however, instead turning toward Charlie as he asked gingerly, "So, shall I stick to your script, Master Wade?"Seeing Charlie nod, he pressed on, "Should I
As soon as Jacob sent the voice message, Mr. Bay called.Jacob quickly answered, asking nervously, "How are things over there, Mr. Bay?""How, you ask…?" Mr. Bay sighed in exasperation. "The entire Calligraphy and Painting Association was demanding your dismissal as soon as Zachary Evans posted his statement, thinking that you have no business being the administrative vice president let alone have a place in the association."Even those officials came asking me questions, and you know how they are—gossipers, every last one of them, always finding out about the juicy stuff instantly even if it's really no big deal. The only excuse I have to stop them is that we don't have the facts, but this issue still needs to be taken care of."So, be straight with me. Were you a part of this? If you don't, do you have any definitive evidence that can refute Zachary's claims?""I… Uh…" Jacob stammered, unable to answer.He certainly wanted to say no, but he had no evidence to back himself up.
Jacob bellowed furiously, "Raymond Cole made over 19 million dollars! From my bronze sculpture! Yet you're telling me to refund that 300 thousand too?! You're just fucking with me, aren't you?!""Well, if you don't like it, just do what you like, then," Zachary replied calmly and quickly hung up before Jacob could answer.Jacob was left twitching and shaking endlessly, and there was no telling if it was from rage or fear.Beside him, Elaine quickly asked, "What did Zachary say, dear? Can he get that bronze sculpture back?"Caught by surprise at her question, Jacob flinched, and his phone slipped out of his grasp.As it seemed to hover in the air, he tried to catch it twice but failed, but Elaine managed to grab it.It was then that she noticed that he was sweating all over his face, and she promptly asked, "What's wrong, dear?"Coming to his senses, Jacob's eyes went wide with rage. "Zachary is trying to kill me! He leaked the whole thing to his Twitter page—it's like he's pulli
Jacob turned his phone's loudspeaker on before switching panels to Twitter.He was already shocked to find dozens of people directly messaging him, and he was naturally curious why so many of them were looking for him while he was on his trip to Dubai.However, he had no time to find out as he promptly tapped on his social feed, and it took much swiping to reach Zachary's apology post.He tapped on it, scanning through it just before he went dizzy, the world spinning around him while a dull hum rang in his ears.Never would he have expected Zachary to spill the beans, leaking every detail including Jacob's name and contact information. What was that if not mutual destruction?!Absolutely furious, he bellowed at Zachary again, "What the fuck is this?! Are you trying to kill me, posting this shit?!""I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson, but I've come to understand how grave of a mistake I've made," Zachary calmly replied. "I've actually visited Treasure Measure earlier to apologize to Mr. Cole
Within hours, Jacob and Elaine's flight had landed at Dubai International Airport, and the first thing he did was turn off his phone's flight mode.Then, staring at the upper right corner, he waited for the phone to find a network signal.He had connected to international data roaming, and within a few dozen seconds, he was connected to the internet.Once he did, a ton of notifications popped up on his phone, but he didn't care to check any of them and instead opened his contacts and called Zachary.Zachary was in his office, ready to do his usual rounds inspecting Don Albert's premises.While he had indeed completely lost his reputation at Aurous Hill's Antique Street after pinning that post on top of his social page and was given plenty of weird looks by people around him, he didn't care because he knew how to prioritize.Right now, the most important thing that he had to do was put all his body and spirit into his work and not get distracted by anything else.Only then could
The man who had called out to him shrugged. "Zachary posted it on his account. Check it out yourself!"Mick promptly tapped out of his message editor, refreshed his social feed, and immediately saw Zachary's apology post.Once he tapped on it and read it, he almost had a stroke and was cursing before he knew it, "Fuck technology! It's like a self-exploding truck! Fuck you, Zachary Evans, blowing yourself up before I could end you! What a bitch!" Naturally, the post also made Jacob infamous.The Calligraphy and Painting Association more or less had a stake in the antique trade, and the members were shocked that Jacob was involved in such a scandal.Within minutes, word reached Mr. Bay, leaving him pacing around in his office anxiously.Mr. Bay was eager to suck up to Jacob too, which was why he had intended to let Jacob inherit his position as president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association after he was promoted.But while he thought it was as good as done, he didn't expec