He paused for a second, then continued walking without a word. Ashley, however, returned to her senses. She whipped her head up and glared at Olivia, screeching, “Are you an idiot? What the hell were you thinking, standing there without saying a word on my and the brand’s behalf? How will you benefit from this if we get kicked out of here?”Darius, still seated in Hansley’s office, sighed. At the same time, he put a hand over his ear. Though Edward couldn’t see Darius’ actions from the corridor, he heard him sigh. Instantly, he knew what he had to do. He slapped a hand over Ashley’s mouth and then looked at Olivia. “I know you’re not exactly an angel, so you’d be better off taking the initiative to leave with me if you don’t want to offend Mr. Reid any further. Of course, if you don’t want to leave right now, I don’t mind coming back in a few moments to drag you out like this.”Olivia didn’t hesitate. She jogged after Edward, even speeding up to open the door and make things convenie
Now, here was the first person who truly wanted to harm him. Darius stood on the steps outside the store without saying a word. More and more lights started flashing around him, and there was even the vague sound of someone talking into a microphone.When Hansley heard it, he hurried over to Darius and grabbed him by the wrist. “I think we should leave now. I know you have many questions, but I want you to know that I definitely won’t harm you. So, come with me.” Then, he turned to leave while still holding onto Darius. To his surprise, Darius didn’t budge. Hansley stopped and turned to look at him curiously.Darius said calmly, “You probably heard the sound of reporters talking into their microphones, but it doesn’t matter.” He put his hands behind his back. “By coming here, I’ve already proven that I have nothing to fear.”Hansley’s jaw dropped. He wanted to continue persuading Darius but didn’t know what to say. In the end, he sighed and shut his eyes. Darius found his reaction we
Ashley felt like this was the most shocking thing she’d heard in her whole life! In her mind, no one could possibly fork out 500 million in one go. Yet, Darius had made it happen. She’d had the chance to serve him and leave him with a good impression, but she hadn’t. Moreover, she’d thoroughly offended him. This meant that she would never come across this opportunity anymore. Despair flooded her eyes.She stood before Darius, parting her lips a few times but failing to make a sound. Eventually, she hung her head and mumbled, “If I were to apologize to you now, could we pretend none of this happened?” She lifted her head, making herself look as pitiful as possible. This was her last chance. As she pondered the possibility of Darius letting her off the hook, she looked at the building behind him. It was her former workplace and the only luxury brand in Almiron City that was relatively affordable. It was also the source of most of its parent company’s revenue.However, she’d singlehande
The whispering gradually stopped; people stopped voicing their opinions. Darius put his hands behind his back and looked at Ashley, who was still on her knees before him. He didn’t comment on her act, instead saying, “I’ve already given you and your brand long enough to move out of here. Yet, you’ve done everything aside from what I asked of you.” He exhaled. “I think I’ve already treated you kindly enough. Now, I’m giving you an official notice of eviction—from now on, this building will become the new store for New Isleberg Jewelry. I’m sure everyone will enjoy shopping here.”Darius smiled. “I suppose you still don’t know that this is West Atlantics Int’l’s newest and most anticipated project.” He held his head high. “I’ve always felt that Almiron City is geographically promising, and I believe this store is in a convenient location. Your regular customers would probably be extremely willing to switch over to New Isleberg once they see that a store has been set up here.” Then, he
“Then again, it’s not like we’ve known each other for that long. Is there anything wrong with this guy?”Hansley had a complicated look on his face. A few seconds later, he said, “Yeah, there’s plenty wrong with him. I can use all the negative words I know to describe him.”Darius raised an eyebrow, looking interested. “Sounds like high praise to me. I’m looking forward to speaking to him now.” He smiled and trained his gaze on the man. When Hansley saw this, he subconsciously took a step back to put some distance between them.Darius sensed this, but he didn’t take his eyes off the man as he said, “You don’t have to be so nervous, and there’s no need to distance yourself from me. I just find this guy to be interesting—he’s one of the few people I’ve met that looks naturally unfortunate.”Hansley rolled his eyes without saying anything. He couldn’t help feeling that Darius was more like his father than he knew. Even if Hansley hadn’t spent much time with him, he had plenty of experien
He smiled politely and turned to face Darius. Then, he rubbed his hands and said, “You must be Darius. I’ve heard of you, and I know that you’re an outstanding person. In fact, I really respect you for not giving up on yourself, even under such tough circumstances. I’ve even hung a portrait of you in my son’s room so that he can grow up to be just like you!”Darius’ lips twitched at his sycophantic expression and turned away without a word. He didn’t know how to respond to Sean’s blatant sucking up, so he chose not to say anything. However, he didn’t expect Sean to still try to strike up a conversation despite his obvious repulsion. Sean said, “I have to thank my lucky stars for allowing me to see you today.”Darius raised an eyebrow. “The fact that you can say that shows how bad your taste is.” He didn’t raise his voice, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear him. The crowd started laughing.Sean gulped, not knowing what to say in response. He’d never met someone like Darius, wh
“Because I’m honestly not as mad as you think I am,” Darius said calmly.Sean’s eyes darted around. He didn’t know what the right thing to do was. He’d get his way with other people by apologizing or throwing a tantrum, but it didn’t seem to work with Darius. He paled, refusing to accept this.Darius started to walk away. Sean wanted to make him stay, but he knew he couldn’t say anything. Who knew whether it’d make Darius more upset? So, he had no choice but to chase after Darius.Ashley was standing at a spot that Darius had to pass by when leaving. When the two of them walked past her, Sean saw her and slapped her without hesitation, making her fall to the ground again. There were already scratch marks on her face, to begin with, and they only became more evident now that her face was swelling up. She put a hand on her face and stared at Sean with bloodshot eyes, then growled, “Sean Andelen, I’ve treated you well, haven’t I? And everyone knows about our relationship! How do you exp
“If you insist on helping her, I’ll seek help from the authorities to keep you away from me.” Darius raised an eyebrow and turned to leave. He didn’t want to waste another second here—it looked like it was almost time for the banquet. However, he had only taken one step when he felt someone grab him. He guessed that it was the old woman, and he turned to look at his sleeve. As expected, he was right.He slowly turned to face her and said, “I don’t like coming into physical contact with others, and it’s only out of the kindness of my heart that I didn’t fling you away. Now, you’ve used up all the kindness that I have.” His eyes were frosty.The old woman’s heart sank, and she let go of him before realizing what she was doing. Then, she backed away while looking at him warily. She gulped and said, “Whatever it is, it’s not right for you to be treating a woman like this, especially since she hasn’t done anything to harm you.”Darius raised an eyebrow. There was a hint of anger in his ey
"If you hadn't picked on me, I wouldn't have ended up like this. No matter how wealthy I've become, I'll never be able to take these black robes off!" The mysterious man's voice was shaky. He was extremely agitated.James frowned at that. He said curiously, "You keep saying I've done you wrong, but everything I did to you was what you did to others. I only gave you a taste of your own medicine."The mysterious man's breathing sped up when he heard that. He barked out a laugh and sneered, "I'll be honest with you. I never thought I'd have the chance to meet someone as dumb as you again."He shook his head. "I find it hard to imagine what your grandson will do when he sees you like this." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the door was kicked open with a loud bang. The man was caught off guard. He looked at Darius as his body trembled violently.Darius frowned when he saw this. It was completely different from what he'd imagined. He narrowed his eyes at the mysterious man, his
Gabriel smiled and nodded. "Alright, then. I'll return to my workstation and prepare a proposal on what to do with Noah."Darius nodded and smiled. "Good. That's all I ever wanted." He turned to leave. "You need to get to work, and I need to return to my hotel to get some rest."Gabriel stopped. Darius' words made him hesitate. "I'm sorry to be asking this because I don't think it's my place, but it's probably better for me to ask anyway. I don't remember there being any hotels nearby."You should head home if you wanna get some rest. I don't understand why you're heading to a hotel to rest."Darius raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. He turned with his hands behind his back to look at Gabriel helplessly. "I don't know how to feel about what you've just said. You're making me think you're a little silly. Wouldn't I know how to search for a hotel?"It won't take you long to prepare a proposal, but it'll take me ages to get home from here." Darius turned and left.Gabriel's lips twitc
"Because you realized the risk was far greater than what you were comfortable with," Darius said calmly.But Noah started trembling. He looked at Darius in terror. He didn't expect Darius to see right through him after some simple back-and-forth. His eyes widened in fear.Everything that was happening now made him feel like he was dreaming. Noah had only been a step away from success, yet Darius had ruined everything.Tears filled his eyes as he gazed at Darius. "I've said everything there is to say. I'm the lowest rung on this ladder, and I only have one purpose for being here. It's to make you come under the authorities' control. Once you're here, my mission's accomplished."Someone else from the authorities will be here to deal with you, but that has nothing to do with me. They wouldn't have told me about it, anyway."Darius put his hands behind his back without saying anything. He turned to leave. Noah's eyes widened as he stared in fear at Darius' back.Darius didn't see this, bu
When Darius straightened up, his face became devoid of emotion. He said calmly, "I've wasted too much time on you. Now, I only want frank answers. Otherwise, I'll punish you for every lie that you tell me. I don't see any hope in your eyes, but let's see whether you prove me wrong."Darius paused, then continued, "I've already said something similar once. That was a chance I gave you. From this moment onward, I want you to know that I won't repeat myself because I believe you've had enough time to prepare yourself."Gabriel stood beside him and put his hands behind his back as his lips twitched. He'd thought about the various reasons for Darius repeating himself. But the one thing that hadn't occurred to him was that Darius had done it to give Noah time to prepare.Gabriel felt like applauding Darius, but the rational side of him stopped him from doing so. His rationality told him he'd be in for trouble if he were to do that, so he only looked at Darius with a smile.Darius sensed Ga
Darius raised an eyebrow and smiled. Then, he said, "You're too nervous, Gabriel. It makes it seem like you don't trust me. In truth, there's nothing for you to worry about."He stretched his neck and continued, "I know very well how bad the consequences of destroying this building will be. Aside from those silly regulations, I'll also need to pay for it. I might be wealthy, but that doesn't mean I'll enjoy forking out a huge sum of money as compensation."Darius spread his hands and shrugged. At the same time, he pointed at the window and turned to look at Gabriel. Then, he said, "Look. The windows are perfectly fine. They're not even scratched. That shows my life force is non-destructive."That's why you have nothing to worry about. You can put your heart back into your chest."Gabriel straightened up and sighed in relief. Then, he gave Darius an embarrassed smile.Darius grinned but didn't say anything in response. He put his hands behind his back and turned to look at Noah. He sai
"We're classmates from the same major, too! We were interns at Dream Investment Group, remember? And we got kicked out on our first day. You broke my legs because of a tiny argument we had outside the building! The surveillance cameras captured all of this!" Noah cried.Darius tucked his hands into his pockets and rolled his eyes. Then, he said mockingly, "You're the biggest fool I've ever met. Do you think you're the only one who can tamper with the surveillance footage? Any footage that can be tampered with can also be restored."Noah's eyes widened in shock. He gulped and tried to think of a way to explain away the injuries Darius had inflicted on him. Still, he couldn't think of anything. Before he had the chance to think any further, Darius spoke.He said, "There's one thing you got right, though. Gabriel is on my side, so he'll stand up for me no matter what you say."Gabriel's lips twitched at that. He subconsciously opened his mouth to say something in return, but Darius bea
"And I don't think it's my job to make you see sense," Gabriel continued. He put his hands behind his back. He gave Noah a look that was an odd mixture of gentle iciness. "I've given you more than enough time and chances."Gabriel sighed. "It's obvious that you don't care for that, though. And so I think it's time for me to treat you as an officer should." He sat down on the other side of the desk again.Noah's face was white with fear. Gabriel acted like he didn't see this, though. He smiled. "As I mentioned, I gave you plenty of time and chances, but you didn't appreciate them."His gaze turned frosty. "If that's the case, I'm sure you won't object to me doing this per our guidelines."Noah cried, "No, wait! I don't know what Darius has promised you to make you side with him unconditionally, but there's no way I'll let you two get away with this. You have to make sure you do everything by the book. It's a reasonable request, and you have no right to turn me down!"He trembled viole
Gabriel put his hands behind his back as he looked at Noah with a smile. "Now, you've piqued my interest."Noah looked up at Gabriel. His voice was deep and hoarse as he said, "If you help me, I'll give you half of the Reid Consortium's assets once I get my hands on them. You should know that without me, there's no way you'll get a dime from the Reid Consortium."Gabriel snorted with laughter when he heard that. He straightened up and slowly circled Noah. He sounded mocking as he said, "You've lost me there. I tried to puzzle it out, but it doesn't make sense at all."Why would I want to get my hands on the Reid Consortium's fortune? Even without it, I'm perfectly independent. I don't need it to survive."Gabriel crossed his arms and looked at Noah mockingly. "Or maybe you're different from the rest of us. Maybe you'll die without the Reid Consortium's wealth." He smirked and gave Noah a sharp gaze.Noah raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You're the one making me laugh now. I don't know
Gabriel sounded gentle, but everyone knew that was far from the truth. This was especially true for Noah, who sat across from him. He felt incredibly nervous. He shut his eyes and breathed rapidly.Noah never would've expected to still be in danger after being taken in by the authorities. He frowned and looked up at Gabriel. "So, are you determined to help Darius now?" His voice was shaky, and his eyes were wide because of his nerves.His emotions were clear as he looked at Gabriel. Gabriel bit his lip, feeling like he was about to laugh. To stop Noah from noticing, he quickly exhaled and sat down with one leg over the other. At the same time, he leaned forward to place his hands on the desk.He tapped his fingers on the desk quickly but rhythmically. Gabriel's eyes were devoid of emotion as he looked at Noah. "Tell me, Noah. What happened between you and Darius? Earlier, you said he was the one who injured you. Do you have any proof?"Because we checked the surveillance footage, a