"Hello?" The employee repeated the word several times to get Fiona's attention but to no avail. She simply ignored him. After a moment's silence, Fiona's facial features contorted in fury and disdain. No one would believe that a pretty face like hers could turn so sour and ugly. "Fuck off, you useless piece of shit! Fuck off!" Screaming, Fiona ruffled her long hair out of frustration. Soon after that, she picked up her phone from the ground and refreshed the page. In just a few minutes, the scandal about her dark history shot through the ranks and gained the seventh spot.In the related articles were countless comments from the netizens. Some of them were shocked, while some were in utter disbelief. There were those who threw snide remarks too. The comments section was in total chaos. Fiona's face paled. She was doomed! She sat limply on the couch. The Coopers and the Clarks had cooperated. To make things worse, even the head of the family gave the orders that nothing sh
Walter's voice was firm when he spoke. His every sentence showed his unwavering resolve and coldness. "Thanks, Dad!" Austin exclaimed earnestly. The reputation of a rich and affluent family always came first. At times, it was more important than a person's life. It was the case for the Emerson family in the capital and the Redmont family Basin. They took people's lives lightly and would dispose of anyone for the sake of honor and reputation. As the head of the Campbell family, Walter was willing to put the family's reputation aside for Austin. It said enough about how different Walter was compared to the heads of the other families out there. Now that Austin had Walter's assurance, he had more freedom in planning his next step. After hanging up, Austin immediately called Vincent. With a sardonic bark of laughter, Austin said, "It's time to carry out Operation B." "Gosh! You succeeded?" Vincent exclaimed with glee. Austin chuckled. "Hurry up and get it done. We'll put
How could this happen? "Why? Why are you asking me to stop all of a sudden?" Fiona snapped. "Grandma, you hate that bastard the most! Everyone in the family hates him! He has no right to become the heir, much less the head of the family! A nobody like him can never lead our family!"She continued, "I'm taking revenge on him for you, Grandma! I'm doing it for the sake of our family!""I know you're a headstrong one, Fiona," Dorothy said. "Only the elite among the younger generation should compete for the position of the head of the family. Austin is a good-for-nothing!" Her voice was so cold and stern that Fiona was taken by surprise. The next instant, Dorothy sighed heavily. "Still, as a part of our family, you should consider our family's reputation," she said. "Our family is involved in the scandal now. You'll turn our family into the laughingstock of town if you don't stop what you're doing now." What? Shock gripped Fiona's heart like a thunderclap in the middle of the
Tears streamed down Fiona's face as she bit her lip. She was overwhelmingly upset and displeased with this.She'd risked her reputation in making this bet because she wanted to defeat Austin for good. She did this to take revenge for Grandma and to mete out justice for the entire Campbell family. Besides, if she succeeded in toppling Austin this time, she'd have a better chance to become the head of the family in the future. However, she never thought that Dorothy, who'd pampered her all along, would tell her to stop what she was doing. She was a celebrity who was proud of her acting skills in the entertainment industry, yet Dorothy didn't even bat an eye. To Dorothy, being an actress was a despicable job! It never crossed Fiona's mind that Austin could turn the tables and use the public outrage to his advantage to strike back. He purposely slandered her by starting the scandal about her. However, the real deal was when the Campbell family was brought up and dragged into thi
Although Fiona lost this time, Austin's reputation was greatly affected. He wasn't concerned about this, though. What he cared about was Cecily's thoughts and how horrible she felt. There might be lots of pretty women out there, but she was the only one he cared about. "Once the dust has settled, I'll find the chance to explain it all to Cecily," said Austin with a sigh. "She'd suffered way too much for me." Sometime later, Vincent called Austin. Austin could hear the relief in Vincent's voice through the phone. After all this time, the Coopers and the Clarks still didn't stop making things worse for Fiona. They wanted things to go out of control so that Fiona would never be able to rise back up. Vincent himself approved of this. Austin himself didn't object to that idea either. He decided to agree to it. Fiona had never thought of showing Austin mercy when she'd started carrying out her plan. Meanwhile, Austin wasn't a good Samaritan who'd forgive anyone and everyone. Si
It was dark in the bedroom. The only source of light was the lamp on the bedside table. Cecily leaned against the headboard, looking all worn out. Still, there wasn't a trace of drowsiness on her face or in her bloodshot eyes. Her gaze was empty and obsolete, the sorrow in it enough to make anyone's heart break for her. For the past three days, she'd spent her time staring blankly into space just like this. She tried suppressing and pushing away her feelings because she knew a scandal like that affected Austin very badly, so badly that it could cost him his life. If she couldn't contain her emotions, it'd cause him to sink deeper into the puddle of murky water that was trying to consume him. Cecily was his wife. If she wouldn't help him, no one else would. With her last ounce of rationality, she convinced herself that, at a time like this, she had to stay by his side and quietly provide him with her support. She understood how Austin managed to make it to this day. She knew
At long last, the video was over. Silence consumed the bedroom once more. Cecily stared ahead unmovingly with tears still streaming down her face. Austin fished out a packet of tissues from his pocket, plucked a few out of it, and dabbed them gently at the corners of her eyes.In a gentle tone, he started to say, "To be honest—" But Cecily's cries cut him short, stunning him. Before he could react, she threw herself into his arms and cried her lungs out. "You jerk! You're an idiot! I knew it!" she cried. "I knew you weren't that kind of man! Do you know how much I've suffered for the past few days? Do you know how many times I was going to break down?" Austin's mind went blank when he heard her sobs and felt her body tremble in his embrace. It was as if the frost covering his heart had suddenly melted at once. With the gentlest of touches, he wrapped his arms around her and patted her back to bring her comfort. "It's alright now. Everything okay now," he said, trying to co
Neither of them spoke all night. Cecily and Austin slept soundly that night. They'd been put under immense pressure for the past few days. Now that the misunderstanding was finally settled, the two of them could finally relax. Early the next morning, Raquel prepared loads of food for breakfast. She knew that everyone in the house hadn't eaten much these few days.Since the dust had settled, it was high time she took care of everyone's diets. Ezra and Aldus went downstairs at almost the same time. When he saw the table laden with food, Ezra laughed heartily and praised her for her thoughtfulness. "You're so thoughtful, Raquel. You knew we hadn't eaten well recently, so you prepared quite the feast for us today, didn't you?" he said with a smile. "You flatter me, Ezra. Everyone's been so anxious these days. I got anxious too," she explained with a hint of regret. "This is the most I can do to help you guys." Everyone in the house had been busy helping Austin to solve the pro