Joshua smiled and hugged Keen, whispering in his ear, "Thank you. And... I''m sorry."
Confusion filled Keen''s eyes. He didn''t understand why Mr. Joshua was apologizing to him.
Before he could ask, Joshua had already let him go and taken Ste''s hand, leading her away.
Solmaris, the Williams family estate.
Upon learning that the transfer of Leonard''s shares had not only failed but had also been frozen, even Aurora, with her exceptionalposure, could no longer maintain her decorum.
She couldn''t help but let out a small, coldugh. "To think... to think that Leonard would one day scheme against me for another woman."
If it hadn''t been for Leonard''s countermove, her n would have seeded.
But now, she had lost on all fronts. She had gained nothing and had also lost Foreman as a pawn.
Leonard, who had once done all sorts of wicked things for her, had now be one of her biggest obstacles. The whish of it all made her despise him even more than she did Joshua.
Jonathan, however, showed no signs of disappointment. He said calmly, "Leonard is the head of the family, after all. It''s normal for him to have considered these things.
If we had known he would be such an obstacle, we shouldn''t have given up on him so easily back then."
Aurora sneered. "It''s useless. From the day he started paying attention to Ste, the oue was already set."
"In any case," Jonathan said, "the freeze on Leonard''s shares isn''t entirely bad for
us.
At the very least, Ste won''t inherit the shares directly and sideline me.
Six months is enough time for us to turn the tables."
Aurora looked at Jonathan, a faint smile touching her lips.
"Have you already figured out our next move, Jonathan?"
Jonathan nodded. "I n to marry Lauretta Chapman. That way, we''ll bind our interests together, and the Chapman family will have no choice but to fully support
me.
With their support, even if Ste gets Leonard''s shares, she won''t be able to sideline me easily."
As the heir to the Williams family, Jonathan certainly had a strategic mind.
If Aurora hadn''t been kidnapped, Jonathan and Lauretta would probably have been engaged already.
Though frustrated, Aurora wasn''t one to dwell on failure.
She nodded lightly. "That is indeed a viable n."
Just then, Coleman Williams, who
had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up. "I heard Lauretta
is Ste''s best friend. If she marries into our family, won''t she be Ste''s spy?"
Jonathan, however, dismissed concern. "Lauretta may have a
reputation, but she''s just a womlet
who cant even defy her owndamily. She can''t make any waves."
Seeing this, Coleman said no more.
Ste had just gotten off the ne when she received a text from an unknown number.
[Jonathan ns to marry Lauretta in the near future.]
Reading the message, Ste''s expression hardened.
Seeing her look, Joshua asked, "Star, what is it?"
Ste showed him the message.
Joshua smiled. "It seems our pawn, Coleman, is starting to prove his worth."
Ste sighed. "Marrying into the Chapman family is indeed Jonathan''s best option right now. But it''s a shame for Lauretta."
Lauretta had no real power; she couldn''t defy her family.
And Ste had no right to interfere in someone else''s marriage.
Joshua pulled Ste into an embrace. "There are plenty of ways to keep Lauretta
from marrying Jonathan. You don''t need to worry about it."
Ste looked up at him. "I thought about hiring someone to seduce Jonathan, but that would take a long time and might not even seed. Using that tactic too often would make him suspicious."
Joshua lightly kissed her hair, his eyes unreadable.
"You''re too soft-hearted, Star."
Ste was about to say more, but Joshua cut her off. "Leave this to me."
Three dayster, Ste had just met up with Lauretta when she received a call from Skyler Williams.
"Star, get to the hospital right away. Jonathan was in a car ident."