I turned down Marcus’s invitation to grab dinner with the crew.
Ryan didn’t go either–he drove me home instead.[]
Dad wasn’t there. When the butler Harold saw me show up unexpectedly, he asked with concern:]
“Miss Victoria, have you had lunch? What would you prefer? I’ll have the kitchen prepare something immediately.“]
Being back in familiar surroundings hit me all at once. The exhaustion and hurt just crashed over me.]]
My voice cracked as I said:[]
“Harold, I didn’t even touch breakfast this morning, just tell them to make more–anything works!“]]
Harold let out a sympathetic “oh dear” and hurried into the kitchen, telling the chef to work quickly]
Ryan asked:
“Alright, so tell me, what really happened?“<b>]</b><b>] </b>
One of the girls who’d been drinking with me at the clubst night was Ryan’s cousin.
So on the way back, I’d already figured out why he’d shown up with Marcus.
“You already know everything. Why are you asking?<b>“</b>]
Ryan sighed and said helplessly:]
“Look, <b>I </b>just wanna know–is this you being impulsive again? Have you really thought about divorcing ke? You won’t regret it?“|
It wasn’t strange that Ryan had these doubts.]
After all, I had a pretty long track record of this stuff.]
My pathetic behavior chasing after ke was pretty legendary too.
“No regrets. He doesn’t like me, so why keep wasting my time?“]
There was something else <b>I </b>didn’t say:]
Even if ke did end up falling for me, his behavior these past two months had already left a thorn in my heart.[]
Leaving it there would hurt, but pulling it out would leave a scar too.[]
So from the moment I decided I wanted a divorce, I’d been crystal clear about it.[]
<b>Harold </b>told Dad I was home. Dad, who had just finished a meeting, rushed back immediately.[]
The second he walked through the door, he started yelling about heading to the Prescotts to demand an exnation.[]
When he reached me, Dad’s expression suddenly turned serious:]
“What happened to your face? Did key a hand on you?“]
I have very cool–toned fair skin, so marks show up easily on me.[]
But after all this time, I didn’t think Dad would still notice that.]]
With Ryan still staring from the side, I didn’t want to admit it, but Dad could tell just from my expression: []
“Perfect! Just perfect! I was nning to take this slow, but since ke actually dared toy hands on you, what are we waiting for?! I’m pulling our investment immediately!“]
I didn’t stop Dad from making his calls.[]
After the merger between our families, the Prescotts‘ situation had improved a lot, and our two families were preparing for deeper cooperation.[]
Luckily, ke and I hadn’t been married long. The partnership had just begun.]
Ending it now would affect us somewhat too.
Butpared to what the Prescotts would lose, ours were basically nothing.[]
After bringing Amber home, ke had given me a ton of money.]]
This money was enough to make up for any losses our family would face because of divorce.
The Prescotts had gotten through their earlier crisis.
A big part of that was thanks to Dad.[]
He didn’t just put money into the Prescotts. He also used his years of business credibility and ourpany’s reputation to back them up.Д]
That’s why those Prescott skeptics and fence–sitters have started reaching out to them with partnership offers.]
Dad’s phone call didn’t take long.]
But the effect was obvious.[]
He didn’t just cancel the second round of funding he was supposed to <b>give </b>the Prescotts. He also put the word out that he was going to war with them.[]
The Prescott family had been going downhill ever since ke’s father made that bad business decision.[]
Plus, ke’s older brother died in a car ident just over two months ago.]
Now the Prescotts basically depended on ke to keep things running.
He had a talent for business, but he was still young.]]
Most people who did business with him only did so out of respect for my Dad.[]
Now that my dad had sent out a signal, the sharp ones sensed at once that the Prescotts were about to fall.]
So in just one afternoon, Prescott stock dropped several points.
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