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“Looks like Joshua–the golden boy–has finally hit rock bottom,” one man said with a smirk.
“Seriously. Ever since Connor publicly warned people off doing business with Garcia Group, their partnerships have tanked one after another. This month’s losses nearly wiped out everything they earned in the first half of the year,” another chimed in.
“Can you believe Joshua’s now stooping to drinking with us just to beg for a deal?” a third guy cracked,ughing.
“I always heard Garcia Group was this powerhouse, always acting all humble and low–key. Turns out that wasn’t modesty–looks like they’re actually going downhill,” someone else remarked.
“Word is Joshua’s dating Xylia, right? But just this morning, I heard even the Sadler Group was forced to pull the plug on their contract with Garcia Group. At this rate, Garcia Group’s basically be public enemy number one,” another man chimed in.
Everyone burst outughing.
Xylia stood by the door, taking in every word.
‘What the hell is going on with Garcia Group? It sounds like everyone’s ganging up on them, she thought.
‘And why the hell is Kaden kicking them when they’re already down?‘ She couldn’t wrap her head around it.
‘I just can’t figure this out,‘ Xylia frowned inwardly.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
She shoved the door open, her gaze sweeping over the group sprawled on the couch.
Startled by her sudden entrance, they all turned to look at her, confusion written all over their faces.
“Who the hell are you?” one of them finally asked.
Xylia swept her gaze over the group as if they were dirt beneath her shoes, then strode wordlessly over to Joshua.
Joshua’s jackety tossed on the floor, trampled by more than one pair of shoes.
Obviously, several people had stomped on it.
Xylia turned to the crowd, her eyes sharp. “Which one of you decided to bully him?”
Her frosty words made everyone shiver.
They weren’t intimidated by some young woman, but Xylia’smanding vibe made a few guys <fn41ec> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n ?ovelFind</fn41ec>
unconsciously second–guess who she really was.
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“Wait, isn’t Joshua’s girlfriend that Sadler heiress who just got brought back into the family? Could this be her?” someone muttered, ncing around.
The crowd went dead silent.
Xylia asked again, her voice icy cold, “Are you the ones who bullied him?”
Her tone was downright frigid.
One guy stood up from the couch, shooting her a look full of disdain.
“So what if we did? Joshua’s a kicked–around rat now–anyone can take a shot at him. We’re just doing what everyone else is, nothing personal-”
Bang!
He didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Xylia grabbed a bottle.
She swung it and cracked him right over the head.
“Ah! My head! Blood! I’m bleeding!” the guy screamed, clutching his head.
When he saw the blood on his hands, whether it was a fear of blood or something else, his eyes rolled back and he passed out cold.
The whole scene suddenly blew up like someone chucked a live grenade into the room–the crowd that had been sitting in awkward silence jumped to their feet, all of them ring furiously at Xylia.
Some of the sidekicks and spineless hangers–on just shrank back, heads lowered, retreating to the sidelines without daring to make a peep.
“You actually hit someone! You out of your mind? You want us to call the cops on you?” someone yelled.
Xylia scoffed, “So it’s fine for <i>you </i>guys to gang up on someone, but once I fight back, you start whining?”
“Who the hell are you supposed to be? If you’ve got the guts, tell us your name! I swear, I’ll make sure you regret messing with me!” The guy red at her, his ill–fitting suit hanging awkwardly on his rat–like face- sharp and dirty all at once.
Xylia let out a cold snort.
“Didn’t someone just say it out loud? I’m Joshua’s girlfriend. Go on–take a wild guess who I am,” she shot
back.
The guy instantly grew wary, his whole demeanor tightening.
“Wait… you’re with the Sadler family?”
“That’s right,” Xylia replied, her eyes cold. “Xylia–daughter of the Sadler family, and now one of the top
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shareholders at Sadler Group. I don’t know what kind of business you thought you had lined up with us, but starting tomorrow, every deal you’ve signed is as good as shredded.”
The guy’s face twisted with anger.
“You’re just a woman–what do you even know about business deals? You think you can just rip up contracts because you say so?” he sneered.
Xylia smirked, pride shing in her eyes. “Right now, my brothers would bend over backwards for me. So go ahead and tell me again–do you really think what I say doesn’t matter?”
She let her gaze sweep over each of them, slow and deliberate. “Just looking at how you’re dressed, it’s clear none of you run any big–namepany. Let’s be real–small–timers like you don’t get to eat at my family’s table. I’ve got every one of your faces locked in. However you tried to mess with my boyfriend? I’ll pay it all back–with interest.”
Xylia shot a cold nce at the group before turning to look at Joshua.
He was still asleep.
She leaned down, gently patting his shoulder. “Joshua? Joshua, wake up.”
Joshua blinked his eyes open, still groggy. The moment he saw Xylia, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
“Xylia… you’re here…” he murmured.
“Yeah, I’m here. Can you stand up by yourself?” she asked softly.
“I can!” Joshua said, nodding determinedly.
He braced himself against the table and stood up.
Xylia’s eyes grew colder when she noticed the red wine stain on his shirt.
Joshua staggered a bit, <i>so </i>she hurried over to support him.
“Hold on to me. I’m getting <i>you </i>out of here,” Xylia said, her voice gentle but firm.
“Alright,” Joshua mumbled, trying to sound steady,
He slung his arm over Xylia’s shoulder, and as he let his head drop, his eyesnded on the group lounging on
the couch.
Joshua managed a faint, crooked smile. “Well, bosses, I’m heading out. You guys go ahead and think about the deal–good luck with that.”
Xylia tightened her grip around his waist.
Her gaze followed Joshua’s and fixed sharply on the group.
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They all instinctively shrank back.
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It wasn’t Xylia herself they were nervous about–it was the might of the Sadler family backing her that truly made their blood run cold.
Xylia nced down at the guy lying passed out on the floor, barely sparing him a second look.
“If he wakes up and wants to call the police, let him. Seriously, don’t even bother stopping him,” she said coldly.
With that, she supported Joshua and headed downstairs.
Once she’d gotten Joshua settled into the passenger seat, Xylia started unbuttoning his shirt, about to help him out of the soaked fabric.
She barely finished with the buttons before Joshua’srge hand wrapped around her slender wrist.
“Why are you trying to undress me so soon?” Joshua mumbled.
His voice was syrupy and slow–the ssic sound of a guy who’s had way too much to drink.
Xylia’s heart ached for him. Even though she was upset, she still tried tofort him, coaxing him like you would <i>a </i>little kid.
“Your shirt’s soaked. If you keep it on, you’ll catch a cold. Come on, be good and let me help you change,” she said softly.
“No! I don’t want to!” Joshua protested, sounding just like a stubborn child.
He clung to his shirt, pulling it tighter around himself as he shrank back into the passenger seat like a kid refusing a bath.
Xylia coaxed him gently, her tone yful. “Come on, be good. If you don’t take off your shirt, I’ll just have to leave you here all by yourself.”
Joshua whipped his head around to stare at her, eyes red and ssy, giving her the saddest, most using look.
He didn’t bother to hide the pure, dramaticint in his gaze–like a stubborn kid who thought he’d been wronged by the whole world.
“You don’t love me anymore!” he pouted, voice shaky.
Xylia chuckled, not missing a beat. “Take off your shirt and maybe I’ll start loving you again.”
Xylia patiently coaxed him, her voice soft and gentle, never losing her cool–like she was soothing a stubborn
child.
Atst, Joshua relented and let Xylia help him out of his shirt.
Xylia tossed the soaked shirt onto the backseat, then grabbed a towel she always kept in the car for moments
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like this, and wrapped it snugly around Joshua.
After taking care of everything, Xylia slid behind the wheel and drove straight to Garcia Vi
Joshua fell asleep almost as soon as they hit the road.
When they arrived at Garcia Vi, he was still out cold.
Xylia called the butler for help and together they carried Joshua upstairs to his room.
Once everything was settled, Xylia nced at the clock, then pulled out her phone and dialed Kaden
When he answered, she wasted no time: “Kaden, I want to use my status as the Sadler family’s daughter to put a few people in their ce. Is that alright?”
Kaden hesitated for a beat, then replied, “Go right ahead.”