Chapter 250 Chapter 250
The assistant replied in a respectful yet firm tone: ‘Yes, sir. I bribed and pressured the doctor who signed Claire’s ultrasound report. He confessed everything. He stated that Claire is not pregnant and that the two reports you saw actually belonged to another patient at the hospital. It was all fabricated.’
CRASH!
As soon as he heard the final confirmation, Edward let out a guttural roar and swept everything off his mahogany desk with a single violent blow.
Computer, crystal penholder, stacks of contracts, coffee cups — everything flew through the air and smashed against the wall. The office floor turned into a war zone littered with shards of glass and papers.
The assistant jumped back, startled by the explosion. “President Collins! Are you all right?!”
“You’re asking me if I’m all right?!” Edward growled, his voice hoarse and laced with maddening pain, shooting him a withering glare. His expression was terrifying as he shouted: “Would you be all right if you found out you’d destroyed your own life because you were made a fool of by a manipulative bitch?!”
— President...
— Do you know why I agreed to break up with Caroline in that hospital?! If it wasn’t because Claire was crying and saying she was pregnant with my child, why on earth would I have done that?! — Edward grabbed his own hair, looking as though he were in physical agony.
The realisation was tearing him apart inside.
He still loved Caroline. He knew it with painful clarity the very second she turned her back and walked away.
The difference was that, in the arrogance of his position, he thought he could keep her by his side as a mistress. He thought Caroline loved him so much that she would never truly leave him.
Was God punishing him now with this cosmic humiliation? He had sacrificed the perfect woman, the woman who was his soulmate, in the name of ‘honour’ and ‘responsibility’ for a baby.
But the bloody baby never existed! All the guilt, the public break-up, the shame… it was all for a grotesque lie. Was there a man in the world more pathetic than him at that moment?
The assistant observed the expression of grief and despair on Edward’s face. He realised that his boss wasn’t just furious at Claire’s betrayal; he was in deep mourning for the loss of Caroline. The tycoon’s heart still belonged to his ex-fiancée.
The assistant hesitated for a moment, weighing his words, and then said in a soothing, encouraging tone: “President Collins… you and Claire are only engaged on paper. You’re not married. The paperwork hasn’t been signed. So… it’s not too late yet.”
Edward froze, raising his eyes slowly.
“You chose Claire solely to take moral responsibility for her child,” the assistant continued, stroking his boss’s wounded ego and shifting all the blame onto the woman. “Since the pregnancy is a criminal fraud, you no longer have any obligation towards her. Furthermore, she has gone too far in attempting to swindle the Collins family heir. I guarantee she wouldn’t dare utter a word to the media if you expel her from the company and end it all today.
Having been by Edward’s side for so long, the assistant knew exactly what he wanted to hear.
And it worked. A dangerous glimmer of hope shone in the darkness of Edward’s eyes.
“Isn’t it too late?” he repeated, his voice a hoarse whisper.
The assistant nodded immediately. “No, sir. Not at all. The path is clear once more.”
“But…” Edward swallowed hard. The image of Nicholas’s Bugatti and the absolute coldness on Caroline’s face flashed through his mind. He hesitated. “I humiliated her in public. I hurt her deeply. Perhaps Caroline… won’t forgive me. She looked at me with disgust last time.”
“That’s just wounded pride, sir. It won’t last.” The assistant flashed a confident smile, completely underestimating the situation. “Firstly: Miss Caroline and you were together for ten years. Ten years don’t vanish overnight. I’m absolutely certain she still has deep feelings for you. As long as you destroy Claire, offer a sincere apology, and use your resources to pamper her and win her back, she will certainly forgive you. Women are sentimental.
The assistant stepped forward, encouraging him. “If you want my opinion, President, she’s only acting coldly to punish you. Deep down, she’s just waiting for you to chase after her and beg for a reconciliation.”
Edward looked at him, uncertainty battling against the desperate desire to believe those words. “Do you really think so? But… she seemed to hate me so much…”
Otherwise, why would she seem so angry and cold when she saw him in the hospital? Edward thought.
It was as if she couldn’t bear to even look at his face. In Edward’s twisted logic, such anger could only be the result of a deep love that had been wounded.
"That is certainly the case, President. "The assistant, João Miguel, spoke with the confidence of someone who had already been through the same experience (or simply wanted to please his boss). "My wife and I separated once in the past. At the time, she seemed to detest me deeply as well. But women are proud on the outside and sensitive on the inside; they rarely express what they truly want. President Collins, Miss Caroline is probably just punishing you. If you want to win her back, you’ll have to be patient. You just need to use the right words, show remorse, and spoil her with gifts. She will certainly forgive you.
With that, João Miguel played his final card of flattery: "Besides, President Collins is an exceptional man and the heir to this family. Why wouldn’t he be able to win back the woman who has always been his?
Edward’s eyes practically sparkled.
That’s right. He and Caroline had been together for ten years. Ten years! How could she simply wipe the slate clean and lose interest in him so quickly? She surely still loved him.