Chapter 57
I rushed all the way to the Imperial Hotel. There I saw a man dressed all in white, standing there with a small suitcase in his hand. His hair was tied back with a parting in the middle, giving off an ancient charm. He had his head lowered, as if deep in thought.
“Mr. Ripley!” I called out in a clear voice, which startled him out of his contemplation. He looked up and saw me standing opposite him.
I was wearing a fitted light–colored T–shirt and white capri pants, my hair tied up in a ponytail that fluttered in the wind like the arrival of spring. I hoped I looked refreshing to the eyes.
William seemed a bit captivated by my presence, taking a moment before he finally responded, “Miss Sherry, why are you here?”
I walked a few steps closer to him and raised the paper in my hand.
I noticed his eyebrows furrow slightly when he saw the paper, and I knew he probably understood what I was there
for.
I was a bit out of breath from hurrying over. “At your request, I’ll go and persuade them on your behalf,” I said.
His usually calm demeanor suddenly showed surprise as he looked at me.
I could tell he didn’t expect me to agree to this matter so suddenly.
“You…?” he asked.
I smiled, waving the contract in my hand. “Mr. Ripley, since you value my father’s ancient shoemaking craftsmanship so much, how can I not lend a helping hand?”
I pointed at the contract.
The contract’s offer was for thirty million!
Thirty million for a shoemaking technique that was an incredibly high price.
Maybe my father’s ancient shoemaking technique was truly precious, but with William’s means, lowering it to a few million or even a few hundred thousand wouldn’t have been that surprising.
“However, let’s make some changes to the contract,” I continued. “Fill in thirty thousand, and that will be enough.”
William looked puzzled. “Isn’t thirty million good enough?”
“Thirty million is indeed good, but it will scare my father.”
Dad was focused on passing down his craftsmanship and didn’t even bother to look at the price.
Otherwise, there would definitely be problems.
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Three Deaths, One Divorce–Now You’ll Pay with Your Endless Regret
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Chapter $7
In fact, I understood the real meaning behind William’s thirty million. It was an advance payment for me to persuade Jack.
“Although I have some connections with Mr. Jack, I’m not sure if I can persuade him,” I analyzed softly. “Besides, you helped me twice before, so consider this my repayment to you.”
William just kept looking at me, and I could see a hint of obvious frustration in his eyes.
I knew he could tell that I didn’t want to owe him any favors.
“Is it because I am lan’s friend?” he asked rather inexplicably.
I looked at him, confused.
“Nothing.” he quickly replied, then took the contract and changed the price.
Seeing him be so accommodating, I felt relieved.
Taking the contract back, I smiled slightly and said, “When you return, send me the relevant information. However, I have one condition.”
William raised an eyebrow and said, “Tell me.”
“While persuading Jack, I can cooperate with your business trips, but Ian absolutely cannot accompany us. Also, I hope you won’t tell him about me being the Thousand–Faced Fox.”
William’s eyes sparkled unexpectedly, and he asked, “Why? He wasn’t very nice to you in the past, so you don’t want to use this opportunity to get back at him?”
I kept my expression calm.
William smirked with a deeper meaning: “If he had shown a little bit of care for you, he would have known you were the Thousand–Faced Fox four years ago. We could have started this project four years ago.”
“Now that you tell him you’re the Thousand–Faced Fox, it’s definitely going to hit him hard.”
“Are you really Ian’s friend? Suggesting that I should slap him in the face?” I joked.
My playful smile made William think of how disheveled I looked when he saved me twice. A strange pain surged in my heart, though I didn’t know what he was thinking.
I casually flipped my hair while saying, “The best state after a divorce is to never cross paths again. Whether I slap him or not, it doesn’t matter.”
I spoke with such a carefree tone, showing that I’d truly let go.
William’s heart stirred inexplicably, and he asked, “Since you’ve come to terms with it, are you planning to start a new relationship? What kind of guy are you looking for?”
When he asked this, he stood up straighter than usual, looking even more elegant and refined.
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Three Deaths, One Divorce–Now You’ll Pay with Your Endless Regret
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Chapter 57
1 didn’t look at him and shook my head. “Right now, I just want to live a peaceful life.”
Honestly, I no longer had any extravagant hopes for love.
Because of someone like lan, I’d lost my identity and my family had suffered too.
I didn’t want to repeat such à tragedy.
I didn’t have the strength to start another love affair.
The spring breeze in William’s eyes seemed to be abruptly taken away by my words. He stood there motionless for a moment, as if something had been taken from his heart, leaving a vast emptiness.
“What a pity,” he said softly.
I didn’t know what he meant by that and just waved politely, saying, “Well then, have a safe journey.”
I walked all the way back home from the hotel. As I turned a corner not far from my home, I suddenly heard a burst of vulgar cursing: “You uncultured brat, how dare you hit someone!”
Then I heard a crisp female voice trying to retort, and that voice sounded just like Iris’s.
My heart tightened and I couldn’t help but quicken my pace. When I saw a woman pushing a little girl on the opposite side, I felt a rush of worry.
The little girl was pushed back several steps, and I realized with a pang that it was Iris.
The woman who pushed her had messy hair and was wearing flashy and cheap–looking clothes. The hem of her dress was rolled up, giving off a sense of old–fashioned vulgarity.
Her voice was loud and coarse as she shouted, “Can you afford to mess with my grandson? It cost our family 200,000 dollars to keep him alive when he was born. If you cause any harm to him, can your family afford the
consequences?”
She deliberately emphasized that amount of 200,000 dollars, as if it were something really impressive and
substantial.
I couldn’t help but ask, “What’s going on?”
I quickly walked over to Iris’s side and put my hand on her small shoulder, then looked at the woman.
As I looked past her messy hair, I recognized her rude face – wasn’t she Aunt Violet?
Realizing it was Auntie Violet, I was really taken aback.
Last night, she had come to our house all enthusiastic to give us a fruit that only “VIPs” were supposed to eat. And now here she was, being so rough with Iris?
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Chapter 57
When Aunt Violet saw me, she dropped any pretense of politeness and hummed, “You came at just the right time. Your daughter hit my grandson. How are we going to settle this?”
I glanced at the big and chubby boy in Auntie Violet’s arms. His arm was as thick as Iris’s leg, and he was crying uncontrollably, looking terribly wronged.
In contrast, Iris was standing there upright, with a pair of large, round eyes.
Her little face was filled with stubbornness.
“Stare all you want; I’ll gouge your eyes out!” Auntie Violet threatened as she tried to poke Iris’s eyes right in front of
me
I quickly blocked her, pulled Iris back a step, and asked Iris, “Did you hit someone?”
“He called me a bastard!” Iris yelled angrily.
“A child without a father is indeed a bastard!” The crying boy retorted with a mouthful of disdain.
Hearing that, I paused for a moment and looked at Aunt Violet.
Aunt Violet’s mouth twisted. “Your child said you are divorced, not me.”
I had come back alone with Iris, and Aunt Violet had clearly gotten curious.
She’d been hanging around Iris these past few days, trying to dig up some information.
Kids usually don’t have much guile, so when she kept asking, Iris probably told the truth out of annoyance.
“Your child even said that you didn’t take anything with you when you left, so you left with nothing?” Aunt Violet asked with a sneer.
I finally understood.
Aunt Violet’s change in attitude was clearly because she’d heard about my divorce and that I left with nothing.
I thought it was just ridiculous.
“Even if I got divorced, my child still has a father. Shouldn’t your child apologize for calling Iris a bastard?” I replied calmly.
“What? My grandson was hit by your child, and you want an apology? What twisted logic is that?” Aunt Violet was furious and pointed her finger at me as if she was about to poke me in the face.
I caught her finger and twisted it backward.
Aunt Violet screamed in pain.
Only then did I release her.
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Chapter 57
Aunt Violet sat on the ground.
“Oh my goodness, I’ve been assaulted!” Aunt Violet immediately shouted, rolling on the ground.
I looked at her with disdain, my lips curving with disgust.
Here she was, living in a free house I provided and still trying to bully others like this?
Aunt Violet kept howling on the ground for a while before calling out, “Jared, come back quickly. Your precious son has been beaten, and your mother has been attacked too. Come and save the two of us, or we’ll be killed.”
She dragged out her voice, crying as if she’d really been mistreated.
Not long after, I saw a man carrying a pole rush over from a distance, and it was Jared.
He ran into the scene angrily and, seeing his mother on the ground, roared menacingly, “Who dared to hit my mom? Come out and face me!”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.