Chapter 33: The Woman I Love Most Is You!
Osflow, the Smith family's old house.
The bodyguard arranged by Philip flew in by helicopter and threw Oliver out when they were still 3 feet from the ground, dumping him right at the entrance of the Smith family's old house.
Oliver, over fifty years old, felt like every bone in his body was about to crack!
"Damn it! Do you people even know the law? This is assault!"
The bodyguard in black sunglasses kept a straight face and sneered, "Philip said he's doing a good deed by sending you back home. You know what you did to Catherine!"
Oliver thought to himself—
How is this the same?
Catherine is heartless, but he's the president of the Smith Group!
After dropping him off, the bodyguard left in the helicopter.
The wind from the helicopter's propellers whipped Oliver's hair into a mess. His suit was all wrinkled, and the dust and dirt on his face stuck together, making him look exactly like a beggar.
A few beggars at the entrance of the Smith family's old house almost thought he was one of them.
Furious, Oliver pulled out his phone to call the police, only to find there was no signal at all!
Neil, who was in charge of watching the Smith family's old house, saw Oliver and rushed out to greet him.
"Mr. Smith, why didn't you let us know you were coming back? Are you here to make a donation?"
Oliver was speechless.
He cared about his reputation and rarely came back. When he did send people back, it was always with great fanfare about donations. Each time he'd give a few tens of thousands of dollars, making sure everyone in the village knew.
Oliver changed the subject: "Why doesn't the village even have a proper road?"
"You're here to build a road for the village? That's wonderful! I'll tell the village chief right away!"
Oliver quickly grabbed him!
"No, no, you need to get me out of here first. My phone has no signal, so I can't donate to the village!"
"What? You want to build a cell tower for the village too? That's amazing!"
This damn Neil! Taking advantage of his poor hearing to deliberately twist his words!
Oliver couldn't bring himself to say he wouldn't donate, but he really didn't want to give money to these people. He grabbed Neil.
"I have an important business deal to handle. Get me out of here first. Does the village have a car?"
Neil smiled warmly, "Yes, wait here and I'll bring it over!"
Oliver was puzzled.
What kind of car needs to be brought over?
While Neil went to get the vehicle, Oliver looked up at the old house in front of him.
He had lived here as a child. After finally making a name for himself in Serenitia City and becoming a wealthy man of some standing, he refused to come back.
But now, looking at it, the old house seemed to have been renovated?
And with the best materials too. There was even a maple tree planted at the entrance—Elodie's favorite. Oliver knew about this variety and age of tree; he'd seen them at auctions where they fetched high prices.
He certainly hadn't renovated it—why would he spend money on this old place?
Could it be that Lucas secretly renovated the old house for Clara's sake, to surprise their family?
The more Oliver thought about it, the more likely it seemed!
Lucas is such a good man!
Although the Johnson family's business had some recent problems, they'd always been a step above the Smith family.
Thank goodness Clara had been close to Lucas since childhood, unlike Catherine, who was always cold to those boys.
When he got back, he'd have to discuss Clara and the Johnson family's engagement properly. They couldn't let such a good man slip away!
Oliver was happily lost in thought when he saw Neil leading over an ox cart!
The ox was clearly old, needing to rest after every step!
"Mr. Smith, this is the village's only ox cart. Get on quick, and we'll definitely reach town before dawn!"
Oliver's voice trembled, "There'll be cars once we get to town?"
"Yes! Once there, you can take a bus to Osflow city center!"
Oliver remembered now!
This was why he'd avoided coming back all these years—it was so difficult to leave this place! Osflow didn't have its own airport, and he'd need to take a train to the nearest one.
A few years ago, when his hometown invited him back to donate money for road construction, he thought it wasn't cost-effective and couldn't be used for publicity, so he donated the money to build highways in Serenitia City instead. He barely managed to get his name squeezed onto the very end of the list of wealthy donors.
Neil urged enthusiastically, "Mr. Smith, get on! It'll be daylight soon!"
Cursing under his breath, Oliver pinched his nose and climbed onto the ox cart covered in manure and dry grass!
Neil called over a beggar, "Here, take Mr. Smith to town."
The cart shook violently every two steps, and Oliver felt like he was going to throw up the sandwich he'd eaten that afternoon!
Neil watched Oliver's retreating figure with a big smile.
He pulled out his phone with satellite positioning and called Catherine.
"Catherine, I recorded everything Mr. Smith said about building roads and cell towers for the village. I'm sending it to you now!"
"Thanks for your help."
Neil's face creased with a smile.
"It's no trouble at all. If you hadn't kept thinking of us, the village would have been in trouble long ago, not to mention you paid to renovate the old house and the whole village!"
"That's Grandma's home. It's only right."
Catherine watched the video Neil sent and closed her phone.
The small village in the Osflow mountains, where Elodie had lived her entire life—she would definitely protect it!
Five days later, Serenitia City Police Station
The police opened the detention center door and released Celeste and Clara.
Oliver, his face covered in stubble and looking exhausted, waited at the entrance.
Celeste was shocked when she saw Oliver's appearance!
"Honey, how do you look more worn out than me after being in there for days?"
Oliver felt like crying when he thought about it!
He'd barely made it back from Osflow and had to pull every string the Smith family had to get Celeste and Clara released.
"You're out now, that's good. Let's go home."
Celeste grabbed Oliver, "Did Catherine agree to settle?"
"I used connections to bail you out. If Catherine wants to pursue this, you'll have to go back in."
Clara covered her mouth, crying, "What do we do, Dad? I don't want to go back in there. It was terrible! How could Catherine do this? How has the Smith family wronged her? She's so heartless."
"Honey, Catherine must have seduced some rich man. Otherwise, where would she get the nerve?"
Oliver thought so too!
Thinking of Philip's face made his legs tremble!
"Clara, Lucas is a good man. You need to hold onto him. Once he's out of the hospital, we'll have your wedding! As for Catherine, we'll publish a notice cutting ties with her, so she stops bothering us!"
Clara said shyly, "Okay, I'll go see Lucas tomorrow!"
Heartfelt Hospital, ICU Ward
Clara handed Lucas a bowl of soup. "Lucas, I made this soup myself. Have some."
After careful care from the Johnson family, Lucas could finally speak.
He grabbed Clara's hand, struggling to form an affectionate expression on his face full of tubes.
"Clara, you're the woman I love most. I'll marry no one but you in this life. The first time I saw you as a child, I fell deeply in love with you!"
Clara blushed, her face turning red.
"Lucas~ I love you most too. Once you're better, let's get married!"
Married?
How could that be possible!
The word "married" didn't sit well with Lucas.
He still had a great life to enjoy, so many beautiful women waiting for him to cherish. How could he limit his life to one woman?
Remembering what Molly had instructed, Lucas forced a smile.
"Sure, Clara. Once I'm better, we'll get married. I'll give you the most grand wedding in the world and make you the bride everyone envies! But Clara, I had picked out a diamond ring for you, but our family business has run into some problems recently."
He squeezed Clara's hand, looking at her tenderly: "Will you help me? As my fiancée?"
Fiancée!
That word made Clara feel like she was floating on air!