Chapter 209 You Bear All the Bitter Fruit Alone

Chapter 209 You Bear All the Bitter Fruit Alone

Just then, Terrence pushed the door open, carrying a tray with a bowl of steaming ginger tea and a bowl of fragrant oatmeal.

Eleanor's stomach suddenly growled a few times. She laughed a bit awkwardly.

Terrence's lips curved up slightly, his voice full of tenderness. "Drink the ginger tea first, then have the oatmeal later."

As he spoke, he brought the bowl of ginger tea to her.

"I can do it myself." Eleanor took the porcelain bowl and drank all the ginger tea.

A warmth slid slowly down her throat, quickly spreading from her chest all the way to her abdomen. The faint cramping pain in her lower belly gradually eased, and she felt much warmer overall.

Watching Eleanor finish eating and drinking, Terrence finally relaxed. He reminded her gently, "Get some good rest. I need to join a video conference first, but I'll come back to keep you company later."

"Okay, go ahead with your work." Eleanor certainly didn't want to interfere with his work.

Soon, Terrence left the bedroom and returned to his study for the online video conference.

Bored, Eleanor picked up her phone to check what had been happening online these past couple of days.

On the trending topics, Freya and Lavinia's names were still there.

The comment section was full of angry messages from netizens.

Another trending topic caught her attention.

#Everstone Group Stock Price Plummets#

If she remembered correctly, this company was founded by Freya's father Kirk. The group had started declining in recent years, but because The Thornton Group had been supporting them from behind, they'd actually grown stronger again these past two years.

In just two days, Everstone Group had been hit by The Thornton Group with almost no ability to fight back.

The stock price kept falling. Shareholders were complaining bitterly, choosing to dump their stocks one after another, which was undoubtedly making things worse for Everstone Group.

Eleanor turned off her phone screen and looked up at the white clouds slowly drifting across the blue sky outside the window, feeling exceptionally relaxed.

"Freya, you were the ones who deliberately targeted me first. Now, you're just paying the price for your own actions. Enjoy your karma."

That afternoon.

Kirk, driven to distraction by the shareholders' complaints, slunk home secretly.

As soon as he walked in, he saw his wife and daughter sitting on the sofa, and the anger in his heart ignited instantly.

"Didn't you say you were going to beg Jane for mercy? Did you go? What did she say? Will Terrence back off or not?"

Kirk kept pressing his wife with questions.

Hearing this, Susan's eyes flickered, and she stammered, "She—she went on a trip."

Kirk's anger flared up instantly.

"Susan!" He clenched his teeth, his voice low but full of rage. "This is the solution you came up with? Are you playing me for a fool?"

He'd already taken a bellyful of frustration at the company, and now hearing that nothing had been accomplished, Kirk grew even more irritated.

Susan quickly shook her head in defense. "I'm not, I didn't expect her to suddenly go on vacation. I'll go find her again when she gets back..."

"Wait for that bitch Jane to come back?" Kirk laughed bitterly in anger. "By the time she comes back, my company will be bankrupt!"

Susan bit her lip. "It won't..."

"How won't it?" Kirk was so angry his jaw was tight. "Those old bastards at the company have been giving me trouble all day today. The stock price has hit the limit down. Don't you know that?"

After hearing her husband's words, Susan didn't know what else to say for a moment.

She hadn't expected Terrence's revenge to be so fierce. In just a day or two, the company had been hit this hard.

Susan didn't want to become poor.

She'd been adopted by the Wells family since childhood and had always lived comfortably. After marriage, she even had her nephew, the heir of the Thornton family, on her side... As long as she mentioned the name of The Thornton Group's leader, their family could do almost anything they wanted in Rosewood City.

But now, Terrence had withdrawn that protection he'd given them.

She didn't know how to turn things around.

"Let me think of another solution." Susan said through gritted teeth.

"No need." Kirk cut her off directly, his gaze coldly sweeping over Freya as he said in a deep voice, "Rather than begging Terrence to back off, it's better to have Freya marry Tobias."

The moment the marriage certificate was issued, the money Tobias had pledged for the marriage would go directly into the company's account, effectively becoming an instant cash injection.

Kirk had another important point he hadn't said out loud.

Even if they really went to beg Terrence for mercy, whether he'd let them off was another matter. He was more worried that Terrence would retaliate even harder.

Kirk didn't dare to gamble.

"No way!"

Susan immediately hugged Freya's trembling body. "I don't agree!"

"Your agreement doesn't matter!"

Kirk sneered, then turned to the butler and ordered, "Call two bodyguards in. I have something to tell them."

"Yes, sir."

The butler agreed and turned to go call them.

Susan sat restlessly, her face pale. "Kirk, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"Today is Tobias's birthday. I must show him proper respect." As Kirk spoke, his gaze slowly fell on Freya's face.

He swallowed his pride, married into Susan's family, and lived under her parents' roof as a son-in-law who depended on them for everything.

Now his daughter's reputation was already ruined. The chances of her marrying into a real upper-class family were almost zero. But Tobias, that old man, was lustful and loved young, beautiful women most...

The company was now at a life-or-death moment.

Kirk didn't want to go back to having no money. Even if people later said he had sold his own daughter for his own gain, he was ready to live with it.

"Mr. Wells, they're here."

The butler brought in two tall, sturdy bodyguards into the living room.

Kirk nodded slightly, his gaze cutting like a knife across his wife and daughter sitting on the sofa with gloomy expressions.

"Susan, take Freya back to her room and get her dressed up properly. Later I'll have them send Freya to Tobias."

"No, I won't go!" Freya was completely terrified.

"You're going whether you want to or not!" Kirk shouted back angrily. "Since you don't want to go back to your room to get dressed up, just go see Tobias like this. Anyway, Tobias has pretty heavy tastes, and when he gets in the mood..."

Kirk didn't finish the rest of his sentence.

But Freya's face had already turned pale, and she couldn't stop trembling.

"Mom, save me, I won't marry him!"

Susan held Freya tightly in her arms, her eyes red as she glared fiercely at Kirk and cursed, "Kirk, if you want them to take my daughter away, you'll have to step over my dead body first!"

Kirk froze for a moment, then his face turned completely cold.

"Do it."

"Even if you have to tie her up, she's going to Tobias today."

The two bodyguards exchanged glances. They were being paid to do a job, so they immediately stepped forward and roughly pulled the mother and daughter apart.

"No!"

Freya let out a scream, struggling frantically, her face pale with fear.

"Don't take my daughter away!"

Susan lunged forward trying to stop them, but couldn't break free from the bodyguard's grip at all. Her eyes were red. "You bastard! You're selling your own daughter just to save yourself—you deserve a miserable death!"

"Bitch! Shut up!" Kirk rushed forward and slapped her hard across the face.

Susan tasted blood in her mouth but still didn't calm down. Instead, she seemed even more out of control. "Am I wrong? Tobias is older than you, and two of his wives have already died. He's a pervert, and you're actually making our daughter marry him..."