Chapter 117: Falling for Her
"Mr. Owen Lancaster, I've done everything you asked. What happened between you and Tristan was beyond my control. We only made up after that. I hope you'll stop bothering me from now on, and leave Tristan and my family alone."
Owen raised his eyebrows. "What if I don't?"
Harriet looked at him steadily, neither humble nor arrogant. "Whether you go after Tristan or my family, I'll fight you to the end."
Owen burst out laughing. "Harriet, I'm liking you more and more."
"Well, thank you for your appreciation, Mr. Owen Lancaster. I hope we can stay out of each other's way from now on. Goodbye."
Owen watched her slender, straight figure walk away, a smile playing at his lips. "Interesting indeed. No wonder she caught Tristan's eye."
As soon as Harriet walked out of Owen's office, she ran into Lark coming out of the elevator.
Lark was wearing a classic designer cashmere coat with black over-the-knee boots that made her legs look long and straight.
Though it had only been a little over a year since she'd been able to walk, Harriet felt like it was a lifetime ago.
Because every day in prison had felt like a year.
When Lark saw Harriet, hatred instantly filled her eyes. She remembered Owen saying Harriet was prettier than her, which made her feel even more threatened.
"Harriet, what are you doing here?" Lark walked up to her and demanded, "Don't tell me you came here to seduce Owen? I'm warning you, don't even think about it, or I'll kill you!"
Before she finished speaking, Harriet raised her hand and slapped her hard across the face.
The crisp sound of the slap rang out. Lark was stunned. "You dare hit me?"
"You're damn right I hit you!" There was a rare sharpness in Harriet's eyes. "You actually tried to send me to Tristan's father's bed. Lark, you really are a selfish person with no bottom line!"
"You keep saying you love Tristan, but you've never thought about him! If you'd succeeded, how could he face himself? What if Grandma couldn't handle it and got sick!"
"Harriet, who do you think you are to lecture me?" Lark's eyes were full of poison. "Everyone's selfish. Of course, I have to consider for myself!"
Harriet didn't want to waste words on someone with such twisted values. "You do you."
Just as she was about to leave, Lark rushed forward and grabbed her collar, raising her right hand. "You think you can just walk away after hitting me? I'll kill you!"
Harriet was quick. She grabbed Lark's wrist, and the next second, kicked her in the knee.
Lark fell to the ground in pain. "Ow, that hurts!"
"Then remember this pain and behave yourself. Your karma isn't absent—it just hasn't arrived yet!"
After saying this, Harriet turned and left.
Lark gritted her teeth in hatred. She struggled to stand up, and just as she was about to enter the office, she suddenly saw Owen leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching her with interest.
Lark immediately rushed into his arms, crying pitifully. "Owen, that bitch Harriet actually hit me. You have to get revenge for me!"
Owen smiled. "So that night you were trying to send Harriet to my bed?"
Lark froze, then looked up at him pitifully. "You're not mad at me, are you?"
Owen was noncommittal. "What do you think?"
Lark couldn't quite read Owen's mood.
He was an old fox, deep and hard to see through.
But she had her secret weapon.
Lark stood on her tiptoes and offered her red lips. "Then let me make it up to you. What position do you want today?"
Owen's expression changed. He put his arm around her waist and went inside.
The office door slammed shut.
Owen couldn't wait and had sex with her right there on his desk.
Whether it was because Owen had been overdoing it or because there were no aphrodisiac involved, Lark didn't feel as satisfied as she had that night at Opulence Club.
She was a bit unsatisfied, so after they finished, she clung to Owen and they had sex again in the lounge.
Afterward, she lay in Owen's arms acting cute. "Owen, is there any way you can get my mom out of prison?"
Owen took a puff of his cigar. "Is that why you came to see me today?"
"Of course not." Lark's red-painted fingernails traced circles on his chest. "I just missed you."
"Little slut, you mean you missed me fucking you."
"Stop it." Lark laughed coquettishly. "I'm being serious."
"You really want your mom out that bad?"
"Of course."
"Then I'll figure something out."
"I knew you cared about me the most!" Lark happily kissed him. "Owen, when are you going to divorce Gemma?"
"You're that eager for me to get divorced?"
"Of course. Once you're divorced, I can be with you openly."
"I really don't know. It depends on her."
Lark wasn't in a hurry though.
That day Gemma had promised Tristan in person that she would divorce. It was just a matter of time.
After all, she was still lying in the hospital.
Looking half-dead like that—might as well be dead.
Owen blew out smoke and glanced at her leg wrapped around him. "What's really going on with your leg? You secretly healed it?"
Lark immediately became guarded. "Owen, there aren't any cameras in here, are there?"
"No."
"Good." Lark told the truth. "I hate Harriet so much. So that night when no one from the Lancaster family was around, I deliberately fell down the stairs and framed her for pushing me."
"To send her to prison, I went to great lengths. I even took nerve-numbing drugs to fool Mr. Jones, creating the illusion that nerve damage caused paralysis in my lower body."
Owen smiled. "Stopping at nothing to achieve your goals—you're a bit like me."
"That's why we're attracted to each other." Lark's leg rubbed against him. "Right?"
Owen's Adam's apple bobbed. "I have a meeting in a bit."
Lark's voice was seductive. "What's more important—your meeting or letting me take care of you?"
Owen's eyes darkened. "I'll have to see how well you perform first."
The two rolled together again, and Lark's moans soon filled the air.
After two days of rest at home, Harriet fully recovered. She went with Tristan to the Lancaster Manor to visit Haven.
Haven immediately noticed their clasped hands and smiled brighter than a flower. "Good, I can finally rest easy."
Harriet felt a bit embarrassed and pulled her hand away from Tristan's to check Haven's health.
"Grandma, are you feeling down?"
"After what happened, how could Mrs. Haven Lancaster feel good?" Iris reported from the side. "Mrs. Harriet Lancaster doesn't know, but Mrs. Haven Lancaster has been having insomnia these past two nights."
Haven took Harriet's hand. "Now it's better. Seeing you two make up naturally lifts my spirits."
"Grandma, even though you're in good health, you're at an age where you should be enjoying your retirement. Since that's the case, you shouldn't worry about things. Taking care of your health is what's most important."
"You're right. I should enjoy my retirement, but I don't want to stay in this house anymore." Haven said with distaste. "Every time I see the Brown Villa next door, I think of Owen and Lark."
Harriet laughed. "Then move in with us. I can take care of you."
"What a good child, not minding having an old woman around." Haven touched her face. "But I can't disturb you two lovebirds."
"How could that be? Living together wouldn't disturb us at all."
"I want to go on a vacation." Haven said. "Tristan's grandfather loved the south when he was young. I bought a house there and plan to stay for a while."
"But it's so far away. We're worried."
"Silly child, when I go out I'll have not just Iris, but other servants and bodyguards too. I'll even bring a nutritionist and doctor. It'll be completely safe. Don't worry."
Iris added, "That's right, Mrs. Harriet Lancaster. Getting away will be very good for Mrs. Haven Lancaster's health."
"Then please take care of yourself. Call us when you miss us, and we'll come get you when you want to come back."
"Okay."