Chapter 122: Take Proper Measures
Following Xavier's orders, Lark had the Brown Villa demolished.
Haven found it too noisy and left Emberfall overnight to get away for a while.
Lark was unwilling to accept this and ran to Owen to complain.
"That's enough." Owen puffed on his cigar, a bit impatient. "You know Xavier's temper. Everyone in the family gives in to him. The house is demolished, so be it. I'll buy you another one."
Lark leaned into his arms. "Then can you buy me one in Cloud Bay?"
"What, you still can't get over Tristan?" Owen smiled, but his tone was full of warning. "Let me tell you, since you've become my woman, your heart needs to be with me. I don't like my women thinking about other men."
Lark immediately pledged her loyalty. "Owen, my heart is with you, of course. I want to live in Cloud Bay just to annoy Tristan and Harriet."
"That's good." Owen said, "But I'm afraid your wish won't come true."
"Why?"
Owen explained, "Cloud Bay is a premium residential area that the Lancaster Group has put a lot of effort into developing. 80% of it is green space - it's rare to find such good property in the city center. Even my mom wants to save one of the best units for Tristan as a wedding home."
"The properties are sky-high priced, but they were all snapped up immediately. Do you think anyone who can afford Cloud Bay would resell their property to you?"
Lark was unwilling to give up and continued acting cute. "I don't care, you must have a way, right?"
"I do have ways, but as far as I know, Cloud Bay has 100% occupancy. To get someone to give up a property they're living in, do you know how big a favor I'd owe them? It's not worth owing such a big favor for one property."
Lark was quite dissatisfied, but she was also testing Owen's limits bit by bit.
He was a refined egoist who weighed the pros and cons of everything, only doing things that benefited him.
Lark didn't dare disobey, because Owen was her only support now.
She not only had to depend on him, but also find a way to completely secure her position so she could compete with Tristan.
"Owen, I understand. I won't make things difficult for you. Wherever you buy for me, I'll live there." Lark wrapped around him like a snake. "But on one condition - I need to see you every day. As long as I can be with you, I'd be willing to live in a doghouse."
"Why is your mouth so sweet?" Owen stared at her intently. "Let me taste it."
Lark immediately offered up her red lips.
Owen gave Lark a large flat near the Lancaster Group to live in, and kept his word by getting Opal out of prison on medical parole.
Lark and her mother were reunited and cried tears of joy in each other's arms.
That night, Lark went with Owen to a boutique hotel, lit scented candles, and they went at it all night before stopping.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Gemma nearly went crazy when she heard the news."Bitch! Both mother and daughter are bitches. I'm going to kill them!"
"Mrs. Lancaster, please calm down." Uma comforted her. "It's not worth damaging your health over this."
"How can I not be angry!"
The hospital room door was suddenly pushed open, and Lark walked in on high heels. "Mrs. Lancaster, I could hear you shouting about killing people from far away. People will laugh at you if they hear."
"Lark, you dare come here?" Gemma's face turned pale with anger. "You're shameless enough!"
"If it makes you happy, feel free to curse all you want. After all, you can only lie here and curse like a shrew." Lark walked forward, her carefully made-up face wearing a smile. "And no matter how much you curse, I'm the one lying in Owen's arms being passionately caressed by him."
Gemma nearly choked. "What exactly do you want coming here!"
"To remind you to get divorced soon. Didn't you already promise Tristan you'd divorce?" Lark pulled out an agreement from her bag. "Look, I even prepared the divorce papers for you. How thoughtful of me."
"Dream on!" Gemma said angrily. "I won't divorce. What can you do about it?"
Lark sighed. "Mrs. Lancaster, don't blame me for speaking harshly, but dragging out the divorce - what's the point? You're the one being pathetic."
Gemma laughed coldly. "You don't actually think that if I divorce him, you'll be able to take my place, do you?"
Lark tilted her head. "Can't I?"
Gemma suddenly burst out laughing. "I originally thought you had some cleverness, but you're incredibly stupid."
Lark's face instantly darkened. "What do you mean by that?"
Gemma stopped laughing and snorted coldly. "Owen has 11 mistresses outside. You're the 12th. Of those 11, two are dead, and two have had falling-outs with him. That means he's still juggling seven other women, maintaining long-term friends-with-benefits relationships. You're the eighth."
"Number eight. Among your seven predecessors, some are younger than you, some are prettier than you. Tell me, what advantage do you have to take my place?"
Lark's expression was extremely ugly.
Gemma continued, "Since we've known each other, I'll kindly remind you - use protection, because you eight are just regular hookups. There are countless one-night stands on top of that. Who knows, you might catch AIDS one day."
Lark had come to show off and force Gemma to sign the divorce papers, but instead she was mocked and left furious.
"Lark, get out now." Uma said sharply. "If you don't leave, I'm calling someone. Would you prefer I call Mr. Tristan Lancaster or Mr. Xavier Lancaster?"
Lark knew she couldn't win today and could only leave in defeat.
Gemma closed her eyes and said, "Uma, call my brother!"
"Mrs. Lancaster, didn't you say that the Stewart family can't compete with the Lancaster family right now?"
Gemma stared at the ceiling, intense hatred flashing in her eyes. "In this world, only Tristan can help me get revenge. I can't let him stay idle at home doing nothing. I need to ask my brother to find a way to help Tristan return to his peak, so he can help me get revenge on these people!"
In the blink of an eye, it was Monday.
In the morning, just as Harriet arrived at the clinic, Flora called.
"Harriet, I have good news! Finnegan's law firm just contacted me and said they'll take my divorce case!"
"Really?" Harriet was happy too. "What a pleasant surprise! You'll definitely win the case this time!"
"Yes, they told me not to worry, said it's a sure thing. I'm going to their office to sign the contract soon." Flora said happily. "Tell Mr. Lancaster he doesn't need to find me a lawyer, and please thank him for me."
"We didn't really help much, no need to thank us. Mr. Savoy coming to you on his own shows that heaven is looking out for you."
"I hope you're right!"
Just as Harriet hung up, Gemma called, saying she wanted to see her.
"Is it something urgent?" Harriet said. "Many patients travel from out of town to see me. If it's not particularly urgent, I'd like to see patients first and come to the hospital this afternoon."
Gemma didn't object.
After lunch, Harriet went to a famous pastry shop to buy Gemma's favorite pastries, bought a bouquet of flowers, and headed to the hospital.
"Mom, sorry I'm late."
"You already explained on the phone, I don't blame you." Gemma greeted her. "Sit. Uma, get Harriet some afternoon tea."
Harriet's heart sank.
Except for Haven and Tristan, everyone else in the Lancaster family wasn't very friendly to her.
"Mom, did you need to see me about something?"Her intuition told her this wouldn't be simple.
Gemma looked at her gently. "Harriet, you've been married to Tristan for over three years. What do you think of me?"
Her emotions were unstable. Harriet considered carefully before saying, "Mom, I respect you very much."
"I can tell. I said before, all these years, you're the one who's taken care of me most comfortably."
Harriet smiled, waiting for what would come next.
"Harriet, my life is worse than death. Right now, my only hope for living is to make Owen and those women outside pay the price. Otherwise, I won't rest in peace." Gemma looked at her. "And now, you're the only one who can help me."
Harriet looked apologetic. "Mom, I'm weak and powerless, I can't help much. Most importantly, I won't do anything immoral."
"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to kill or commit arson." Gemma asked, "Do you know about the Borgia family in Emberfall?"
"I've heard of them. They're one of Emberfall's four major wealthy families."
"Right. The Borgia family and the Lancaster family are rivals because their businesses overlap significantly. But coincidentally, the Borgia family and my family, the Stewart family, are old friends, though not many people know this."
Harriet was curious. "Why are you telling me this?"
Gemma continued, "The Borgia family has a younger daughter about your age who's never married, because she was born with a condition that makes her unable to have sex, and it's the kind that can't be surgically corrected. She'll never be able to have a normal sex life."
"Tristan injured himself for you and can't have sex anymore, so I've decided to arrange a marriage alliance between Tristan and the Borgia family. He'll marry the Borgia family's daughter."