Chapter 792 A New Marriage Alliance Partner

Chapter 792 A New Marriage Alliance Partner

Debra slapped a hand over her mouth, her entire worldview shattering on the spot.

Sure, she had her own wild side in private — but at least she knew where to draw the line.

Jessica had zero shame. She was out here fooling around with some random guy right in front of her, that look on her face practically dripping with pleasure — and if anything, a hint of showing off.

And this was the same trashy woman who once had the nerve to dream about marrying Edward and becoming the First Lady of the Wellington Group?

She wasn't even fit to dream about it.

Austin Bishop, at least, had some restraint — he came from a family of political heavyweights, after all. With someone watching, he couldn't bring himself to move, no matter how worked up he was.

"Jessica, I can't... not right now..."

"Useless."

Jessica shoved him into the pool with pure contempt. He surfaced soaking wet, and she grabbed the towel off the lounge chair without a second glance, wrapping it loosely around herself — barely covering what needed to be covered.

Austin quickly sank back under the water. As Jessica's most devoted lapdog, his first instinct was to get out and smooth things over. But with Debra standing right there, he didn't dare.

"What are you so uptight about?" Jessica pulled a cigarette from the pack, lit it, and took a long drag. "Everyone in our circle knows you're just as wild as the rest of us. Drop the innocent act around me."

Debra ground her teeth in irritation — but somewhere underneath that, she couldn't help feeling a grudging respect.

She still remembered back in school, Austin had been Jessica's backup guy. Ten years later and he was still just as hooked on her. Some things never changed.

The Clark family had money, sure, but their background was complicated. People in politics tended to keep their distance. If Jessica could actually lock down a tie with the Bishop family, though, the Clark Group would have real footing in political circles — and business would only grow from there.

"Please." Debra had no patience for niceties. She walked over and dropped into a chair. "You dragged me out here in the middle of the night — don't tell me it was just so I could watch you two go at it."

Jessica blew a smoke ring in her direction. Debra wrinkled her nose as the smoke hit her. "Your idiot sister — is she back at Riverside Villa yet?"

"No. Grandfather came and took her."

"What's his take on it?"

"From what I heard, he's furious. Eric remarrying Molly? Might as well be impossible now."

That thought put a satisfied smirk on Debra's face. "Molly's condition is out in the open now, all over the internet. It's not just your Clark family — every respectable family in Mugden would turn their nose up at a daughter-in-law with mental health issues.

From here on out, Molly is dead weight. My father cares too much about face to let a Wellington daughter marry down into ridicule, and no high-status family is going to want her either. Looks like he'll be stuck supporting that useless daughter of his for the rest of his life."

Debra laughed until her eyes watered.

She thought about Tiffany — all those hopes she'd piled onto that dim-witted girl while she was alive. If she knew from the grave that Molly would never have a real marriage, would she be furious enough to crawl out and start screaming?

Ha. As if.

That woman had never deserved to be a mother. To her, both Debra and Molly had only ever been tools for getting what she wanted.

"Who says nobody wants her? I've already lined up a perfectly good match."

Jessica's slow, sultry gaze drifted over to Austin. "Austin, darling — you'd better make sure I get an invitation to the wedding."

Debra's eyes went wide. She stared at Austin, completely blindsided.

Wait.

Austin was going to marry Molly?

A man with his background, a man who clearly still had feelings for Jessica — and instead of keeping him for herself, she was handing him off to that fool? Had she lost her mind?

"Jessica..." Austin reached the edge of the pool, eyes fixed on her with something close to devotion. "I don't want to let you go."

Jessica kicked him in the shoulder without a second thought. "Didn't I tell you to go talk to your parents? What did they say?"

"They... they think Molly's slow. They don't want to agree to it."

"Then you need to make it crystal clear that you won't marry anyone else. And while you're at it, remind them — the advantages of an alliance with the Wellington Group far outweigh the downsides."

Jessica had the sharp instincts of someone raised at the top. "If you become Patrick's son-in-law, when your father wants to move up the ladder, campaign funding and everything that comes with it — that's nothing. Easy.

And think about the optics. A woman no one else wanted, and the Bishop family was willing to take her in. That tells the world your family is generous, compassionate, open-minded. That's good for your future. It's good for Mario's image in politics. Isn't it?"

"Jessica, you're brilliant."

Austin looked at her like a man completely gone — but his voice still dragged with reluctance. "But... you're the one I actually love."

"She's simple. You marry her, park her at home, and she stays out of your way. What's the problem?"

Jessica leaned down and caught his chin in her fingers, her whole manner teasing and careless. "You and me — nothing changes."

Austin was completely undone. He didn't even care that he had nothing on — he stood straight up out of the water and pulled her into his arms, kissing her like he couldn't help himself.

Debra felt a chill run through her, and suddenly it all clicked.

The only way to cut off Eric's feelings for good was to get Molly married off to someone else — and not just anyone. It had to be a family like the Bishops, someone even the Clarks had to respect. That was the only way to make it final.

Cold. Ruthless. No line she wouldn't cross.

Jessica stretched out lazily in Austin's arms and cut a glance at Debra's stunned expression. "Debra, when you get back, work on Mr. Wellington a little, would you?

We're in this together. Let's keep it that way."

Debra caught the edge in her voice. That was a veiled threat if she'd ever heard one.

"I didn't need the reminder. I know exactly what to do."

Push Molly toward Austin — it hit Eric where it hurt, and it stopped the Clark family from coming out on top alone. No way was she letting Jessica have all the satisfaction.

Two birds, one stone. Why not?