The Substitute Wife: My Poor Husband Is A Billionaire

Pleasantly surprised, Janet looked up from her phone and sneered at the HR staff.

Then she began to type out her reply to Brandon.

"Miss Lind, please sign on the resignation notice,"

the staff member said through gritted teeth.

She grew angrier when she saw that Janet began to tinker with her phone.

Ignoring her, Janet texted Brandon back.

"Are you serious, Mr.Larson? What did you find?"

The message from Brandon was a godsend.

She was just about to accept the fact that the Larson Group had given up on her.

Brandon replied with a long message.

"Upon investigating the matter, we found out that Lester Silk Fabric took over the platform recently.

Luna didn’t upload the design drafts a year ago, but a few days ago.

The data was tampered with.

Lester Silk Fabric used their connections and managed to get to your works before the show officially began.

They asked Luna to make a collection based on your works and posted them on the platform.

They tampered with the date and time stamp of the post to frame you for plagiarism."

Janet had already guessed that it was Lester Silk Fabric behind this, but she had no idea how they did it.

"How did you find that out?"

The platform was now owned by Lester Silk Fabric.

How could they have let Brandon investigate them? "We have tech guys here.

They were the ones who found evidence of them tampering with the platform’s database.

Even if they had altered the original date of uploading, our tech guys were able to retrieve it.

We also have a video confession of the staff who tampered with the data."

Brandon’s words lifted a weight off of Janet’s heart.

He sent two videos to Janet and said, "We’ve done what we could.

You should be able to take it from here now, right?"

All of a sudden, Janet felt a surge of energy.

She stood up with a confident smile and said to the HR staff member, "I didn’t do anything wrong and I knew that the company won’t fire me because of some groundless accusation!"

As she spoke, she tucked her phone away.

The staff member gritted her teeth and glared at her angrily.

"Janet Lind, you plagiarized someone else’s work yet you feel no shame?"

Janet ignored her.

She turned around and left without looking back.

******* Tiffany looked up in surprise when Janet entered her office.

"What’s up, Lind?"

"Miss Fisher, can I have Ritchie Lester’s number?"

Janet asked politely.

In Tiffany’s eyes, she looked inexplicably relaxed, as though her career wasn’t in danger.

Tiffany looked at her warily and then nodded slowly.

"I have his number, but may I ask why you need it?"

"I want to call him and apologize,"

Janet answered simply.

"Lind, are you crazy? Go back to work.

You didn’t plagiarize anything, so keep a low profile for now.

There are enough discussions about you already,"

Tiffany scolded.

After saying that, she lowered her head and continued to work.

But Janet stayed glued to the spot, staring at her with fierce determination.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Tiffany relented and held up Ritchie’s business card.

She said in a resigned tone, "I don’t know what you’re up to, but I hope you know what you’re doing."

Janet reached for the card with a bright smile.

Of course she knew what she was doing.

That evening, Ritchie received a call from an unknown number.

"Mr.Lester, this is Janet Lind from the Larson Group.

After giving it some thought, I want to apologize in public,"

Janet said, her voice as sweet as honey.

When Ritchie heard this, he was surprised.

Then, he sneered.

He was under the impression that Ethan’s wife was a stubborn woman, but it turned out he was wrong about her.

Janet had given up so soon.

"You’re scared, aren’t you?"

With a smug smile on his face, Ritchie smirked.

"Come to Lester Silk Fabric tomorrow.

You can apologize there in person."

Chapter 318Press Conference Ritchie had a devious grin on his face when he hung up the phone.

"Call all the designers under Lester Silk Fabric and the people in charge of the fashion week,"

he barked at his secretary.

"I want them here tomorrow.

Call some famous personalities in the fashion industry as well.

We need people in authority for the event."

The secretary nodded respectfully.

He was about to leave when Ritchie stopped him in his tracks.

"Where the hell are you going? I’m not finished yet.

Get your ass back here."

The poor man scurred back, cursing his boss in his mind.

ver "Invite every media outlet in Seacisco, especially the ones that prioritize viewership over anything.

And make sure to tell them to hype up the event as much as they can!"

Ritchie sat back on his chair as his plan began to take shape.

"Get the biggest function hall for the press conference.

I want hundreds of people to be there.

Oh, and don’t forget to arrange for a live stream, too.

Contact our usual sponsors and tell them their products will be displayed throughout the feed.

We might as well make some money while we’re at it.

And remember-our main goal is to discredit Janet and end her fashion career for good."

1 Another evil grin spread on Ritchie’s face.

He wanted to screw that woman over so badly that she could never get back on her feet again.

The secretary pursed his lips and jotted every detail down.

This time, he made sure that his boss was finished before leaving the office.

The sun shone bright and early the next day.

Just as planned, the press conference was held at the largest meeting hall in Lester Silk Fabric.

Cameras littered all around the room, squeezed in among the throng of people who came to watch the spectacle.

Even as she swept a glance over the crowd, Janet didn’t feel panicked in the slightest.

"It looks like the Lester Silk Fabric really wants to do you in,"

Tiffany remarked from beside her.

She turned to look Janet in the eye.

"You’re not just going to stand there and let yourself be bullied in public, are you? What’s your plan?"

A faint smile appeared on Janet’s lips.

"You’ll find out soon enough.

Don’t worry.

I’m not particularly inclined to suffer any misplaced grievances, either."

With that, she walked onto the stage, all calm and grace.

The room finally settled down as Janet took her place.

Without wasting her time, she whipped out a flash drive and held it up for all to see.

"Sorry for taking up your time, everyone.

In order to convey my sincerity more properly, I have prepared a couple of videos for today’s press conference."

From a distance, Ritchie frowned and narrowed his eyes.

He could sense that something wasn’t right.

Why was Janet so composed in such a situation? If anything, she should be mortified and humiliated right now, especially in front of all these people.

What was she up to? He leaned over to his secretary and asked in a hushed voice, "Did she find something?"

"She can’t have,"

the other man replied confidently.

"We’ve taken care to sweep everything.

All the evidence has been locked away.

I think she’s just bluffing."

At this point, Janet had already plugged the drive to a computer, and one of the videos was playing on the widescreen Ritchie’s eyes widened like saucers as they watched an employee of Lester Silk Fabric tampering with the time stamp on the website.

The scene changed, and this time, the same man was sobbing hysterically as he divulged what he had done.

n The clips ended, and a deafening silence fell in the room.

Janet took the microphone and said, "As you can see, this is what really happened.

Lester Silk Fabric managed to get hold of my designs prior to the show.

After that, one of their designers, Luna Mccoy, posted my entire portfolio online and edited the details to make it look like she was the original designer.

There is your truth.

Once again, I thank each of you for coming to hear me out today.

If you have further questions, kindly direct them to Mr.Lester.

I’m sure he can give you better answers than I can."

She gave Ritchie a meaningful look, then, and gestured in his direction with a wave of her hand.

2 As soon as she did, the crowd burst into an uproar.Chapter 319 The Ensuing Drama Shocked, Ritchie cursed out loud, "Fuck that bitch!"

His secretary was also scared silly.

Glaring daggers at him, Ritchie was pissed off and kicked him in the ass.

Pointing his finger at the big screen, he cursed again, "What the fuck are you doing standing here for? Turn off the projector right now!"

The secretary stumbled to the stage and proceeded to turn it off.

Ritchie snorted, smoothed over his suit and made his way onto the stage.

This happened to be his territory, not Janet’s.

He lifted his chin and approached her, holding his head up high.

"Janet Lind, you better be careful with what you say.

As far as I can see, you were just making things up so that you can get yourself out of your predicament!"

As he said this, he turned his eyes from her and exclaimed, "Give yourself up.

Apologize right this moment! Don’t waste any more of our time here!"

W "Then why did you turn off the projector if I was, indeed, making things up? That’s a sign of guilt.

If you’re so sure of yourself, you should allow me to show everyone the proof.

I’m sure that everyone here is smart enough to tell if I actually made up the evidence or not,"

Janet smiled and said in a calm voice.

Ritchie was exasperated to hear that.

He clenched his teeth tightly and pointed his finger at the door.

"I thought you came here to apologize.

If you’re not going to do that, why don’t you leave this place immediately?!"

While smiling, Janet didn’t say a word.

Instead, she turned to the audience before her and said word by word, "Everyone should know the truth by now.

I’m going to sue Lester Silk Fabric for slandering my name."

After finishing her speech, she didn’t bother to argue with Ritchie anymore and went ahead to leave the stage.

This scene was live streamed and everyone saw for themselves what had happened.

Everyone in the room and the audience in the live stream room was shocked to say the least.

The audience began to discuss this amongst themselves.

Even though Janet had only played the videos once, the reporters had gone out of their way to record them.

"Mr.Lester, could you please offer an explanation for what happened just now?"

"Lester Silk Fabric and the Larson Group have been rivals for years now.

Was this why you decided to slander Miss Lind in this way? In order to taint the Larson Group’s name?"

"If your statement about Janet plagiarizing one of your designers’ pieces was true, is there any evidence to back up your statement?"

The reporters all turned to look at Ritchie and kept on asking him and Luna questions.

"Miss Mccoy, are you going to make a statement? After all, weren’t you the one who accused Miss Lind of plagiarism in the first place? What are your thoughts on the current situation?"

"Did Mr.Lester instruct you to do this?"

"Tell us, what’s the nature of the relationship between the two of you?"

Being ambushed by the reporters, Luna’s mind went blank and she felt very embarrassed.

She said frantically, "I have no idea.

Don’t ask me…"

Under the dazzling flashing lights of the cameras, Ritchie couldn’t even keep his eyes open.

He kept cursing out loud while pushing the reporters in front of him away and saying, "Get the hell out of my way! Turn off your damn lights! You’re blinding me!"

His secretary hurried to stop his curses.

If Ritchie’s father found out about this, he would be very angry.

Having been spoiled by the Lester family since he was a child, Ritchie happened to be very irritable at this moment.

Before he took over the company, his parents had to repeatedly remind him to control that temper of his His secretary cleared the way for him while speaking to the reporters.

"Please, sirs, madams, Mr.Lester can’t answer all of your questions right now.

We’ll announce on our official website if we have any comments."

Finally, Ritchie and the senior executives of Lester Silk Fabric were able to escape the madness of the room.

Chapter 320 Take The Blame When she got home, Janet kicked off her heels and collapsed into bed.

Now, she felt much better.

"It’s finally over!"

After resting for a while, she got up and turned on the computer.

She briskly posted the evidence on the forums Luna had posted to slander her before.

A few hours later, the forums came to life as users discussed this matter heatedly.

The dramatic turning-of-tables that had happened at the press briefing soon made headlines.

Related videos went viral on the Internet.

Suddenly, Janet’s phone started to ring.

It was Tiffany.

"Lind, I’m impressed.

Have you seen the comments on the post? Everyone’s calling you a warrior.

You really knocked them dead!"

"Oh, my God! Seriously?"

Janet moved her cursor to check the comments Tiffany was talking about.

She had been focused on the media’s reports until now and didn’t know what people were saying in the comments.

When Janet read the comments, she found that the video of her talking on the stage had been spread all over the Internet.

There was a lot of positive feedback.

"Wow.

Heart.

Heart.

She’s so elegant and generous! And a fierce warrior too!"

"She’s a lovely girl.

Such a polite and beautiful goddess plagiarized someone else’s work? I doubt it!"

"She’s so pretty, I’d kiss her all day!"

"Even though I’m a girl, I want her!"

Janet buried her face in her hands, her cheeks blushing furiously.

She had never been praised by so many strangers in her life.

The next day, in the Lester Silk Fabric building… "Nonsense! These reports are all bullshit! How dare they call me rude?"

Furious, Ritchie started trashing his office.

He was in trouble, but there was nothing he could do.

In recent years, Lester Silk Fabric and the Larson Group had become two very high profile companies.

What with Janet’s fiasco, the media was having a field day.

In the span of just twenty-four hours, the reputation of Lester Silk Fabric was destroyed and its stock price.

plummeted.

"There’s nothing we can do to refute the evidence that Janet posted online.

What we can do now is to try our best to keep the news from spreading.

Mr.Lester, it was your idea to bring in more reporters there…"

the secretary reminded Ritchie in a trembling voice, picking up the documents Ritchie had thrown on the ground.

Ritchie glared at him, speechless.

He picked up another stack of papers from the table and threw them at the secretary’s face.

"I’m not an idiot.

You don’t need to remind me what I said."

Things didn’t end there.

Brandon sent people from the Larson Group’s legal department to help Janet file a lawsuit against Lester Silk Fabric.

The second they got the notice of the lawsuit, Lester Silk Fabric responded quickly and held a press conference in the afternoon.

Luna expressionlessly read a script in front of countless reporters, her face pale as a ghost under the limelight.

"I admit that I peeked at Janet Lind’s work before the show started.

Then I bribed an employee to tamper with the upload date on the database.

I falsely accused her of plagiarizing my work, and I did all this to gain fame and attention.

I am responsible for all of this.

My actions have nothing to do with Lester Silk Fabric."

In the Larson Group, Janet stopped the video on her phone and sighed.

"No class! Lester Silk Fabric made an ordinary employee take the fall!"

Chapter 321 Ask Brandon Out For Dinner Gerda clicked her tongue unhappily.

"Everyone knows they’re using Luna as a scapegoat.

She’s just an ordinary employee.

How on earth could she manage to do all of this? Lester Silk Fabric is really heartless."

The other designers had also seen the video circulating the Internet.

They began to discuss in hushed voices, but the general consensus was that Lester Silk Fabric was a cold blooded company.

Janet pulled her chair and sat down.

There was no point in dwelling on it now that things had been settled.

"I can’t say I’m surprised.

Now that Luna has taken the blame, we can’t do anything to Lester Silk Fabric."

"And what about those designs? Are they really not gonna put them back on the show?"

Gerda puffed out her chest indignantly Janet smiled at her colleague gently.

"It doesn’t matter.

Look on the bright side.

I have gained considerable fame because of everything that’s happened.

Now, all eyes are on my work."

In the end, Luna was put behind bars.

And Janet had become an online celebrity.

Many people now knew her name and saw her designs.

Some even paid for it.

When the dust settled, Janet poured all her energy into her work.

She had been so busy with this matter the past few days, so now she could finally focus on other things.

"By the way, Lind, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.

How’d you get the evidence?"

Gerda was talking about the videos that Janet had posted on the Internet, which had amassed more than a million views.

Janet froze.

After a few seconds, she broke into a smile and waved her hand dismissively.

"A very capable friend helped me get them."

Gerda nudged her arm and asked curiously, "What friend? A boyfriend perhaps?"

Janet’s eyes twinkled.

"It’s a secret.

Gerda, is it just me or do you have a lot of time on your hands? Have you finished your design for this month? Don’t come running to me again when the deadline approaches."

"Ah! My God! I still have thirty-four drawings to finish!"

Gerda scratched her head and hurried back to her desk.

Janet couldn’t help but chuckle.

Suddenly, she thought of the tall and straight back of Brandon.

Now that she thought about it, she realized that Lester Silk Fabric had gone through all this trouble just to set her up.

It must have cost Brandon a lot to get his hands on the evidence.

Janet couldn’t help but feel a little strange.

Brandon had helped her countless times, but she hadn’t really ever met him in person.

She owed Brandon too much and she doubted she could ever repay him.

After thinking about it for a long time, Janet finally plucked up the courage to send a message to Brandon.

"Mr.Larson, would you be willing to let me treat you to dinner? You’ve helped me a lot and I’d like to express my gratitude somehow."

2 After hitting send, Janet put down her phone and wrung her hands nervously.

The chairman of the Larson Group had probably tasted all the splendid dishes this world had to offer.

But it was a token of her appreciation.Chapter 322 A Warning At the CEO’s office of the Larson Group.

The Larson Group’s stock price had fluctuated over the past few days.

Now that the situation was favorable for the Larson Group and its stock price had more than recovered, Ethan decided to seize the opportunity to put more pressure on the Lester Silk Fabric.

Garrett hadn’t slept properly in the past three days, dealing with the bad press: He was yawning sleepily when Ethan’s phone pinged.

"Someone texted you."

When he saw the name on Ethan’s phone’s screen, Garrett snickered.

"It seems your wife’s missing you."

Ethan smacked Garrett on the back of the head and grabbed the phone.

Instantly, his expression darkened when he read the text.

"What is it? Why’s your face like that?"

Garrett asked seriously, the smile wiped from his face.

"Janet’s asking Brandon out for dinner."

Ethan put his phone down and sighed.

"If I refuse, she’ll be very disappointed."

Garrett leaned back with his hands clasped behind his head.

"Yeah.

You can’t have dinner with Janet without her seeing your face.

Last time, when you and Janet went to the company’s masquerade ball, you almost exposed yourself.

It’d be unwise to take such a risk again.

It’s not good for my heart either,"

he sighed.

Ethan frowned and started typing out a brisk reply.

"Thank you, but there’s no need for you to treat me to dinner.

You’re an employee of the Larson Group.

I helped you to protect the reputation of the company."

Janet read his message and quickly replied, "But Mr.Larson, you could’ve just dismissed me."

"If I dismiss any employee when something like this comes up, how will we keep the talented ones? Keep up the good work.

That’s thanks enough, Miss Lind,"

Ethan replied politely, keeping things professional.

1 He had deliberately distanced Brandon from her ever since what happened last time.

He didn’t want her to suspect him of anything Reading his reply, Janet had no choice but to give up.

Ethan put down his phone, kicked the sofa Garrett was lying down on, and said, "I want you to relocate the one who had tried to force Janet to resign.

Transfer her to a subsidiary company.

Then, bring Charis here."

Garrett was just about to take a nap.

Hearing Ethan’s orders, he helplessly peeled his eyes open and stood up from the sofa.

He muttered under his breath, "This job will definitely be the death of me."

Charis had expected that Ethan would want to have a talk with her, but when she received the notice, her heart still skipped a beat.

"Why did you want to dismiss Janet?"

Ethan asked in a low voice.

He shoved his hands into the pocket of his slacks, and the light from the window elongated his shadow on the floor.

"I just wanted to protect the company name,"

Charis answered defensively.

Ethan narrowed his eyes at her coldly.

"From now on, I’ll take care of all matters related to Janet.

No one other than me.

Understood?"

Ethan’s cold voice sent a shiver down Charis’s spine.

She winced and smiled bitterly, as though she had been wronged.

"I see how it is.

You don’t trust me now? Brandon, I don’t have any ulterior motives, I swear.

Ethan had already noticed that something was wrong with Charis.

He never brought it up before because he didn’t want her to look bad.

She and her family had always valued their image.

"I’m just warning you not to act against Janet.

Otherwise, don’t blame me if I disregard our long term friendship."

Chapter 323 A Long Forgotten Name After a moment’s silence, Charis said in a low voice, "I see."

Charis was a dignified woman.

Before Ethan could say anything more, she turned around and walked out of his office, As soon as the door closed behind her, tears welled up in her eyes..

Ever since they first met, Brandon had never said such harsh words to her before, nor had he looked at her with such cold eyes.

She hadn’t cried in years.

The last time was when she said goodbye to Brandon before going abroad.

She had been reluctant to leave him.

But now, she felt bad about Brandon’s attitude towards her.

She and Brandon had worked together for years.

They had shared the company’s ups and downs.

But all of a sudden, with Janet now in the picture, Brandon suddenly was ruthless towards her.

Tears rolled down Charis’s cheeks as she realized just how important Janet was to Brandon.

The hot tears dripped from her chin to the carpeted floor.

"I met Brandon first,"

Charis muttered through gritted teeth.

Charis didn’t like to be candid with her shrewdness.

The reason why she had tried to fire Janet was to win Brandon’s heart.

In Charis’s eyes, Janet wasn’t good enough for him.

But now that Brandon had taken a liking to her, Charis figured he would deeply fall in love with her and she would eventually lose him for good.

Thinking of this, Charis was more determined than ever to separate Janet and Brandon..

But she couldn’t act as overtly as before.

Brandon had just warned her not to interfere with Janet’s work ever again.

She had to be more careful now.

On the other side… After Janet got off work, she went home, only to find that Ethan had come home early today.

"Oh, the workaholic is back! I’m surprised you still remember the way home!"

Janet’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

Looking at the man who was busy cooking in the kitchen, she was not happy.

After all, she hadn’t seen Ethan for two or three days.

That was because Ethan had been busy dealing with the plagiarism issue the past few days.

But he couldn’t tell her this.

While cracking the eggs into a bowl, he found an excuse.

"When I crossed Ritchie’s path, he made a lot of trouble.

The manager of the shop at work fired me.

I’ve been working part time the past few days while looking for a stable job."

Then, he paused and said sincerely, "I’m sorry that I haven’t been here for you these days."

In fact, there was some truth to his story.

Ritchie had indeed caused him a lot trouble after all.

Hearing this, Janet’s heart immediately softened.

She walked over to help him with the vegetables.

"So, what happened? You didn’t tell me the truth.

I was worried something bad happened to you."

"The problem’s been solved.

Don’t worry,"

Ethan said with a reassuring smile.

That much was true.

Ethan had really solved the problem that had been plaguing them the past few days.

"Your brother is really hard to deal with."

Janet pouted like a child.

After transferring the egg into the pan, Ethan turned and his eyes landed on Janet’s earlobe.

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he gulped.

"How about having dinner and then a little bit of exercise to unwina: "What kind of exercise?"

Janet looked up at Ethan curiously.

Almost immediately, she saw the lust in his eyes.

His face was so beautiful.

It was as though God had chiseled his face to perfection.

His eyes stared deep into hers, filled with burning desire.

Janet’s face turned as red as a tomato.

She quickly lowered her head and said shyly, "You’re so naughty!"

Then she focused on chopping the vegetables.

Amused, Ethan patted her on the head affectionately.

He really liked it when she blushed.

He could feel that she liked him, but she always pretended to refuse him.

He had to admit it really turned him on.

But the romantic atmosphere was instantly soiled by the sound of the phone ringing.

"Keep an eye on the eggs, okay? Don’t let them burn."

Ethan stroked Janet’s hair.

Then, he took off his apron and walked to the living room to pick up his phone.

A long forgotten name appeared on the screen.

It was Patrick Lester.

Chapter 324 Nora’s Birthday Ethan pursed his lips.

He glanced back at the kitchen at Janet, then opened the glass door to step out onto the balcony He was a little surprised to see that Patrick was calling him.

It was winter and the cold wind was unforgiving.

Ethan stood on the balcony, letting the wind blow his hair.

"Why on earth are you answering the phone outside? Isn’t it cold out there?"

Janet’s voice broke the silence.

Ethan was lost in his thoughts and didn’t notice when Janet slid the door open and poked her head out.

Narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously, she looked at the phone in Ethan’s hand.

He was answering the phone out on the balcony again.

Was it Charis calling again? "It’s Patrick Lester."

Amused by the quirky expression on her face, he pulled her into his arms and finally answered the phone.

"Ethan, why the hell did you keep me waiting?"

Patrick’s irritated voice came from the other end of the line.

"I was busy just now,"

Ethan simply replied.

Patrick didn’t give a damn about whatever Ethan was up to.

There was something he needed to talk about with Ethan, so he went straight to the point.

"Your grandma’s birthday is coming up and we’re throwing her a party.

She wants you and your wife here."

Without waiting for Ethan’s response, he hung up abruptly.

— – Janet had overheard Patrick’s loud voice.

She looked up at Ethan and asked hesitantly, "So are we going?"

Ethan held her tighter and sighed.

"We are.

Patrick seldom summons me.

There’ll be nothing but trouble if we disobey him.

Besides, I haven’t seen my grandma in a very long time.

It’s only right that I be there on her birthday."

Janet smiled at him sweetly.

"I can tell that you’re fond of her."

It was true that Ethan’s expression softened when he spoke of his grandmother.

Nora Lester, Ethan’s grandma, was a distant relative of the Larson family.

She had known Ethan’s mother when she was a girl.

Although she didn’t approve of what Patrick had done, she couldn’t do anything about her son’s decisions.

She had always felt sorry for Ethan and used to secretly send him money.

She was the only Lester who ever cared about Ethan.

Thinking of this, Ethan rested his chin on the top of Janet’s head.

"She’s a kind lady,"

he said calmly.

had been a long time since they

"Let’s not talk here.

It’s so cold!"

whined, her teeth

thought occurred

shouted, "The eggs! I forgot

and ran to the kitchen

Ethan followed behind her.

Janet, who was extremely flustered, and he

silly girl! I told you to

the side while he cleaned up

stood in the corner,

"I’m sorry.

you were talking to Charis, so I rushed to

Ethan had guessed this.

drying his freshly washed hands, he raised his eyes to

"It’s my fault.

didn’t give you

spread out his arms and said gently, "Come

and leaned her face

the invitation from Patrick, she murmured, "The Lesters treat you badly,

you and I just got him into

probably has a huge grudge

461 In Order To Survive Shelia didn’t notice what was

off the sweat collecting on her forehead in a casual manner, flipped the meat over,

you really don’t want to tell me,

was just being

silently retracted the knife he was hiding behind

Shelia didn’t

some fruits and poured the

this definitely

Here you go."

"And what about you?"

meat Shelia was holding out in her hand

roast some more for myself

the meat, Shelia smiled

"Don’t worry about it.

This meat isn’t poisonous.

assured and eat

alert right then,

though Shelia happened to be an easy-going person, this didn’t

had thought that Victor

saw his injuries, she knew she was wrong and he

"I’m not very hungry.

ahead

to look away and placed

roast the rest

that he wanted to help, Shelia nodded and said, "Okay,

a bite out of

she furrowed her brows and

really hard

was not

meat I gave you just

me? You even finished

Victor didn’t say a

meat aside, Shelia turned around

you did this deliberately,

smiling?’ Victor never even realized

gently touched the

roast

gone

get some

tired

sit

her hands propped under her chin, Shelia proceeded to sit

eyes and said, "Van, you’re good at cooking meat, aren’t you?

how to survive

in a

"Survive in the wildness?"

was the very first time that Shelia had ever

did you go out of your way to

what Shelia did earlier, Victor also crushed some fruits and poured

a knife to slice

heard what Shelia asked, his eyes darkened

he said, "I have

Victor knew the

wanted to

even under ner protection, Victor would find himself in danger one

to learn more skills so that he would at least have a

"Alright."

to focus her gaze on

of the corner of his eye, Victor caught a glimpse of Shelia’s profile and the

out a hand to wipe off the

startled and turned to look at Victor with a blank

eyes, he started to

looked away, and explained, "Your

"Is that so?"

rub her nose with the back of

now? Is it still

"No,"

glancing over

"Good."

Shelia smiled.

you learn other than roasting meat? I

Can you teach me?"

do you want

"In order to survive."

came out of Shelia’s mouth very naturally.Chapter 462

shelia said casually.

Victor felt sad upon hearing

to be flipped? It’s on the

Shelia pointed out.

small burn on the meat’s exposed side when he looked at

meat over while he was

.

had second thoughts about whether or not to ask her

all,

didn’t

"Will you

"Hmm,"

said after a

"Is that a yes?"

and she broke into a

dimples, meanwhile, became much more

Victor nodded, "Okay."

broadly as she said, "Thanks so

individual I’ve ever encountered,

"Orphanage?"

where I

orphanage was taken over and the

eyes clouded as

was a

she prepared great meals and gave me a lot

orphan…’

after you

you leave with the other

and answered, "I didn’t want to

was the only home Shelia

okay with you being outdoors on your

her head, Shelia

I was desperate to visit her

whereabouts remain unknown to them, and I don’t intend to

of the dingy ground, Shelia lay down

had been scattered by

hands behind

with disappointment as she gazed up

want to visit

you from

are people

me if

had no idea that

when I meet her again in the

blinking

remained fixed on Shelia

chance to see you, Van, it would be more than likely that

had a soft spot in her heart

that I was

It didn’t seem appropriate to use this term

Victor concluded that the

of her

she was responsible for your upbringing, how come you got your

was unable to communicate since she was deaf, mute,

never referred to us

card was

it from her pocket as if it were a treasure and presented it to

kid

fruits, she put them on the cards and let us take them as we pleased, but we were naughty,’ shella erupted into laughter,

the

Did I get the

Shelia inquired.

"It’s definitely the best."

am

toasting

meat after he

set to

Eat, please."

gut just after his words

so she put her hand to her stomach and

It’s much better than the meat i made myself! Van, you’re

Victor’s expression softened somewhat.

rejuvenated after

she rose to her feet, she

to rise when Shelia abruptly extended her hand to

"Come on, get up."

aback, and after a little pause,

learning the hard way, Shelia used a dart to put marks on

track of time as

sun had

sitting down on a stone and

not sure how far we’ll

we can get out before the

some water

and he was coughing up blood for the

incoherently, "I’m sure

Let’s move forward."

have the

"Like never before…"

continued to hold

motion, she murmured, "Van, you look rather

return, be sure

to the

after

you? What’s your

"Plan?"

was slow

your plans once we

know… I want to continue my travels and explore the world’s finest rivers

station when I can no longer

answered with

"Shelia."

made up his mind after staring at Shelia

"What’s the problem?"

with me after we get

I will defend

can count on

want me to come

it all right with you? If you don’t want to, it doesn’t

that

a while before asking, "Are you joking right

"No, I’m not.

to treat you the

Victor convinced her.

and smiled

agree when we get out of the

"Sure."

moment they emerged from the woods, though,

to disappear below the horizon, basking the forest in a pale red glow that passed through

on the bodies of Victor

since high noon and now, the

was assuaged when they saw a relatively spacious country

out of the

villagers if we

We can…"

Shelia could finish her sentence,

She was confused.

looked at Victor, wanting to know why he

"Van?"

didn’t expect

voice came, Shelia looked for the source of

that were

stood at the front, looking at them intently as

feel right away that they were Victor’s

in turn stood protectively in front of

eyes off Norton,

Shelia could hear, Victor said, "Run

won’t get lost even when

of the forest, I put marks all

and you can get back

"And then?"

her

straight into Shelia’s

"Walk along this road.

meet villagers, borrow a mobile phone from them, and call this

that Norton didn’t intend to let

just wanted to play a game with Victor

that if he couldn’t escape this predicament,

her back to see his grandmother, and treat her

not fulfill the promise he made

hand, Victor wrote a phone number on her palm with

number once you get hold

he whispered.

is my grandmother’s

pick

just looked down

respond, Victor looked at her and

"No."

her

eyes were a little

want to remember the number, nor

be a

Victor frowned.

anxious that he coughed violently as soon as

and clenched

her palm and

Shelia were talking about, he could tell

a condescending sneer, he said, "Tut, tut, tut, this is

strong feelings for each other! I’m

when saw Norton approaching

intuitively pulled Sheila

and keeping himself standing

be hard for him to fight

walked up to

Shelia

them, Norton pulled Shelia towards

too fast for

"Let her go!"

firm

satisfaction in hearing

know you

he wiped the mud on Shelia’s face with his

Disregarding body pain, Victor rushed over and

he stopped in his tracks when something silver flashed through his

that Norton pressed against

spat out a mouthful

"No."

"What are you saying?"

tone and gave Victor a mocking smile, pretending not to hear

that he

and tried

you want is

nothing to do with

So, let her go!"

This is so

Norton curled his lips.

want

don’t where she comes from but I

it’s boring for you to die alone? I

eyes, Victor

tip of the knife pressed against her neck, all Shelia could do

was

Victor spat out blood

you can

kept his mocking smile plastered

eyes narrowed in anger when he heard Shelia’s disdainful

did you just

you are a

Shelia swallowed.

sense of accomplishment

you don’t have in you to do

So, cut the crap.

want to kill me,

"Shelia…"

desperately tried to

knew that she was provoking

Shelia would make Norton’s hackles rise and the man would

Norton was indeed angry.

looked fierce, but he kept his voice

Looks like you really want to

Shelia rolled her eyes.

can help you with

Norton said, laughing derisively.

and instructed them,

anxiously, "What are you going

Norton didn’t answer.

glared at

as they

bound, Shelia was taken to one of

was made to

Norton was taking them.Chapter

river was flowing

over, it inundated Shelia, making her choke easily Victor saw how Shelia’s face became paler by the

fists, and the blue veins on his neck

gritted his teeth and yelled,

to open her eyes because of the gushing water, Shelia had

actually wanted Victor to run

she opened her mouth, she was choked by

enough, her eyes

expression on Victor’s face,

thought that Victor might be strong but he was

me laugh,

that I’m a good man? Why the

rope, squatted down, and blew

wanting to save her so much,

good in me, huh? What

could just glare

would do whatever it took to save

of the river, Norton squinted his eyes and snapped

behind him appeared and

up and looked at

"Here’s what I’m thinking.

are the weakest among

my left has only killed two people, and

continued, "You want to save

been holding Victor’s arms let

with his thumb and

before

goodbye to your

I’m afraid that you won’t even find

flickering flame, Victor didn’t care about

of essence, so he quickly rushed up and

a mercenary and the most

course, even his weakest subordinates should be strong as

Victor was

he might not even be able to defeat one of the two

were tall and burly men that could easily flip Victor

Victor was at a disadvantage

two men punched Victor right in his abdomen

hit, Victor staggered

because he was hit repeatedly, his strength left

bones being broken scattered all over his body, making

this time, Victor’s face looked black with

to stand, not ready to give

before he could even get back on his feet, he

able to subconsciously use his arm to block it,

a mouthful of blood, and a tooth also

this point, Victor’s vision became

the rope,

matter how many

was put out and the

so he was willing to do anything to rescue

to go on, his

he fell back to the ground and lost

Victor was somewhat awakened when he felt droplets of rain

to open his eyes,

on the

wonder if he was

fully recovered yet, so he

enough, the sharp pain that pierced every inch of

wanted to stand up, but he couldn’t move even an

a little bit, grabbing the mud

the river,

was no trace

"Ahem!"

spurting

himself, he grabbed unto the soil and opened his

as if he was waiting for something

waited for

even know how

found the person

the river or come out from somewhere and

the excruciating pain he

he lost consciousness

woke up again, he

him near

rescue him lasted

was found out that Victor had fractures in

knee were shattered, his chest and lungs were inflamed, and

thing Victor did after he woke up was ask

wearing an oxygen mask and

danger yet, but all he

she could sense that she must be a very important person

didn’t dare delay to send people to search

for seven days, but Shelia couldn’t

there was

able to give Victor was a crumpled playing card that

but one could

years later, Victor

did after fully

in a box and buried it under

was nothing on the marble tombstone aside from the

Shelia’s name on

recovery, while Karl was on a business trip, he suffered

him to the hospital, but he was declared

in that year

finished his studies and

companies

the sales of these companies from a very low level to one of the top in the

ability, Carolyn gradually handed over

this time, Roger entered the ward where

the bed, holding a bowl of porridge, and coaxing

can’t eat any

porridge for

stand

choice

said, "Eat it again when you get

stuck his tongue out, not intending to

saw Roger standing at the door, so he politely greeted,

In the past half a month, Roger came to the hospital to visit Joey

kid gradually got acquainted

Roger would bring some

Joey couldn’t eat too much, he could

only

turned around and was surprised to

say that you wouldn’t come

time Roger came here, he would send Rachel a message in advance to ask her if she wanted to eat something or if she

she would say no every time, he

he had an important project meeting today, so

he could still visit, it

I

hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "But I got

furrowed her brows in

"Rachel, Victor woke up."

Roger broke the news.

operation done to Victor

closed for several times as doctors went in and

but wait outside until

day since the operation began,

the surgery

but he

was wheeled to the

until two days ago that his

to be transferred to the general

still in

field to check

what he

Victor sustained serious injuries.

old wounds had healed,

new injuries just

only a miracle could save Victor’s

tell us when

in a

afraid I can’t say that

couldn’t help but frown as he made things

I may be blunt, please consider preparing

that he’ll never wake up? Is he going to become a vegetable for the

was obvious that

but there was a

for Carson and Lukas, Rachel was the first one to know about

Carson deemed that Rachel had

outside Joey’s ward, holding

looked slightly disoriented, and there were dark circles

down to tell Rachel about this

news, her

as if she had already prepared herself for something

fact, Carson was a

didn’t know when she

a coma for

it might have been

outside the operating room for 70 hours before the

the cigarette in Carson’s hand and reminded him in a low

You can’t smoke here."

he regained his senses,

he didn’t bother continue discussing about Victor’s grim

then changed the subject and asked, "Anyway, how is the

"Joey? He’s fine.

yesterday and said that

it’s expected that his plaster will be removed

peeped through the glass

sleeping soundly

a faint smile, he stretched for a

I’m leaving

turned around and

really just visited to tell

he had nothing

the blink of an eye, two

she was made aware of Victor’s condition, Rachel didn’t

ward almost twenty-four hours

Carson didn’t show his face to

the diagnosis came from an expert, she was also convinced that Victor

broke the news that Victor had miraculously woke up from

Obviously, Rachel was stunned.

Roger for a long time without being able

she was still judging Roger’s expression

want to go upstairs and see

slowly This time, Rachel pressed her lips hard and remained

someone gently pulled her sleeve and pulled her back from her deep

want to

pleading in

that Victor was in a coma after

woke up in the hospital, he actually had a vague

absent-minded and Victor hadn’t come

Rachel

nor did he pester Rachel to go to the

he just smiled and

Isn’t daddy bad? They say bad people live long

don’t have to worry too much about

eyes, she felt a lump in

she mustered

"Yes, of course."

Joey had

Victor, as if there

wake up in the middle of the night from time to time and look at

all inside him, but Rachel was aware that he missed

"Okay…"

heart softened, and she

was in

it was inconvenient for him to walk all the

him sit in

the wheelchair for him, and the three of them went to

they reached

at the floor of the ward

ward, and there was only one patient at this

heard that there were steps approaching, he furrowed his brows

seen this scene, Carson knew that he would have

guy, it’s the first time I’ve

What brings you here?"

he quickly set the document he was holding

"Have you been beaten?"

asked, blinking

Do I look like someone who will be beaten easily? Ha! I’m the one who

where did those dark circles around your

"Dark circles?"

choked at Joey’s

phone, opened its

that Joey was

and his eye bags were

this was only to

good sleep for half

man, but even he was susceptible to stress

"Ha-ha!"

help but laugh after seeing the upset look on Carson’s

Carson realized that he was

Carson stepped forward and pinched Joey’s face

"You, brat.

dare you tease your godfather? You

on his face and retorted, "Huh? Who said that you are my godfather?

have no opinion

I

We are best friends.

one who picked

that’s how I

raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms in

you, even if you don’t want it, that fact won’t

to pull Carson’s hand away using his uninjured hand and said, "Humph!

as he withdrew his

"I also didn’t expect that

a fact

change

anything more, but he stuck out his tongue

his eye, Carson recognized Roger standing

tried to regain his composure and commented, "I see

I heard that Mr.Sullivan has

came here with Rachel

Roger explained.

plan to lose his

"Oh, I see."

pointed at the room and said, "His ward is over

He is resting inside.

go and see him."Chapter 466 Tacit Cooperation Rachel looked at the ward Carson

knew what was going through

"Let’s go,"

Roger reminded Rachel gently.

"Alright."

and walked towards the

her, pushing

placed over his

lost in thoughts for

he was about to sav

"Mr.Jimenez."

"Is anything the matter?"

Roger asked.

and looked at

was not standing

Joey could see him from

raised his eyebrows as if he was giving Carson

glance at

need to use

overheard what

I take

"No!"

replied in a

serious look on

I am

so it wasn’t a problem for Rachel to

moment, they were no longer in

for Rachel to take a boy to the ladies’ room, just like it wouldn’t be right for her to take him to the men’s

reaction to Joey’s words, Rachel looked

Roger, then her

bother the former, Carson soon observed that

wanted him to

to pay

phone and turned around as if nothing

give Joey a thumbs up without

Carson pretended like he was

have read the plan

headed towards the nurses’

very good at

he was still holding it to his

what just happened clearly and understood that it was

"It’s okay.

will take

He is actually right.

boy like him to be taken to the bathroom

Roger smiled gently.

"Thank you very much,"

Rachel said to Roger.

heard those

that Rachel ought to have been closer

days, they

always in

best known to

of things,

it couldn’t

thinking about the night Rachel was standing outside the operating

Joey headed

time,

"Where is Joey?"

he asked Rachel knowingly.

a quick glance at

you through with the

"What?"

sight and took a peek at

appeared on his

am

with no choice! My subordinates

"Of course they are!"

Rachel narrowed her eyes.

a fake smile on

not very good

that Rachel knew that he had pretended to answer the call only moments

his nose and

you want

to look through the glass

ward was a

point of view, only the living

door open in no time and walked

lie in

has to undergo half a year’s

voice came from

in a stable condition

"Get out of here!"

voice interrupted

in a suit coming

He looked dejected.

was a document in his

into Rachel and Carson as soon

stunned at first, then

"Mr.Scott!"

hung around

It was quite noticeable.

Sullivan Group and the director of the project

about what just

man’s expression that the project plan

driven out! Her attention was drawn to

was what really interested

She turned to Carson.

at her, she raised

"Well, this is Troy.

works as a member of the Sullivan Group’s project

what she meant by just

at a loss

were so many surnames in the

had to choose

who Rachel

and mentioned

"Miss Bennet."

nodded her head

was covered

Victor had given him the scare of his life! Nonetheless, he was still holding

going

and

do

out of sight in a blink of

looked at the door

space was enough for her to see that Victor was sitting against the head

as bad as

is well and can

door and pushed

leaned against the

didn’t follow Rachel

document when he heard the

didn’t raise his head

cast her gaze on

was in a

tell that his face was pale despite the fact that

frowned and looked

operating room for more than seventy hours half a month

was so entranced that she walked towards the bed

you to go out,

Victor heard the

the person who was walking towards

speaking in his usual cold and stiff tone, he

POV: Even after we finished the dance, Charles kept his hand

there were many guests around, I figured it wouldn’t bode well if I

"The dance is over.

to let

I reminded him.

Reluctance flashed through his eyes, but he still loosened his grip on my waist like i told

few steps back to distance myself

could still feel the warmth of his touch on

face blushed and i

my heart was

moment, it felt like I

with him were the

those days were long gone and I

down, feeling

"Happy birthday, Caroline."

approached me

behind me and began chatting with the guests

and taking a

I’d had a few to drink and

this time, Elena

a surprise waiting for you

to go upstairs and take a

she asked.

"What’s the surprise?"

This "surprise"

piqued my curiosity.

when you get

appeared

I followed her to the

there, I saw that there were bright red rose

numerous

eyes widened

whole scene was picturesque and

I had no idea

person that came to mind was

A bitter smile appeared on my lips, and somehow, I began to despise myself

much effort on me, and yet I still couldn’t forget

receiving this birthday surprise soon died

floor, I stared at the night scene

was tranquil, and yet my mind was

the cold sea breeze, I felt

a fireworks display lit

up to the sky, a deafening

like a

by the noise, I covered my ears

squatted on the ground and curled

body began trembling uncontrollably, and i felt like my blood was

the abandoned warehouse kept flashing through my

out of breath I felt so dizzy that

attack, a pair of strong arms held me

I’m here."

above me, making me feel

It was Charles.

tears burst from my eyes, Gently, he brushed my hair and tried

have to be scared ever