Meanwhile, Yvonne was still shouting at the entrance, but no one paid any attention to her. I surmised all the employees were given prior notice not to entertain her.
John came down shortly after, looking very flamboyant with a black coat over his suit. As the president of the company, he certainly looked his part with his cold and domineering presence.
Spotting me, he immediately walked in my direction and completely ignored Yvonne who was still shrieking at the top of her lungs by the entrance. He looked at me with a faint smile. “Did you wait long? I hope you’re not too hungry.”
I shrugged my shoulders, then pointed at Yvonne instead of answering his question. “Aren’t you going to deal with that? You’re not worried that it might damage your reputation?”
He narrowed his eyes at Yvonne beyond the entrance with a look of disgust in his eyes. Turning back his gaze to me, he said blandly, “This woman is stepping more and more out of line. It’s quite annoying, to be honest.”
With that, he walked toward the entrance, stopping in front of Yvonne to look at her with a stony expression.
When Yvonne saw him, she immediately ran toward him but was stopped by the security guards. Vexed, she yelled at them angrily, “Are all of you blind? I know Mr. Stanhope! Why the hell are you stopping me? Get out of my way!”
The guards were unfazed, looking at her dispassionately while maintaining their stance.
Seeing this, she looked at John and said aggrievedly, “John, look at them. How can they bully me like this? You have to fire them later and teach them a lesson.”
John sneered at her, “Teach them a lesson? Why should I?”
“They’re bullying me. Shouldn’t you do something about it?” Yvonne replied matter-of-factly.
John scoffed in response, “So what if they’re bullying you? What does it have to do with me?”
Yvonne stiffened slightly from embarrassment. “John, what are you talking about? We’re going to get married soon. Why are you saying all this?”
Impatience lined John’s features and he said in a clipped tone, “I thought I’ve made things clear. It looks like I was not clear enough. Fine, I’ll say it one more time. If you still don’t understand, then I’ll have to do something to make you do.”
Without waiting for her reply, he raised his brows and continued, “Don’t show up in front of me ever again. This is my last warning to you. I’ve already given you what there is to give. You can consider it a reward for the past few days—I don’t really care. Now take the money and get lost from my sight. Permanently.”
Yvonne’s eyes reddened all of a sudden. “Why? I didn’t do anything wrong. I listened to you and did everything you wanted. You said you’d marry me. Do you think you can kick me to the curb with just a few words? How dare you?”
John’s lips curled in distaste. “It seems like you’re not aware, but I, John Stanhope, always do whatever I like. These are my final words to you. Don’t ever appear before me. If I see you coming to the Stanhope residence or my company again, don’t expect to get away unscathed. I can get really creative when it comes to tormenting people, so you better do as I say.”
Tears rolled down Yvonne’s cheeks as she stared at John pitifully. “John, I don’t know what I did wrong, but don’t force me to leave. Just tell me what I did wrong and I’ll immediately change. As long as you don’t make me leave, I’ll do whatever you ask me to do!”
Irritated by her persistence, John sneered, “Are you sure you’ll do whatever I ask you to do?”
Yvonne nodded profusely. “Yes! As long as you don’t force me to leave!”
“Then just die,” John ordered, behaving like a ruffian. He was never one to think before speaking. Hence, he had said that to her on a whim.
Thinking he was being serious, Yvonne peered at him expectantly. “Does this mean I can stay by your side as long I die?” She looked like she was actually taking his words seriously.
John nodded and cocked a brow. “Yes. Go on, then.”
With that, he looked past her at Anthony and me. “Let’s go. I’m starving.”
Before we could respond, a loud noise came from the pond outside Stanhope Corporation, and following that, we saw the water inside splash a few meters high.
I realized with a start that it was Yvonne. Whipping my head toward John, I exclaimed, “I think she jumped in!”
John glanced back fleetingly but remained aloof as he replied blandly, “Mm, I guess so. C’mon, let’s go for lunch now.”
Then, he walked out without a care in the world. Anthony didn’t even bat an eyelash. Meanwhile, I was flabbergasted.
Similar to me, the security guards outside and the front desk personnel were taken aback. Looking dumbly at the pond, one of them cautiously asked, “Mr. Stanhope, how should we deal with this?”
John’s brows knitted together in annoyance. “Deal with it as you see fit, of course. Send her to the hospital if she doesn’t die and if she does, call the funeral home to take her away. Make sure to make it a grand funeral. I think she’d like that very much.”
Without faltering in his steps, he directly got into my car.
The security guards and I were wearing similarly stunned expressions.
But none of us protested. Instead, we looked toward the pond to see Yvonne struggling pathetically in the water. The weather was so cold and I couldn’t imagine how she brought herself to jump into the pond like that. In short, I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the whole thing.
It must be freezing in there!
In the car, I couldn’t stop myself from glancing at John. “You—”
He suddenly looked at me and cut me off, “Uncle Louis arranged a blind date for me. It’s this afternoon. Help me assess her later. If she’s suitable, I’ll get someone to prepare for the wedding.”
I was taken aback and stared at him blankly for a while. After recovering from my surprise, I asked, “You’re going on a blind date later?”
He nodded curtly. “It’s a friend of Uncle Louis’. She’s almost the same age as you. Married and divorced. No kids. Uncle Louis asked me to meet her.”
I was utterly floored by this revelation and scowled at him. “Why the hell are you bringing us along for your blind date?” I really thought that he genuinely wanted to buy us lunch, but it turned out that he was taking Anthony and me along to be his third wheel.
He shrugged nonchalantly. “You know I’m not into all these things. Besides, I’m a bad judge of character, so I need your help. If you think she makes the cut, I’ll prepare for the wedding. Anyway, we’re of equal social standings, that’s for sure.”
I felt like he had completely given up on satisfying his emotional needs. All he wanted right then was to find someone suitable to be his wife in name.
After giving it some thought, I looked at him again and said, “John, you can wait until you’re more emotionally stable to think about what kind of wife you want, then only go on blind dates. By doing this, you’re not only being irresponsible to yourself but that woman as well.”
He frowned at that. “You’re so weird. You don’t like Yvonne, but now you’re saying I’m being irresponsible to another woman by going on a blind date with her. What exactly do you want me to do? I’ve already lost a good relationship. Do you still think there’s a chance for me to find love again?”
I mirrored his frown and was slightly stunned because I detected a hint of accusation in his tone. “So are you saying I shouldn’t interfere in your life?”
He pressed his lips together as pain flashed across his eyes. Gazing at me with an anguished look on his face, he apologized, “Sorry, I didn’t mean what I said, but I just really don’t know what I should do. I’m completely lost now. I’ve lost the most important thing to me and I’m a complete mess now.”
Sighing, I felt my heart clench painfully while seeing the agonized state he was in. I shot a helpless glance at Anthony and he coincidently looked at me reassuringly before comforting me in a steady voice, “Let’s just go with the flow. Many times, people appear in our lives for a reason. It’s all fate, so let’s allow fate to take its course.”
Since when did this guy become so religious?
However, there was indeed some truth in his words. Hence, we could only think this way for the time being.
After regaining control of my emotions, I glanced back at John and advised, “John, since Uncle Louis arranged this date for you, you should take it seriously. When we get there later, treat her respectfully and politely, regardless of what you think about her. Don’t be distant or cold. It doesn’t matter whether you like her or not, make sure you behave yourself.”
He nodded and leaned back in his seat. Sighing, he closed his eyes with exhaustion. A relationship can really take an emotional toll on a person.
As the car came to a stop in front of our destination, we got out of the car, and John stood nonchalantly at the side. Seeing the unconcerned look on his face, I nudged him with my elbow and said, “No matter what, you need to treat this seriously, okay? You’re not a child anymore. Since you’ve promised Uncle Louis, you need to respect yourself and your date later.”
“I know.” He looked at me expectantly. “Are you coming with me?”
I shook my head and held Anthony’s hand. “Nope. My husband and I will sit at the side while you talk with the lady. If I see you disrespect her, I will not bother to care about your matters anymore. You can do whatever you like.”
He pouted and nodded obediently. “Okay.”
John was about to head to the table that Uncle Louis had booked when Anthony and I were stopped by the host of the restaurant. Apparently, in order to enter this high-end restaurant, Anthony and I would need to make a reservation in advance.
John glared at the host. “What do you mean they can’t enter? You know what? Fine. We’ll leave. Tomorrow I’ll shut down this lousy restaurant!”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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