Herman looked at me, then at Anthony. Stuffing both hands into his pockets and straightening his posture, he said in a mocking tone, “Yes, a coincidence it is, but this is the male washroom. Isn’t it a little too appropriate for someone of your status to approach a man like this, Ms. Stanhope? After all, you have the Moores and the Stanhopes’ reputations to consider, no?”
“Exactly, I’m someone who has the Moores and the Stanhopes backing me, so who would dare to say anything about this? Besides, this is between Anthony and me. It’s really none of your business, is it? You saw it too when we kissed. He still has feelings for me.”
Pausing briefly, I turned to Anthony with a smile. “Admit it. You still can’t get over me. Let’s find a time to remarry and get the formal procedures settled, hmm?”
I knew that Anthony liked how I was currently gazing at him, like I only had eyes for him.
After staring at each other for a few seconds, Anthony turned his face away and adjusted his cuff links. He had a grim look on his face and his eyes were hooded, but there was a hint of anger in them. “Seeing as you’re the mother of my children, I’ll let you off the hook just this once!”
With that, he walked away with an impassive expression, never once breaking stride, not even when he passed by Thora and Herman.
After Anthony’s departure, only the three of us were left in the hallway.
Since the act was over, it was time to withdraw myself from the scene. Smoothing out my attire, I prepared to head back as well.
However, just as I was about to brush past Thora, her hand shot out to block me.
Turning my head to her, I perceived the unsightly look on her face, seemingly p*ssed off.
“Ms. Ziegler, is there something you want to say to me?” I boldly raised a brow at her.
“Of course.” Her voice was biting cold. “As a woman myself, I really pity you. You have failed to make your man stay, but now, you’re even clinging to another woman’s man. Have you no shame?”
Although she didn’t like me before, she was never so blunt with her words. It seemed like the kiss Anthony and shared earlier had really provoked her.
I continued behaving barefaced. “Shame? If I can get back together with the person whom I love, no amount of sacrifice is worth mentioning, not even if it means trampling on my dignity.”
Thora’s eyes narrowed into slits as she gnashed her teeth. “It’s all wishful thinking on your end. Anthony may not feel the same. Besides, a man of his stature deserves someone better. The fact that the Stanhopes didn’t even properly seize a small business like Pitcoin already shows that you’re beneath me. Do you think you’re worthy to be my opponent?’
Somebody’s finally revealing her true thoughts.
As expected, after the anniversary party, Thora had already taken the liberty of labeling me as a self- centered and selfish person. She was convinced that someone like me wasn’t worthy of Anthony, let alone fit to be her opponent.
It was too bad that things didn’t always go well for overconfident women.
I turned to face her fully, making sure to level my gaze with hers before flaunting in a lackadaisical manner. “Perhaps I’m not as good as you when it comes to doing business, but capturing a man’s heart may not be your strong suit. I only need to curl my finger at Anthony and he’ll come back to me sooner or later. When that happens, it won’t just be a simple kiss. But you’ve reminded me of something. Losing the Pitcoin business opportunity is indeed a shame. If that’s the case, you should guard the gem in your hand, lest you slip up and allow someone the opportunity to snatch it away…”
With that, I flashed her a meaningful smile and spun of my heels to leave.
Behind me came Herman’s concerned voice. “Ms. Ziegler, are you okay?”
Thora, however, didn’t respond.
Only then did a smug smile tug on my lips.
Perfect. She’s not even showing her business partner any courtesy. I knew that Thora’s competitive streak had been triggered. To gain an upper hand over me, she would undoubtedly push Ziegler Investment to go all out in the Pitcoin business.
And this was exactly what I wanted.
Back in the main hall, Anthony was already surrounded by business moguls. He discreetly glanced in my direction. After our eyes met, he visibly relaxed and focused his attention back on socializing.
Meanwhile, I noticed that Emma and John were quarreling in hushed tones a short distance away before the former stormed over.
“…unreasonable!” Emma’s chest heaved with anger as she put down the empty flute in her hand and grabbed a glass of red wine from the tray of a passing waiter. Then, she tilted her head backward and took a huge sip.
Just then, John strode over at an unhurried pace. He didn’t even bother stopping her. Instead, he lowered his gaze and acted like this didn’t concern him.
Upon sensing his presence, Emma shot a vicious glare at him. However, it was like punching cotton because John remained unfazed.
“What’s going on here?” I arched an eyebrow, curiosity filling me.
“Ask him!” Emma spat and I could feel the anger radiating from her. John flicked his eyes at her before shifting his face away, maintaining that unbothered look on his face. It seemed like he had no intention of explaining the situation whatsoever.
Emma looked like she was about to pop a vein, so I hurriedly stepped in to play peacemaker. “John, can’t you be nicer to Emma?”
To my exasperation, John’s expression remained as calm as a millpond, as though he didn’t hear a thing I said.
Seeing as he was being so difficult, I gave up talking to him and tugged Emma slightly off to the side. Only then did I ask in a soft voice, “What did you guys argue about this time?”
Emma wasn’t ignorant or spoilt. During such occasions, she would always make sure not to do anything that would humiliate John. But earlier, her face was completely devoid of warmth. Anyone could see that the reason the husband and wife got into an argument was because the former had done something unacceptable.
After exhaling a long breath, Emma calmed down enough to explain, “Recently, I planned to start a company with some friends and was looking for investors. This banquet was the perfect opportunity and I finally got the chance to rub shoulders with several business owners with extra cash on their hands who also happened to be interested in our project. I was this close to clinching the deal. They already agreed to sign the contract tomorrow, but John appeared out of nowhere with this ridiculous scowl on his face and ended up scaring them away!”
I winced with embarrassment and glanced fleetingly at John. Did he really do something that lame?
“John went overboard this time, that’s for sure, but why didn’t you mention that you want to start a company before? Besides, if you’re looking for investors with more money than sense, isn’t John the perfect candidate? Wouldn’t it be great to start a company together as husband and wife? I’m sure your business would flourish.”
“Him?” Emma shot him a sidelong glance filled with disdain before scoffing. “Yes, John has the money, but he’s not without sense. Besides, he’s never shown an interest in the things that I like. He will never invest in my business… Forget it. I guess today’s just not my lucky day. I’ll look for some other investors.”
“Actually…”
Ding, ding, ding!
Just when I was about to resolve the conflict between them, the emcee, who was standing on the podium, tapped a spoon against his glass in front of the microphone. Hence, I could only swallow back the words at the tip of my tongue.
“Today is Mr. William Queen’s seventieth birthday. May the coming years bring even more happiness and good health to him. Now, let’s invite his son, Mr. Bryson to come up and say a few words!”
With that, Bryson went up on stage as the guests applauded.
“Thank you to all my friends for coming to celebrate my father’s birthday today. There’s nothing really great about me, but one thing about me that hasn’t disappointed my family is my ability to make money. Despite that, my father still worries about me, so I wish him a long life full of happiness and good health!”
“What a filial son!”
The emcee expertly hyped up the atmosphere and the hall immediately erupted with thunderous applause.
Right then, a figure flashed below the stage and walked directly to the emcee. After whispering a few words, he passed a square wooden box to the emcee and swiftly stepped off the stage.
The podium was quite far from my position, so I couldn’t see the person clearly, but he looked vaguely familiar to me. I just couldn’t put a finger on where I had seen him before.
Soon, the emcee spoke into the microphone again. “Ladies and gentlemen, it seems like you’re all very lucky today. Ms. Thora Ziegler knew that Mr. Queen Sr. likes antiques, so she specially searched for a very precious item to present as a birthday gift to him. The gift is currently in my hands. Everyone, please take a look!”
The emcee held the box with both hands and opened it in front of the guests. Following that, the cameraman in charge of recording the event aimed the lens at the box. In the next second, the antique inside the box was displayed on the large screen behind the podium. It was a Turlen bead.
The emcee gazed at the item in his hand and didn’t forget to explain excitedly, “If I’m not mistaken, this is the earliest bead found in ancient Turlen and it’s worth more than two hundred and fifty million! Last year, after the auction in M Country, a private buyer kept it as a collection and it hasn’t emerged since then. What a surprise to know that it was, in fact, Ms. Ziegler who bought it! This is truly remarkable!”
This emcee was considered rather knowledgeable. To me, it was merely a bead the size of a finger. I never expected it to be of such great value.
Most importantly, the bead’s price provided some food for thought. Two hundred and fifty million seemed to have a strong interrelation with the lawsuit.
The guests present had seen their fair share of the world started discussing among themselves in hushed whispers.
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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