“It belongs to the man who took me to the hospital yesterday.”
Karina’s eyebrow arched with interest, her eyes sparkling with newfound curiosity.
“You’re hiding something from me.”
“What could there possibly be to hide?” Corrine’s gaze flickered downward as she spoke softly.
“It was just a chance encounter, nothing more.”
“If it was truly so simple, why do you seem so flustered?” Karina’s lips curved into a knowing smile.
“Come now, honesty between friends is always best.”
Under Karina’s gentle persistence, Corrine shared a brief account of her hospital encounter. Mercifully, Karina’s attention soon shifted to Bruce and Leah’s situation.
“Those two are absolutely revolting! In your place, I would have struck her across the face!”
A subtle frost crept into Corrine’s gaze.
“Perhaps this experience will teach me something valuable.”
Though she harbored no desire to waste energy on Leah, Corrine remained prepared to deliver a firmer lesson should her previous warning fall on deaf ears.
Mercy and excessive forgiveness had never been her defining traits. Karina bobbed her head in agreement before declaring, “But Bruce won’t escape consequences so easily!”
“What do you have in mind?” Corrine’s curiosity piqued
“I’ve withdrawn my investment,” Karina announced with casual indifference.
“The Ashton family only received my funding because of you. Now that they’ve shown their true colors, why should I maintain any generosity?”
“You should have consulted me first,” Corrine admonished.
“The Bayside project holds genuine promise. Sudden withdrawal means sacrificing tens of millions! Isn’t that recklessly wasteful?”
Karina dramatically flung herself beside Corrine, feigning devastation.
“Tens of millions! My heart aches! You’ll have to make it up to me.”
“Why should I compensate for your impulsive decisions?”
While their exchange maintained its playful warmth, on another floor of the hospital, Bruce’s expression had hardened into grave concern.
The Bayside project represented the Ashton Group’s most significant recent venture, one that few within the company had supported. Bruce had fought relentlessly, attending countless meetings to secure vital investments. Now, at this crucial moment, the withdrawal of funds struck like a thunderbolt.
“Contact the Brooks family immediately, whatever it takes!” Bruce’s voice carried razor-sharp urgency.
“Yes, Mr. Ashton,” his assistant responded promptly.
After ending the call, Bruce drew a steadying breath before returning to the hospital ward. Inside, he found his mother, Tracy, examining Leah’s forehead wound while sighing dramatically.
“She always lacked refinement! Fortunately, Bruce ended things when he did. Imagine the scandals such a woman would have brought to our family!”
Bruce’s arrival coincided with his mother’s words, his brow furrowing at their harsh edge.
When Leah caught Bruce’s expression, vulnerability flickered across her features.
“The fault lies entirely with me. I shouldn’t have appeared suddenly, creating misunderstandings with Corrine or affecting their relationship.”
“You’re not to blame,” Bruce interjected, accepting the half-peeled apple from his mother.
“What Corrine and I had was mutually convenient. Even without your presence, it would have reached its natural end.”
“Given her background, she never truly belonged with the Ashton family,” Tracy remarked, undisguised contempt coloring her words about Corrine.
“Bruce’s excessive kindness prevented him from outright refusing her persistent marriage demands.”
To her, the marriage had been nothing more than a blemish on the Ashton family’s reputation, one that left her the subject of ridicule among Lyhaton’s social elite.
Leah lowered her gaze, projecting an aura of delicate fragility designed to evoke sympathy.
“Years ago, when false accusations threatened my father, he sent me abroad overnight for protection. I missed my chance with Bruce then, and now I’ve inadvertently hurt Corrine. Yet these feelings for Bruce have persisted through all these years-I cannot simply dismiss them.”
Leah’s tears cascaded down her cheeks, her voice trembling with emotion
“Everything has turned out this way because of me. I would endure any punishment-being struck, forced to kneel-if it meant returning to Bruce’s side. I would do absolutely anything.”
Bruce felt his heart constrict painfully at the sight of her tear-streaked, exhausted face. Without hesitation, he drew her into his embrace, his fingers tenderly brushing away her tears.
“You mustn’t blame yourself. How could you say such things?”
Tracy observed the intimate scene with a subtle smile playing across her lips. She rose silently and slipped from the room. At that precise moment, Rita burst in, one hand pressed against her face, her appearance disheveled and frantic.
“Mom!”
Upon seeing her mother, Rita flung herself into her arms as though grasping for salvation.
“You must defend me!”
“What happened to you?” Tracy’s expression hardened as she noticed the angry swelling on her daughter’s cheek. She cradled Rita’s face in her hands, her voice turning to ice.
“Who dared to strike you like this?”
Rita, conveniently forgetting her own cruel words to Corrine, launched into her account of the incident.
“Mom, Corrine didn’t just hit me; she attempted to murder me! She dragged me to the window on the fifteenth floor! If people hadn’t been watching, I wouldn’t be alive right now!”
“What possessed you to provoke her?” Bruce’s voice carried an edge of censure. His expression darkened as he recalled Corrine’s earlier cold demeanor.
“Bruce, I’m your sister!” Rita protested, tears welling in her eyes.
“I’m the victim here-struck and nearly thrown from a building. How can you take her side?”
Bruce released a contemptuous snort.
“Then why didn’t she attack me instead of you?”
“Mom, did you hear what he said?” Rita stamped her foot in childish frustration, clinging to her mother’s arm.
“I won’t find peace until she apologizes!” The humiliation burned within her, demanding retribution.
Tracy tenderly touched her daughter’s swollen cheek, her eyes gradually filling with icy contempt for Corrine. She had never approved of the woman, finding her background questionable and her demeanor inexplicably proud and ostentatious.
She had hoped Corrine’s departure from the Ashton family would humble her, but instead, she had grown more audacious, daring to assault Rita as though the Ashton name meant nothing.
“Come with me! Let’s see what emboldens her to lay hands on you!” Tracy seized Rita’s hand and marched determinedly toward Corrine’s ward.
Karina had departed moments earlier after receiving a phone call, leaving Corrine alone.
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.