Chapter 4 Sign It Yourself

On Monday afternoon, the company held its financing signing ceremony as scheduled and livestreamed the entire event. They hoped this event would end the recent controversy over me owning zero shares.

The viewer count had passed 200,000 within ten minutes.

The final 5 million guarantee agreement sat on the table.

Derrick pushed the document toward me after explaining the financing plan. He even smiled at the camera while saying, "Just one last formality. Darling, once you sign it, we'll go home and celebrate."

The comments were already pouring in.

"Has she finally gotten her shares?"

"So, does she really own 0%?"

"Natasha owns 35% but doesn't have to guarantee anything. Meanwhile, the wife with 0% has to guarantee 5 million?"

The host didn't dare to read a single comment off the screen.

I opened the first page. The amount was still 5 million, and my premarital apartment was still listed as collateral.

I picked up the pen.

Natasha lifted her glass of water across from me, secure in her victory.

Derrick leaned back in his chair, utterly confident.

The next moment, I pushed the pen toward Natasha and said, "You sign it."

The livestream chat exploded the very next second.

Natasha paused briefly before saying, "Lydia, this is a personal guarantee. It's not something I'm supposed to sign."

"You're the co-founder," I replied.

"This financing arrangement is only here because you two built the company together," Natasha answered.

"So, you're suggesting that you're only a co-founder when the company makes money? Is that why it's suddenly a joint marital responsibility when the company is borrowing money?"

She glanced at the camera and lowered her voice as she whispered, "We're live right now."

"I know." Then, I turned the guarantee amount toward the camera. "As you can see, there's 5 million dollars on the line. Natasha owns 35% of the company while I own 0%. However, I'm expected to sign the guarantee when they need it."

The comments were scrolling so fast they were almost impossible to read.

"The 35% shareholder gets the profits, while the 0% gets the debt?"

"Does that mean Mr. Waterson's wife is only useful when the company's in hot water?"

"Something about this doesn't sound right."

Derrick hastily reached out and pressed down on the agreement. "Lydia, we can discuss the shares at home. Hundreds of employees are watching the livestream today."

Natasha chimed in, "Lydia, I understand that you and Derrick are having some problems, but if the financing falls through today, how will we pay for everyone's salaries next month? Hundreds of employees are depending on this company. They shouldn't suffer because of a personal disagreement."

The chat began to shift their stances right after she said those words.

"True. The employees are indeed innocent."

"Can't they discuss the share issue later on?"

"What happens to the company if the financing falls through?"

Things were happening in the exact same way as they did in my previous life.

The company belonged to Derrick, and the shares belonged to Natasha. However, when shit hit the fan… Well, suddenly everyone's livelihoods, debts, and futures were dumped on me.

Derrick lowered his voice as he said, "Didn't you want an explanation? Sign it first, and I'll give you one when we get home."

I put the cap back on the pen and replied, "You have a tendency to promise me something later on whenever you ask me to give something up."

He cut me off, "Why are you bringing that up now? Don't you dare blame me for dragging the company down if the financing falls through today and the company runs into trouble."

"Don't worry. I won't blame you," I drawled as I closed the guarantee agreement. "I'm just refusing to keep holding the fort for you, that's all."

Derrick snatched the document away and said, "Cut the livestream!"

…

Before the staff could react, someone from the investor's team hurried into the room. A young assistant leaned over and whispered something into the investor representative's ear.

Then, the representative's pen hovered over the signature page for several seconds before closing the entire investment agreement.

"Mr. Waterson, we'll have to reschedule today's signing."

"What do you mean?" Derrick turned on him.

The representative handed his phone to the legal team before looking at everyone around the table.

"We've just received a risk alert. Three of your company's core assets are involved in major ownership disputes. We can't, in good conscience, proceed with this investment until the matter has been verified."

The livestream chat, which had been hotly debating just who was in the right, was now flooded with question marks.

Natasha straightened while Derrick immediately jerked his head to me. "Lydia, what have you done?"