Regret Comes 99 Wishes Later

I responded with a soft hum and hung up the call.My legs had gone numb from standing outside. After snapping back to my senses, I started to head back into the house.Connor's Maybach pulled up at the entrance.When I saw Nadine step out of the car, I froze for a moment. Reflexively, I clenched my fists, and my fingers dug into my palms."Nadie has been drinking. I didn't feel comfortable sending her back alone," Connor explained to me."Willow, you don't mind me staying over at your place for a night, do you?" Nadine looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes, smiling.I didn't respond. My gaze was drawn to the emerald necklace around her neck.Noticing my stare, Nadine lifted the emerald necklace and gave it a little shake. "I heard from Connor that you wanted this emerald necklace too. I planned to give it to you, but Connor said this kind of necklace looks better on young people. Don't you think so, Willow?"Connor's body stiffened slightly. He frowned and glanced at me."Wi

A vicious voice rang out beside me. I looked up to see several men who looked like thugs grinning at me lewdly."Boss, why are we kidnapping this old woman?" A blonde thug stepped forward to size me up."Shut up. Don't ask why. It's Ms. Zeigler's orders."So it was Nadine! My whole body shook, and my nails dug deeply into my palms."Heh. I'm just curious. But this old woman's probably all shriveled like a prune, right? Why don't we check the goods first…"The blonde thug let out a disgusting laugh. As he spoke, they dragged me into an alley and tore at my clothes.I glared at them fiercely. I swore that if I ever had the chance to go back, I would make Connor and Nadine pay the price!Just then, a sharp shout came from the entrance of the alley. "Police! Don't move!"Several police officers in uniform rushed in. "Everyone, squat down, hands on your head!"The leading officer quickly walked over to me and took off his uniform jacket to drape it over me."Are you alright, ma'am

"Willow! I knew you'd be here!" Connor exclaimed emotionally.I brushed his hand away and took a step back. "Mr. Garrett, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?"Connor suddenly dropped to his knees and clutched my wrist tightly.He was a blubbering mess as he pleaded desperately, "Willow, I'm so sorry. Please help me make one more wish and make all my wealth come back, okay? Just one last wish. Once you make it, we'll get married right away, okay?"I shook off his hand, suddenly finding the situation laughable.Five years ago, the man who knelt before Augustus' door still carried a trace of dignity. But now, the man in front of me, who had snot and tears streaming down his face, was nothing more than a hollow shell eaten away by greed.I let out a cold laugh. "Connor, don't you know that my wishes are limited? You probably don't know this either—my 100th wish was to return everything to its original state. Your wealth and status never truly belonged to you."Connor's face tu

I chuckled frostily and showed another video. In the footage, Nadine was smiling as she handed cash to the blonde thug who had assaulted me in the alley."Don't kill her, but make her wish she were dead," Nadine instructed menacingly.Connor grabbed her wrist and questioned in a trembling voice, "I can't believe you hired someone to go after her. How could you? If she dies, there won't be any hope for the company!"Nadine struggled against his grip. "I did it for you! Would I have done it if she had been more cooperative?"The reporters went into a frenzy and snapped away. Under the intense flashing lights, Nadine's makeup started to melt, smearing down her face. She shouted hysterically, "And how are you any better? Haven't you been using her all along?""Shut up!" Connor slapped her so hard that she fell to the ground.Then, he turned and crawled on his knees toward me. "Willow, I'm so sorry for everything… It was this bitch stirring trouble between us…"I took a step back,