Wendy’s words hit the biggest sore spot in the depths of Harold’s heart directly. He too knew very well that he had always been nothing more than an idiot who could never get anything done at all.He had had the halo of the Wilson family hanging above his head in the past, and he did not have to worry about making ends meet at all. He could also barely be considered a rich heir. But now, everything was already down to zero.He would not have any halo to rely on anymore in the future, and he would not have anyone or anything to back him up so that he could just sit idly and use up all of his fortunes in time. If he were to continue being so muddle-headed as he got on with his life, it was very likely that he would end up being like those unemployed people who could not even find a partner even when they were already forty or fifty years old.He suddenly remembered Barty Willow’s movie called Mr. Tree in which Barty Willow had played the role of a character who seemed to be a litt
Christopher’s words did not really comfort Harold in any way at all.On the contrary, what he had said was too pragmatic, and this instantly made Harold feel in despair about his future life.He had always thought very highly of himself, and he had always felt that he would definitely become a big shot in the future. He even felt that his future wife would have to be a good, first-class woman. She must not only have the best looks and the perfect figure, but she also had to have a strong and extraordinary family background.That was also the reason why he had been so intent on pursuing Loreen with all of his heart. He had wanted to become the son-in-law of the Thomas family.But now, his father’s words made him realize that he would have absolutely nothing to do with a woman such as Loreen anymore in the future.In the future, he might only be able to become a blue-collar worker who had to work hard to earn money, and he was also afraid that he would have a hard time finding a wom
Claire wiped the sweat off her forehead and smiled as she said, “It might look like there are a lot of dishes, but it will not seem too much when we eat it. Moreover, since it’s your birthday dinner, it’s only natural for it to be a little grander. Besides, it was no hard work at all.”Jacob also smiled and said, “Charlie, why don’t the both of us have a drink together too?”Charlie nodded and said, “Of course I will have to drink with you. I’ll go to the storage room and get some liquor.”Elaine hurriedly said, “Charlie, bring a bottle of red wine here too. Claire and I can also drink a little with you.”“Okay,” Charlie agreed before he asked Claire, “Wife, can you drink?”Claire nodded as she smiled and said, “I’ll have to drink even if I cannot drink, but if the both of us are going to drink, we will not be able to drive to the concert later.”Charlie spoke up, “It’s fine. I have a way to metabolize all the alcohol within a short period of time.”Claire laughed helplessly and
Jacob instantly regretted his words as soon as he was done saying them.He had just been momentarily agitated, and that was the reason why he had blurted those words out. It was only after he had finished speaking when he realized that he had stirred up a hornet’s nest. Sure enough, as soon as Elaine heard this, she stretched out her hands as though she wanted to fight with him as she cursed, “Jacob, you b*stard! It’s fine if you don’t want to give me anything, but you are actually coming up with all those damn f*cking ideas when my good son-in-law is giving me something! Just wait and see if I will f*cking tear your face up into pieces!”Claire did not expect that the both of them would start fighting as they talked. So, she hurriedly stepped forward and stood in between them to block them as she said helplessly, “Oh! Dad! Mom! How long are the both of you going to keep this up?! Don’t forget that it is Charlie’s birthday today. It’s supposed to be a happy and joyous occasion, but
Charlie made a silent wish amidst the sound of Claire’s singing before he blew out the candles.After that, Claire spoke up, “Husband, close your eyes. I have a gift for you!”Charlie nodded, and he gently closed his eyes.Claire took out a gift box from behind her, and she held it up with both hands before placing it into Charlie’s hands as she smiled and said, “Okay! You can open your eyes now!”Charlie lowered his head, and he saw that there was actually a watch box placed in his hands.There was a simple line of English letters written on the box. Charlie recognized it at a glance, and it turned out to be Patek Philippe. Charlie looked at Claire in surprise and spoke up, “Wife, why did you buy such an expensive gift for me?”Claire said shyly, “It’s not expensive. Hurry up and open it to see if you like it!”Charlie nodded before he opened up the package. There was a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch lying serenely inside the box.At this time, Claire said softly from the sid
The family of four dined and wined to their heart’s content. Jacob was already a little drunk, and he had already started to speak with a lisp. It was obvious at first glance that he had drunk too much.Both Elaine and Claire could not hold their liquor very well, but after Elaine had heard that a bottle of wine costs more than a hundred thousand dollars, she ground her teeth and drank more than half a bottle of the wine. She drank until she was delirious, and she looked foolishly happy as she held onto the bottle of wine.Claire drank less, and although her cheeks were also a little flushed, she was still very sober. When she saw that everyone had already dined and wined to their hearts’ content and there was only an hour left to the concert, Claire then said to Charlie, “Husband, I’ll go upstairs and change my clothes. The both of us can just head to the concert directly in a short while!”Charlie nodded, and he smiled as he said, “Go ahead. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”At this
Charlie smiled awkwardly and said, “The both of them were just talking about the past, and as they talked about it, it seems as though their feelings have surfaced…”Claire nodded and said emotionally, “That’s good. I’ve not seen both of them embracing each other like that for many years now.”As she spoke, Claire hurriedly beckoned at Charlie and said in a low voice, “Then, we should hurry up and leave now! We should not disturb them anymore!”Charlie hummed slightly, and he quietly left the house together with Claire.***The couple went out and called for a taxi before they headed straight to the Aurous Hill Olympic Centre.When they were getting nearer and approaching the venue, the surrounding traffic was already so jammed that it was difficult to even move forward slightly.The couple did not want to trouble the driver too much, so they decided to get off the car earlier, and they walked toward the entrance of the venue.At this time, the surrounding area was already fill
Charlie recalled how Loreen had seen him and Quinn at Herrolls Bay. At that time, Charlie had even lied to Loreen and told her that Quinn’s family had always been helping him. Loreen obviously knew this, and so, the reason why she was asking him this question must be because she wanted to deliberately tease him.”So, Charlie casually replied, “Actually, I’ve never had any interest and feelings for any idols or celebrities. However, I’m just accompanying Claire to come and watch this concert because she likes it.”“Oh, so that’s how it is.” Loreen did not expose him, and she smiled as she asked Claire, “Oh, by the way, Claire, which section and which row are your seats located at? Let me see if we are seated close to each other.”Claire said awkwardly, “Oh! I would have forgotten about this if you did not ask about it. Charlie was the one who helped to get the tickets for us. So, I do not know exactly which row and which seats we have.”After saying that, Claire looked at Charlie, a
Jimmy was taken aback since he didn't recognize Julien at all, mainly because the Rothschilds had always kept out of the public eye.In fact, it was basically impossible to gather genuine information about the Rothschilds online, as it was a mix of press releases and gossip. Most online biographies would only be about the older generations or certain frivolous figures. Any information about key members like Steve would never be searchable online.Matilda was confused as well, not quite understanding who Julien was since he wasn't on the list of guests invited.Seeing that she was confused, Julien turned and smiled at Yolden, "So, Professor, shouldn't you introduce me to the bride?"Yolden finally remembered that and quickly nodded, "Sorry, it slipped my mind."Turning toward Matilda, he smiled, "Darling, this is Julien Rothschild… A friend of mine from the states…"Julien's full name left everyone within earshot gaping as the Rothschild name was way too famous across the globe.
Seeing that Jimmy was getting a little nervous, Charlie smiled and assured him, "Please, you have nothing to worry about. No one's going to do anything to you, but if you feel threatened in any way, you can call the cops. The Oskian emergency hotline is 110, by the way."Jimmy was slightly relieved as he could see that Charlie really wasn't trying to make things awkward for him, and he straightened his collar as he said, "Actually, I didn't mean to cause trouble—I'm pleased that Matilda has found true love once more, and if we can be friends, I can set aside my claim and stay for the rest of this wedding, offering the newlyweds our best wishes as a representative of my family."Still, his expression showed contempt as he turned toward Yolden. "Also, I'm really curious and looking forward to seeing what connections Professor Hart might have that you say could be better than Bill.""You'll see soon enough," Charlie smiled and nodded.Jimmy remained skeptical and scoffed, "I really do
If Charlie really did get Jimmy to stay, who knew what other rubbish Jimmy would spout.As for Jimmy, he was actually surprised Charlie was asking him to stay, and his instincts told him that Charlie definitely didn't mean well.Not only that, he was on foreign soil—wouldn't he be defenseless if Charlie called in his friends to beat him up?Hence, he shook his head without hesitation as he said, "I'm sorry, but my sister-in-law is quite keen for me to leave, so I have no reason to stay and add to her problems. And it is her big day. I can afford to let her save face instead of spilling the beans on her all at once.""Oh, but you were complaining about the lack of important people just now!" Charlie quickly interjected. "It just so happens that we have a big-shot on his way here, and he's a good friend of the groom. When I told him about you over the phone, he said to keep you here no matter what it took, since he would like to talk to you face to face."Jimmy frowned. "What, are y
And with those words, Jimmy turned to leave.Despite threatening Matilda, there was no such agreement, and he knew that Matilda was well aware of that.Regardless, the only strategy he had in mind when he came to Oskia was harassment. As such, he simply came up with a lie to make Matilda look bad in public. All it took from there was just for one person to relay what he had said—even if it were all lies, Matilda's character would still be called into question.He made himself very clear so that Matilda would understand that if she didn't give in, his family would keep hounding her to take their two pounds of flesh. Even if she wouldn't surrender the stateside estates and human resources of Smith Group Corporate Law, they would still claim a sizable chunk.But if that failed too, they would just have to destroy Matilda's reputation along with Smith Group Corporate Law.Either way, they were not letting her off easy!And reading that much from Jimmy's behavior, Matilda snapped co
Jimmy didn't expect Matilda to break down the share ownership of Smith Group Corporate Law to such detail, and he hollered as he was starting to feel embarrassed, "Now, you're just being irresponsible, Matilda. My father gave my brother a million to start the law firm in the first place, and they had agreed that the family would have a stake, albeit only at 49%, to not deny your decision-making as a startup. Or are you denying it?"Matilda immediately became furious and snapped, "Bullshit! That was just a loan of one million, and the agreed term was three years. However, your brother returned it in one! I even asked him to return the money with every single one of his siblings watching, since you might all get skeptical, yet suddenly, you're calling it an investment?""You said he's returned it? Well, what proof do you have?" Jimmy quickly shot back. "Our entire family can testify that the money hasn't come back to us!""So, this is how you're going to play it?" Matilda smirked. "Th
In the first place, Jimmy had come to Oskia to claim a stake in Smith Group Corporate Law, ideally strong-arming Paul and Matilda into splitting the firm in two, with Jimmy taking everything in the States while Paul kept what was left.The way Jimmy saw it, Paul and Matilda were going to be permanently residing in Oskia anyway. There was no way they could manage things over in another country properly, so it was basically returning the firm to the rightful owner.Naturally, Jimmy also knew that despite bearing the Smith family name, the success of Smith Group Corporate Law was all the work of Jimmy's brother and Matilda. Jimmy's father had helped to a certain extent, but that extent of financial support wouldn't amount to an investment at all. No judge in the world would support his claim to the law firm's shares.Therefore, when he learned that Matilda was remarrying, he thought he could seize the moment to cause a scene. Nothing could be better if she and Paul decided to sacrifice
Jimmy deliberately raised his voice as he said coolly, "Oh, but I didn't want to intervene. It's you and your mother who left the States in a split second, taking with you the law firm which bears the Smith family name. Don't you think such behavior is inappropriate?"Seeing the surprised reactions of the guests, Paul promptly retorted, "The law firm uses the Smith family name, but it is my parents' legacy! They worked blood and sweat to build it from the ground up, and as their only son, I have a veto when it comes to decisions. Or did we need your permission to move to Oskia?""Where's your conscience, Paul?" Jimmy pursed his lips. "Even if you don't know how Smith Group Corporate Law was founded, is that the case for you? It would have been a joke if it weren't for my father's connections!"Hell, it's no exaggeration that it was my father who fought to expand the law firm across America, and just using the family name means you're borrowing the family's influence. The family hono
The blonde man's voice drew everyone's attention in an instant.Despite his foreign appearance, he spoke Oskian fluently and walked with a haughty gait, almost as though he was above the rest.Paul's expression turned grim the instant he saw him, and he hurried over with Charlie.Still, before Paul could speak, Charlie stopped him, frowning at the man as he said, "Don't you think it's inappropriate to come slinging personal attacks at someone else's wedding?"The man clearly didn't know Charlie, and he wasn't worried, seeing that he was young.Snorting in disdain, he asked, "You must be from the groom's family, yes? Please tell him that he doesn't deserve my sister-in-law.""It's up to the happy couple to decide that," Charlie retorted quietly. "Deserving someone is no issue as long as they both love each other."The man pursed his lips and looked pointedly around him. "Just look at how simple this wedding is. Forget picking an unassuming city like Aurous Hill—is there a single
Pausing, Charlie then said, "I'll call Steve to drop by later too. I'm sure folks in Aurous Hill won't know him, but your potential troublemaker might.""I-Is that really fine?" Yolden blurted."What's not fine about it?" Charlie chuckled. "He has been treated like a tool ever since he came to Aurous Hill, and now that he has a chance to strut about, he wouldn't ask for more."Yolden appeared slightly relieved at that, and Charlie asked, "By the way, where's Paul, Matilda, and Autumn?""Getting their makeup done," Yolden replied. "Paul's my best man while Autumn's the maid of honor.""Good," Charlie nodded with a grin. "Don't worry—the wedding's going to be a success."As they spoke, Matilda stepped out of the dressing room in a stark-white wedding dress, flanked by Autumn and Paul.Seeing Charlie, Autumn nodded politely, "Good morning, Mr. Wade."As Charlie nodded in turn, Paul started, "G-Good morning… Mr. Wade…"Seeing that he was nervous and tentative, Charlie knew that he