Filed To Story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“Miss Flossie, you are stunning. You’d be a perfect future daughter-in-law! I have to thank the Guajardo family for letting go of such a wonderful treasure.” Sophia patted Flossie’s hand and smiled at her kindly.
“Of course! Miss Flossie’s mother is a well-known beauty in Beach City, after all – tons of men were fighting for her hand back then,” Jack said in amusement. “Miss Flossie is just as beautiful as her mother!”
Flossie was so overwhelmed by their enthusiasm that she didn’t know what to do. She could only smile awkwardly and glanced at Justin for help.
Getting her cue, Justin instantly pulled her behind him. “Behave, everyone… You’re scaring my girlfriend!”
Austin chuckled and said gently, “Don’t be scared. You’re the future mistress of the Baldwin family. To show you our sincerity, we prepared a special gift for you we think you’ll like!”
“Gift?” Flossie instantly shook her head and backed away. “Grandpa Baldwin, I appreciate the gesture, but you didn’t have to get me a gift. I didn’t even get anything for you! You’re all too generous.”
Flossie had forgotten what it felt like to be appreciated and loved like this. When the Ellsworth family went bankrupt and she married into the Guajardo family, all she got from the Guajardo family was judgment and glares.
She felt touched, and also a little guilty. After all, this was all just an act.
Austin frowned and said solemnly, ‘This is nothing. I’m not a generous man, but I mean it when I say that you’re the future mistress of the Baldwin family. The gift I prepared for you isn’t just any gift, it’s more of a dowry.”
‘There’s no need for that…” Flossie felt so guilty that she wanted to run away and hide. If she knew the Baldwin family would be so serious about it, she wouldn’t have agreed to pretend to be Justin’s girlfriend.
Flossie stared at Justin pointedly, but Justin ignored her and spoke to the old man, “Grandpa, you can’t just give her a cheap dowry, okay? You’d make me look bad if you do since the Guajardo family’s dowry for Flossie was a mansion worth billions. What about us? How many billions are we going to spend?”
“Money is too common. Who needs money in this era? Only the Guajardo family would do such a thing!” Austin’s expression was filled with disdain when he mentioned the Guajardo family of Beach City.
He raised his chin and proudly pointed at the army who had welcomed her earlier. ‘You are Maurice’s granddaughter, a general’s heir. You were born with the ability to lead. It’s a shame your father didn’t inherit your grandfather’s talent, since he chose to do business instead and failed miserably at it. So, I want to give you this army to help rebuild the Ellsworth family to its former glory.”
‘You want to give me… an army?” Flossie’s jaw dropped in shock. She thought Austin would offer money, jewelry, or a house but she never expected him to give her an army!
‘ I trained them myself. Each soldier has their own unique skills, and they are all very accomplished. I named them The Army of the Devil… It’s now yours.” He took a medal from his uniform and handed it to Flossie, then looked at the soldiers and yelled, “The person who holds this medal will be your general, and you will only take orders from them. From now on, you will fight every battle for her!”
The minute he finished speaking, the five hundred soldiers saluted at Flossie and screamed in unison, ‘We swear allegiance to General Ellsworth!”
Flossie initially wanted to refuse, but the fighting spirit she inherited burned in her when she saw the soldiers.
When she was a child, her grandfather often told her stories of the battlefield, and she used to dream that she would one day become a great general who would make her grandfather proud and bring honor to the Ellsworth family.
Determined, she held the medal high in the air and roared back, “Men, we fight for honor!”
Any person watching this scene would be weirded out, but Flossie loved it. It was as if she was born for the battlefield as she screamed the war cry loudly.
“Good… Very good!” Austin nodded his head proudly, tears in his eyes.” Maurice, are you watching this? Flossie is truly your granddaughter. She’s a natural leader with a bright future!”
Jack and Sophia held each other’s hands with tears in their eyes. “Our son finally made us proud. She’s the best daughter-in-law anyone could ask for!”
On the other hand, Justin felt terribly guilty. ‘Damn, is Grandpa serious? He gave Flossie an entire army! If he finds out the truth, I’ll be in big trouble.’
The group of people got in their car and headed to a fine dining restaurant in Sutton.
Sophia had already accepted Flossie as her future daughter-in-law. She had held Flossie’s hand for the entire journey to the restaurant, enthusiastically pointing out every landmark they passed. “Flossie, do you see that shopping mall? It belongs to us. Oh, that building belongs to us too! Even that TV tower in the distance belongs to us. We invested in five of the local television stations.”
Flossie was very impressed with the Baldwin family’s capabilities – they were definitely on equal footing with the Guajardo family. However, the Guajardo family was based in Beach City, which had an advanced transportation system that boosted the country’s economy and aided the Guajardo family in dominating the business sector.
Compared to Beach City, Sutton was mainly inland with limited industrial production, so resources were usually monopolized by a few big shots who would develop and grow the country.
Both families were powerful, but because of the previous generation of descendants, they had become enemies. Fortunately, both families conquered their own sector, so there wasn’t any fight for profits.
However, it now seemed that Flossie might be the reason for a war between the two families!
Austin sat at the head of the table and held up his glass of wine as he said to Flossie, “You’ve suffered a lot in the past few years. I heard that the Guajardo family treated you badly and even kicked you out of their house. You may have forgiven them, but I can’t accept such rude behavior towards you. So, I have decided to declare war against the Guajardo family and take revenge for you!”
After speaking, he tilted his head back and drank the whole glass of wine.
Flossie, however, was terrified when she heard this. “Thank you for wanting to help me but it’s fine, Grandpa Baldwin. I did everything of my own free will during my time in the Guajardo family, and now that I’ve divorced Halston, I have no connections with them anymore!”
Austin shook his head. ‘You’re too kind. I can’t let them bully you like this. I owe Maurice to take care of his granddaughter, so I must take revenge on your behalf!”
“I…” Flossie was flustered and thought to herself, ‘Is he for real? What exactly is he planning to do?’
Before she could say anything, a waiter entered the room and stammered fearfully, “l-l’m sorry for disturbing your evening, but there’s someone outside who wishes to dine with you. Would this be alright with you?”
“Who dares to make such a bold suggestion?” Austin slammed his fist on the table and scowled at the waiter. “Fine, ask them to come in. It’s been a while since a person this bold appeared in the Baldwin’s family territory!”
Flossie glanced at the door and was instantly curious about this mysterious person. After all, the Baldwin family was the most powerful family in Sutton, but this person dared to disrespect them, so they had to be someone powerful too.
The door to the banquet hall opened and an elegant woman strolled in. She was wearing an expensive-looking silk dress and carrying a fancy Hermes handbag.
“It’s been a while, Uncle Baldwin. I missed you so much that I came all the way from Beach City to see you. I hope you can grant me the pleasure of dining with you.” Under everyone’s surprised gazes, the woman placed her ten-million-dollar Hermes bag on the table and sat down at the table casually.
This elegant yet arrogant woman was none other than Flossie’s ex-mother-in -law, Francine.
After processing this strange situation, Flossie blurted out, “Mom- Miss Milford, what are you doing here? This is Sutton!”
She was actually implying that this was the Baldwin family’s territory, not Beach City. The Baldwin family and the Guajardo family hated each other… Did this woman have a death wish?
“Oh my god!” Francine turned to Flossie, looking shocked. “Flossie, my darling daughter-in-law, it’s been ages! What a coincidence! Why are you here? What did you call me earlier? Can you call me that again?”
Flossie was speechless and thought to herself, ‘Didn’t we just meet yesterday? And also, are we even that close?’
Sophia was the most furious among everyone at the table. She stood up, pointed at the door, and growled, “Francine, don’t talk nonsense! The whole world knows your son divorced Flossie. She’s my future daughter-in- law now! Leave this place – you’re not welcome here!”
Francine, however, didn’t back down. She slowly poured herself a glass of red wine and swirled her glass as she smiled sweetly. “Sophia, why are you so tense? We’ve been best friends since we were little. We used to have the same taste in things, from small things like flowers and dolls to bigger things like jewelry… and men.”
“Francine, shut your mouth!” Sophia’s face had darkened and her hand was reaching for the wine bottle. It seemed like she was ready to fight Francine.
Francine had been doted on by her family when she was a kid, and even as an adult, her husband and son loved her and doted on her. She had become a blissfully ignorant woman because of this, and she continued bluntly, “Back then, both of us were in love with Halston’s father. Since I was older, I wanted to let you have him, but he fell in love with me and insisted on marrying me. So, I married him, and it’s been 20 years since I last saw you.”
“Francine, that’s enough. Aren’t you ashamed to talk about all this in front of the youngsters?” Sophia clenched her fists and said through gritted teeth.
If she wasn’t trying to maintain her good image in front of Flossie, she would have gladly fought Francine!
“What is there to be ashamed about? We fought because of Halston’s father, and your husband knows it too. It’s all in the past, so there’s nothing to be ashamed about.”
After Francine was done speaking, she clinked glasses with Flossie and laughed. “You see, daughter- in-law? I was young once too. My love life back then was far more interesting than whatever is happening in this generation.”
Flossie smiled awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. She knew that Francine was arrogant, but she didn’t know she could be so bold.
Had Francine just come here to boast about her relationships?
“How dare you!” Jack slammed the table, his face fierce as he shouted,” Do you think you’re in Beach City? This is the Baldwin family’s territory. If you dare to continue this nonsense and upset my wife, then don’t blame me for hurting you!”
Francine rolled her eyes and remarked sarcastically, “Oh, I’m so scared. Jack, we used to be childhood sweethearts, and your wife and I were really close when we were kids. How can you threaten me like this?”
“You!” Jack was so enraged that he clenched his fists, about to hit her.
When Flossie saw this, she immediately stood in front of Jack and calmed him down. “Uncle Jack, don’t be mad. Miss Milford is known for being rude and blunt. Just think of her as an underdeveloped child, okay? There’s no point in arguing with a child.”