Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
She exited the ward with the bodyguard, and he reported worriedly, “The Murphy family has sent a lot of people over, and they’re forcing their way up. They’re here to demand an explanation for Ms. Seraphina… Please go and have a look, Madam.”
“The Murphy family?” Francine frowned, then rushed downstairs. When she reached the lobby, she saw a large group of people threatening the doctors there. The patients were hiding and watching fearfully from a distance.
Ethan turned around and saw Francine, and his anger subsided a little. He walked out of the middle of the crowd and called out, “You’re finally here! I was just about to force my way in.”
“Your temper is a bit much, Ethan. My son’s surgery just ended, and you brought so many people over to see him. Isn’t that going overboard?” Francine was smiling, but her tone was menacing. Back then, she had been one of the Four Princesses of Beach City, and her strong background made Ethan inferior to her. However, many things had changed over the years, and the Murphy family had managed to rise to power, making them on par with the Guajardo family. Their new status was what had given them the possibility of an alliance marriage, but nonetheless, Francine felt that a mere Murphy didn’t have the right to make a scene here.
“Don’t be mad—I only did this because I ran out of options… I just wanted to get your attention and meet you!” Ethan said politely and smiled charmingly at Francine. A hypocrite like him generally wouldn’t fall out with someone unless he considered them worthless to him.
Currently, the Guajardo family was still the leading family of The Great Eight of Beach City, so the Murphys didn’t dare to offend them.
“You ran out of options?” Francine sneered. “Aren’t you just here to show off? Why pretend to be sorry? Just tell me why you’re here.”
“It’s about my dear daughter. She had her heart set on your son, and the wedding date was already decided and people were informed, but now… she can’t even meet her future husband. What kind of crap is that?” Ethan gritted his teeth to keep his hatred at bay.
“Well, it’s a delicate situation. I’m sure your daughter didn’t tell you that she wanted to kill my son’s surgeon to prevent the surgery. How else could I guarantee that she wouldn’t do anything to my son?” Francine bluntly exposed what Seraphina did. She knew Seraphina had taken good care of Halston for the last six months, and she couldn’t really find fault with her. If nothing had happened, she would have been happy to see Seraphina marry Halston since they were childhood sweethearts and were fond of each other.
Besides, their families were on par when it came to status, so it was considered a good match. However, Seraphina had exposed her true colors, and now Francine had to be cautious around her.
“What? There has to be some kind of misunderstanding- there’s no way she’d do something like that. You should look into it!” Ethan was shocked because he thought his daughter was just a love- struck fool, and she would never do something so despicable.
“Do you really want me to investigate? What if I find something even worse? Do you think I’d accuse someone for no reason?” Francine shot Ethan a cold glare. Even though she was a woman and outmatched in number, she wasn’t afraid.
“Alright, enough about that. The main point is that your family was over the line today! If you don’t give me an explanation, we won’t leave,” Ethan demanded angrily. He saw no need to pretend to be nice since Francine had humiliated him.
“What do you need an explanation for? I just didn’t allow your daughter to meet my son. Isn’t my son allowed a bit of freedom?” Francine snapped, feeling like Ethan was being unreasonable.
“Hmph! Your whole family is arrogant and reckless. Your grandson pushed my daughter into the pond and she nearly drowned because she didn’t know how to swim! She’s still getting checked at the hospital, you know. So, how do you plan to settle this?” Ethan had rushed to Halston’s hospital with people right after he heard Seraphina’s complaints. He wanted an explanation, and he also wanted to scare Halston and let him know that Seraphina wasn’t a pushover.
“My grandson… pushed your daughter into a pond?” Francine stared at Ethan incredulously, then burst out laughing.”
Nonsense! My grandson is just a little boy, and your daughter is almost twenty-eight years old— how could a kid push her into a pond? And you have the audacity to come here and demand an explanation! Why don’t you reflect on yourself for having such a useless daughter?”
Francine’s admiration for Adie grew when she heard what he had done. She felt that Adie had taken after his mother and grandmother, and he was much better than his reserved father. Adie was a promising candidate to run Guajardo Enterprise in the future, and he might even be more capable than his father.
“Your grandson nearly got my daughter killed, and you’re laughing? Are you mocking her?” Ethan blustered, his face red in anger. He had wanted Francine to feel guilty, but it looked like she was more amused than anything about the whole incident.
Francine snorted. “Yeah, I’m mocking her. She’s an adult, but she was bested by a kid. Isn’t it ridiculous?” After that, she took a step toward Ethan and said fiercely, “And for your information, I’m fully aware of my grandson’s character- he’d never attack someone unless they provoked him first. The better question is why he pushed your daughter into the pond; I think you’d better ask your daughter about it before putting on a show here.”
“Francine, you… you’ve gone too far!” Ethan bellowed in outrage as he pointed at Francine. “I used to consider you charming, but you’re actually this arrogant! Seraphina sincerely loves Halston, but what did she get in the end?”
Francine rolled her eyes and scoffed, “How would I know? She can leave if she feels wronged. I’m sure there’s a reason she so desperately wants to be with Halston anyway.”
“Well, look at you—you don’t even want to resolve this! I guess that officially makes us enemies from today onwards! ” Ethan sneered spitefully. In actual fact, the Murphy family had other plans, but Ethan couldn’t fall out with the Guajardos because Seraphina kept pestering Halston. However, he could now use today’s incident as an excuse to attack the Guajardo family. Even if word got out about this, others wouldn’t criticize the Murphy family for being cruel, but they would condemn the Guajardo family for being outrageous.
“It’s you who wants to cut ties with us, so don’t involve the youngsters. Although I don’t manage the company, I know what your family’s been up to.” Francine was a smart woman, and she was well aware of the schemes and deception in the business world. The Murphy family had approached the Guajardo family with ulterior motives, and now they wanted to fall out with them for the same reason too.
“So what if you know? My family will stop investing in your family, and Guajardo Enterprise will suffer because you’ve put all your money into the field of AL” Gloating, Ethan continued, “I don’t care if your son wants to take risks, but don’t drag me into it. I don’t want to suffer any losses with him, so don’t blame me for retreating.”
Francine’s expression changed and she snarled, “Get lost! My family doesn’t need pity from an upstart like you!”
After Ethan left, Elijah cautiously approached Francine. “Are you alright, Madam Francine?”
Francine smoothed down her hair and raised her head elegantly, showing everyone there why she was still the head of the Four Princesses of Beach City. “I’m fine. I’ve met a lot of men like him, so I’ve become immune to them. I knew that the Murphys had ulterior motives. They chose to invest in Guajardo Enterprise because of the marriage, but once they realized that it wouldn’t happen, they backed out. It’s quite normal.” Francine turned to Elijah, frowning as she asked, “Did Halston ever indicate that the company’s finances are tight?”
For the past two years, Halston had been expanding Guajardo Enterprise and developing new areas through investments, but not many projects had brought him the profit he’d expected. Additionally, with so many competitors popping up, business was tough.
“Yes, many businesses of Guajardo Enterprise have been narrowed down, and many competitors have snatched our deals… Currently, Mr. Guajardo is focused on Al, but it’s a new area, so funding for research is an issue.” Elijah had been working for Halston for a long time, and he knew the current situation of the company better than anyone else. Halston’s venture into the field of Al was a big expense and a little out of control, and there was the possibility that it might end badly. However, Halston never revealed the bad news and prohibited Elijah from telling Francine about it.
“I know he’s had it hard… His love life has been a mess lately, and he also has to manage this huge company alone.” Francine felt sorry for Halston. When Tristan was still alive, all Halston needed to do was focus on his interests, and he didn’t have to bear as many consequences. “I know Halston-he had no interest in the company and this field, but he’s been bearing the family responsibilities for so many years to bring it to where it is today…”
“Yes, I think he’s more of a family man than a workaholic. To him, a great achievement would probably be sitting down with his family for a nice dinner, but unfortunately…” Elijah trailed off, feeling sad for his boss.
“He’s Halston, and he has no choice.” Closing her eyes, Francine finished Elijah’s sentence.
“It’s strange, but Guajardo Enterprise reached its peak when Mr. Guajardo was married to Ms. Ellsworth. That was also when he was most motivated, and solved all the company’s issues smoothly. However, he became a bit depressed after the divorce, and Guajardo Enterprise seems to have reached a bottleneck period…” Elijah observed thoughtfully.
Calmly, Francine added, “Yes, one’s wife is the best support and blessing one has. I’m afraid Halston has missed a lot of good things… Well, I hope things will be better this time.”
After Ethan stormed off after arguing with Francine, he went to the ward next door where Seraphina was. Seraphina was still a bit stunned from her stint in the pond, but she was awake now. She just needed to stay in the hospital for two days of observation.
Seraphina stopped pacing when Ethan entered the ward, and quickly ran up to him. “How did it go, Daddy? What did Madam Francine say? Did she allow me to see Halston?” When Seraphina had been admitted after nearly drowning, she cried and complained to Ethan, hoping that her father would help her win Halston back.
“Why do you want her to say yes? I’ve already fought with them,” Ethan said smugly. He had been waiting for this day for a long time, but his hands had been tied because of Seraphina. Now, he could bask in his victory.
Seraphina’s eyes bulged and she shrieked, “What?! Why would you do that? I asked you to make peace with them but you-“
Annoyed, Ethan snapped, “Wake up, Seraphina! They never took us seriously. You took such good care of Halston, but what did you get in the end?”
“I did it willingly! I’ll be happy as long as I’m with him, and I don’t need anything in return.”
“Shut up!” Although Ethan doted on his daughter, he was disappointed in her. “You’ve got no guts, but our family isn’t like this. We might not be as strong and powerful as them, but we’re still quite formidable. But they’ve humiliated us twice because of this marriage, and we’ve become the laughingstock of the city. I don’t want to be humiliated any longer!” The Murphy family had been humble and flattering for a long time so the Guajardos would go through with the marriage, but Ethan was a man with a temper and pride. His hatred towards the Guajardo family grew as time passed, and he yearned to see them fall, i
“You know that Halston is the only man I love, Daddy. I finally got close to him, but now you’ve ruined everything! Do you want to see me kill myself?” Desperate, Seraphina ran to the window and yelled, “Why don’t I just end it all? You’ve got an illegitimate son anyway, and he can join our family after I’m dead!”
“Seraphina, love, calm down. Why did you bring him up again? I love you the most, and all my property is yours. I’ll get you any man you want, so please come here…” Ethan immediately rushed over to Seraphina and hugged her waist, saying helplessly, “I didn’t want to fight, but Francine said some nasty things. I said you were nearly killed by her grandson, but she said you were useless and must have offended her grandson, which was why you deserved it… How could I let that go?”
“Yes, Madam Francine was right. I did try to push that kid first, but he pushed me into the pond instead. I was the one at fault, so why would you use that incident to negotiate with Madam Francine?” Angry, Seraphina stamped her feet and gritted her teeth, i
“You had almost drowned, I had to demand an explanation from them! They’re just lucky I didn’t kill the brat,” Ethan huffed grumpily. He adored his daughter, so he considered his lack of action tolerant enough.
“You could tell them that I accidentally fell into the pond, or that I was hospitalized because I missed Halston too much. You’ve got to move them! Why did you bring that kid up? Don’t you know that they care about him a lot? I’ve lost my chance now for sure… Madam Francine will never forgive me, and Halston definitely won’t. I’m doomed…” Seraphina’s shoulders trembled as she covered her face and cried piteously.
Her crying broke Ethan’s heart. Patting her shoulders, Ethan comforted her, “There, there. I’ve got a way for you to be with Halston. Although it’s a little extreme, I think it’ll be effective. Would you like to try it?”
“Really?” Seraphina looked up at Ethan eagerly, her eyes puffy and watery.
“Of course. I’ve never lied to you.”
“Tell me then. I’m going crazy from not seeing Halston for so long…”
“Well, we can’t reach Halston since he’s so powerful… but doesn’t that mean we’ll have a chance if he falls off his pedestal?” Ethan smiled deviously, his eyes gleaming.
Seraphina frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well, his family only managed to get out of their previous crisis because we invested in their company, but once Halston recovered, that ungrateful boy started pushing you away. We need to ruin him so he’ll need support, and at that point, we’ll appear to help him. Wouldn’t it be easy for you to be with him then?” Ethan explained slowly. The law of the jungle ruled everything in this cruel world-only the great had the power to choose, and the weak would be at the mercy of others. Ethan found his daughter foolish for helping Halston to soldier through his hardships; once he had recovered, the first thing he did was kick away his stepping stone.
“I… I don’t know if it’ll work…” Seraphina felt that her father’s suggestion was reasonable because Halston got engaged to her when there was a financial problem with Guajardo Enterprise. Although he gave up because of Flossie, that was still the closest Seraphina had been to Halston. After that, Seraphina managed to stay with Halston for a long time because he had suffered a great blow and needed support. It made her wonder if Halston would choose her if he was left with nothing one day…
When Ethan noticed Seraphina’s hesitation, he became confident. “Just listen to me, Seraphina. You must ruin a person first if you want to get him.”
“But Halston is so strong. How can we ruin him? I’m afraid he’ll ruin me first…”
“Don’t worry about that because I’ve already found a partner. All you need to do is say yes.”