Filed to story: Snatched a Billionaire to be My Husband Book (Cora & Byron)
“Miss Lane, I’ve already given you opportunities, but since you won’t take the soft route, I’ll have to resort to more forceful means,”
Evelyn retorted before she turned to leave.
Cora couldn’t help but smirk internally. Wasn’t she already using forceful means?
After a moment’s consideration, Cora had a sudden idea. Cora pretended to answer a call, holding her hand to her ear as if speaking on the phone,
“Hey, Steve? What’s up? I heard you might be looking for new talent for the National Shooting Team. Well, if you’re interested, I think I might be a perfect fit.”
As Cora finished her make-believe conversation, she noticed Evelyn’s footsteps coming to an abrupt halt and started rushing toward her.
Evelyn might not be the cleverest, but she was definitely athletic.
After a while, she managed to snatch Cora’s cell phone and tried to end the call.
“You won’t be unemployed, and you won’t get into the National Shooting Team,”
Evelyn said.
But after fiddling with Cora’s phone, she realized that the screen had always been off, so she glared at
Cora.
“Are you messing with me?”
However, Cora gave her a cold look.
“How can you be so sure that I won’t lose my job? It seems like you were the one behind those photos and the people who posted them.”
In fact, Cora had been suspecting Evelyn for some time.
After all, Evelyn was the only one apart from the Yoris family who had conflicts with her during that period.
However, the Yoris family proved their innocence by producing unedited footage of the surveillance records as evidence, so Evelyn was the only one left as the possible culprit.
Ever since meeting Evelyn in front of the Hansen Mansion earlier, Cora had been planning on subtly feigning a phone call with Steve while in front of Evelyn.
Now that Evelyn approached her, she figured she would take the opportunity to carry out her plan.
Yet, Evelyn firmly denied any involvement,
“It wasn’t me. Your job at the hospital doesn’t bother me.
Why would I sabotage your work?”
“Indeed. My job at the hospital is none of your business, but the same can’t be said of my desire to join the National Shooting Team. You trained hard for many years wanting to win the gold medal, but it may just end up in my hands.”
Evelyn had the urge to slap Cora, who sounded almost cocky.
“You can’t join the National Shooting Team willy-nilly. Plus, they won’t accept you if they know your scandals and how chaotic your private life is.”
“My membership in the team isn’t solely up to you. Steve cares the most about results and rankings.
Everything else isn’t of his concern. In fact, he might help get rid of those scandals for me, if they ever existed in the first place, so that I am eligible to join the National Shooting Team.”
Their bickering only heightened Evelyn’s worry.
Admittedly, Cora had struck a nerve in her.
Evelyn had practiced diligently for years to win the gold medal in international competitions and gain enough recognition so that she could stand out among the country’s young women.
But if Cora, with her superior marksmanship, joined the National Shooting Team, she would undoubtedly win the gold medal, rendering Evelyn’s efforts futile.
Moreover, Evelyn understood that Nora’s sudden urge to have her marry Byron was because she could potentially win the gold medal, which would elevate the Hansen family’s status among the wealthy families in the country.
She was also aware that Steve would actually help Cora deal with the scandals.
After all, Steve had the ability to do so, given his connections in both civil society and the underground.
Most importantly, he greatly admired those with exceptional marksmanship.
Even during training, he would frequently praise his favorite apprentice, who had perfect scores, expressing deep appreciation as he did.
Thus, Evelyn had no doubt that if Cora mentioned her interest in joining the National Shooting Team,
Steve, with his position as the team’s coach, would ensure her swift entrance.
“So, Evelyn, I’m sure you will clarify the fabricated scandals posted on the hospital bulletin board?”
Cora asked, observing Evelyn’s worried expression.
“I already told you it wasn’t me!”
Evelyn was still in distress.
Cora took a firm stand.
“It doesn’t matter if it was you. If you don’t want me to approach Steve, you will resolve these issues for me. If I end up losing my job here, I don’t mind earning my wages by joining the National Shooting Team.”
After her forceful demand for Evelyn to clarify the situation, she was prepared to leave.
As she took a step, she noticed Byron smoking a cigarette while leaning against the wall in the corridor.
The embers at the cigarette’s tip glowed intermittently, and his eyes were unfathomable as he looked at her…
Cora’s footsteps came to a halt, and she felt as though Byron’s deep and aloof gaze was scrutinizing her discreetly at that moment.
She wondered if some part of her conversation with Evelyn just now had made him unhappy.
As she pondered over the question, Byron extinguished his cigarette and approached her.
“Let’s head back.”
“Sure.”
Since he said nothing, Cora didn’t dwell on it too much.
Besides, Cora noticed that Evelyn was still watching them, so she wanted to show off the tight-knit bond shared between Byron and herself.
Thus, she smiled and took Byron’s arm in front of Evelyn, engaging in light-hearted conversation with him before bidding farewell to Byron’s parents and leaving the mansion.
While on their way back, Byron suddenly asked her,
“Is the matter resolved?”
After considering for a moment, Cora figured he was referring to the issue of her being suspended from work due to the sexual photos of her that someone posted.
It seemed that he had overheard a lot of her conversation with Evelyn while standing in the nearby corner.
“Yeah, it should be resolved now.”
Cora knew Evelyn would resolve the matter in order to keep her gold medal.
After saying that, Byron fell into a long silence and even lit a cigarette.
The atmosphere in the small space of the car became so heavy that it was hard to breathe.
Cora briefly considered asking him if something she said had upset him.
However, she figured it might be unnecessary after some thought.
If he had overheard their earlier conversation, then he must have heard that Nora was trying to help
Evelyn become his wife.
Since he wasn’t inclined to explain it to her, she wasn’t about to butt into his business, especially given how inconsequential they were.
The heavy atmosphere persisted until they returned to the apartment. Once they were inside and the door closed, Byron pinned her against the wall…
As usual, they were good together in bed, but Cora couldn’t shake the feeling that Byron seemed to be putting in more effort that night, leaving her a bit stiff in the waist the next day.
Originally, she had planned to rest at home in the morning, but a call came from the hospital asking for her return.
Cora had to freshen up quickly and head straight to William’s office upon arriving at the hospital.
William was also seeing patients that day. When Cora entered his office, he still had a patient with him, so he nodded at her.
“Have a seat first. Let’s talk once I’m done with this patient.”
Cora nodded and waited at the back, unable to help but observe William quietly.
Having been pampered for most of his life and taking good care of himself, he still looked youthful despite nearing fifty.
The white coat he wore added a touch of aloofness to his already handsome face.
In essence, he looked fundamentally different from the people who hailed from wealthy families.
Cora suddenly understood why Flora would still miss him even after all that time and was exceptionally nice to his daughter.
“Remember to get plenty of rest after taking the medicine. You will also have to come back to the hospital for regular check-ups.”
William gave the patient some prescriptions and offered some advice. The patient left after thanking him.
He then gestured for Cora to take a seat in front of him.
“The person who posted the photo handed himself over to the higher-ups today. He admitted that he sought revenge because he couldn’t handle being rejected after confessing his love to you.”
Seeing that Cora remained indifferent and didn’t respond, he continued,
“He has already apologized and written an apology letter. We will make a public statement and release his letter to clarify the situation. So, you can return to work in the emergency room later.”
He was expecting Cora to be satisfied with the resolution of the incident. However, she sounded somewhat mocking when she spoke next.
“But I don’t even know that person. Shouldn’t you have nailed down the culprit who instructed him to do that and made a police report before issuing a statement?”
“Cora, it is challenging to gather evidence for this situation. Dragging things out would have a negative impact on both you and the hospital,”
William said.
He knew Cora was still upset and eager to discover who was behind the scenes, but he could only persuade her not to cause more trouble.
Cora looked at him resolutely.
“You need to get to the bottom of this to eliminate the problem lest it repeats itself again!”
She meant that if she didn’t teach the mastermind a lesson, they would cause trouble for her again in the future.
Furthermore, she worried that others who hold grudges against her might be encouraged to follow suit after seeing that the mastermind faced no real consequences.
“Your approach towards situations and people appear to be quite extreme, which may not be conducive to your future growth and development.”