Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“You told me you would let me take good care of Halston and spend the rest of my life with him. When he was so weak, I took care of him until he got better and resolved all the crises of Guajardo Enterprise. Before I could even spend time with him, you snatched him away. Aren’t you going too far? Do you take me for a fool?”
“Calm down.” Flossie smiled and said bluntly, “Once I knew that you were wicked enough to mess with
Halston’s brain, I decided that I wouldn’t let you have him. Don’t you see? You did this to yourself.”
“I… I didn’t do anything to his brain. Don’t speak rubbish.” Seraphina’s confidence immediately fizzled out, and anxiety filled her. Only she, Jovan, and the surgeon who did the surgery for Halston knew about it, so how did Flossie find out?
“Don’t deny it. I’ve got a detailed report of Halston’s brain surgery from Dr. Wagner. Maybe you can have a look at it,” Flossie said nonchalantly, crossing her arms.
Seraphina’’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Dr. Wagner wanted to send it to Halston, but he let me Tread it first because he didn’t want Halston’s recovery to be affected.” Flossie turned to Seraphina and smiled widely. “Do you think I should send it to Halston?”
“Are you threatening me, Flossie?” Seraphina snarled at Flossie furiously.
“No, I’m not.” Again, Flossie calmly sipped her coffee and faked a smile. “I don’t care if you don’t like me, but you have no right to judge me as if you’re so naive and innocent. I don’t think breaking my promise is a big deal compared to what you did.” She had promised Seraphina that she would leave Halston and let them be a happy couple, but it was under the condition that Seraphina sincerely loved Halston and wanted the best for him. Unexpectedly, her means were so extreme that she did not hesitate to ruin Halston’s health, so of course Flossie was reluctant to leave Halston in Seraphina’s care.
“Who knows what you’ll do to Halston if you no longer love him one day? I won’t let him take such a risk,” Flossie said clearly. Of course, the person who loved Halston the most was Flossie. Back then, she had left for the sake of her and Halston’s happiness, but all that had done was bring them pain. After some contemplation, she felt that it was better to be with Halston and face any challenges together, because only they could give each other happiness.
Seraphina’s eyes were bright with anger as she said stubbornly, ‘Til always love him, and I’m willing to sacrifice everything for him. I can do anything for him, including ruining him!”
“You’re out of your mind, Seraphina. You don’t know what love is, and the only person you love is yourself!” Flossie snapped, but Seraphina’s words had scared her. She felt that love was about giving and understanding, but Seraphina wanted nothing but to hurt her beloved and herself.
“So what if I only love myself? My goal is to make him mine. I grew up with him, and I decided I would be his bride when we were still kids. When we used to play house as children, he was my husband, and I was his wife, and it’ll be the same now that we’re adults. If you want to take him away, I’ll fight you for him. There’s nothing I can’t have in this world!” Seraphina laughed hysterically. In her mind, life was just a game, and she didn’t care how much of a mess she made as long as she won in the end.
“What are you going to do?” Flossie asked Seraphina worriedly. Seraphina reminded her of Jovan-both of them could go to extremes for the sake of their love affairs. If they conspired with each other, they might create an enormous mess in Beach City and ruin a lot of people.
“Didn’t I tell you? I don’t mind ruining Halston in order to make him mine. He’ll know how important I am to him once he’s left with nothing and nobody, then he’ll come back to me,” Seraphina said confidently, a sinister smile on her face.
“How ridiculous!” Flossie snorted. “He’s a human, not a toy. Do you think you can ruin him just because you want to? Plus… he’ll never be alone. His parents, family, the kids, and I won’t leave him no matter what position he holds.”
“You’re just saying that because you haven’t experienced it yet. If he becomes a target of scorn, and bad things happen when you both are together, will you still stay with him?”
Flossie shook her head. “That day will never come.”
“Why not? Guajardo Enterprise is coming to an end, and his body can’t hold on for long. By then, everyone will despise him, and he’ll end up with nothing. He’ll just be another worthless person saddled with debt. Don’t tell me you’ll still stick by him even then?”
“Firstly, he’ll never be worthless. Secondly, I’m not a pushover. Even if he falls, I can take his place. Although I’m not rich, I own two small companies with pretty good profits. It’s enough for us to lead a worry-free life.” The two companies Flossie meant were the emerging Azure Group, a new technology company, and KCL Holdings, a longstanding company with immeasurable strength. Seraphina had no idea that Flossie headed those two companies. If Seraphina knew how powerful Flossie was, she would probably leave in shame.
“Hmph! They’re only two small companies, so it’s just wishful thinking that they’d be able to pay off the debts of a large company like Guajardo Enterprise. If I were you, I would break up with Halston for his sake so he won’t be targeted. He would then gain the support of my family and have the chance to win instead!” Seraphina said meaningfully. As long as Flossie was willing to give Halston up, the Murphy family could assist Halston to soldier through that crisis at anytime.
Flossie laughed again. “I’m sure you persuaded Halston like this back then-you promised to help him through the crisis by asking him to break up with me. Or… you forced him to break up with me so he could protect me. Well, he believed you and broke up with me, and now you’re trying the same method again to make me leave. But I’m not as noble as Halston. I enjoy being with him, and I don’t want to break up with him.”
“How dare you!” Enraged, Seraphina got to her feet and pointed at Flossie. “How could you be so selfish? Didn’t you hear what I said? He’s doomed. Do you want to see that?”
“Selfish?” Flossie grinned and said, “You were the one who taught me that women should only consider their own welfare and happiness. What’s wrong with that?”
“You… You can’t do this!” Seraphina stomped her foot in anger. However, before she could speak again, cold water splashed onto her face. Seraphina couldn’t even open her eyes as she coughed and spluttered. “What…”
“Bad woman! Get out of my house now, or I’m going to use a bigger gun!” Adie threatened Seraphina fiercely as he pointed a water gun at her.
Seraphina tried her best to open her eyes. When she realized that it was Adie, the kid who had pushed her into the pond, she was furious. “You little brat! You nearly drowned me earlier, and here you are provoking me again. Do you have a death wish?” She snarled, rushing towards Adie.
However, Adie sprayed her face with water again before she could approach him. Putting his hand on his waist, Adie warned her, “You’re not our guest, and you’re not welcome here. Please leave, or I’m going to spray you with toilet water instead.”
“How dare you!” Seraphina could not accept being bullied by a child, and lunged at Adie. However, Adie was smart, and nimbly avoided her as she chased him. Finally, she tripped and went crashing to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of grass and soil.
“Show some mercy, Adie. After all, she’s a woman,” Flossie reminded Adie kindly as she drank her coffee elegantly.
“I’ve been trying to make it easy for her, Mommy, but this crazy woman wants to mess with me… Plus, she’s not a woman-she’s a wicked villain! She nearly pushed me into the pond the other day,” Adie complained, pouting. He would have used his ultimate move if Flossie had not stopped him.
“What? She pushed you into the pond?” Flossie sat up anxiously, then turned towards Seraphina’s direction. “Is my son telling the truth? Are you so crazy that you’d harm a child?” She knew Seraphina was arrogant and domineering because she was from a rich family, but no matter how much she hated Flossie, harming children was unacceptable.
Finally, Seraphina crawled up from the ground. Her clothes were drenched, her hair was all over the place, and her mouth was full of dirt. She was so humiliated that she wanted to cry. She pointed at Adie and yelled, “I did try to push him into the pond, but he’s no kid… He’s a demon!”
“I’m going to spray you with water again if you’re rude!” Adie aimed the water gun at Seraphina and threatened.
“No!” Seraphina covered her head with her hands, looking terrified.
“That’s enough, Adie.” Flossie stopped Adie, then got to her feet and carefully made her way over to Seraphina. “I won’t let you off the hook since you tried to push my son into the pond.”
Seraphina scoffed, “Is that so? What do you want to do then? You don’t have any money or power to fight my family. You…”
Flossie slapped Seraphina hard before she could finish, and Seraphina gaped at her in shock. Holding her face, she looked at Flossie in disbelief. “You… You… How dare you slap n
Flossie slapped Seraphina again, and ordered, “Say sorry to my son, or I’ll keep on slapping you until you do.”
“How dare you! My family will never let you go. I—” Smack!
“Flossie, I’ll fight you-“
Smack!
“You did it again! I’m going to tell Dad and ask him to crush this lousy place of yours!” Seraphina wailed as she touched her swollen cheek. She fled, not even realizing that Flossie was blind.
“Mommy, you’re so cool. You drove her away so fast. You’re a hero!” Hugging Flossie’s waist, Abby looked up at her mother in admiration. “I want to be a hero like you too when I grow up.”
“No, be a princess instead. Don’t get into trouble,” Flossie touched Abby’s head and said gently.
Adie, however, was not satisfied. “That woman is a villain, Mommy. She came here to find fault with us, but you let her go with only a few slaps. Weren’t you too easy on her?”
‘Adie, you’ve already vented your anger on her, so there’s no need to overdo it. Although she’s not nice, she’s not so bad that it’s unforgivable. She’s just a little stubborn. Plus, she’s a victim in this affair too. She’s quite pitiful, and she’s been punished enough today,” Flossie patiently tried to persuade Adie. Despite Seraphina’s radical actions, Flossie had a good impression of her. Seraphina was straightforward, and she sincerely loved Halston. If the both of them had not fallen in love with the same man, they might have been friends.
Flossie was much more scared of those who secretly plotted against them than Seraphina who was straightforward in her revenge. When she thought about it, a figure appeared in her mind, making her shiver. It was Jessanna, the woman who had passed away. Flossie had accidentally pushed Jessanna off a cliff to protect herself, and she had felt guilty ever since. She had wanted to confess to her crime many times but couldn’t bear to leave the children and Halston. She knew she had no choice but to push Jessanna off, because if she hadn’t, Flossie would’ve been pushed off instead.
“Mommy! Mommy!” Adie called softly as he held her hand.
Flossie snapped back to reality and asked in Adie’s direction, “What’s the matter, Adie?”
“I think that bad woman won’t let things go like this. Should we hire some bodyguards to protect us?” Although Adie was young, he did things meticulously. Since Halston was not around, Adie considered himself the man of the house. He would bear the responsibility of protecting Flossie, Abby, and Margaret.
“I don’t think she’ll pester us; she’s just here to show off and scold me. Now that she knows I won’t leave your father, she might not focus on me…” Flossie felt that Seraphina would focus on how to ruin Halston instead, and to do that, she would probably conspire with Jovan. Halston was the one who had to worry, not them…
“Should we just ignore her then?” Adie was still a little worried.
“Yes, we’ll go on as usual,” Flossie replied calmly.
She had no idea that there was somebody else targeting them that would prove to be more troublesome than Seraphina.
Halston’s late arrival at Guajardo Enterprise upset the shareholders greatly. They were already unhappy with him because the sales report from the secretary had been dissatisfactory, and the atmosphere in the room was tense when he entered.
“You saw it, didn’t you, Mr. Guajardo? The profits for this year have plummeted, and our stock price has been decreasing. Undeniably, the company is on the verge of death. As the head of Guajardo Enterprise, I wonder what your solution to this is.” Shane Webb, one of the seven large shareholders, rarely appeared. He only came during the annual shareholder meeting, and he was always the most crafty and unkind. He never took Halston seriously because he owned the most shares besides the Guajardos.
“In the world of business, it’s inevitable that profits will fluctuate. You never mentioned the dramatic rise in profits after Mr. Guajardo took over Guajardo Enterprise, and this is just a minor setback. Isn’t it normal? The economy for the past two years has been bad, and most companies have been suffering losses, but our company had the least losses. I think we should be thanking Mr. Guajardo. If he didn’t try his best to remedy the situation, Guajardo Enterprise might have gone bankrupt ages ago!” Jimmy Wright was also one of the seven large shareholders, but he was always on Halston’s side. Although he did not own many shares, a lot of people supported him because he was close to Halston.