Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Can I really prevent her from leaving? Irvin felt that Ethan’s demand would be rather challenging to achieve. I hope he comes soon.
‘Irvin, why did you delete the video? Are you going to upload a photo of her frontal view next?’ Benjamin was still young, so he was far too curious for his own good.
‘There will be no photo of her frontal view. In fact, there will be nothing else. So don’t even think about it.’ Irvin was feeling very anxious at the moment. Just who is this woman? Why was a less-than-three- second video that I sent of her back profile enough to summon Ethan here?
‘And you call us your brothers.’
‘Inhumane.’
‘Irvin, were you discovered by her?’ Benjamin’s statement was spot on.
‘Is she really our sister-in-law?’
‘If she is really our sister-in-law, then we should meet up for dinner. We want to get to know her too.’
‘Good idea! That settles it, then! Please make the arrangements, Irvin.’
Ethan was in his car, rushing over to Irvin’s location at this moment. His expression visibly darkened at the sight of them repeatedly calling her ‘sister-in-law’.
Meanwhile, Irvin was panicking. He initially thought that the stunning woman in front of him might be Justin’s lover, but just her back profile in the video alone was enough to summon Ethan over! He couldn’t shake the feeling that things were not as simple as he had imagined!
If she really turns out to be Justin’s lover, then things are going to get very messy…
“Alright. I’ve finished writing the proposal. You only need to print it out now.” Alice had completed her task. Justin only asked her to come over and help write a proposal. Now that she had finished his request, she prepared to leave.
Irvin instantly snapped back to his senses. She’s done already? He couldn’t help his rising anxiety when he saw her tidying her things and ready to go. Ethan said that I must prevent her from leaving.
“Thank you so much! I’m so grateful to you. Why don’t we have dinner together tonight?” He had no choice but to try and slow her down, but he was quite certain that this glamorous beauty would not take him up on his offer.
“No need. I have something else going on tonight.” She turned around to leave.
He wanted to call out her name, but it was not until this moment that he realized he did not even know her name. Justin had even warned him not to ask unnecessary questions.
Nevertheless, he stubbornly continued to make an absolute nuisance of himself. “I would like to hear your opinions regarding this case. Can you give us some pointers?”
“I only agreed to help you write the proposal. The rest has nothing to do with me.” She was not a nosy person in the first place. Besides, she had yet to succeed in her revenge and could not afford to reveal her identity here. More importantly, she was also hiding from the man from seven years ago.
The man from seven years ago is acquainted with Derek, and Derek is acquainted with Irvin. What if that man from seven years ago is also acquainted with Irvin!? I hope he doesn’t lead that man here!
The fact that Irvin was trying to stop her from leaving made her even more vigilant of her current circumstances. As a result, her intention to leave as quickly as possible grew stronger.
“Hey…” When he recalled the instructions Ethan gave him, he instinctively stood in front of her to block her path when he saw that she was leaving. At the same time, he realized that his actions had been far too hasty and quickly explained himself, “You wrote the proposal. Don’t you have anything else to tell us?”
“You’re trying to stop me from leaving.” Her eyes darkened. Her words came out as an affirmative statement, not a question.
Is Irvin trying to stop me from leaving? Why? I’ve already finished writing the proposal, and I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with the proposal I wrote. His reaction earlier clearly indicates that he was delighted with the results. Besides, there’s nothing that requires my help after this. So why is he trying to stop me?
“It’s all for the case.” He felt cold sweat starting to break out across his forehead. This is killing me.
“Or, should I phrase my question differently, Mr. Thorne? Who asked you to stop me from leaving?” She sneered inwardly. Justin is the one who called me over to help, so I’m sure he made the proper arrangements for me. Besides, I’ve already helped Irvin solve his issue perfectly. Regardless of the situation, he has no reason to stop me from leaving. The one trying to stop me from leaving is most likely somebody else.
She suddenly recalled the fact that he had sneakily taken a video of her earlier. Could it be that he uploaded the video he took earlier? Could it be that the man from seven years ago saw the video? Did that attract that man from seven years ago here?
Although the chance of such a coincidence was meager, it was not wholly improbable.
If it’s as I’ve deduced, was the person trying to stop me from leaving be the man from seven years ago?
Irvin was stunned. How cunning! As expected, those with high IQs are truly amazing! Did she see through my behavior just like that? Have I been busted?
At this moment, he couldn’t help feeling incredibly guilty!
When she saw his reaction, she immediately understood the situation. There had been no previous interaction between them. However, the more she thought about it, the more she believed that there was a high possibility that the mastermind behind everything was the man from seven years ago.
She recalled that man’s ferocious expression as he ruthlessly devoured her entire being that night in the hotel seven years ago. Then, she remembered how she had handcuffed that man to the bed!
If that man catches me, will he skin me alive on the spot? Her heart trembled at the thought. It would be a blatant lie to claim that she was not afraid of the consequences!
Even so, she didn’t show any of her concerns on her face. But then, she pretended to be in no hurry to leave as she turned to look at Irvin with a slight smile on her face. “Tell me, Mr. Thorne… Is it more important for you to win the Eastburgh Design Project? Or is the person who asked you to stop me from leaving more important?”
“What do you mean?” Irvin was taken aback. She had already finished writing the proposal. With her proposal, he was confident that he could win the case. So, what did she mean?
She smiled slightly and said nothing. Her expression was indifferent, but she seemed to give off the feeling that she was in control of everything. In other words, everything and everyone was playing within the palm of her hands.
He reflexively gulped nervously. “With your proposal, I’m sure I can win the case… right?”
“You can try.” The corners of her mouth curled into a casual smile as though she was just talking about the weather and not a 50 million project. “If you are adamant about stopping me from leaving, Mr. Thorne, then I can guarantee that you will never get your hands on this proposal. Would you like to take such a risk, Mr. Thorne?”
Her words were like a critical strike to his heart, which was quickly followed by a throbbing pain in his chest. Do I want to take the risk? Or course not!
“Please…” He did not try to stop her from leaving again. He did not dare to stop her again. Instead, he switched to using honorifics with her.
It was not that he didn’t want to help Ethan but that he could not stop her from leaving. To be honest, Justin had already warned him not to ask any unnecessary questions during the phone call earlier. Not to mention, she had helped him so much. It’s truly inappropriate for me to even attempt this when she has helped me so much. My current actions are akin to repaying her kindness with cruelty.
In any case, he absolutely refused to admit that he had been threatened.
He usually would not have believed the threats from a single woman, but he could not deny that she had written a perfect and impeccable proposal in less than an hour. Therefore, he truly believed that she could dish what she served.
I refuse to take such a risk. In fact, I don’t have the guts to do so!
At this moment, he simply hoped that Ethan had arrived so that Ethan could stop her himself.
Alice took a few strides forward and entered the elevator. When the elevator doors closed, she glanced at Irvin and suddenly broke into a smile. Her smile was very abrupt and unexpected. Moreover, her smile was so out of place that it confused him.
He couldn’t help feeling startled by the odd smile on her face, and a sense of unease filled his heart. At that moment, he felt as though there was a professional tap dancer tap dancing on his nerves!