North City, Vicars International Hotel.
"Vice President, I've already sent a message to Miss Lyle, but I don't know if she'll send the money." Assistant Cari lazily leaned against Shane Southwell, her long legs wrapped in a short red split dress.
Shane held Cari with one arm, pinched the bridge of his nose with the other, looking extremely impatient, even irritated, and said, "How many days has it been? Last month she promised to send the money, but there's been no movement until now!"
"Exactly, this Miss Lyle likes you, Vice President, but doesn't want to make any efforts. Should I urge her again?" Cari slightly lifted her head, a sly smile on her alluring face, her hand restlessly caressing Shane's chest.
Shane grabbed Cari's wrist, helped her up, then stood himself, took off his jacket, and walked towards the bathroom, "Go ahead and urge her. I'm tired! Make sure Eleanor's event is well arranged for tomorrow morning."
"Okay, then, Vice President, I'll head back now." Cari tucked her hair behind her ears. Here with Shane, she was a sensible and obedient woman. Shane wasn't tired of her because she never wanted from Shane what Elliana and those other women did.
"Yes." Shane responded lightly.
A few minutes later, Cari returned to her room, lay on the pure white bed, and tapped open WeChat, then opened a contact saved as "Fool One."
Roland: Elliana, are you still there? Are you okay? I'm really worried about you not speaking up. I'm losing so much funding here, I'm afraid...
As the message was sent, Elliana received it as well.
When Elliana saw this message, she didn't want to reply to Shane at all. After thinking it over, she still decided to send a response.
Right now, Shane only wanted money. In her past life, half of Lyle Corporation's assets filled the gaps in Roland and Shane's loans.
Most of this had little to do with Roland's company; Shane, as Vice President, frequently misused public funds, and naturally, it was Elliana who patched up the hole.
Shane deeply loved Eleanor, although she was just an ordinary actress, Shane still loved her intensely.
Apart from the Lyle family, Shane surely had other options, but if he didn't marry someone else's daughter, who would want to fill that hole for him?
It seems I can't refuse Shane outright, the longer I drag it out, the better, giving Shane hope, and the hole will naturally get deeper. You harmed me, I won't let you off.
CatCat: I'm fine, thanks for your concern. Don't worry, I'll figure something out. Don't rush, you're so busy over there, don't come back.
Roland: You're still the sensible one, Elliana. Don't worry; I'll definitely come to see you when I get a chance.
Originally, Shane had no intention of returning to South City and never chatted with Elliana, which isn't surprising since Shane ignored Elliana nearly every time they met.
"Here we are." A clear voice rang in her ear, and the car came to a stop.
Elliana put away her phone, unfastened her seatbelt, and got out of the car, hurriedly rushing towards the hospital entrance, with Norman Bennett following behind, neither too far nor too close.
At this point, Elliana's mother had already been taken to a hospital room, with multiple abrasions on her body, but fortunately, it was only an overreaction that caused her to faint.
"Mom!"
The door to the hospital room was open, and Elliana rushed inside without a second thought.
Besides her father, who had arrived earlier than her, was Norman's aunt, Rose White, a gentle and elegant lady, dressed in a fitting sapphire cheongsam, radiating feminine tenderness and scholarly grace.
"Elliana, your mother is fine, she just had a couple of bites of porridge and fell asleep. Don't wake her," Rose White pulled Elliana back gently, speaking softly.
Rose sighed slightly as her eyes fell on Elliana's mother. She was terrified when she heard the news and hurried over. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt.
Back then, she, her sister Emily White, and Elliana's mother, Bella Hue, had the best relationship. Now with her sister gone, only the two good friends remained, and she feared losing Bella too.
"Is my mom really okay?" Elliana stared at her mother, tears welling in her eyes. She blamed herself for attracting Shane's attention, which caused her mother such harm.
...Half an hour later, Mr. Lyle asked Norman to take his daughter home. However, this "home" was actually Norman's villa.
At that time, the arrangement was to stay for a month, yet she had stayed for only a few days.
Neither of them spoke in the car. This time, Norman wasn't in a hurry, so the driver was driving.
Elliana checked her phone, but found no news about her mother's car accident. So why did Shane know immediately?
This confirmed even more that this car accident was no accident. Without looking, she could guess the license plate of the car that hit her mother. Sure enough, her father sent her photos of the accident scene at her request.
How could she then drag Shane out into the open? If even the police couldn't handle matters, could she possibly achieve it? Elliana questioned herself internally, feeling gradually more and more overwhelmed.
Bumping into her once was an accident, but hitting her a second time meant murder. She believed Shane wouldn't dare move against her family for the moment. She recalled that Eleanor would attend tomorrow's red carpet event in North City, to be an opportunity for Eleanor to shine.
She could never forget how Eleanor acted in front of her, how she made Shane torment her.
Wait! She seemed to have forgotten something...
What was it?
Red carpet...
Suddenly, Elliana remembered something, quickly opened WeChat, and found her cousin Joy Lyle's contact.
CatCat: "Sis, for the red carpet tomorrow, don't wear the gown Eleanor sent you!"
At that moment, Joy, who had just received the gown, looked curiously at this WeChat message, wondering how Elliana could have known?
Sis: "Elliana, what's up? Why do you say that?"
CatCat: "The gown has issues, the side seams are loose, and it'll tear!"
However, after sending the last message, a "battery low" notification appeared, and Elliana's phone automatically turned off.
"Norman Bennett, can I borrow your phone for a moment?" Elliana looked at Norman Bennett suddenly, pleadingly.
Without hesitation, Norman handed his phone over and said, "Your birthday."
"Thank you!" Elliana turned on the phone, opened Norman's WeChat, and entered Joy's phone number. Shortly after, she successfully added Joy.
And surprisingly, Norman's WeChat name was "Quinn."
Quinn: "Sis, it's me, Elliana."
Melodious: "Elliana, you were right, the gown Eleanor sent really had a problem. Now I think my original gown tearing was quite suspicious."
Joy was her cousin, and because of her choice to be an actress, she wasn't favored in their grandparent's family, just like Elliana. Naturally, Elliana was willing to be close to this cousin.
In the past life, when Joy walked the red carpet, her gown suddenly gave way, causing a huge scandal for her, eventually leading to Shane terminating the contract with Roland, and from then on, she was shelved.
Not only that, Joy was kicked out of the Lyle family by her grandmother, and her uncle's family wasn't allowed to acknowledge her, ultimately leading to Joy's death in a fall in the second August of Elliana's marriage to Shane!
Joy was beautiful, a gentle and intellectual beauty, with a straightforward personality. She had no talents besides being hardworking.
Quinn: "Yes, sis, change into another gown. I'll cover the cost, so don't worry about the money. (Don't reply)"
After sending this message, Elliana shut off the phone, leaving the chat record untouched before returning it to Norman Bennett.
Elliana, as if having completed a big task, suddenly felt an exhaustion wash over her, slumping back.
"Tired?" Norman looked at her weak form, feeling a bit heartbroken. Even though this little girl had feelings for Shane, it didn't stop him from loving her.
"Mm~" Elliana nodded slightly. She now just wanted to close her eyes and sleep a little, actively leaning towards Norman, gently placing her head on his arm.
Norman cast his eyes down slightly, and the idea of ending the engagement vanished. He wanted to say: You are the one who initiated it; don't blame me for not letting go of you.
With a light exertion, he pulled her into his embrace, and Elliana didn't refuse, instead burrowing deeper into the man's embrace.
As if folding the stars into her arms, Elliana felt Norman's careful tenderness, warm and safe.
This side of Norman, only she could see, and only she could feel.
In Norman Bennett's heart, Elliana was the exception to his principles.