Zoe Lancaster didn’t know how long Simon Hawthorne had been standing there watching. When she turned her head, he was strolling in from outside, followed by Shane Shaw. Secretary Linden was nowhere to be seen.
Simon walked up to Zoe. Like an indestructible fortress, he stood in front of her. Though he didn’t do much, he inexplicably gave her a sense of security.
Seeing Simon, Cecilia Sloan actually felt a wave of trepidation.
Simon was only four years younger than her. Despite his aloof and refined appearance, he was actually cold and austere by nature. He was the type to ruthlessly skin someone alive without batting an eye. Calling him a living grim reaper wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Most importantly...
She had once worked under him for half a year.
Back then, she had actually set her sights on Simon. But no matter what tricks she pulled, she couldn’t sway the young and arrogant man in the slightest. Later, after being transferred to the headquarters, she became Secretary to Chairman June Hawthorne. She climbed the ladder desperately, exhausting every method until she finally got pregnant with June’s child, thus getting her wish to move into the Hawthorne Residence.
She had always harbored complex feelings toward Simon—a mixture of love and hate.
"I didn’t mean it like that. I was just speaking out of anger," Cecilia said, choosing to sheathe her claws.
Simon lowered his gaze to look at Zoe before saying slowly, "My wife is not someone that just any random trash can criticize. Miss Sloan, mind your words."
Cecilia was taken aback. She stared at him in astonishment, finding it hard to believe that such words had come from Simon’s mouth. Hadn’t he been abroad for two years? Was there a need to protect Zoe like this?
"Let’s go eat," Simon told Zoe before stepping forward to lead the way.
Zoe understood as well. Simon was a man who cared about dignity and appearances; there was no way his words were genuine. She wasn’t narcissistic enough to think otherwise.
The matriarch did not appear for breakfast.
At the dining table were only June, Ken Lowell, Cecilia, Sean Hawthorne, and the young and old of the second and third branches of the family, along with the two of them as a couple. Mercy Hawthorne had posted on Moments that she flew to Portellis to attend an award-winning actor’s movie premiere. She was too busy happily chasing stars to be present.
June was over fifty and had a stern, unsmiling temperament, making the atmosphere at the dining table suffocating. Fortunately, it didn’t last long.
After breakfast, Zoe left together with Simon. Cecilia frowned as she watched the direction in which the two departed.
Simon had gone to Kaelan for two years. There was no way he harbored any marital affection for Zoe. She slowly breathed a sigh of relief and finally sneered. He must surely feel nothing but disgust for this wife she had shoved onto him! It didn’t matter. It was more fun if everyone went crazy together!
***
Zoe rode in Simon’s car to the underground garage. She repeatedly confirmed that no one was around before getting out and leaving. They clearly had the most legitimate relationship, yet they had to act like they were having an illicit secret affair. Was it easy for her to do all this just for the compensation from their hidden marriage agreement?!
Watching Zoe walk away, Shane finally spoke up. "Mr. Hawthorne, the Madam doesn’t seem to get along with Cecilia. It doesn’t look like they are in the same camp."
Simon’s gaze followed the direction Zoe had left in. He thoughtfully rubbed the silver pinky ring on his left hand. "She’s not a fool. Of course, she knows what her stance should be."
Today, he had happened to see Zoe secretly teaching that little brat in the house a lesson. He had to admit, her actions had somewhat changed his opinion of her. His Mrs. Hawthorne was no docile little lamb, but her saving grace was that she was relatively smart.
"Shane." Simon opened the car door to get out. Before leaving, he casually dropped an order. "Go pick out a more expensive set of jewelry and send it to her."
Shane understood Simon’s meaning. It was obvious that he was quite pleased with the Madam’s behavior, so Shane immediately complied. "Yes, Mr. Hawthorne."
***
Compared to the past, the Hawthorne Group’s annual gala was held a month in advance. The purpose was to promote their new line of luxury jewelry. The event was considered a success.
With the busiest tasks completed, Zoe also gained some free time. When it was time to get off work, Zoe went to the garage to get her car, only to see Shane waiting on the side.
In his hands, he held an exceptionally exquisite black velvet box. The outer packaging bore the logo of Hawthorne Group’s jewelry brand. "Madam, this is a gift Mr. Hawthorne asked me to deliver to you. Please see if you like it."
Zoe was taken aback. "For me? Did he pick it out?"
Shane thought for a moment. Although Mr. Hawthorne had told him to pick it out, since it was a gift, making it seem like he put more thought into it couldn’t hurt, right? He nodded at once. "Yes, Mr. Hawthorne carefully selected it."
"Why? So suddenly?" Zoe suddenly felt a strange sensation. Simon rarely cared about giving her gifts. In the past, when he had Secretary Linden arrange things, it always felt like a perfunctory routine. So much so that hearing Shane say it directly seemed to pluck at her heartstrings ever so slightly. She felt a bit elated, but she forcefully suppressed it. Had Simon suddenly morphed into a decent human being?
Despite his tough demeanor, Shane gave a tactful explanation. "Being good to one’s wife is naturally the right thing to do. Mr. Hawthorne said he hopes you like it."
Zoe took the small box. She smiled and thanked Shane before getting into her car.
Human nature was just like that. Whether sad or disappointed, when given a tiny taste of sweetness, it was easy to soften up and feel joyous. What mattered wasn’t the gift itself. It was the thought behind it.
Returning to her apartment, Zoe petted Heartbreaker and excitedly went to unbox the jewelry. To her surprise, it was the limited-edition piece highlighted in the new collection, valued at 2.68 million.
A top-quality pink diamond, cut into a teardrop shape, with the necklace itself set with various-sized accent diamonds. It was dazzlingly beautiful. Limited to only ten pieces worldwide. Even having money didn’t guarantee being able to buy it.
Zoe was astonished. It was incredibly precious. What did Simon mean by this? Could he have done something to wrong her again, and this was his way of compensating?
The joy and elation from moments ago turned into suspicion. She immediately took a picture and sent it to Crystal Hayes on WhatsApp: [Simon gave this to me. We just had an argument yesterday, and today he gave me the company’s newly released limited edition. Don’t you think it’s weird?]
More than ten minutes later, Crystal, who had probably just finished her work, replied.
Crystal: [Holy crap! I just saw this on X today. The one that costs nearly three million, right? Having a rich husband is so nice!]
Zoe: [But I feel like there’s something fishy going on. He even picked it out for me personally. I’ve never had this kind of treatment before.]
Crystal: [What do you mean?]
Crystal: [Wait a minute, I remember where I saw this necklace. It was on Stella Joyce’s X! I’ll send you a screenshot!]
A short while later, Crystal sent over a screenshot. It was a post Stella had made on X in the early hours of the morning. In the photo, she was holding a jewelry box, and inside was the very same pink diamond necklace. The caption read: [A girl’s happiness is actually very simple~ It’s being pampered, of course!]
A lump formed in Zoe’s throat, and her breathing hitched for a moment.
Crystal: [If this is produced by the Hawthorne Group, doesn’t that mean he gave one to the mistress first, and then dismissed you with another set? And you call this thoughtful? He has ulterior motives! He’s doing this on purpose to disgust you!]
Zoe closed the jewelry box.
A wave of nameless anger rapidly incinerated her reason. Emotional, she took out her phone and sent Simon a text message: [I am not a beggar! I don’t need your charity when the mood strikes you! I don’t give a damn about your things. Have Shane come and take it away!]
After hitting send, Zoe panted heavily, unable to suppress the traces of bitterness welling up inside her. She felt utterly humiliated for the joy and elation she had experienced just moments ago!