After My Sister Stole 1
Chapter 17: She Actually
Treated Me Like a Lifesaving
Bait!
Lila Garcia was clearly seething with anger, and I happened to be right in her line of fire,
bombarded by her tirade.
“I called Ryan, and she answered without permission; what does that have to do with me?” I felt just as frustrated and retorted angrily, “Stop being so bitter all the time; be careful that the retribution doesn’t come back to your daughter twice as hard.”
“Flora! You’re so vicious!” Lila Garcia shouted
furiously, her voice cracking. “The one who is badly sick is supposed to be you!”
I really had no desire to argue with her. I simply replied, “It wasn’t intentional; who knew Ryan had left his phone in the hospital?”
“Ryan is now your brother–in–law; can’t you avoid contact with him? Why can’t you communicate through someone else? I
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(Sports)
think you’re still hanging on, hoping to keep something going with Ryan. Luckily, Sophia caught on in time!”
What? I was merely trying to explain, and she twisted my words to attack me?
The anger that I had managed to suppress surged back up, and I felt dizzy with rage.
Taking a deep breath, I gritted my teeth and commanded, “Then please tell your son–in–law, my brother–in–law, that I’m now at the City Clerk’s Office, and my appointment time has arrived. He’d better hurry to finalize the divorce, or your daughter will die as nothing more than a mistress!”
I wasn’t sure if my threat worked, but ten minutes later, Ryan Lewis called me back.
“Flora, it’s not that I deliberately stood you up; I’m on a business trip in another city,” he explained,
I suppressed my fury, “I notified you yesterday; you’re going on a business trip today?”
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5 points
“It was a sudden situation; something came up at the local branch, and I had to come handle it.”
His tone was sincere, but I didn’t believe him.
I understood that the Lewis business was substantial.
However, as a corporate president, he didn’t need to handle everything personally. There were so many vice presidents and senior executives who could manage on their own!
In the silence, Ryan Lewis began to remind me
of our past: “Flora, we love each other; can’t we sit down and talk this through? Do we really need to escalate it to divorce?”
I listened to his words, feeling utterly
indifferent.
“Don’t give me that nauseating speech. There’s no way for us to go back to how things were. Divorce is inevitable.”
Seeing my resolute attitude, he hesitated for a moment before saying, “Even if we’re going
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+ 5 Points
to divorce, there are still financial matters we need to discuss. Let’s talk about it when I’m back from the business trip.”
“What is there to discuss? Isn’t it just a villa?
If you want it, I’ll give it to you, and all you need to do is refund me for the renovation and furniture.”
The villa I lived in was bought outright by Ryan Lewis for thirty million dollars, with both our names on the property deed.
But I had paid for the renovations and furniture, which cost me several million dollars and exhausted my entire savings.
We had bought the villa as a new home for our marriage, both contributing and working hard. to build a life together. At the time, I felt very happy.
But looking back now, I really regretted it.
“If you take the villa, where will you live? Can you go back to the Garcia Manor?”
“Where I live is my personal business. It’s none
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5 Points
of your concern if I have to sleep on the streets.”
“Flora, don’t say such things in anger. How could I let you sleep on the streets? I don’t
want the villa; you can have it all. Just let me
know when you’re free to handle the transfer paperwork.”
but
I thought about it and said, “That’s fine, I’ll pay you half the purchase price. It may take some time, though.”
I couldn’t come up with over ten million dollars
in cash right now.
Ryan Lewis’s tone was filled with hurt and helplessness. “Flora, do you really have to be so calculating? I said I’d give it to you without asking for a penny in return. With your situation being so difficult, how could I possibly take your money?”
His words oozed tenderness, as if he was
considering my feelings, which made my eyes
momentarily redden.
Indeed, I was in a tough spot, and I had been
since childhood.
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+5 Points
No matter how wealthy the Garcia family was, it
had nothing to do with me.
I was merely a nominal Miss.Garcia of the Garcia family.
Although the clothing brand I founded was doing quite well, it had only been a few years, and all the money I made went into renovating
that villa.
“I’ll wait until you get back to discuss it.
Anyway, I won’t take advantage of you, so
Sophia doesn’t find out and come back to fight with me again.”
After saying this, I didn’t wait for a response before hanging up.
Feeling extremely frustrated, I sat in the car
and turned to look at the City Clerk’s Office’s
entrance, feeling extraordinarily unwilling.
Just then, my phone chimed. I picked it up and
saw it was a message from Ryan Lewis.
[Flora, don’t worry. Sophia won’t find out about
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this. You’ve done so much for me, consider it my compensation to you.]
Reading those words, my nose suddenly turned sour, and my eyes brimmed with moisture again.
This jerk finally showed a bit of conscience.
But I hated him for this delayed sense of compassion.
If he had remained a scumbag all the way through, I could have stood firm against him and cut ties completely.
But now that he was showing signs of regret halfway through, trying to make amends, it drained my energy the most.
Staring at the message for a few seconds, I suddenly regained clarity and quickly fortified my resolve.
No matter what he did, I couldn’t waver.
A scumbag who had already shown his ugly side could never be trusted again, no matter
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+ 5 Points
how much he repented later.
I exited the chat with him and canceled my divorce appointment for today, then looked
ahead to see the next available date.
Jesus, the earliest I could reschedule was for
two weeks from now!
That evening, Maya invited me out for dinner to celebrate my new single status, finally free from
a scumbag.
I said gloomily, “I didn’t get divorced.”
“What? Why not?” Maya was astonished. “Is Ryan refusing?”
“Yeah.”
Maya was also furious. “Who does he think he is? He publicly celebrated his wedding with Sophia, flaunting his affair, and he still has the nerve to avoid a divorce?”
I sighed and told her about the events of the
afternoon.
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+ 5 Points
After hearing everything, Maya shared my thoughts. “He’s probably regretting it, realizing that you’re still better than Sophia. Plus, he’s worried that if he divorces you, he might completely lose you. What if he gets sick again and needs you?”
I was taken aback, staring blankly at her.
To be honest, I hadn’t considered that at all!
I had simply noticed that Ryan Lewis definitely regretted things but hadn’t connected it to him trying to keep me around for another reason!
He was treating me like a lifeline!
“You seriously didn’t notice such an obvious motive?” Maya asked, looking both astonished and exasperated.
I dazedly nodded, “I see that now.”
“You really…” Maya was speechless. “You don’t have a thorough understanding of human
nature at all!”
I had no words to respond; maybe she was
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right.
* 5 Points
“However, the most direct reason he wants to win you back is certainly because he can’t stand Sophia and is looking for comfort from you.”
After calling the waiter to place her order, Maya continued, “I heard from my aunt that yesterday, Sophia and he had a huge fight, and she berated him so badly that the entire department knew about it. With someone as dramatic as Sophia and Ryan having a spoiled temperament, how could he possibly endure
it?”
Hearing this, I was a bit surprised, but upon reflection, it made sense.
“No wonder he went on a business trip. Besides deliberately stalling the divorce, he probably wanted to avoid Sophia, too.” It suddenly dawned on me; I thought to myself that he finally got a taste of reality.
They had only just gotten married! Shouldn’t they be all sweet and lovey–dovey?
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Instead, they were arguing loudly and making
excuses to avoid each other.
God had a way of catching up with bad people.
“I agree. But Sophia is the type who knows how to manipulate men. Once things cool down, she’ll start playing the victim. With just a few sweet words, she can easily charm him back,” Maya said, an expert at spotting scheming
woman.
“I don’t care; I hope those two lock themselves together.” That was my honest feeling.
Maya looked at me with a hint of skepticism. “Are you sure that if Ryan comes back to reconcile, you’ll be able to stand your ground?”
I immediately adopted a serious expression, stating firmly, “Of course! He treated me with such disdain. If I took him back, I would be the laughingstock. People would think I had gone crazy over him.”
“And you already said it yourself; he may not be coming back because of love. He probably just thinks I’m a better deal than Sophia, plus I
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+ 5 Points
might be able to save his life when it counts.”
I realized that Ryan Lewis was the kind of
person who loved no one but himself.
Being with a guy like that was like digging a pit for yourself, ready to throw yourself into the fire
and be reduced to ashes.
Maya felt relieved. “As long as you’re firm
in your stance, that’s good. If the divorce settlement isn’t enough, let me know, and I’ll help you figure something out.”
“Okay.”
After finishing dinner with Maya, I returned to
the office to work overtime.
When I was about to leave at ten o’clock that
night, my aunt called.
“Hello, Auntie.”
Her tone was excited. “Flora, the white jade bracelet your mom sold a few years ago finally has news!”
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+ 5 Points
“Really?” I was overjoyed. “My mom’s bracelet was found? Where is it?”
“At the end of the month, Doyle Auctioneers is
holding a large charity auction at Moonshade, and one of the collectible items is a white jade bracelet. I’ll send you a picture, and you can compare it carefully. Mother and I both think
it’s the same one.”
“Sounds great!”
After hanging up, my aunt sent me the picture.
I opened it and instantly recognized it as the heirloom my mom had sold back then.
When I got home, I meticulously researched the information and looked into professional analyses of the charity auction, estimating that
the starting bid for the bracelet would be no less than thirty million dollars.
I was filled with joy and excitement until I was suddenly doused with cold water.
Thirty million dollars–where was I supposed to get that kind of money?
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+ 5 Points
But this was the most important item my mom had left for me, and it had been my
grandmother’s long–standing obsession. After so many years, it finally had a lead. If I couldn’t buy it back, not only would it be my grandmother’s regret, but it would also become my own burden.
That night, I tossed and turned, thinking of
ways to raise the money.
Two days later, Ryan Lewis returned from his business trip and called to invite me to dinner
that night.
“No need for dinner; just tell me what you want over the phone,” I said, knowing exactly what schemes he had in mind and not wanting to
give him any opportunity.
“Flora, do we really have to be so distant? Even as regular friends, it’s normal to share a meal occasionally,”
I didn’t want to engage with him at all. I shot back, “Are you going to talk or not? If not, I’m hanging up.”
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+5 Points)
Just as I was about to end the call, Ryan Lewis finally conceded. “Okay, Flora. I called to talk about the villa. The villa is yours; we’ll go handle the transfer paperwork tomorrow.”
Upon hearing this, I frowned slightly and thought for a moment before replying, “I don’t want the villa. You can keep it. Just give me the money for the renovations and furniture instead.”
I needed the money urgently, and getting a few million was far better than handing over more than ten million.
Ryan Lewis asked, puzzled, “You don’t want the villa? Where will you live?”
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