Chapter 18: I Deliberately
Provoked Him: If You Can,
Come Chase Me!
“I can live anywhere by myself. The house just reminds me of the past; it’s uncomfortable to be there,” I said intentionally, making my words harsh to express my disdain for the villa.
But in reality, everything in that villa was carefully chosen and arranged by me, and I
loved it.
However, nothing was more important than the jade bracelet my mother had left behind.
“Fine, how much do you want?” he asked.
“Eight million dollars.”
In fact, the renovations and furniture were worth more when considering depreciation, but I didn’t want to be fair. He had wronged me first, so why should I still consider his feelings?
“I’ll give you fifteen million dollars. Tomorrow
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Chapter 18: 1 Deliberately Provoked…
+ 5 Points
afternoon, we’ll go handle the transfer
paperwork. You don’t need to rush to move
out; you can stay for as long as you want,” Ryan Lewis offered generously, surprising me.
“I only want eight million dollars, not a single cent more. And I will move out as soon as possible,” I insisted.
I felt uneasy about taking more of his money. I was afraid that if he fell ill again and really needed my support, the extra seven million dollars would essentially become a price on my life.
Seeing my determination, Ryan Lewis became pained again. “Flora, we really loved each other. Do you have to draw this line between us?”
“See you tomorrow,” I said, not waiting for him to continue his heartfelt monologue, and hung up the phone.
I calculated carefully and found that I currently had over ten million. If I used the company account to apply for a bank loan, I could probably get another ten million.
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Chapter 18: I Deliberately Provoked… + 5 Points
It was an unreasonable plan, but I didn’t mind about being rational anymore.
A few years ago, I had gone to similar charity auctions with Ryan Lewis. The wealthy big shots would often spend lavishly to secure good reputations, frequently paying several times the
actual value of the auction items.
If the starting price for the bracelet was around thirty million dollars, I would need to prepare at
least one hundred million dollars.
One hundred million dollars was an
astronomical figure to me.
I thought of all my friends and estimated the
funds I might be able to borrow from them,
but realistically I could only stretch for maybe
another ten million dollars.
That still left me short by seventy million
dollars.
That night, I lay awake, unable to sleep.
The next afternoon, Ryan Lewis drove over to
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Chapter 18: 1 Deliberately Provoked..
pick me up from the office.
+ 5 Points
I didn’t get into his Rolls–Royce; instead, I took my own car to the government center.
There were many people processing transfers, and after taking a number, we waited off to the side.
Ryan Lewis left for a while and returned with a
cup of hot cocoa.
“It got chilly today. Have a warm drink,” he said, his tone gentle and his expression caring as he offered it to me.
I glanced at it and declined. “No, I’m on a diet.”
I did enjoy hot cocoa; he knew my preferences,
but it was too late for him to win me over with
that.
“You’re not even fat; why are you on a diet? Your health is the most important thing,” Ryan Lewis insisted as he sat next to me, still pushing
the hot drink toward me.
I still didn’t take it.
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+ 5 Points)
As we stood there in a standoff, Ryan Lewis’s phone rang.
He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and hung up.
But soon, the phone rang again.
I could clearly sense his impatience as he set the drink down and answered the call.
“What’s wrong now?”
“Ryan, where have you been? I feel terrible; I want to see you,” Sophia Garcia’s soft voice drifted faintly to me as she spoke right after he picked up.
“I’m at work, and it’s been really busy lately. I told you that,” Ryan Lewis explained.
Hearing him, I couldn’t help but smirk coldly,
Was he already starting to lie and brush her off?
I honestly felt sorry for Sophia Garcia.
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Chapter 18: 1 Deliberately Provoked.
5 Points
“Ryan, which is more important: your work or
me? You have your whole life to work, but you
don’t have much time left to spend with me.”
Ryan Lewis patiently tried to calm her down.
“Stop making a scene; I really have things to
do.”
“Making a scene? Ryan Lewis, you think I don’t
know you’re with Flora? How many times have you lied to me? You said you wouldn’t see her,
yet you turned around and went to find her!”
Sophia Garcia’s sudden outburst startled even me, who was sitting nearby.
I was taken aback and glanced at Ryan Lewis, then quickly looked around.
Sure enough, Sophia Garcia had arrived!
My mind went blank; this was not good.
It wasn’t that I felt guilty; it was just that she was so unpredictable, acting without considering the consequences.
The online attacks against me had just begun
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to calm down, and I didn’t want her to stir up trouble again, putting me back on the trending list.
“Let’s cancel it today. You need to calm her down, and I’ll leave first.” Before I finished speaking, I stood up and quietly made my way out of the hall.
But even though I tried to avoid trouble, Sophia Garcia had no intention of letting me go.
“Flora! You stop right there! Why are you running after stealing someone else’s husband?” Sophia Garcia’s sharp, piercing scream rang through the hall, startling everyone around.
Everyone looked up, glancing around, startled and confused about what was happening.
“If you have the guts, come chase me!” I waved
at Sophia Garcia from a distance, a smile on my face clearly intended as a provocation.
“Flora!” Sophia Garcia was getting angrier, charging toward me like a headless fly.
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Chapter 18: 1 Deliberately Provoked… + 5 Points
“Sophia, stop making a scene. I’m only meeting Flora to handle the house transfer paperwork. Didn’t you want me to clear things up with her? We need to settle the property division before the divorce,” Ryan Lewis quickly intervened, wrapping his arms around Sophia Garcia and hurriedly explaining.
Hearing this made me internally sneer; I couldn’t despise him more.
Just a second ago, he was concerned about
me, and now he was making clear he wanted to
distance himself from his old flame.
I hadn’t realized that after years of love, we still had an actor among us.
“Then why did you lie to me saying you were at work? Every time I asked you to spend time with me, you said you were busy. If I hadn’t come along today, I would still be kept in the dark! And you bought her drinks! You care for her so much, yet you say I’m overthinking things?”
Sophia Garcia was clearly not easily fooled.
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She had clearly noticed that Ryan Lewis was showing signs of regret and trying to win me back, which was why she was acting so
hysterical.
The hall was immediately filled with people.
I had already stepped out through the glass
doors and turned back to see that the two
were still arguing. In a fit of rage, Sophia Garcia picked up the cup of hot cocoa and slammed it into Ryan Lewis.
People around quickly ducked to avoid the
spill.
Ryan Lewis looked utterly foolish, drenched.
I caught sight of this scene and felt a shock, my shoulders involuntarily shrugging.
Maya was right: Sophia Garcia was too dramatic; no man could withstand her.
Ryan Lewis truly brought this upon himself.
The transfer didn’t go through, but that didn’t stop me from moving.
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+ 5 Points
Seeing Sophia Garcia in a state where she could explode at any moment only strengthened my resolve to move out immediately.
I had to distance myself from Ryan Lewis and the Garcia family for my own safety.
That afternoon, I found a new place and moved.
To avoid any suspicion, I didn’t contact
Ryan Lewis directly but had the property management inform him.
Later that night, while I was tidying up at my rental home, Ryan Lewis called.
I didn’t pick up.
He followed up with a message.
[Flora, where have you moved to? Is there convenient? Is the area safe?]
[Flora, Sophia has been in a lot of pain from her treatment lately, and her emotions have been a bit volatile. Please don’t take it personally. I’ve explained things to her, and she apologized afterward.]
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+ 5 Points
I was surprised.
Maya was right again; this type of scheming woman knew how to manipulate men to her advantage.
Sophia Garcia made a scene in public and dumped hot cocoa on him, yet somehow he managed to soothe her.
I looked at Ryan Lewis’s message and chuckled.
So he had a penchant for being mistreated.
[You’ll need some money to get by. I’ll transfer some to you first, and we can handle the transfer paperwork later when you have time.]
He sent three messages in a row, but I didn’t
reply.
A moment later, my phone pinged with a
notification–ten million dollars had been
transferred to me.
I was confused.
Did Ryan Lewis love Sophia Garcia or did he
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Chapter 18; I Deliberately Provoked
love me?
(5 points)
Or was he enjoying playing both sides, maneuvering between the two of us?
I couldn’t make sense of it. I refunded him two million dollars and replied on Facebook with two words: “Thank you.”
Ryan Lewis sent several more messages, but I didn’t have the heart to read them.
After packing up my things, I needed to focus on the large order for the Cole family. We had agreed to do a preliminary fitting this weekend, which I would have to send to Mrs.Cole for review and make any necessary revisions.
On Saturday morning, the luxurious Cadillac came to pick me up again.
I had been feeling irritable these past few days, and my sleep had been poor. The night before, I had relied on sleeping pills to fall asleep.
As I settled into the luxurious, customed Cadillac from the Cole family, the ride was smooth and comfortable, and I accidentally
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dozed off.
+ 5 Points
When I woke up, I found the car quietly parked at the entrance of the Cole Manor, unsure how long it had been stopped.
