Bankrupt Tycoon? No Problem – This Villainess Will Make Him Rich Again

Chapter 166: Chapter 169: Job Offer from the Lockwood Group

Felix Preston didn’t come back until that evening.

Upon returning, he went straight into the study without saying a single word to Sonia Quincy.

Sonia was so anxious she was pacing circles in her room, wanting to go to him but not daring to.

When it came to relationships, Sonia was a complete novice. She only knew how to be good to someone she liked, but she had no idea how to break the ice after an argument with them.

Especially since she hadn’t even resolved the root of the argument yet! She had lied first, so she couldn’t help but feel she was in the wrong, worrying that even if Felix gave her a chance to break the ice, she wouldn’t be able to take it.

’Wanting to’ and ’not daring to’ were like two little hot-tempered people who had been fighting nonstop in her head ever since Felix came home.

They were locked in a fierce, inseparable battle with no clear winner, and Sonia had no idea which one to listen to.

She paced anxiously around the room until her back and legs ached, only then forcing herself to stop.

...

Without Felix Preston, the spacious room was so quiet it was unsettling.

It was only now that Sonia Quincy clearly realized just how deeply her reliance on Felix Preston was rooted.

She wasn’t the type of person to constantly scrutinize her feelings. From the time she got together with Felix until now, she had never seriously asked herself just how much she liked him.

She only knew that she liked being with Felix, liked being close to him, liked it when he was clingy with her. This subconscious preference told her that she liked him. But as for why she liked him, when she started liking him, or how deep her feelings ran, she had never considered it.

Now, facing an empty room, these questions she had long ignored finally ambled into the forefront of her mind.

She gazed at Felix’s pillow and began to wonder aimlessly, ’When did I start liking him?’

BZZZ—

BZZZ—

Her train of thought was derailed before it could even begin, interrupted by the sudden buzzing of her phone.

Sonia snapped back to reality, turning to look at the phone she had tossed aside.

On the screen, the name "Renee Sinclair" was brazenly flashing.

She picked up the phone and walked out onto the balcony to answer it.

"Hello?" She instinctively lowered her voice, not wanting Felix to hear.

"Sonia, what happened to you?" Renee Sinclair’s voice was a bit loud. Sonia jumped and quickly turned down the volume.

"N-Nothing happened to me..." she argued, her voice lacking conviction.

Renee: "Bullshit! That whole thing with you is all over the news. Pretty much all of Aethelburg knows by now, and you’re still telling me nothing happened?"

"It’s all fake," Sonia said, a little exasperated. "Cecilia Quincy set me up. I have no idea what kind of trouble she’s trying to stir up this time."

"...What did you do to piss her off this time?" Renee’s voice sounded exasperated.

Sonia: "I have no idea. All those male models were messes the original owner of this body got into. I don’t know why Cecilia would suddenly round them all up."

Renee: "Tsk, I give up. Why can’t Cecilia Quincy just leave you alone?"

Sonia shrugged. "I’d love to know the answer to that myself."

Renee: "This thing has blown up. What’s your plan for handling it?"

Sonia repeated what she’d said before: "I’m not going to handle it. The bigger the scandal gets, the more buzz I’ll get online. Then you won’t have to spend extra money buying traffic for me."

"...What do you mean?" Renee paused for a few seconds. "Are you planning to just let it all go to hell and get famous by being infamous?"

"Yep," Sonia admitted freely. "Infamy is still a form of fame. It’s no big deal."

Renee: "You might think it’s no big deal, but have you considered Felix Preston? Do you have any idea how everyone out there is mocking him right now?"

"..."

Sonia didn’t really want to answer that question, but as the one at fault, she had to.

"I know. That’s why I’ve been trying to figure out a way to solve it."

"Solve it?" Renee laughed on the other end of the line. "Didn’t you just say you weren’t going to handle it?"

Sonia: "I’m not going to handle the situation itself. I’m going to handle the person behind it."

"...What do you mean?" Renee asked uncertainly. "You’re planning to... take care of Cecilia Quincy for good?"

Sonia’s lips twitched into a smirk. "The only way to make her shut up for good is to beat her down so hard she can’t get back up."

Renee: "What’s your plan?"

Sonia: "You don’t need to worry about that. For now, just help me look into Cecilia Quincy’s and Ethan Lockwood’s recent movements. I need them."

"...Unbelievable." Renee must have rolled her eyes at her phone. "All you ever do is order me around."

"..." Sonia stayed silent, playing dumb.

Finally, Renee said, "Just wait," and hung up.

...

The bedroom fell silent once more.

Sonia tossed her phone onto the bed, buried her face in her palms and rubbed it hard, then pulled back the covers and lay down.

That night, Felix Preston never came back, and she eventually fell asleep staring at the ceiling.

The next day, she struggled awake from a dream to find that Felix was already gone.

He had hidden himself away in his studio again.

Sonia didn’t contact him. In fact, she was relieved he was at the studio, because a crowd of influencers and tabloid reporters were blocking their front door, hoping to create content.

The people outside were noisy, but they didn’t demand she open the door. They just took photos and videos of the entrance for their own purposes.

Since no one else was home, Sonia couldn’t be bothered to go out and argue with them. She simply called the police and had them all driven away.

Undeterred, they came back sneakily the next day.

Sonia called the police several more times. The police got annoyed, she got annoyed, and eventually, she stopped bothering to deal with it.

After milking the buzz for a few days, they gradually stopped coming.

But Felix was still angry with her. For a whole week, he hid in his studio during the day and in his study at night.

Sonia couldn’t stand it anymore and decided to find a time to have a proper talk with Felix.

But unexpectedly, before she could find the right moment, she received a job offer from the Lockwood Group.

The invitation was sent to her account’s backend on a certain social media platform, and she didn’t see it until the next morning.

The sender explained that the Lockwood Group was preparing to open a new design subdivision and was urgently hiring jewelry designers. They said Ethan Lockwood had seen Bloom Preston’s work, loved her design style, and wanted to make an exception to recruit her.

Sonia stared at the contents of the invitation and laughed to herself for three hours before she finally deigned to reply.

—I’ll think about it and get back to you soon.

The person from the Lockwood Group replied cheerfully: "Of course, Ms. Bloom. We look forward to you joining us!"

"Look forward to my ass," Sonia cursed at her phone before tossing it aside.

’Do you even know who Bloom Preston is? Sending out invitations like this... Did you get your brain stomped on by a pig’s trotter?’

BZZZ—

The phone hadn’t even been cast aside for a minute before it had the audacity to start vibrating again. Sonia sighed in irritation, snatched the phone back with a sour look on her face, and answered curtly, "Yeah, what is it?"

Renee: "...I sent you the thing you asked for."

"Also, could you maybe be a little nicer to me?"