Chapter 336: Not The Type To Cower
Todd Lewis’s gaze was passionate and deep.
In the past, although he loved Wendy Stewart, he had not wanted to burden her, so he had never expressed it so clearly in front of her. He knew that Wendy had only wanted to take revenge over the past five years, so he worked hard to help her. Help her become a top designer in the world.
Back then, Todd still had not known who hurt Wendy. He had naively thought that as long as Wendy had taken revenge and achieved her goal, she would consider him and the two children.
She was still so young, so he had a chance. But he did not expect that when Wendy went back to Lake City, she would throw her heart out again.
Todd had very rarely asked about just what happened between her and Michael Lucas.
Back then, he saw that Wendy loved Michael. So he retreated and let them be. But now that Wendy once again returned with wounds and injuries, Todd could not retreat again.
He had to fight at least once. Even if he failed, he would accept it.
"Todd..." Wendy sucked in a deep breath, mustering up the courage. She looked at Todd’s gloomy face under the night sky and asked, "I have two children, have you mentally prepared for this?"
Todd nodded unhesitatingly, "You don’t have to worry about this. I have, for so many years already, how could you still doubt my character?"
With this, Wendy was indeed not very worried. She followed up, "But this is a debt to you that I can never return. Can you accept it?"
"I can." Todd once again nodded unhesitatingly, "I like these two children a lot. Once we’re together, I’ll have no comments even if you’re not willing to have any more children."
Again and again, Todd’s words moved Wendy. There was perhaps really no other man who would compromise to this extent.
Michael and Yonina Collins were about to be engaged. Perhaps she should indeed give herself and Todd a chance.
As for what it meant when Michael asked for her to give him six months, Wendy did not want to know. She had seen what happened between him and Yonina with her own eyes. With just that she had no way of being with Michael anymore. Wendy no longer bothered about what Michael did behind her back.
Seeing that Wendy did not speak, Todd’s heart began to race.
"Could you give me a chance?" The statement had circled Todd’s heart many times. But he did not dare ask it. He just quietly waited for Wendy’s answer.
Time passed minute by minute and second by second. Light shone on Wendy’s head. Radiating a glow, she was at that moment just as beautiful as an angel in Todd’s eyes.
Finally, Todd saw the side of Wendy’s mouth curve as she nodded her head slightly.
"Corrine, you’ve said yes?" Todd was beyond excited, and in a little disbelief of what he saw.
"Mm."
Hearing Wendy’s response, Todd panicked and was at a loss. He paced around unable to hide the joy on his face.
"Can...can I hug you?" Todd stood in front of Wendy as he carefully raised this request.
Logically speaking, such a natural act of hugging did not need to be asked of at all between a boyfriend and girlfriend. But Todd was afraid that it would be too abrupt for Wendy.
Only after Wendy nodded in response did he reach out his arms and take Wendy into his embrace like she was a precious gem.
His tone was extremely gentle, "Thank you, Corrine."
When Wendy Stewart went back home, her mind was still a bit of a mess. She actually did not know if saying yes to Todd Lewis was a good thing or a bad thing. But it was just that she seemingly did not have a reason to reject him.
He was too good. So good that Wendy could not pick out any reason to reject him.
"Mommy, why did you come back so late?" Jake Stewart looked at Wendy a little worried. He saw that Wendy’s face looked like she had something on her mind.
"I went to talk with your uncle Lewis for a while," Wendy said.
"Mommy, have you told Uncle Lewis no?" Hearing this, there was a little unhappiness on Jake’s face.
He knew that Wendy had wanted to tell Todd no clearly about the matter between them.
"You’re not happy?" Wendy asked.
Jake shook his head firmly, "I like Uncle Lewis. These years... Mommy you should know more than me about the help and care that uncle has given us. He is already going to be married to Yonina, Mommy, you should also think about your happiness for the rest of your life. Uncle Lewis is your best choice."
"Just how old are you, knowing about what’s the best choice," Wendy sputtered as she let out a laugh.
Zen Tanner was seated on the sofa and still watching television when she heard them and felt a little awkward. Getting up and returning to her room at this time would seem too deliberate. So she just stayed and listened to them speak.
Zen thought about it again and stood up, intending to sneak away and return to her room.
Wendy saw Zen and said, "You can sit down."
Zen smiled a little awkwardly and sat back down in her spot.
Wendy and Jake sat on the sofa together and Wendy’s gaze went to take a look at Zen, she then said to Jake, "You really like your Uncle Lewis a lot?"
"Really." Jake nodded his head firmly, "Mommy, look ahead, don’t hang on to the past anymore."
"What about little Leah..." Wendy asked Leah Lewis beside her, "Do you like Uncle Lewis?"
Hearing Wendy ask her, Leah immediately nodded her head, "I like him."
"Seems like both of you like him a lot." Wendy smiled faintly, then she looked to Zen again, her tone was indifferent as she said, "Mommy initially intended to tell him no clearly today, but was convinced by him in the end. So..."
"So Mommy has agreed to be with Uncle Lewis, is that so?" Jake’s eyes quickly lit up.
In Jake’s heart, Todd was infinite times better than Michael Lucas. Michael only hurt his mother. But Uncle Lewis had silently protected his mother.
"Accurately speaking, I’ve only agreed to try it," Wendy said.
"It’s okay, Mommy, it’s good that you’re willing to try." Jake smiled and revealed his two sharp little side teeth, "Uncle is so good, as long as you give him a chance, I believe that you’ll definitely agree to him."
"Seems that the handwritten gift to you from Michael couldn’t buy you," Wendy shook her head impatiently.
Jake was good at everything, intelligent, and a know-it-all but just too mature too soon.
If he was like Leah, just a true five-year-old child, then he would have been a lot happier.
Leah blinked her big eyes and asked with a look of curiosity, "Mommy, haven’t we always been with Uncle Lewis?"
Wendy watched as Leah walked over, and she reached out to carry her in her arms. Smiling, she did not explain.
...
It was already late at night, and Leah and Jake had already gone back to their rooms to sleep.
Zen returned to her room and checked her phone.
Christian demanded that she reported the situation to him via text message every day.
Previously regarding the matter between Wendy and Michael, Zen only reported selectively.
Today, Wendy had agreed to be with Todd.
This news was probably both joyful and sorrowful to Christian.
He had always wanted to separate Wendy and Michael. Now that Wendy had agreed to be with Todd, it meant that she and Michael were over.
However, Christian liked Wendy.
Hearing the news that she was with someone else, he was still unhappy.
Zen edited the text message, hesitated, then sent it nonetheless.
[Today, Todd and Timothy had a reunion dinner. Wendy had agreed to be with Todd.]
When Christian received the text message, his expression turned dark.
He knew that Wendy agreeing to be Todd’s girlfriend was out of convenience.
But after reading Zen’s text message, he took it that Wendy had really agreed.
Holding the phone tightly, there was dishonesty in Christian’s eyes as he muttered in a low voice, "It’s good as long as she can’t be with Michael."
...
Michael and Yonina’s engagement day was getting closer.
Wendy chose to ignore it.
However, as she was scrolling her phone, news about the engagement would occasionally pop up.
Technically, she should not be able to receive news from Lake City now that she was in Rheinsville City.
Wendy had been living in Lake City for some time, but since Michael and Yonina’s engagement was a huge matter, she couldn’t get away from it.
Wendy prepared herself emotionally for what she might see on the news, so she clicked one and scanned it.
The information was not that new. It only emphasized that their official engagement would be the day after tomorrow.
The comments below were pretty heated.
[Hahahaha, Michael is really going to marry Yonina! Wendy is so pathetic!]
[Seems like Wendy has already gone back to Rheinsville City, definitely destroyed by Michael.]
[Ah, I’d just like to know that if Wendy hadn’t gone back, to what extent would Yonina and Michael have progressed? If they’re really already together, then Wendy’s appearance indeed disrupted everyone. The others gave her face so they kept it hidden from Wendy together. But if they have nothing to begin with, and all this was just deliberately stirred up by someone, then all I can say is that the wealthy people are too horrifying. Wendy leaving Lake City is probably a good thing. At least she can live peacefully.]
[If they had really lived together, then how come there was nothing for such a long time? And such a thing just had to happen on Christian and Yonina’s engagement banquet? Furthermore, the Collins Group is currently facing bankruptcy. Anyway, I don’t believe that Yonina is a good person.]
...
Wendy briefly scanned through the comments, then closed the news page.
She was already desensitized toward Michael and Yonina.
She did not want to be bothered about Lake City’s matters anymore.
At that moment, the doorbell rang.
Wendy opened the door and saw Todd carrying a bouquet of fresh flowers.
He flashed her a bright smile and said, "Rest today. Let’s go out together."
"Alright, Uncle." Jake immediately ran over and agreed excitedly.
Wendy shook her head, smiling.
....
... At Lake City, MC Enterprise ...
Yonina strutted into Michael’s office, closing the door behind her.
That prompted Michael to look up from his documents for a brief moment.
Seeing that it was only Yonina, he buried himself in his documents once more.
There was a large-scale bidding coming up, and he was up against Christian for the contract.
If Christian succeeded, DR Group would have a shot at turning around.
Michael, on the other hand, could do without the contract. All he wanted was to prevent Christian from successfully winning the bid for the contract, making it difficult for DR Group to ever rise again.
That kept Michael busy.
He needed to make sure that Christian would lose the bid.
"Put that document down and take a look at this, Michael," Yonina said as she stacked the folder on top of the papers laid out before Michael.
Hearing the urgency in Yonina’s voice, Michael put the pen in his hand down and opened the folder.
He scanned the documents.
"That’s all the information I could get," Yonina said. "The rest is up to you to dig further."
Michael immediately reached for the phone and dialed an internal line number.
In no time, Mr. York appeared in his office.
Michael handed the folder to Mr. York and instructed him, "Look up this account number and its transaction activity. Pronto."
Nodding, Mr. York left the room with the folder in his hand.
"Christian Lucas remits personal funds into the Collins Group using this account.
"However, he’s been very sly. All the money he has transferred has been laundered through several other accounts before it gets transferred here.
"Moreover, it has multiple layers of security.
"With my abilities, I was only able to track his activities to the second account that he has transferred funds into. But that’s the furthest I could go," Yonina explained. "When I first made a deal with Christian, I agreed to his request to marry you while he fulfilled his promise to help the Collins Group tide over its difficult situation.
"These funds were from that promise he made."
"All I have to do is track where the money comes from to know who the authority behind Christian is," Michael said thoughtfully. "The most terrifying part is not knowing who his backer is."
"Exactly. DR Group was clearly bankrupt, but Christian still seems to have an unlimited cash flow. Based on that alone is enough to make one fear for the worst," Yonina took a deep breath before continuing, "Michael, I’ve placed the fate of Collins Group in your hands. We cannot afford to lose."
"Between Christian and I, there can only be one left standing. There is no other way to this." Michael spoke as he handed Yonina a document folder, "This is the project that we would be competing for at the upcoming bidding. Go back and take a look at it."
"We cannot let Christian win this bid.
"If my calculations are correct, after some time, Christian would be asking you for MC Enterprise’s proposal for the bidding.
"So we must create two sets of proposals without him realizing it."
"On my end, I’ll ask Christian for more money and see if he would transfer more funds. Perhaps that might be easier for you to track the source of his funds," Yonina suggested with lips pulled back as she took the folder out of Michael’s outstretched hand.
Closing his eyes, Michael leaned his head against his chair and spoke without hiding the fatigue in his voice, "I don’t have much time. We must resolve this matter as soon as possible."
"Because of Todd Lewis?" Yonina had heard about Wendy Stewart and Todd Lewis. Comforting Michael, she said, "I know that you don’t wish to get Wendy Stewart involved in this only for her benefit. I believe that after everything is brought to a close, she will understand where you’ve been coming from."
"No, you don’t understand Wendy," Michael sighed. "She will definitely blame me. She has never been the type to cower behind a man. She would blame me for not facing this with her."
At this, Yonina no longer knew what else to say to comfort Michael.
