Chapter 14

Chapter 13

Russell was frozen in place, not believing what he had seen.

Violet turned around abruptly and saw Patrick’s handsome face magnified in front of her. She was so shocked that she couldn’t utter a word, and all she could hear was Patrick’s voice, which was so pleasing to the ears that it could make any woman in this world fall in love with him.

Patrick raised an eyebrow and glanced at her indifferently. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Violet immediately snapped out of her daze, her voice dropping an octave as she stuttered, “Um… I… I’m… Wh–Why did you come here?”

She completely lost the arrogant and domineering demeanor she had in front of Russell a moment ago, and in an instant, she turned into a timid little bunny. Patrick found her facial expression amusing. He asked in a casual tone of voice, “Why can’t I come here?”

Violet pouted her cheeks, realizing she couldn’t argue with him.

Russell looked at Patrick, completely dumbfounded. His facial expression changed multiple times before he managed to squeeze out a sentence. “Mr. Hersey, why did you come here?”

Patrick lifted his gaze and coldly replied, “I heard you were planning to sue the jewelry designer of our Foreverie Jewelry. I think it’s quite necessary for me to come here. What do you think?”

Russell forced a smile, his face stiff as he replied, “How… How could that be? Violet… Um… She works for Oceanen Jewelry…”

Before Russell could finish his sentence, Patrick ruthlessly interrupted him, “From this moment on, she works for Foreverie Jewelry!”

Russell wanted to argue, “But she…”

Patrick’s expression turned cold in an instant, showing impatience. “I said! She works for Foreverie Jewelry!”

Russell’s expression became extremely dark. He glanced at Violet standing next to Patrick and clearly saw a gloating look in her eyes.

In an instant, Russell realized the reason why yesterday afternoon when he and Veronica tricked Violet into going out to eat, they encountered Patrick. At this moment, he understood everything. His current situation was all designed by Violet. She and Patrick had known each other for a long time!

Patrick had no intention of wasting time here. He was only here to pick Violet up, afraid that when Violet’s act was over, Russell would cause trouble.

After all, Patrick wouldn’t let anyone mess with his woman!

Patrick glanced at Violet and asked, “When do you plan to go to Foreverie Jewelry?”

Violet’s eyes flickered as she replied, “Tomorrow, I guess.”

Patrick nodded. “Can we leave now?”

Violet quickly nodded and hurriedly followed Patrick.

As they were about to leave, Russell couldn’t help but call out, “Violet…”

Violet paused her steps, her back facing Russell, and slowly turned around to face him.

Patrick’s eyes flickered. He stood still with no intention of turning around.

Russell stared at Violet, his expression dark. “Everything that happened today is part of your plan, right?”

Violet pressed her tongue against her upper palate and replied slowly with a smile on her face, “Yeah, you have already known the answer in your heart, haven’t you? Why bother asking me?”

Although Russell had speculated countless times in his mind, he truly didn’t expect that Violet, who had always been loyal to him, could do such a thing. At this moment, he couldn’t describe his feelings clearly–there was anger, unwillingness, and frustration, various emotions intertwined.

His voice was hoarse as if something hard and bitter had blocked his throat, and he angrily shouted at Violet, “Don’t you love me? Why would you do this, then?” Violet seemed to have heard the biggest joke. She burst into laughter, saying, “What? Ha! Russell! How dare you say those words? In the past two years, every time you used my design drafts to promote Veronica, did you ever say you loved me? Every time you were intimate with Veronica, did you ever say you loved me? When you and Veronica went to the city hall to get married, why the hell didn’t you say you loved me?”

Violet’s eyes turned red. She had wasted two years of her youth on a scumbag. If it was just a simple breakup, she could endure it, but Russell and Veronica not only made her sad and miserable but also disgusted her to the point where she wanted to vomit out all the meals she had eaten in the past two years!

“I… Um…” Russell knew he was in the wrong. Moreover, with Patrick supporting Violet, he didn’t dare to do anything to her.

Russell had no other choice but to soften his tone. “Violet, it’s my fault. I apologize to you, okay? Let’s keep our family matters between us. There’s no need to let others know. You don’t want them to laugh at us, do you?”

After Russell finished speaking, Patrick sneered and chuckled meaningfully before Violet could even respond. “Family matters? Humph…

Chapter 14

Violet froze and instinctively turned to glance at Patrick’s cold back. She felt utterly speechless, scowling at Russell. “You don’t deserve to be my family! Don’t flatter yourself!”

Russell clenched his teeth. “Violet, don’t say it like that. I know you’re mad, and you can take it out on me however you want. Anyway, as soon as you come back, I’ll divorce Veronica right away. You’ll still be my wife, and I promise I’ll treat you right. Veronica’s reputation is already ruined. You can’t leave Oceanen Jewelry now. How will it look to the world if you do?”

Violet never expected Russell to be so quick to kick Veronica to the curb the moment he ran into trouble.

She smirked sarcastically and was about to speak when, out of the blue, Veronica entered from another backstage door. She stared daggers at Russell, her expression sour as it could be.

Russell froze in place. “Veronica, why are you here? I asked you to stay in the design department, didn’t I?”

Veronica glared at Russell with anger in her eyes. “If I’d stayed in the design department, I wouldn’t have heard your exciting speech, would I? I’ve wasted two years with you, Russell. We just got the marriage license, and now you want to leave me? Have you lost all sense of decency?”

Russell looked flustered, his tone anxious as he explained, “It’s not like that, Veronica. Listen to me, your reputation is already ruined. If you continue to stay at Oceanen Jewelry, you’ll only harm the company!

“Don’t worry. As long as you divorce me and admit that the plagiarism of Violet’s work was your personal act, unrelated to Oceanen Jewelry, I’ll make sure you get a fair compensation. Oceanen Jewelry is our life’s work. You don’t want to see it go down in flames, do you?” Russell became more and more convinced that this was the only way out. At all costs, he had to save Oceanen Jewelry. If it meant sacrificing Veronica, then he had no choice but to do so.

Veronica, with fiery red eyes, stared at Russell in disbelief and slapped him across the face. “Russell, you beast! How can you say such shameless things? After all this, you’re still trying to save yourself? Do you really think that if I leave, Oceanen Jewelry will be saved? Violet put so much effort into setting this up. How could she let you off so easily?”

After Veronica’s outburst, she glared angrily at Violet.

Russell covered his face where he had been slapped and turned to Violet, shaking his head. “No, Violet has a soft heart. She can’t be as heartless as you! Isn’t that right, Violet? Say something!”

Veronica heard this and lunged at Russell, grabbing his hair, and nearly tearing it

out. She was absolutely furious, never expecting Russell to be this shameless. Russell was taken aback by her furious reaction and pushed her to the ground, looking nervously at Violet as if he wanted to convey that his relationship with Veronica was completely over.

Violet, with a cold expression, watched the two of them argue like cats and dogs, her face heavy. In her eyes, neither of these two individuals was good people, so she did not care who had the upper hand in the fight. She did not know if they were genuinely fighting or just putting on a show for her. However, it did not matter anymore. She would not trust these two scoundrels anymore.

She calmly turned to Russell, saying, “Russell, even the most shameless people have a limit, but clearly, you don’t. You’re not fit to be called a human being. I must have been blind to ever fall for someone like you. Anyway, I advise you to be smarter in the future, or you’ll have to face the consequences on your own.” Violet then turned and said to Patrick, “Mr. Hersey, let’s go.”

Patrick seemed to be in a good mood, letting out a light chuckle as he walked towards the exit.

Russell, fuming with anger, shouted after Violet, “Violet Webb, you’re just a fl*p–flopper. Sucking up to Mr. Hersey won’t get you anywhere in the end.”

Violet ignored his barking, following Patrick downstairs. They got in the car, and instead of driving off, Patrick turned to her with a faint smile. “I thought you might soften up, you know.”

Violet paused for a moment and then chuckled self–deprecatingly. “Well, I can’t afford to be that foolish, can I?”

Patrick raised an eyebrow playfully. “Don’t you think you’re a bit foolish?” Violet’s delicate face turned dark in an instant. She was not happy with his remark. Patrick ignored her reaction and continued with a blank expression, “What if Russell was recording earlier? At the moment you admitted to setting this up, all your previous efforts would have been in vain!”

Violet froze, her expression instantly morphing into total shock. “Are you saying he recorded it?”