hapter 43
As the elevator doors slowly closed, Orlando pulled out his phone to call Harley.
Having just wrapped up a meeting, Harley glanced at the caller ID and frowned slightly. “What’s up?” he asked.
Lately, he had been the target of teasing from Devon and Orlando due to his divorce from Lenora.
To be honest, he wasn’t eager to hear from either of them; their calls rarely brought good news.
This time, however, Orlando surprised him by asking, “Harley, do you know what your ex–wife does for a living?”
Harley paused.
Lenora didn’t seem to have a job. She was a high–achieving finance major, but for the three years they were married, it felt like she had always been part of the Brandt family.
“She doesn’t work,” Harley replied after some thought.
“Are you sure?” Orlando countered before abruptly ending the call.
Harley stared at his phone, now silent, and furrowed his brow.
In the past, he would have answered confidently, but now uncertainty crept in.
After their divorce, he realized he never truly understood Lenora. Unlike other women, she didn’t throw tantrums when angry; instead, she was calm and calculated. He also discovered she wasn’t as money–driven as he had thought—at least during the divorce, she hadn’t asked for anything.
In their three years of marriage, aside from the monthly ten–thousand–dollar transfers Matthew made to Lenora’s card, he hadn’t given her any additional money.
One day, feeling curious, he checked the balance on that card and found that in three years–36 months–Lenora hadn’t touched a single penny.
If she wasn’t working, Harley couldn’t fathom how she managed to live without using any of his money.
to
come in.
Suddenly, he felt deceived during those three years, and anger surged within him. He motioned for Matthew
Matthew quickly entered, expecting business as usual, but Harley’s first question was, “What did Lenora do for a living?”
Matthew hesitated for a moment. “Ms. Maynard doesn’t seem to have a job.”
“Then where’s her money coming from?” Harley pressed.
Matthew glanced cautiously at Harley. “Mr. Brandt, Ms. Maynard is a shareholder at Ormonde Entertainment.”
That was right; after their divorce, Harley learned that Lenora was actually the chairwoman of the rapidly growing Ormonde Entertainment.
“Get out,” Harley waved his hand dismissively.
Matthew breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to leave but paused when Harley called out, “Wait.”
“Mr. Brandt?” Matthew replied.
“What was going on in the video yesterday?” Harley asked.
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Chapter 43
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Matthew looked up and recounted what he knew. “Ms. Maynard left after dinner; they only had a brief argument–nothing else happened.” He hesitated before adding, “Mr. Parker seems to be pursuing Ms. Maynard.”
“Ethan?” Harley responded, taken aback.
“Yes,” Matthew confirmed.
Harley scoffed, “What does that have to do with me? It’s not my concern.”
Matthew fell silent and then said, “Well, I’ll leave you to it then.”
“Sure,” Harley replied coldly, shooting him a glance.
In Hobart City, the nights fell quickly this season, and by 7 PM, darkness enveloped the streets.
If not for the flashy sports car parked ahead, Lenora wouldn’t have noticed Ethan standing at her door.
Ethan clearly spotted her and stepped in front of her car, holding a bouquet.
Lenora raised an eyebrow and lowered her window. “Mr. Parker”
“I’m sorry for being presumptuous yesterday. I wanted to apologize in person,” Ethan said.
This was the first time she had seen someone apologize with red roses blocking another person’s entrance.
Lenora smiled slightly. “I don’t feel offended. If there’s nothing else, could you please step aside? I need to get inside.”
With the door wide open and her car parked right in front, she tried to go in but was stopped by Ethan.
He checked his watch. “It’s still early. How about grabbing a late–night snack together?”
Lenora recognized his watch as a luxury item worth over 600 thousand dollars nearly as much as her car.
Such attempts to impress felt childish to her, and she brushed it off.
“No, thank you. I’m not hungry,” she replied coolly.
Ethan, undeterred, pressed on, “Then can I come in for a glass of water?”
Lenora’s smile faded. “We’re out of water.”
“Then how about I order a drink for delivery? Can I come in just for a bit?” he insisted.
“No way,” she firmly declined.
Lenora didn’t want to waste time on this. She opened her car door, stepped out, and pointed to her vehicle. “Mr. Parker, I assume you recognize this car?”
“Yes, it’s the latest limited–edition Ferrari from last year, worth over 600 thousand dollars, he replied.
Lenora nodded, smirking slightly. “You must also be aware of the housing prices in Hobart City?”
“I’m not very familiar, but I know the average price here is around 20 thousand dollars. Your lakeside property must be valued at over 20 million dollars,” Ethan said confidently.
He thought he was getting the hang of things. “Do you prefer cars or houses? I could provide either for you.”
He rationalized that while 20 million dollars wasn’t pocket change, it was worthwhile.
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Chapter 43
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Lenora raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Parker, you misunderstand. You might not know, but both the car and the house were purchased with my own money.”
Ethan paused, stunned. If he still didn’t grasp what she meant at this point, he’d truly be
Thinking back to how he had just flaunted his watch, heat rose to his cheeks.
However, he remembered that Lenora had left the marriage with nothing and was skeptical that she could afford such a
villa.
Lenora saw through his thoughts and scoffed, “I can afford ten villas like this. So I advise Mr. Parker not to waste time on me, because that would only make you-”
She paused, her gaze captivatingly sultry as she added, “Look foolish.”
Her every word felt like a slap to Ethan’s face.
He had never faced such an insult. “Lenora, don’t push your luck! You know where your money comes from. Don’t think a little cash from Harley gives you the right to act important!”
Lenora frowned, about to respond, when suddenly a car horn blared from her left.
She instinctively turned to look, shielding her eyes from the glaring headlights. In the next moment, she saw the car door open, and Harley stepped out.
Surprised, Lenora stared at Harley as he approached, a bit puzzled. “Why are you here?”
Harley glanced at Ethan, whose face was twisted in anger. “Mr. Parker has quite a thick skin.”
Ethan had always been compared to Harley growing up, and while he initially bristled, he learned to avoid him once he realized he could never measure up.
His interest in Lenora was partly because she was Harley’s ex–wife.
If he could win her over, it would be a triumph over Harley.
But now that Harley was here, Ethan’s bravado crumbled. Yet he stubbornly retorted, “What’s it to you? I’m genuinely pursuing Ms. Maynard.”
He thrust the bouquet of roses at Lenora. “I’ll contact you
With that, Ethan jumped back into his car and sped off.
later!”
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