Free Web NovelChapter 75: Chapter 75: Yes, I Like Sonia Quincy
After leaving the office, Felix Preston called Evan Yates, telling him to pack his things and go. There was no need to participate in the second round of bidding.
Evan Yates didn’t understand why, but hearing the grim tone in Felix Preston’s voice, he guessed something must have happened. He immediately grabbed his laptop and left the Sinclair Group building.
"Felix!"
Renee Sinclair burst out of another office, her high heels clicking as she chased after Felix Preston.
"Felix, wait for me! I have something to say to you!"
"..."
Felix Preston ignored her, even quickening his pace.
Renee Sinclair couldn’t catch up with a jog, so she gritted her teeth and broke into a sprint, managing to grab his arm just before he stepped into the elevator.
"Felix, don’t go! Listen to me!" Renee Sinclair was so out of breath from running that she had to gasp for air between words.
"There’s no need." Felix Preston forcefully shook her hand off, taking a few steps back to create a stark distance between them.
"Mr. Sinclair has already told me more than enough. I have no desire to hear a single word of that same nonsense from you, Miss Sinclair."
"Why?" Renee Sinclair truly didn’t understand. She looked at Felix Preston in confusion, her brows knitted together. "Felix, why won’t you choose me? I can give you funding. I can give you connections. I could even give you the Sinclair Group. Why are you so unwilling to choose me?"
"What’s so great about Sonia Quincy?"
Felix Preston adjusted his glasses, his gaze toward Renee Sinclair colder than ever. "Miss Sinclair, I have no obligation to explain any of this to you. You just need to remember one thing: not funding, not connections, not the Sinclair Group, and not even you can ever compare to Sonia Quincy."
"I won’t stop you from treating yourself like a commodity on the market, but I ask that you don’t drag my Sonia into the gutter with you."
"But Sonia Quincy can’t give you anything!" Renee Sinclair was starting to break down. She wiped at her red-rimmed eyes, her entire body trembling with anger at his words.
"Besides that child, what else can Sonia Quincy give you? Humiliation? Trouble? Or maybe she’ll just cheat on you?"
"Shut up!" Having his boundaries pushed again and again, Felix Preston’s patience had worn thin.
He shot Renee Sinclair a frigid glare, his voice more piercing than an icy winter spring.
It was the first time he had ever yelled at her, and for a moment, Renee Sinclair was too stunned to react.
"Miss Sinclair." His eyes narrowed, his gaze terrifyingly fierce. "Sonia hasn’t done anything to provoke you, has she? How long are you going to keep targeting her? Did you think that just because I kept my cool, it meant Sonia had no one in her corner?"
"I..." Facing Felix Preston’s full-blown rage for the first time, Renee Sinclair had no idea how she was supposed to react.
She clutched the hem of her dress, her previous aggressive demeanor gone when she spoke again.
"Felix, I’m not trying to target Sonia Quincy! I just want to help you!"
"Hmph..." Felix Preston sneered. "’Help me’? By trying to convince me to get a divorce? By using your investment to threaten me into a relationship with you?"
"No, I wasn’t trying to force you." Renee Sinclair’s explanation sounded feeble. "I—I only did it because I like you so much. I had no other choice."
"’Like me’?" Those two words sounded utterly ridiculous to Felix Preston. He shook his head and said coldly, "Your so-called ’like’ is laughable."
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Renee Sinclair with nothing but his cold, retreating back.
"Felix!"
"Felix Preston!"
Renee Sinclair’s nails dug into her palms as she called after him, her voice filled with frustration and futility. "How can you not understand how I feel about you? Why won’t you just turn around and look at me? I’m the one who’s most suited for you! I’m the one who loves you the most!"
"..."
Felix Preston pressed the elevator’s down button, ignoring Renee Sinclair completely.
Renee Sinclair gritted her teeth in frustration. "You’d rather lose the funding than give up Sonia Quincy? Do you really like her that much?!"
DING—
The elevator arrived on Felix Preston’s floor. Two seconds later, the doors slid open, and he stepped inside.
"Yes," Felix Preston answered her question, just before the doors slid shut.
"I like her."
"Even if all of you think she’s terrible, even if you think she’s a burden, I still like her."
’Maybe I’ve liked her for a very long time.’
"AHHHHH!!!"
Felix Preston was gone. Renee Sinclair stood rooted to the spot, screaming and stomping her feet in a rage. At the same time, she muttered to the wall as if talking to someone.
"Why? Why won’t he like me? What kind of spell did that Sonia Quincy put on him?"
"Didn’t you say I was Felix Preston’s official love interest? Why would he choose a villainess over me? According to the original novel’s plot, the villainess should have been kicked to the curb by now!"
"This won’t do. You have to find out what Sonia Quincy’s deal is!"
"Of course I know my affection rating is too low! Felix Preston is completely obsessed with Sonia Quincy right now. I don’t even have a chance to raise it!"
"Put it on my tab! On my tab! If I can’t complete this mission and end up dying here, you’ll be erased by the higher-ups right along with me!"
...
"Preston, what do we do now?"
Evan Yates asked from inside the used Audi, his face etched with worry.
Felix Preston held a cigarette between his fingers, its tip a glowing red ember. Wisps of smoke trembled as they rose, lending a hint of hostility to his cold expression.
"We’ll have to find other investors. The Sinclair Group is a dead end."
"Other investors... Half the capital in Aethelburg is controlled by the Lockwoods now. Ethan Lockwood would love nothing more than to see you fail. He’d never invest in our project."
Evan Yates was pessimistic. The future already seemed bleak to him.
Felix Preston stared at the cigarette between his fingers but didn’t take a single drag.
"So half the capital is controlled by the Lockwoods. Doesn’t that mean there’s another half we can go after? Aethelburg is a big city. I refuse to believe everyone is on Ethan Lockwood’s side."
"Sigh..." Evan Yates’s expression was numb. "How did we get backed into such a corner?"
A humorless smile touched Felix Preston’s lips. He handed the cigarette to Evan Yates. "You can have it."
Evan Yates took it hesitantly. "Preston? Why aren’t you smoking?"
Felix Preston ran a hand through his hair. "Sonia can’t stand the smell of smoke."
"Then I won’t smoke either." Evan Yates stuck his hand out the window and tossed the half-smoked cigarette into a nearby trash can. "You and I are together all day. I wouldn’t want the smell to get on you."
"Thanks." Felix Preston let out a brief laugh.
...
At six in the evening, Sonia Quincy put down her paintbrush and headed to the kitchen to start dinner right on time.
Even though Felix Preston had said he was fine on WeChat, she could tell something was wrong with his mood.
So, she decided to make all of Felix Preston’s favorite dishes, hoping to lift his spirits.
At seven in the evening, a knock came from the door of their rented apartment. Sonia Quincy was just plating the last dish, and she hurried to get the door.
"You’re back."
The door swung open, and Sonia Quincy greeted Felix Preston with a sweet smile. "Perfect timing. Go wash your hands, and we can eat right away!"
"..." Felix Preston didn’t say a word.
He changed his shoes as he entered, setting down his laptop with one hand and closing the door with the other. Before the lock could even click into place, he reached out and pulled Sonia Quincy into a tight, urgent embrace.
