Free Web NovelChapter 92: Chapter 92: Felix Preston and Cecilia Quincy’s Scandal
The scene in front of the apartment building was already a chaotic mess, and Cecilia Quincy’s arrival was enough to burn the whole pot.
Sonia Quincy shut her eyes in frustration. ’I’d love to pour this burnt, stinking mess right down Cecilia Quincy’s throat.’
Cecilia Quincy had come with Ramona Lawrence; Ethan Lockwood was not by her side. With her arms crossed over her chest, she stood a few steps away from Sonia Quincy, gloating at the chaos.
"Sonia Quincy, you’ve really brought this upon yourself. If you’d had the sense to sell the house to me earlier, would you be in this kind of trouble now?"
"Exactly." Ramona Lawrence, diligently playing her part as a sycophant, chimed in, "If you’d been smart and just sold the house to Cecilia from the start, you could have gotten seven million, at least. But now? Forget two million. I doubt you could even get one and a half."
"...And where did you two pop up from?" Felix Preston adjusted his glasses, cutting in coldly before Sonia Quincy could reply. "When did it become your place to interfere in the Preston Family’s business?"
"I..." Ramona Lawrence was momentarily speechless. She’d been a little intimidated to talk back to Felix Preston, but then she remembered he was bankrupt and felt she had nothing to fear. After all, in his current state, even her Lawrence Family was leagues ahead of him!
"What’s with the attitude, Mr. Preston?" She lifted her chin, glaring at Felix Preston with disdain. "Do you still think you’re the president of the Preston Group? You’re just a bankrupt loser. You should be on your knees thanking our Cecilia for even bothering to show up."
"You can thank my ass." Sonia Quincy’s retort was blunt and crude. She didn’t care about her image and gave Ramona Lawrence and Cecilia Quincy no face whatsoever.
"You two ridiculous morons. Say one more arrogant word, and see if I don’t slap you!"
Ramona Lawrence bravely surged forward a step. "You—"
"Ramona." Cecilia Quincy held out a hand to stop her, expertly playing the role of the reasonable one. "Don’t be so aggressive. We’re here to negotiate, not to fight. How could you belittle Mr. Preston like that?"
Ramona Lawrence huffed sullenly but obediently fell silent.
"Mr. Preston." Cecilia Quincy’s eyes crinkled in a sweet smile as she took two steps closer to Felix Preston. "I’m terribly sorry, Ramona was out of line. Please don’t be angry. We came here this time to—"
"Miss Quincy." Felix Preston had no patience to let her finish. He cut her off, taking two steps back as if she were a piece of reeking garbage.
"Please get to the point, and stay right where you are. I’m a married man. If you get too close, people might think I have improper intentions. Or worse, some might even call it ’harassment’."
At the word "harassment," Cecilia Quincy’s expression turned strange.
Across from them, Sonia Quincy glared at her, ’wishing she could march right over and slap her soundly across the face!’
In the original novel, Felix Preston and Cecilia Quincy had once been embroiled in a nasty "scandal."
Back then, Cecilia Quincy had been acknowledged by the Quincy Family for some time, but Ethan Lockwood still hadn’t officially broken up with the female side character.
He waffled between the two women, keeping Cecilia completely on the hook. To snatch him away faster, Cecilia manufactured a love rival for him at school, intending to spur him into action.
That’s right. The love rival was none other than the fall guy, Felix Preston.
Felix Preston and Cecilia Quincy were schoolmates who had met at a student council recruitment drive. But from start to finish, Felix had no romantic interest in Cecilia. He only ever saw her as a simple underclassman, and their few interactions were always strictly for student council business.
However, the way Cecilia told it, this "business" was just Felix deliberately making up excuses to keep her late, all so he could get her alone and foster a relationship.
"Ethan, that upperclassman, Preston, is so creepy. I already told him I’m not interested, but he just won’t listen. He made me stay behind alone again, for a full two hours! He got so close to me... I was scared to death."
"And look, Ethan, he sent me these weird messages again last night. He’s harassing me, isn’t he?"
A few maliciously fabricated stories, a couple of doctored chat screenshots, and just like that, Felix Preston was branded a malicious "harasser."
Consumed by jealousy, Ethan Lockwood stormed over to the school to settle scores with Felix Preston. But Felix happened to be off campus that day. Having missed his target, Ethan had one of Felix’s classmates pass on his warning.
And just like that, Felix Preston’s reputation was ruined. For a time, his classmates all looked at him with suspicion, and he was miserable about it for nearly an entire semester.
Meanwhile, the mastermind behind it all enjoyed a sweet, blissful romance with the man she’d stolen, completely untroubled by her conscience.
The more Sonia thought about it, the angrier she got, and she couldn’t stop herself from taunting Cecilia Quincy. "Miss Cecilia is so devastatingly beautiful that the moment she appears, men all over the world must just fall at her feet. Our Felix Preston is so plain and unremarkable; it’s best he stays far away from Miss Cecilia. We wouldn’t want him to get a reputation for harassment and put you in a difficult position, now would we?"
"What harassment?" Mrs. Preston didn’t know about this incident. Hearing Sonia’s words, she couldn’t help but grow suspicious.
"It’s nothing." Sonia patted Mrs. Preston’s hand, glossing over the matter with a vaguely mocking tone. "I was just joking with Miss Cecilia."
"Oh." Mrs. Preston didn’t give it much thought. Reassured that it was nothing, she went back to haggling with the real estate agent.
Cecilia Quincy’s face went from pale to flushed and back again; the shifting colors were quite a sight to behold.
Sonia Quincy’s lips curled into a cold sneer.
"Sonia." Seeing Sonia stand up for him made Felix feel wronged all over again. He furtively took her hand and whispered pitifully in her ear, "I’m not that kind of person."
Sonia blinked. "I know. I believe you."
"Mm." Felix Preston laced his fingers through hers, looking as pitiful as could be.
"Enough of this nonsense." Unable to respond to the accusation, Cecilia could only grit her teeth and brazenly evade the topic.
"Sonia Quincy, even though you were quite rude to me the last time I came to see the house, for the sake of you once being part of the Quincy Family, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones and give you another chance."
"If you’re willing, I’ll take this house off your hands."
"..." At that moment, Sonia was rendered utterly speechless. ’She was starting to think some people were just NPCs,’ she thought, ’and Cecilia Quincy was a prime example.’
Cecilia’s sheer absurdity made even Felix Preston roll his eyes.
"..."
The couple shared a look, simultaneously pursing their lips and sighing. Neither of them responded to Cecilia Quincy.
Seeing their silence, Cecilia Quincy assumed they were wavering. She smiled smugly and continued, "However, since your house is now stigmatized property, I’m no longer willing to offer seven million. If you’re sincere about selling, I can still offer three million."
"With all the baggage attached to this house, I doubt anyone else in Aethelburg will offer you that price. Sonia Quincy, you’d better think this through. Don’t let your pride make you suffer needlessly. After all, your family is desperate for the money, isn’t it?"
"Even though you’ve never treated me well, I’m still willing to help you out in your time of crisis."
