Free Web NovelChapter 19: Chapter 19: A Bet: The One Standing on the Clouds, You or Me
Seeing the usually gentle Sophie Shaw speak so harshly, Damian Morgan felt a pang of bitterness.
Deep down, he despised people like Alaric Blackwood.
’What’s so great about Alaric Blackwood?’
Rumor had it he was a total philanderer who changed women like he changed clothes—a complete and utter playboy.
The only difference between him and Alaric Blackwood was that Alaric had been born into a good family, winning at the starting line. He, on the other hand, had not been blessed with a good background.
His life only had two options: either struggle and scrape by at the bottom, or seize an opportunity to climb to the top.
"Alaric Blackwood is just a promiscuous, frivolous rich kid. Strip away the halo his family background gives him, and he’s nothing."
Damian Morgan gritted his teeth, veins popping on his forehead, his eyes seeming to split with rage. "That piece of trash only knows how to play with women. Aren’t you worried about getting dirty? Be careful he doesn’t give you some filthy disease."
Sophie Shaw seethed with anger and raised her arm, but the slap never landed on Damian Morgan’s face.
The man grabbed her wrist and violently flung her onto the nearby sofa.
She fell, her head spinning. Before she could get up, Damian Morgan loomed over her, his large hand clamping down on her jaw.
The man’s eyes were bloodshot. He ground out his words, one by one, "Since we’ve both made our choices, then, Sophie Shaw, let’s make a bet. Let’s see who will be the one standing on top of the world in the future—you, or me."
"You won’t come to a good end."
"Don’t be so sure. Haven’t you heard the saying? Good girls get a good reputation, but bad girls get everything."
The corner of Damian Morgan’s mouth lifted. He leaned in close to her ear, whispering against her earlobe, "That saying applies to men, too."
"What are you two doing?"
A sharp reprimand came from the top of the stairs.
It was Joseph Shaw, who had just finished helping Joel with his homework.
Hearing his voice, Damian Morgan immediately let go of Sophie Shaw. He straightened his collar, sat back down in the armchair by the window, and leisurely picked up his coffee to take a sip.
Sophie Shaw rubbed her aching jaw. She saw Joseph Shaw’s face darken as he stormed towards her. Just as she was about to explain, he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her upstairs.
He dragged her all the way back to her room, slammed the door, and flung her away with a powerful shove.
She stumbled and fell onto the bed. Behind her, Joseph Shaw’s voice was filled with uncontrollable rage, "Didn’t you break up with Damian Morgan? What were you two doing in broad daylight?" ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
"If Bianca and Vianne had seen this, all hell would have broken loose!"
Fortunately, Mr. Kane had a habit of fishing on weekends, Bianca Kane and Mandy Halloway were playing mahjong, and Vianne Kane had a public appearance to get to. All three of them were out of the house.
He was the only one who had seen that scene just now.
From where he was standing looking down, the scene that met his eyes was of Damian Morgan pressing Sophie Shaw down on the sofa. They were behaving intimately, and it looked like they were kissing.
"Since you’ve broken up, keep your distance from Damian Morgan from now on. You’re Alaric Blackwood’s wife now. If you keep getting tangled up with your ex and cause some kind of scandal, I won’t be able to protect you."
Joseph Shaw stood with his hands on his hips, his face and neck red with anger.
Thinking about the scene just now, a nerve in his brain tightened. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
"I’m not tangled up with Damian Morgan. I just want to get Heart of the Ocean back," Sophie Shaw explained, lying on the bed with reddened eyes.
She didn’t have the courage to turn around and see Joseph Shaw’s expression, afraid of seeing her father’s ugly side.
Ever since she could remember, Joseph Shaw had doted on her. But when she was eight years old, her mother passed away. He was devastated, and his personality slowly began to change.
Later, he married Bianca Kane and they had Joel Kane, and he changed more and more.
His attention was no longer on her, his daughter. He only worried about his own position in the Kane family and busied himself with planning for Joel’s future.
As a daughter who would sooner or later be married off, she no longer held much weight in his heart.
She buried her face in the soft quilt, suppressing the turbulent emotions in her chest and stopping herself from crying out loud.
"Heart of the Ocean again."
Joseph Shaw was about to go crazy with anger. "What’s so great about that tiny, worthless company that you keep thinking about it? The Blackwood Family gave ten million for the bride price alone. Do you think you’ll be mistreated after marrying into their family?"
"Stop thinking about Heart of the Ocean. Just consider that three million thrown away."
"From now on, just be a good Mrs. Blackwood and stop paying attention to Damian Morgan and his company."
Sophie Shaw finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out crying, "I won’t!"
She scrambled up from the bed, looking at Joseph Shaw with tear-filled eyes. "I have to get back what’s mine."
"And what if you do get it back? You’ll just keep pouring the money you have into that worthless little company? What kind of splash will that make? You followed Damian Morgan for a year and Heart of the Ocean showed no improvement. It’s clear you don’t have the ability to run a company. You don’t have your mother’s knack for turning the tide, so don’t try so hard to be a career woman. Isn’t it better to just be a rich man’s wife?"
Sophie Shaw froze, unable to believe what she was hearing.
’So in Joseph Shaw’s eyes, I’m worthless, only good for getting married.’
"Your brother is still young. If you snatch Heart of the Ocean from Damian Morgan, he’ll have lost his own company and he’ll set his sights on the Kane Group next. That kid is incredibly ambitious. Once he gets into the Kane Group, the consequences will be unimaginable. What will your brother do then? He’s only ten. It’ll be more than a decade before he graduates from college. By the time he’s ready to take over, the Kane Group will already be in Damian Morgan’s pocket."
Joseph Shaw was thinking long-term. He had no real power in the Kane Group, holding only one percent of the shares. He was a minor shareholder with no say at all.
He couldn’t beat Damian Morgan, so he could only place his hopes in his own son.
"So you’ll just sacrifice me?"
Sophie Shaw felt herself breaking down as never before.
"Have you forgotten? That three million was the money you and Mom got from struggling together, from selling all our belongings! Does it mean nothing to you? You can just throw it away like that?"
"My mom’s health was poor because she was always with you at social functions, staying up all night with you at work, not eating or sleeping well..."
That poor woman worked herself sick to support a man, only for that man to lose all his drive, go bankrupt, sell off all their possessions, and become a live-in son-in-law for another family.
"Joseph Shaw, where’s your backbone?"
"With everything you’ve done, can you even face my mom?"
"Don’t make me look down on you!"
Sophie Shaw’s heart-wrenching screams were met with a resounding slap from Joseph Shaw.
The heavy slap landed on her face, but the pain was in her heart.
She was knocked to the ground, half of her face swelling up instantly. The corner of her mouth was split and bleeding.
Joseph Shaw left her in the room to reflect on her actions behind closed doors.
「At dusk, her phone rang.」
Alaric Blackwood was calling.
Looking at the two words ’My Husband’ on the screen, she hesitated for a long time before finally answering.
"Care to grace me with your presence for dinner, wife?"
’Perfect, I’m starving.’
’The sugar daddy’s call came right on time.’
"Come and get me."
Her voice was a little hoarse. She had cried all afternoon until her throat was raw.
Over the phone, Alaric Blackwood didn’t notice anything wrong. But when he picked her up and saw her swollen face, the scabbed cut on her lip, and her red, puffy eyes that had clearly been crying, the man’s brow immediately furrowed.
