Chapter 2
653 Words
"Open the door, Elaine. I'm here to talk some sense into you. Elaine, don't quarrel with Kenton. I know how wronged you feel. If you don't want to leave, I can beg him to take back his decision. Worse comes to worst… I'll hand back the title of the Hale heiress to you!" Mia's tearful voice echoed outside the door. She rapped against the wooden panel.
I nearly laughed out loud upon hearing her words. She was not here to comfort me at all; she was clearly trying to stoke the flames. I walked over and pulled the door open. Mia held a handkerchief to her face, pretending to weep. When she saw the door swing open, she stumbled backward at once. "Elaine, don't do anything reckless."
I leaned against the doorframe and gave her a slow once-over. "I'm not reckless. I just wanted to ask you which tropical dessert shop in Hawaii is the best?"
Mia's crying cutoff abruptly. She stared blankly at me, seemingly unable to process what I had just said. "I don't know."
"Right. Don't you spend every winter vacation in Hawaii? Do you have any local seafood spots to recommend? Preferably places with short waits and cheap fresh seafood." I held a bag of potato chips out toward her.
Mia's face twisted as if she had swallowed something foul. "Elaine, this is hardly the time for you to act foolishly! Do you truly think you can walk away safely with 50 million dollars? You cannot simply take what belongs to the Hale family and get away with it!"
I let out a sigh. "Mia, do you suffer from paranoia? Kenton offered me the money of his own free will, and he told me to leave. I've played along with your little performance. Why are you still unsatisfied?"
Mia seethed with anger and pointed a finger straight at me. "Quit putting on this noble act! Dare you claim you have no designs on the Hale family fortune? Dare you say you didn't come back to steal my position?"
I brushed her hand away. "I swear, I have zero interest in all your messy family affairs. My biggest dream is to wake up naturally every single day and find a nice spot to laze around. A household like the Hales, where everyone has to rise for meetings at six every morning, is nothing short of hell."
Mia's eyes widened. Clearly, she did not believe a single word. "You… you are utterly unreasonable!" She stamped her foot and spun around to run off. I watched her retreating figure and shook my head. These days, no one believed you even when you told the truth.
Around the corridor corner, Seth peeked out, watching our exchange. When he realized I had spotted him, he cleared his throat and acted casually. "Elaine, don't think this reverse trickery can fool me. You're keeping perfectly calm amid a crisis. Your scheming runs deeper than I imagined." He stepped forward and pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose.
I rolled my eyes. "Seth, has painting addled your brain? I'm just too tired to bother with all of you. This isn't some calm-before-storm tactic."
Seth let out a cold snort. "Don't pretend. When you asked Mia for Hawaii travel tips just now, you were hinting you have contacts waiting for you there, weren't you? Are you planning to take control of our family's southern branch out there?"
I was genuinely amazed by his wild imagination. "Believe whatever you want. Now please move aside. I'm heading to the kitchen to grab something to eat." I stepped past him and walked straight toward the kitchen.
Seth huffed behind me. "Don't get cocky. Kenton has assigned extra men to keep an eye on you. There is nowhere you can run."
I waved my hand without turning back. "We'll soon find out whether I can fly away or not."
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