He Stole My Jade, I Exposed His Affair

Chapter 2

As soon as I got home, I spoke directly to Howard.

"There's no need to keep funding Giana from now on."

I have been funding Giana ever since she was in the sixth grade of primary school. Later, as I was undergoing training to take over as the group's successor, I handed over the matter of funding her to Howard.

The expenses were all billed to the Davis Group, but Howard got all the credit for the kindness.

Howard frowned. "But she's just at the point in university where she needs money..."

I cut him off coldly. "There are student loans for university these days. Besides, university coursework isn't that heavy. She is perfectly capable of working part-time to earn money on her own. Or are you just unwilling to cut her off?"

I lifted my eyes to look at him, and the coldness in my gaze made Howard shut his mouth reflexively.

"You've used my money to send her quite a few luxury goods, haven't you?"

Ever since I came across Giana's posts on i********:, I had someone look into the financial transactions between her and Howard.

For the public welfare program, he charged all costs to my company's account, but what he did in private was far more than just paying Giana's tuition and living expenses.

"Those items are outside the scope of my funding. You'd better tell her to return every single one of them to me intact. Tsk, if you really want to chase girls, you should spend your own money, shouldn't you?"

My words burned Howard with shame, his face flushing bright red then paling, shifting awkwardly between shades of green and white.

He mumbled something a few times before finally defending himself.

"Don't spout nonsense. There's nothing improper between her and me."

I stared at him quietly, an indescribable taste welling up in my heart.

We had been in a relationship for six years, and I had long regarded him as family.

Other than being unwilling to make our relationship public, he had always treated me very well. He was always so good to me that even right now, I still can't wrap my head around how he could change out of the blue.

They say sunk costs should not factor into major decisions, but the years of shared history and feelings between us are so hard to walk away from.

I thought to myself that if he could shape up after being put in his place like this, I would be willing to turn a blind eye this time.

"I will ask her to convert the value of those items into cash and return it," Howard said after a moment of silence.

Just a few days later, Howard really did bring all the items back.

The wedding proposal dress, my grandmother's emerald pendant, and other pieces of my jewelry such as necklaces and earrings.

It turned out that he had swiped a whole bunch of the jewelry I designed myself to sell at auction that day.

"Kara, I've already made things clear to her. She'll walk her own path from now on, and there will be no more contact between us beyond that. Trust me. I only felt sorry for her because her family is really struggling, and she's so hardworking. I have no other feelings for her at all, nothing more than that."

He spoke with absolute conviction. Though I still had doubts about his words, I ultimately did not press the matter further.

After finishing speaking, Howard tried to come over and hug me, but I turned sideways to avoid him.

Embarrassed, he rubbed his fingers together and wheedled, "Don't be so domineering in the future. Do you have any idea how humiliating it was for me to go ask Miss Andrews to return these things?"

He had the nerve to blame me.

I narrowed my eyes. "You stole from me in the first place. You got what you deserved."

He said nothing more, just lowered his eyes, quietly concealing the resentment in his gaze.

Just then, a friend request popped up on my i********:. It was Giana.

I haven't used the i********: account I had Giana added on in ages. I have no idea how she got hold of this private account of mine.

I tapped to accept the request. If possible, I still hoped to steer her back onto the right path.

However, the moment we became friends, her messages blew up my i********:, pinging nonstop.

Giana: Miss Davis, you're nothing more than Mr. Hayes' fiancée. What right do you have to take back the gifts Mr. Hayes gave me?

Giana: Don't get cocky. The position of Mrs. Hayes will be mine sooner or later.

Giana: Mr. Hayes said that his relationship with you is just something arranged by your parents. He doesn't love you, do you understand?

Giana: You sad little loser. You can't even keep your man, so you only dare to throw your weight around in front of me.

She was being wildly provocative, a far cry from the cautious, tentative girl she had been when she first added me on i********: years ago to ask about the sponsorship details.

I composed myself and put my phone away.

I looked at Howard thoughtfully. "Howard, you've fallen for the person I sponsor, haven't you?"

I came right out and asked him point-blank, and Howard retorted reflexively, "How is that possible? How many times do I have to tell you I just feel sorry for her? C'mon, we've got years of history between us. Don't go making stuff up in your head."