Chapter 88
Eleanor wiped away her tears and said softly, “Girls at those ages all dream of heroes saving them. Matthew, you were my hero. And you were handsome too, so I liked you from the very beginning.”
She smiled faintly, her eyes clouded with emotion.
After that, she said, “You protected me for four years. We were together day and night. I couldn’t let anyone else into my heart.”
I stared at her, dumbfounded.&
“Then I graduated and my family arranged a marriage for me. It was with Francis.“”
My hands clenched at the mention of his name, but I stayed quiet.N
Eleanor then continued, “Before I met you my parents had brainwashed me into believing that I should sacrifice everything for the Carney Family. So, I thought I would marry whoever they chose without question.“”
Her gaze met mine, unwavering, as she spoke, “But after meeting you, I just couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.“”
Tears streamed down her face.
I couldn’t help but be stunned.§
“No… Then why didn’t you say anything?” I asked her in return.“}
Eleanor shot me a glare as she replied to my question, “I told you many times! But you never took it seriously. You always said that talking about feelings was a waste of money!“}
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. What she said was indeed right. But I just never expected that she would have real feelings for me.
“I had no choice but to find a way that you would accept to marry you!“}
Damn it.
Why would Eleanor do this? I hoped that she never did this to me. After all, I was only here to make money, not to fall into complicated emotions. Like love.”
Eleanor sighed as she saw my dumbfounded expression.
“Think about it. If I were really a loose and casual woman, why was our wedding night my first time? And if I only married you to escape Francis, why was I the one always making the first move?“}
She looked straight at me and I found myself had no answer to her questions.
“You’re so good at ignoring things. It’s always me initiating, but you still ask me for money every time. And even had the nerve to say that the second round is half price! Seriously, what the hell?“”
For the first time ever, Eleanor swore.
I sighed and rubbed my temple.”
“Eleanor, you know me. I’m slow when it comes to emotions. If you don’t spell it out, I won’t get it. My head is full of money and besides … “Z
My voice trailed off before I finally admitted, “You and Francis seemed close”
Just saying his name left a bad taste in my mouth.”
Eleanor scoffed dismissively and said, “He wanted to be close. But I beat him up every time.“”
I blinked in surprise as I responded, “Wait, what?“}
She folded her arms, asking me back, “Why do you think he always left in under five minutes?”
Oh. I understood now. Everything made sense to me.”
Suddenly, I felt way better.!
But I still muttered under my breath, “You should’ve beaten him up longer. A hundred thousand dollars per minute.”
“Oh, screw you!” Eleanor raised a hand like she was about to hit me but ended up laughing instead.
She shook her head helplessly and asked, “Alright then, you’d better tell me now… So, how do you plan to treat me from now on?“%
I scratched my head and answered truthfully, “I’ll treat you as importantly as money.“”
Eleanor’s mouth fell open, then she burst into laughter. She knew me too well. If I said she was as important as money, that was already the highest form of affection I could express.
But my mind drifted back to something else.”
“Although your parents and brother are terrible people, I can’t help but notice that you and Marianne really want them gone.“” Eleanor’s expression darkened as she told me, “In order to control Marianne, they fed her all kinds of … substances.”
12:42 PM
I stiffened at what she just said. Since I grew up in a chaotic neighborhood abroad, I knew exactly what she meant. But I would never expect the Carney Family to stoop very low.
“All because they wanted her to marry a man she didn’t want,” Eleanor continued in anger, gritting her teeth.
My fingers drummed against the table as I thought of something.”
“Think it through. If you truly want them gone, I’ll have Mr. O’Connell handle it.”
Before Eleanor could speak, Marianne suddenly let out a crazed laugh as she responded exasperatedly, “If you help me get rid of them, I’ll be yours!”
Without further ado, Eleanor smacked Marianne on her head and berated her little sister, “Be a reasonable girl, will you? How can you spout crazy things like that?”
Marianne rubbed her head in regret and fell silent.\
In the end, I already made my own decision. I had Mr. Carney, his wife and Andrew sent abroad under the pretense of a business investigation. And then, just like that, they disappeared.”
With them gone, everything in the Carney Family fell into Eleanor and Marianne’s hands. The Carney Family thrived without those people. Everything looked good. For now, at least.”
(The End)
