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Days passed one by one. Aside from Torres Group’s executive team gaining Lillian and my move back to Peterson Manor, nothing else seemed to change.
Adrian approached me numerous times with various offers, but I rejected them all.
He began publicly bringing Lillian to important business events, actively introducing her to all key partners.
Lillian quickly familiarized herself with Torres Group’s operations, completing two medium–scale projects in a short time.
Subsequently, the internal evaluation of her within Torres Group began to improve.
The only remaining source of dissatisfaction was that Stella Group still hadn’t agreed to collaborate, and the cooperation between the two groups had been stalled for over a month.
Major shareholders repeatedly inquired about this matter during executive meetings.
If the delay continued much longer, this project would inevitably fail.
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13
However, Adrian seemed bewitched, insisting that Lillian handle this project.
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The directors‘ attitude toward Adrian began shifting from their initial absolute trust.
After another late night at the office, I was surprised to find Adrian’s car parked outside my gate when I returned home.
Since I’d kicked them out last time, I’d changed the passcode.
Adrian, who once had free access to Peterson Manor, could now only wait outside.
Not wanting to let him into the house, I stopped my car directly.
Adrian immediately got out and walked over to tap on my window. “Harper, let’s talk.”
I rolled down the window, giving him a meaningful look. “What do you want to talk about? Divorce?”
Adrian frowned deeply, somewhat displeased, but he controlled himself well.
He said, “Harper, give Peterson Manor to Lillian. You can name any condition.”
Seeing his urgency, I understood. “Lillian’s birthday is in a
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couple of days. Mr. Torres, the birthday gift you want to give her is certainly valuable.”
Adrian coldly repeated, “You can name any condition.”
He stood while I sat, and the feeling of him looking down at me through the car window made me uncomfortable.
I pushed open the car door and got out, standing before him to meet his gaze at eye level.
Then I said calmly, “Adrian, the first lesson my father taught you was to control your emotions during business negotiations. Once the other party senses your desire, you’ve lost. So Adrian, you’ve lost.”
A flicker of confusion crossed Adrian’s eyes.
Without giving him time to react, I stated my condition directly: “Transfer all your premarital assets under your name, including Torres Manor, to me. It must be notarized to prove this portion doesn’t belong to marital property.”
Adrian stepped back, looking at me like I was insane.
He scoffed, “Harper, are you crazy or am I? My premarital assets could buy ten Peterson Manors in the main city district.”
Ignoring his stare, I nodded calmly. “Yes, I’m deliberately exploiting the current situation to inflate my demands. After all,
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Chapter 3
nothing is more important than the woman you love.”
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Adrian pointed at me angrily, taking a long time before saying, “You…” Then he turned and left.
That night, Lillian posted a melancholy Instagram late at night with the caption: [I’ve become unimportant after all…]
The image showed her red, swollen eyes from crying.
I enlarged the photo, studying it curiously, trying to figure out whether her makeup was just that good or if she’d actually cried herself into this state.
Before I could reach a conclusion, Adrian texted me: [I agree to your conditions. Let’s handle the paperwork tomorrow.]
I held my phone and chuckled softly, thinking to myself, “Adrian, this is just the beginning. Countless retributions await you.”
When Adrian and I got married, Torres Group was still under his father Ryan Torres‘ name.
Two years after our wedding, Ryan passed away from illness, and Adrian officially inherited Torres Group.
Therefore, while Adrian’s premarital assets were substantial, they weren’t exceptionally vast.
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Both our lawyers spent two days sorting through the assets and handled all the paperwork according to our agreement.
The day I received the new property deed happened to be Lillian’s birthday.
She had ordered plenty of coffee and pastries from a five–star hotel, filling the entire conference table in Torres Group’s main meeting room for everyone to enjoy.
In front of numerous colleagues, Lillian held up the property deed and hugged Adrian affectionately, saying, “Adrian, you’re so good to me. I’ll never leave you again.”
I stood to the side, watching them expressionlessly.
The colleagues all felt awkward, saying nothing and just focusing on their food.
Adrian wrapped one arm around Lillian’s waist while gently stroking her hair with the other hand, chuckling softly, “Silly girl.”
Lillian walked over to me with the property deed, smiling as she said, “Harper, you’ve really maintained Peterson Manor beautifully. I’ve wanted your house for over a decade.
“I thought I’d never have the chance to get it. Harper, thank you for being so generous and letting me have Peterson Manor.”
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I nodded. “You’re welcome. This is what your Adrian traded all his assets for.
“This means that aside from Torres Group, which he and I jointly own, he has no personal assets left under his name.”
I looked at Adrian standing behind Lillian and continued, “Mr. Torres, how generous of you to trade all your wealth for one of
Lillian’s smiles.”
Adrian stepped forward to stand beside Lillian, gripping her hand tightly.
He said, “Back then, my father disapproved of my relationship with Lillian and forced her to go abroad. She should have lived a wealthy life. I owed her that. I was powerless to resist then, but now I have the ability to protect her.”
I stared at Adrian intently and said coldly, “So you were using the Peterson family all along?”
Adrian lowered his head to tenderly caress Lillian’s hand, not even glancing at me. “Harper, a business marriage only works when both parties are willing.”
Lillian leaned against Adrian, looking blissfully happy, and what I couldn’t stand most was seeing people I despised living happily.
I handed the document folder to Lillian and said, “Miss Yang, I hope you’ll still feel happy after reading this document.”
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Love isn’t what I want most
Chapter 4
