That was how I showed my determination to be with Everett.§
And, as I expected, my father didn’t stop us again.§
We naturally began dating, and eventually, we got married.”
In the beginning, our love story was the talk of the entire social circle.
Everyone said we were a living fairytale- couple who shattered the centuries–old rule of “marrying within your class.“}
Everett gradually secured his position at Richardson Group, while the startup I had invested in was beginning to thrive.
Every night, no matter how late Everett worked, he would always show up downstairs at my office building with a bouquet of fresh flowers, waiting patiently to take me home.}
Everyone in our circle knew–President Ford never stayed out past nine o’clock for any social event. In fact, he was usually on his way to me by eight–thirty sharp.
Everett’s love gave me confidence–enough to even tease my father about it.”
I remember my birthday, eight years later. We were in that same study where we once had our first argument about him.
I swirled the wine in my glass and smiled at my father.
“Well? My taste in men isn’t so bad, is it? Now that we’re expecting a child, you can finally give us your blessing, can’t you?“}
My father had a little too much to drink that night.”
He raised his head and, for the first time in eight years, he acknowledged my relationship with Everett-
But his words were a challenge.
“Laura, why don’t we make a bet? If Everett can survive this storm, I’ll hand over the entire Richardson Group to him.”
That bet became the turning point of everything.
The next day, my father was pushed into the open sea by his rivals.§
Within three days, Richardson Group collapsed like a giant beast felled by a single arrow.
At first, I had absolute faith in Everett. And to be fair, he didn’t disappoint me–at least, not then.
He spent seven days and nights scouring the sea for my father.}
Seven days without a single bite of food, surviving only on sips of water I forced down his throat.}
N secretly recorded those moments–Everett searching, desperate, nearly breaking down–and I sent the videos to my father.}
He saw them, but he never replied.}
Only smiled.
After exhausting every possible means and finding no trace of my father, Everett finally gave up and returned home–only because I begged him to.
With my father gone, Everett, the “heir in waiting,” began to take over Richardson Group’s business.}
And he did better than I thought he would.”
He wasn’t as calm or ruthless as Dad, but he was clever, resourceful–enough to pull Richardson Group back from the brink.
The day Richardson Group reopened, after an intimate night together, he held me close and whispered, “Laura, now that Dad is gone, I don’t want the company to keep using the Richardson Group name. Every time I see it, I feel like I’m drowning in grief. Let’s rename it to Orion Holdings, okay?”
My heart trembled.
But then I remembered those seven desperate days at sea–the raw despair in his eyes.
I chose to trust him.
The next day, the towering sign on Richardson Group’s headquarters was replaced with Orion Holdings.
It was the first time he made a big change without me telling my father.”
And after that, my messages to my father became fewer and fewer.
Because things started to spiral into something I had never imagined.
The first time, it was just a female secretary.
I was furious, and he replaced her without a word.
But when the HR department sent Maeve to his side, Everett never cared about my cold expression again.”
For the first time, his tone with me turned impatient-
“Laura, when will you drop this spoiled–princess attitude? Don’t you know women make better secretaries because they’re more attentive?“}
“Orion Holdings is standing on a cliff’s edge right now. Can you, for once, stop making trouble?“}}
