Chapter 5 Such a Mess
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Eloise had been working for three years and only managed to save a total of $600,000. She gave some of that money to Medea and used the rest to buy a car. It hadn’t been long since she became a director, so where did she get all that money from?
She took out all her bank cards and slammed them on the table.
“This is all my savings, probably around $160 or $170,000, including a $100,000 bonus for being one of the top advertising professionals. I’ll give you the rest when I earn it!” Eloise felt frustrated, but she had no one to support her. She had to handle everything on her own.
“If you don’t make a promise, who knows if you’ll just leave,” Medea harshly remarked.
In the past few years, Medea felt that Eloise had grown up the house had become too small for them. Living together wasn’t convenient. If it wasn’t for the money, she would have asked
and
Eloise to move out a long time ago.
Eloise stood there with tears welling up in her eyes, but she held them back and refused to cry in front of Medea.
“Fine!” Eloise choked out.
“Forget about the promise. Let her go!” Derek’s voice came from
the bed.
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Lying there, Derek Riley strained his voice to speak.
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Derek knew how Medea had treated Eloise all these years, but he was paralyzed and couldn’t do anything about it.
“Eloise, move out. Just remember to come back and visit me. You don’t need to give us any money,” Derek said, looking at her.
“What you say doesn’t matter. I’ve been taking care of
everything in this family for years. What makes you think a freeloader like you can make the decision? Have you taken care of anything? Did you pay the bills? All you do is spend money. She caused you to end up like this, and you want to act generous. Nice try!” Medea scoffed from the doorway.
Derek seethed with anger and glared at Medea, but no words came out of his mouth.
Eloise looked at Medea’s heavily made–up face and gritted her teeth with hatred.
Shouldn’t Medea be living frugally with a sick husband at home? But she always dressed up, her eyes sparkling with seductive and frivolous light.
Eloise suspected that Medea was having an affair, but she had no evidence.
She snatched the pen from Medea’s hand and wrote on the paper: [I will give my aunt, Medea, ten thousand dollars every
Chapter 5 Such a Mess
month and pay off the $500,000 discretionary funds in five years.]
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Medea was satisfied and carefully put away the promissory note.
“When I have the money, I’ll deliver it to you. I’m leaving now,” Eloise said, grabbing her suitcase and walking out.
After Eloise left, Medea asked Eliza, “Is it true?”
“What do you mean?” Eliza was confused.
“Did Eloise sleep with that CEO, or is it just a rumor?”
“Well, everyone says so. How would I know?” Eliza refused to admit that she started the rumor by posting the thread, not even to her mother.
Medea pondered for a moment and asked again, “Is that guy
rich?”
“Absolutely. He’s the owner of Girado Group and several other companies. His net worth is estimated to be in the billions. So, yeah, he’s pretty darn rich,” Eliza replied.
“Damn, Eloise is so lucky,” Medea muttered jealously. “Sleeping with a billionaire.”
She wondered if she could somehow get some money from that billionaire or sell some inside information for cash.
“But how would I even do that? And, according to the weather
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forecast, it’s gonna rain heavily today. Where would Eloise stay? Did she go to find Mr. Barone?” she thought to herself.
Then she went downstairs and discreetly followed Eloise.
When Eloise came downstairs, she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.
The world was a big place, but where could she go?
She was about to hail a cab to find a hotel to stay in when she suddenly remembered that she only had a few bucks left in her bank account and her phone was almost dead.
If her phone died, she’d be stuck without any options.
She checked her contacts and realized that, although she knew quite a few people, the only one who could possibly lend her some money right now was Ada.
She sent Ada a message asking to borrow $1,000, but Ada’s reply was taking forever.
She had her doubts about whether Ada could actually help. After all, Ada always lived beyond her means, spending more than she earned every month.
Just as Eloise was about to make a voice call to Ada, her phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number, and she thought it was a sales call.
She casually answered the phone and choked up a bit.
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A deep, angry voice came from the other end of the line. “What the hell is going on?”
Eloise was startled.
The voice sounded familiar.
But how did he get her number? And why was he calling her?
“What’s going on? Mr. Barone, my phone’s about to die, and I’m currently outside where I can’t charge it. I’m afraid the call might suddenly drop, which would be rude. I just wanted to let you know in advance,” Eloise choked up, trying to evoke some sympathy.
There was a moment of silence. “Send me your location!”
“Alright.” Eloise hung up and sent her location to Callan.
After sending the message, Eloise recalled Callan’s tone just now. He sounded furious, as if he was about to confront her about the post. It seemed like she was having a stroke of bad luck today.
A few gusts of wind blew by, and heavy rain started pouring
down.
Eloise found a store with an awning and took shelter there. Sitting on her suitcase, she nervously fiddled with her fingers.
“Checkmate?” Suddenly, a voice came from above her head.
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Eloise looked up and saw Callan.
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He was standing half a meter away, holding a black umbrella. With his mature and composed demeanor, he gave her a sense of security.
Normally, when Eloise saw him, she would try to avoid him. But at that moment, perhaps due to the bad weather, she felt like they were the only two people left in the world, and somehow she found him somewhat agreeable.
With her head held high, Eloise forced a bitter smile.
“And you can still smile?” Callan’s eyebrows furrowed even
more.
Eloise quickly wiped away her smile and lowered her head.
Knowing what he was going to talk about, she could only apologize repeatedly.
What was done was done, and blaming Eliza and risking her job wouldn’t change anything. Even though Eliza deserved it, Derek still depended on her…
“If you want to secure the deal, you don’t have to resort to these shady tactics!” Callan said.
“I know. I’ll have the tech department take down the post soon,” Eloise hastily promised.
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“Do it now! Call them!” Callan demanded.
Helplessly, Eloise took out her phone and said, “My phone’s dead.”
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Earlier, she had mentioned that her phone was about to die, but Callan had been too agitated to remember.
“Why are you in such a mess?” Callan looked at her disheveled
appearance.
Eloise didn’t want to talk about it or let him know about the
drama at home.
“I moved out, and I haven’t found a place to stay yet,” she said.
“What about your boyfriend?” Callan asked again.
“We broke up a long time ago.”
“Come with me,” Callan said after a moment of contemplation.
“Where to?” Eloise looked at him in confusion.
Instead of answering her question, Callan simply got into the
car.
Although she had her doubts, Eloise didn’t press for more information. She just followed him.
They arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel, and Eloise got out of the car with Callan.
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Medea, who had been following them in a taxi, took photos from behind. She managed to capture them checking in together at the front desk before deciding it was best not to continue tailing them and left.
The man with Eloise seemed wealthy and influential, making Medea wonder if he was the CEO everyone was talking about…
