Bride of Retribution: Aloof Billionaire's Dominant Game
Chapter 155 - 108 No Ifs

Chapter 155: 108 No Ifs

"Before me, how many women have you been with, and how did you meet them?" Sometimes, such questions are especially maddening, making both her and Atlas Hallow uncomfortable, but she just wants to figure it out. If all of this is a big trap, she doesn’t want to jump in and die there, and then have Atlas and Hailey Hill bury her together.

She can’t ask Hailey directly; it’s too sensitive. She can ask one by one. If he dares to answer, she might find some clues; if he doesn’t dare, then there must be something he’s hiding.

"Charlotte, if I told you I’ve never had my own woman, would you believe me?" Atlas reached out his hand, gently touching Charlotte’s cheek, a soft light beginning to spill from his eyes, filling the car.

"Never? You can’t tell me that before me you were... a virgin. Then where do your experiences come from? Natural talent?" Charlotte found herself so angry she almost laughed. How could he dare to answer her like that, even if he was just trying to dodge the question?

"We’re talking about two different concepts. You asked how many women, but those don’t count as my women." Atlas stopped the car by the roadside, his fingers pausing on her cheek, touching her still slightly cool and soft face, looking into her eyes to capture that subtle light within them.

"Sophistry, this answer lacks any sincerity." The light in Charlotte’s eyes flickered, as they gazed at each other so closely, it felt as if she might melt away.

"So, what do you want? What kind of answer are you looking for? That I’ve been with several women, at what age, where, and in what positions?" Atlas’s voice lifted by her ear, each word as if a nail, once driven in, firmly fixed.

It turned out hearing him talk like this made her heart ache so much, and unknowingly, with every passing second, she was sinking deeper.

It felt as if her whole being was starting to split apart, her body still there, eyes meeting his, as if under his hypnosis, while her soul floated in mid-air, helplessly and sadly observing the couple inside the car below. Clearly aware that the descent was beyond saving, yet she started to be hopelessly captivated.

"Are you trying to tell me that body and soul can be separated? What if this person is me?" Charlotte gave a slight smile, even the curve at the corner of her mouth was somewhat bitter.

"There’s no what if because you met me. From now on, there can never be another man in your life. You’re mine; you can only ever be mine." Atlas’s lips seemed almost no distance from hers, speaking close to her, his voice low and fine like a whisper.

Then his lips pressed against hers, sealing with a kiss...

Ultimately, this game didn’t get played out, but it didn’t change Ava Walker’s determination to uncover the secrets between Hailey Hill and the Hallow Family.

The meeting between Ava Walker and Hailey Hill was arranged in the café of a shopping mall.

"Hidden in plain sight," or perhaps, if seen in such a mall setting, one could find some excuse.

Just discharged from the hospital, Hailey Hill looked even thinner than before, almost as if only a layer of skin was clinging to her bones, and her face only had a pair of particularly large eyes, looking somewhat terrifying.

"So, does Brother Hallow feel particularly guilty?" Ava Walker asked softly, seeing a woman related to Atlas reduced to this state was truly satisfying. She was trying hard to control her excitement, fearing Hailey might notice her gloating, which could affect future cooperation.

"Yes, he is very guilty..." Hailey nodded, looking at Ava’s stunning face, growing more resentful the more she looked.

How did this woman’s heart grow? She dared to let those people really act. If Atlas hadn’t found her in such weather, if she’d stayed a few more hours, she might have frozen to death.

The Hallow Family owed her so much more now that she had to claim it all back, and she planned to drive out all those who hurt her once she entered the Hallow Family.

"Because of this, I can’t have children anymore." She didn’t initially want to tell Ava this particular shameful secret. She had planned that apart from those who already knew, no one else would ever know, but now it’s different.

When those dirty men had pinned her down, her heart was already dead. What she wanted was simply a life she desired later—children with the man she loved the most and an elevated status with boundless wealth and nothing more.

"You’re joking, right?" Ava was startled as if in shock. How could it be so fragile that she couldn’t have children anymore? It was just a few men; was it really that serious?

"Can a matter like this be a joke?" Hailey didn’t drink coffee; she ordered a cup of rose tea. Actually, she didn’t particularly like roses, but she had once smelled the rose scent on Atlas, presumably from either shampoo or body wash, so shouldn’t she start accepting and liking the scent he preferred?

"I... it’s impossible, right...?" Ava couldn’t even find the words to say. Actually, in a way, it worked out. If she couldn’t have children, the Hallow Family certainly wouldn’t let her in. Someday, when Charlotte disappeared, this woman wouldn’t get through the Hallow Family’s doors, given her physical defects.

"So, you should start doing something for me." Hailey put down the teacup in her hand, hating this scent—the sense of acceptance mingled with reluctance was utterly dreadful.

"I can’t bear a child for you, right? How much money do you want?" Ava shot Hailey a glance, somewhat displeased. She hadn’t anticipated such a situation; if you can’t have kids, then don’t. What’s so good about having kids?

"Money? You think I need it?" Hailey chuckled coldly; she was just a servant’s daughter, what’s the need for strutting?

"Charlotte will have the child for me; you don’t need to worry about that. All you need to do is to discreetly leak the matter to her at the right time..." If Charlotte discovered the child in her womb wasn’t hers, she might go mad, shouldn’t it be at the nine-month mark, finding that the child didn’t come through her birth canal.

She wanted Charlotte to have a scar on her belly, leaving her in eternal pain, and by then, no matter how reluctant Atlas might be, Charlotte herself would lose her mind, make a fuss, and demand a divorce.

Because no woman can accept such a thing.

"He’s lost it..." Ava sat in her chair looking ashen, more collapsed now than when she learned Atlas had married Charlotte.

To what extent must he have liked and been crazy to have his rightful wife bear a child for the woman he kept outside?

"He wants to send his and Charlotte’s child to you?" Ava couldn’t wrap her head around it; at this point, her brain felt stuffed like mush, though it didn’t seem like it.

"Of course not; why would I need that woman’s child? He agreed to let Charlotte be a surrogate just to help me have a child with him. You only need to let her discover this thirty days before her expected due date." Hailey sat there, her face devoid of much expression, as if discussing something incredibly simple.

Her brain suddenly exploded. Ava initially thought Atlas might have had feelings for Charlotte or was perhaps temporarily intrigued, but now found evidently that wasn’t the case.

"When? Won’t Charlotte find out?" This probably required surgery, right? Would Charlotte not know if she underwent surgery?

"Atlas has his methods; you don’t need to worry about that. Didn’t you hate her? Then letting her discover my existence and that her child is actually another’s at nine months would be the best blow to her, right?" After Hailey finished her piece, her cold eyes fell upon Ava, who had made her suffer worse, so once she took Charlotte down, she’d deal with this wicked-hearted woman too.

Her hatred was for the woman Atlas loved, not Charlotte.

If Atlas’s most beloved woman were Hailey, then it would be Hailey she hated most, and Charlotte wouldn’t seem so detestable.

If that were truly the case, it would be more amusing...

Hailey no longer wished to care about the outcome; before, she’d been cautious, not daring to push Atlas too hard, but now she had walked through Inferno and survived to claim these debts, including past ones.

Thus, she aimed to begin immediately, unwilling to wait another second.