Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 20: Aftermath

Chapter 20: Aftermath

Fatigue enveloped me as soon as my figure hit the bed. I forgot about completely drying my hair or wearing proper pajamas, so I conked out.

I woke up to an inky black sky. With most buildings devoid of light, I figured it was around midnight.

"Seems like sleeping beauty’s up." I heard from behind me, forcing me to turn.

"Sorry, I suddenly took a nap without cleaning up."

"Nap? If that’s your nap, I’m curious to know what sleep is like for you?"

Probably seeing my puzzled look, he elaborated.

"It’s close to midnight now. Midnight of the next day."

With my brain loading slowly, it took a while to understand the implications. When I did, panic bloomed on my face.

"What about my parents?!" I clutched at the covers, suddenly imagining the worst possible things.

"They came over to see you, but you were already passed out. They just told me to inform you that there was nothing to worry about. They’d handle everything."

And they weren’t kidding when they said they’d handle everything.

Lucian went on to tell me about the shareholder’s meeting my parents organized. Not that there were many managing partners, for my parents had always been adamant about controlling most of the shares and, thus, most of the board. Though unlikely, it’s not entirely impossible to amass 51% of the shares by buying out minor shareholders.

When my parents started their company, they safeguarded it from possible takeover strategies—that covered "relatives" outside our small nuclear family.

So when the fiasco at the ball spread, it was relatively easy for my Dad to rally the current board of directors under his banner.

Disassociating with the Thornhill group would be best considering the expected public opinion. Thankfully, the process of dissociation already began six months ago when my Dad threatened to extricate our family from the clan.

From insisting on systematic biddings for partnerships and contracts to establishing or acquiring businesses for vertical integration, Dad purged all "family-related" personnel.

We’d be stupid not to realize Aunt Ingrid’s repeated attempts at "unifying" our family ventures with the clan’s enterprise. Insisting it would lighten the load by letting others manage businesses we weren’t as passionate about.

They weren’t satisfied with the resorts and logistical companies my parents allowed them to manage years ago and have begun vying for a piece of our pie.

So Jasper’s stupidity allowed us to form a delineation between the Thornhill and the Anderson Group.

"Were they successful in preventing the spread on social media?"

"No."

Even if they paid, reposts would still exist. So they’ve switched to using water armies to flip the story.

"I don’t know how that wham bam shebang could still be flipped onto anyone else. At best, they could argue some sort of true love. But the time and place scream indecent. But that’s good. Then they’ll be stuck together forever."

"But what spread with that was our marriage. I figure we’ll get in more action soon." Lucian leaned back onto the headboard before adding, "Now we’ll have to go greet Grandfather, and there’s Lily too.."

"How’s Lily? Is she big now? I remember meeting her twice, but she was just a baby then."

"She’s turning five. And with this news spreading, I won’t be surprised about getting summoned."

"Since you helped me the other day, what do you want me to do as your wife?"

"No need to do anything if they ask. Tell them the truth. We delayed informing anyone because we wanted to uncover a plot."

I squinted at him, trying to figure out the logic of his need for a wife. Won’t telling them the truth be counter-productive?

"I was never told to look for love, so there is no need for that pretense. Grandfather was aiming for me to humanize myself by maintaining a relationship that’s not solely based on gains alone."

Reading into it, I puffed my cheeks in annoyance, "So you’re saying that you’re losing in this relationship. And the fact that you’re keeping it is good enough for now?"

Talking to this guy while hungry was a bad idea. I get it. Right now, he’s right. I haven’t really given him a return on anything, but does he really have to vocalize it like that?

"Tell me which aspects of your life I could intrude in," I asked him seriously. For this guy, it’s counterproductive to butt in unless he’s given permission, or I’ll just ruin his schemes.

"Familiarize yourself with the businesses under the Sinclair Group. Check possible supply-chain relations between us and the Thornhill Group. We’ll need alternatives. After all, you’ll know your competitors best."

"You seem confident about allowing me access to more information."

"Sure. You only wanted a prenup that covered offenses. So buckle up, darling. We need money to keep up with your appetite."

I threw the nearest pillow at him. If I’m fat, you’re fat. You’re whole family is fat! Damn this guy!

"I’ll be upfront with you. Rina and I plan to open our resorts and property management business. We’ve been acquiring properties and capital for around four years now."

"Have you started the incorporation or the construction?"

"The registration has been done. All the related assets we’ve amassed are already on there. But we haven’t started the construction yet. Rina’s been looking for architectural firms willing to undertake our whimsical project."

He cocked his head to the side, showing a bit of curiosity.

"Ask Oliver to provide you with a list of reliable firms."

"Oho. Are you going to charge me for that? I’m not sure if we can afford my husband’s services. You’re quite expensive." He really was. That wasn’t even a joke.

"Send me a copy of your business plan. You may have started that while you were still a student, but a construction project that fails while your husband happens to head one of the biggest construction firms would be an even bigger scandal."

So Riri was right. She did say that he’d come out to say something like, "His cousin dare not fail at a construction-related business, or she’ll be in for pain." It’s just that it’s worse because it was now his wife.

"And call Rina. She’s been blowing up the phones of innocent people. She even threatened to come over. I only told her that it would be pointless because you’ve been knocked out."

Suddenly remembering to inform people about my state, I rushed to look for my phone.

I decided to call my parents first. Initially, I hesitated because I knew for a fact that I really overshot. I was so shocked about the Chairman’s involvement that I managed to talk about disassociating from the clan altogether.

So, I’ve prepared myself to beg for forgiveness, relying on having been an exemplary child for most of the time.

But to my surprise, my parents gave jack shit about the financial effects of the fiasco.

The sniffling on the phone certainly belonged to my very impassioned father. Mom said he wanted to go to the main house to wrangle some people’s necks.

He’s been very angry.

He also concluded that a renovation was needed for our house. There is no way we could stay there when demons have copulated in the house. He even wanted to have the whole place exorcised and then sold, but my Mom managed to stop him.

"Eli, even if you decided to slap her right there and then. We’d still take your side. We’ve long feared that you’ve become too reasonable and docile, always giving way to them. So yesterday was great. So don’t hesitate. Mom has saved up a lot for bail."

"Thanks, Mom, Dad. Love you!"

Hearing my parents talk about this made me tear up. I had forgotten that my parents never really pressured me to be a certain way or project a certain image.

I thanked my parents for being the best people on the planet and prepared to call Rina by ordering room service.

"You’re only going to eat ice cream? You didn’t eat the whole day." Lucian watched me deliberate on flavors before just getting both.

"Oh, and add an order of chicken wings. Thank you." I moved the phone away before asking Lucian if he wanted anything, to which he said no.

The food and desserts arrived on time. That night, I spent time eating and talking about evil people.

Rina fully supported my outburst but regretted missing out on the fun. She also talked about being more careful because that Nicholas person gave her the creeps.

Her argument was, "Who does that? He seriously stood there to watch. The whole time. Now, a normal person would have been angry at being deceived, but he looked like he was enjoying himself."

"Yeah, and he even went as far as to confront Lucian. We’re thinking of some sort of blackmail. That or Alexa deliberately wants me to marry into a weaker family. That way, I’d have fewer weapons to fend her off. It’s been difficult for her lately because Lucian’s not reacting like her typical fanboys."

Lucian managed to sleep through our phone call. He really could’ve told me to shut up, but the guy just endured. So, I guess it’s a point for him.