“How could you forget your deceased ex-wife, who died in the fire, and favor this stand-in? Hamish, I thought you were a deeply passionate person, but it seems not,” Finn remarked.
Hamish’s jaw tensed, emitting a threatening aura. “You’re not allowed to mention her!”
“If you don’t want me to mention her, I will specifically mention her,” Finn provocatively said, wincing as he mentioned the pain in the corner of his mouth. Just like Elisa, he thought. If it were before, he would have accidentally bumped into her, and the village girl would have been teary-eyed in an instant. But now, she didn’t even offer him a warm glance. His heart felt a sharp pang, a pain he could usually endure, but this one seemed to linger from his chest to his throat, a lump in his throat.
Pointing at Hamish, Finn vented his emotions. “This, Hamish, the widely acclaimed good man online, the one who doted on his wife, built an amusement park for his deceased wife. But do you all know why his wife died? It was due to his domestic violence; he twice caused her to miscarry, rendering her unable to conceive. When his wife broke her leg, he simply left her, directly tying her wheelchair to be burnt alive, whether it was during his engagement banquet or later!”
Finn’s eyes scanned the surrounding people, a smirk on his lips. “Is this the man you all want to marry? Still interested? A man who brings ruin and destruction, ending his family line.”
The people he glanced at involuntarily stepped back.
“Finn!” Hamish, burning with anger, grabbed the nearest chair and hurled it at Finn, only to be intercepted by Tobias.
Finn exaggerated his expression. “See? Violent tendencies!”
Hamish knew Finn was deliberately provoking him in front of Elisa, to show everyone his ugly side.
Finn did this not for Elisa, but for the deceased person who had occupied Elisa’s body.
But if Finn knew this truth, what would he do?
Only scoundrels understand scoundrels the best, Hamish could imagine, and he absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen.
He had to deal with Finn before his own demise. Otherwise, who would support Elisa after he disappeared, should she be bullied?
Seeing Hamish’s contemplative gaze, Finn had no idea what he was thinking. Nevertheless, this farce today had involved “Aoife”, and he would not back down no matter what.
He wiped the injured corner of his mouth. Compared to before, it seemed that Hamish’s strength was not as great. Although he was bruised, Hamish was not unscathed; despite his fair and unblemished face, the injuries were all on his abdomen.
Finn enjoyed playing dirty. In this public setting, he had deliberately taken a few punches to his face, but his retaliation against Hamish specifically targeted areas not easily visible. Observing Hamish’s slight lean, it was clear that the blow to his abdomen was hard to bear.
Tugging at his lips, Finn looked at Elisa, who was standing nearby with a cold expression, and his heart twisted once more.
“Hamish, how about this: let Elisa decide for herself. See who she wants to be with.”
Hamish calmed down, turning to face Elisa.
Elisa thought to herself: Let them fight, what’s it to me?
Elisa pondered for a moment. It had probably been just ten minutes since she sent a message to Louis fifteen minutes ago. She didn’t know when his people would arrive.
Under the gaze of the surroundings, which varied from expectant to resentful, intriguing, and a few genuinely concerned, Elisa paused. “Why don’t you two continue fighting? If one dies and the other is disabled, I’ll accompany the survivor for half an hour for ten thousand dollars. I’m willing to chat.”
Finn thought that he had a sharp tongue, but Elisa’s words were even more cutting. They could be fatal. Didn’t she fear provoking these two men?
Finn’s expression darkened. When did “Aoife” become so venomous? Previously, she wouldn’t dare to make a sound in front of him, but now her words were as sharp as needles.
Finn sneered, “Aoife, you sure know how to value yourself, a chat fee of ten thousand dollars for half an hour. If you were this clever before, your value would have exceeded mine, right?”
“So, the previous Aoife is dead. Sir, please don’t forget, I am Elisa. Although Mr. Burns is not a good person, neither are you. With so many good people in the world, I don’t need to die on the same crooked tree as you, right?”
Sharp of tongueand bold of spirit, that’s what Finn thought, but he had to admit that Elisa’s sharp words pricked at his heart like needles. His face darkened and the curve of his lips began to twist into a grimace.
He had thought that Elisa’s coldness towards him was due to the more than three hundred days they hadn’t seen each other in the past year. He thought she was still blaming him. But now, it seemed she didn’t blame him at all. She simply didn’t regard him at all. She placed him on the same level as Hamish, which was even harder to accept than direct resentment.
“Do you believe I can make you unable to stay in the entertainment industry, Elisa?”
This blatant threat was truly befitting of a scoundrel of the same ilk, much like the past Hamish.
Elisa didn’t flinch, tilting her chin slightly. She was still wearing a red theatrical costume, making her seem like a red plum under the sun.
“If you want me to leave the entertainment industry, you’ll have to ask Mr. Burns if he agrees, won’t you? Mr. Burns?” Hamish hadn’t revealed her true rebirth, which proved that she had successfully won the bet three years ago, wagering her life, and Hamish had fallen in love with her.
And all she had to do was to use Hamish’s affection as her retaliation.
Elisa knew that with her current abilities, she couldn’t do anything to these two people. It was better to let them entangle each other, to harm each other, and to both suffer.
Seeing Elisa looking at him, Hamish’s gaze immediately softened.
Finn clenched his fists, his chest heaving. “Do you think he will waste his time on you, this stand-in?”
As soon as Finn said it, he stopped. How could he forget that the last thing she wanted to hear was “stand-in”? He cautiously studied Elisa’s expression, but found her looking normal, showing no discomfort at his slip of the tongue.
“I…” Finn wanted to say something, but Elisa interrupted him directly. “You talk as if you haven’t treated me as a stand-in. Do I need to remind you of that year?”
Elisa’s tone was calm, with no fluctuation.
Finn looked at her unfamiliar expression, finding it hard to breathe. After a while, he murmured, “Sometimes I wonder if you’ve changed completely, how come you’re not at all like before?”
Hamish furrowed his brow.
Elisa maintained her smile and reminded him again, “Didn’t I say? The old Aoife who willingly stood by your side as a stand-in is dead. She won’t come back. I don’t know why you’re here in front of me. I won’t go back with you, and even if I do, I’m not the same person as before.”
Finn looked puzzled. He didn’t understand what Elisa meant. They were using the same person, the same face, eyes, nose, mouth, and hands. Even split personalities could be cured, so how could she not revert to her old self? He didn’t believe it. He wanted to take her back, and if he couldn’t do that now, he would do it in a couple of days by kidnapping her. He wanted to verify it personally, to see if her split personality could be cured.
Finn blinked his dry eyes. At this moment, he hadn’t noticed that his eyes were already red.
Hamish coughed again, a muffled sound, not as intense as before, but each cough pulled at the wound on his abdomen.
The scene fell silent, only the sound of Hamish’s coughing could be heard.
“Are you two still fighting? If not, then settle the damages and the staff will need to clean up the place,” Elisa said to herself, then turned to Asher. “Mr. Kentala, are you still working today?”
Asher looked at the smashed machines on the ground, shaking his head. “Let’s take a break for a couple of days. Once the equipment is purchased and set up, we can fix what needs fixing.”
“Then I’ll go change and head back.”
Listening to her relaxed tone, if Asher hadn’t witnessed the whole process, he would’ve doubted if the person involved was really Elisa.
Just how big is her heart to behave so nonchalantly?
Two major investors fought over her, and after she sarcastically retorted, she just turned and left. Did it really not matter to her at all?
Asher’s thoughts weren’t as simple. With such a big scene today, if it were to be spread by someone with ill intentions on the internet, it probably wouldn’t be good for Elisa’s reputation.
Looking around at the gazes of the people, most of them were malicious.
He had to find a way to resolve the current situation, but the atmosphere was so tense now that no one would be willing to intervene and mediate.
As Elisa started to leave, both Hamish and Finn got anxious, shouting at the same time, “Don’t leave!” “You can’t leave!”
Elisa was feeling agitated. She was someone who disliked trouble. After being reborn, she had always tried to diminish her presence, always sitting in a corner no matter where she went. When did so many people start staring at her? People fear fame like pigs fear fattening up, not to mention this kind of fame… and the reputation associated with these two. Others might envy and be jealous, but Elisa was only trying to keep as far away as possible.
Fortunately, at that moment, she keenly caught sight of a familiar figure running towards them.
“Someone has broken in, it’s not a staff member.”
“Who could it be?”
“Could it be another investor?”
“Wait, why do I feel like I recognize that figure? As he gets closer… closer… I need to take a good look. Why do his eyes look so much like my idol Louis?”
“How could Louis be here? Are you having delusions? Coming here would degrade his status.”
The actress froze, her whole body tensed, her eyes widening. “No, that is Louis. As a diehard fan, I could recognize him even if he turned to ashes!”