Lying on the bed with a stranger with a dominating air and imagining the scene of Ryder dismembering her most beloved cat, Marina couldn’t calm down and fall asleep.
Marina did not dare to move. She wanted to turn over, but she was afraid of disturbing Ryder. Marina was sullen.
“Unable to sleep?”
Ryder’s voice was cold. He looked at Marina with sarcasm. Did this woman think he was going to do something to her? Then, she would be disappointed. He was not in the mood.
“A little.”
Marina sighed slightly. She had nothing to say to Ryder. She just wanted to stay away from him.
“I heard from the maid that you’ve been cooking nutritious meals for Nicole recently.”
Ryder took the initiative to find a topic. Although he had no feelings for Marina, he cared about his daughter Nicole.
He let the maid observe for a while. If he found Marina did anything unusual, he would ask people to take his daughter away, and Marina wouldn’t be able to use her daughter to please him in the future.
“Yes, I’m about to tell you this.”
Marina took a deep breath and discussed with Ryder carefully that Nicole was spoiled. Nicole did not eat vegetables and used pills as supplements. Marina did not think it was a good habit.
Good habits had to be cultivated from a young age. Otherwise, it would be harder to be correct in the future.
“Alright.”
Ryder had no objection to this. Although he was doubtful, he agreed with Marina’s decision.
The medicine he gave Marina was harmless in a short time. Instead, it could stabilize her mood, and it was for treating depression.
But after eating for a few years continually, the poison would penetrate deep into the kidney and bone marrow. It would depend on whether this woman was obedient.
Ryder only said one word and then was silent. Marina became nervous again for no reason. She closed her eyes and trembled slightly. She always felt that Ryder would hold her neck with both his hands and make her fall into the endless abyss.
The book’s plot left a strong shadow on her, not to mention that she had become a miserable cannon fodder at the moment.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Ryder paused and hinted.
What else to say? Marina lowered her eyes and tried her best to think. Suddenly, she remembered that Shawn had come and talked about Markus’s 60th birthday. This time, she could not be absent.
“Shawn came in the afternoon. You knew it, right?”
Ryder was still pretending. Shawn could not enter without Ryder’s consent.
“What was the matter?”
Ryder looked up and continued to ask.
“It’s my father’s 60th birthday. As a married woman, I have to go back.”
Marina replied carefully, fearing to say something wrong that would make Ryder suspicious.
Since she married into the Langdon family and was forced to live in the small house, Marina had not returned to her family for a long time.
“I see.”
Ryder just said he knew and did not say anything else.
Ryder thought that Marina had always been vain, so he deliberately did not speak and waited for her to come and beg him.
Markus would invite some famous people to attend his sixty-year-old birthday. If Ryder didn’t show up, everyone would know that Marina had an awkward position in the Langdon family.
The marriage between the two families had shocked the wealthy circles of Jin City. Although the two families gave a lot of hush money to the people in the know, they could not stop the rumors.
“If you are busy, I can go back by myself.”
Marina was understanding and was not afraid of losing face. After all, she was waiting for a divorce. Markus and Shawn both supported her decision. If Ryder went with her, she would be uncomfortable.
“What do you mean?”
Ryder thought that Marina was playing a game. She wanted him to accompany her, but she did not ask. He felt interesting.
“I know you’re busy.”
Marina thought that she said it very clearly. According to the plot in the book, Ryder would show up at the end of the birthday party. So Marina could only wait patiently and let nature take its course.
Ryder lowered his eyes and remained in silence.
After a long time, when Marina thought Ryder was asleep and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Ryder suddenly said, “Have you thought about the gift?”
“Not yet. I have no idea.”
Marina replied in a low voice. Shawn said that he had prepared a gift in the name of him and Marina. But Marina did not want to take advantage of Shawn.
When she married Ryder, the White Group gave her a lot of shares and companies but not much cash. The original owner was a spendthrift and had spent most of the cash.
Then, because of a series of things that she had done, Ryder had already frozen her card.
Marina wanted to buy some valuable gifts but had no money. Who could believe that a wealthy lady of a rich family would be troubled by money?
“It happens that I got an ancient painting at an auction a few days ago. Let’s take it as a birthday present.”
Ryder turned his head and fell asleep with his back to Marina, leaving her stunned.
Nouveau riches had a common problem. They were afraid of being looked down upon by the other riches and always pretended to be cultural. The White family was the same.
Markus had hobbies that cost a lot of money, such as collecting antiques and old paintings.
Markus had once said that he was a nouveau riche, and it could not be changed. However, with these collections, the later generations of the family would become cultural and would not be looked down upon in the future.
The ancient painting Ryder mentioned took him a lot of effort and tens of millions of money. He planned to give it to Colin. Why did he give it to Markus?
Ryder was unpredictable. But he was a man of his word.
Marina couldn’t figure it out, but she was willing to make Markus happy. As for Ryder, she didn’t care. She just wanted to divorce as soon as possible.
In the next few days, Ryder returned home every night as if he had changed to another person. Usually, he came back after Marina was asleep, making her tremble and unable to sleep well.
After a few days, Marina became wise and pulled Nicole to sleep with her. So Ryder could only stand by the bed for a while and then went to another room. The crisis was finally over.
On the day of Markus’s birthday, Shawn came to pick Marina up early in the morning.
“Mommy, Mommy!”
Nicole took Marina’s hand and didn’t want her to leave.
“Nicole, you need to stay at home. I will come back later.”
Marina wanted to take Nicole back to the White family, but Colin had sent someone to tell her not to take Nicole out.
Nicole didn’t speak much. If people found that something was wrong with Nicole, it would damage the Langdon family’s face.
Marina didn’t agree with this, but she couldn’t resist. So many people were staring at her.
Living in a wealthy family was similar to living in a cage. There was no freedom at all. She couldn’t even make a decision on whether to take her daughter go out.