News of Oswaldo’s birthday also reached Hayden and Susan, especially Susan, who heard directly from Oswaldo that his granddaughter would be getting engaged at the party. She deliberately sent this news to Hayden, saying, “We’ve known Aurora all our life; we should go and congratulate her on her engagement.”
When Hayden read the message, the word “engagement” made his heart feel as though it was being bitten by some insect, causing him pain. He did not reply to Susan; in fact, his own wedding was to follow right after Oswaldo’s grand celebration, and Joaquin had kept a hand in play.
Although he had handed over the company to Hayden, the matter of the shares was to be discussed only after his wedding, perhaps fearing that Hayden might be as disobedient as Julian, thus deliberately using this issue to blackmail Hayden.
Only a union between the two financial dynasties could improve matters, with Susan being the only daughter of the South family; marrying her to Hayden meant that the Simmons family would also join hands with the Alvarez family. Their plan was then to gradually devour the Montgomery family, a scheme driven by Joaquin’s ambition and the reason for his discord with Oswaldo.
Everyone wanted to stand at the pinnacle, making other companies look up to them, although previously, he had wanted Julian to fulfill this role, having asked him several times to engage Lindsay Gilpin.
However, Julian had been completely averse to the idea from the start. The two had fallen out over Aurora, leading Oswaldo to despise the Montgomery family even more, yet he left one last chance for Julian. If Julian remained stubborn to the end, he should not blame himself for being ruthless and leaving everything to Hayden to complete. Ivy, who had run crying to Genevieve’s apartment, also learned of this.
She hadn’t been dating recently, so the engaged one must definitely be Aurora. She was even more upset upon hearing this news, “Mom, Aurora is becoming the vice president of the company now, and she’s getting engaged to Julian. What do I have to compare with her?”
Genevieve had caught a cold in the heavy rain that night and looked pale as she lay in bed listening to Ivy’s complaints. From the moment Ivy entered, she had been bitterly denouncing how horrible Aurora was and the inhumane things she had done to her, not even showing concern for her own mother lying sick in bed.
“Stop crying, will you?” Genevieve said wearily.
“Mom, I can’t accept this. Why does Aurora get all the good things? Why don’t I have her kind of luck?” Ivy’s eyes were swollen like peaches from crying.
“Cry, cry, cry, that’s all you know when you face problems. What good does crying do? Even now, you haven’t grown up at all. If you hate her, then find a way to get rid of her. What use are your tears?” Genevieve’s head ached from her crying.
“Get rid of her? Easier said than done, I’m no match for her right now.”
“So crying helps?”
“Mom, help me think of something. What should I do?” Ivy ultimately still relied on Genevieve.
“What should you do? Ivy, I can’t protect you forever. I hope you can grow up. I won’t meddle in this, you need to learn to grow.”
Genevieve realized that Aurora had become so capable largely because she had borne all responsibilities alone for so many years, making her more composed than Ivy. She had been overly protective of her children, thinking it was out of love, but now she saw it had harmed them; they were simply no match for Aurora, and she needed to change her approach.
“Mom.”
“Don’t call me. When you encounter difficulties, you should figure them out yourself. I remind you, since Grandpa is about to announce Aurora’s engagement, it means he will have made arrangements regarding the shares,” Genevieve, always perceptive, saw things clearer than others.
“What? If Grandpa gives his shares to her, what will my brother and I have left?” Ivy felt this news added insult to injury.
“You’d be lucky to retain anything at all. You know what I’m worried about? I’m worried that you and Zach won’t even get one percent of the shares,” Genevieve thought of Aurora’s ruthless words from before.
She already knew the shocking secret, uncertain when it would come out, harboring a subconscious fear of Aurora.
“I’m tired, you handle your own problems. If you can’t stop Aurora tomorrow, then everything of the Montgomery family will easily fall into her hands,” Genevieve, possibly because of her illness or the ups and downs she endured, felt very pessimistic.
“Mom, I won’t let Aurora succeed!” Ivy declared before storming out, determined to stop Aurora by any means necessary.
While Genevieve outwardly refused to help her, she secretly made her own plans. Oswaldo’s big birthday might just be her chance to return to the Montgomery family.
She called Magnus, who had been in a good mood since Aurora signed a contract, but his mood shifted upon seeing Genevieve’s number.
“Is there something?” Magnus’s voice chilled upon seeing her number, bringing back memories of that rainy night she and Paul embraced.
This woman, who acted so noble before him yet secretly consorted with his cousin, truly lacked any self-respect in his eyes.
Hearing his icy tone, Genevieve’s face changed color, but she had to endure, “Magnus, I…”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Mr. … Mr. Montgomery, that night wasn’t what you think. I merely fell, and he was just helping me up,” Genevieve still wanted to explain the situation to him.
“You don’t need to explain anything about him to me. I don’t want to hear it at all. If that’s what you called about, you can hang up now,” Magnus scoffed.
Genevieve now understood that once a man turns cold, he can be even more ruthless than a woman. She bit her lip hard, “Mr. Montgomery, I didn’t call about that. Your father’s eightieth birthday is soon. If I don’t attend his celebration, he’ll be suspicious, so I thought…”
“You don’t need to think anything. My father already dislikes you. Knowing that you left the Montgomery family would only make him happy. Genevieve, from now on, I will never believe a word you say again.”
Magnus hung up coldly, his trust in Genevieve destroyed bit by bit by her lies. Genevieve listened to the dial tone, her lips bitten bright red.
“Magnus, I will never leave the Montgomery family!” she declared coldly, her lips tight. After scheming for so many years to reach her current position, she was not ready to let go.