Viola hesitated, then admitted, “No, I made that up.”
If Sarah had really been with Ronald before, given how deeply she was in love with him, there’s no way she would’ve married Holden just for money. She would’ve rather died than break up with Ronald.
It was only because Ronald found someone to replace Sarah and fell in love with Elisa that Sarah, despite all her efforts to sabotage Elisa, couldn’t get Ronald back.
Heartbroken, Sarah finally agreed to marry Holden for the sake of the Brown family.
Monica couldn’t relax and said, “Forget it, let’s see how things go later. We planted a seed of doubt in Holden’s mind today. Even if he’s interested in Sarah, he’ll start to resent her eventually.”
******
Assistant Carl had a rough day.
A really rough day.
Because Mr. Holden was in a bad mood today.
Holden rarely showed his true feelings. Even when his two uncles caused trouble, badmouthing him and creating a ton of problems, he always appeared calm and easygoing, making everyone think he had a great temperament.
Oh, though privately, he dealt with those two uncles harshly, not only making them lose all their investment money but also arranging for them to get beaten up by thugs in a bar so badly they were bedridden for a month.
Seeing him now, radiating coldness and tearing into every executive who reported to him-that was something that happened maybe two or three times a year.
Assistant Carl held a cup of coffee but didn’t dare to go in, trying to pass the task to the new female intern assistant, Daisy.
Daisy was a bright, lively graduate from a prestigious university.
With a sly cough, Assistant Carl decided to play a little trick on the newbie. “Go take this coffee to Mr. Holden; it’s a great chance for you to make a good impression.”
But Daisy, who never read CEO romance novels and only focused on climbing the career ladder from assistant to manager for a promotion and raise, had no interest in pursuing her boss. Such ambitions never crossed her mind.
So, seeing that no one else wanted to do it, this rookie followed the example of the seasoned pros and declined, “No, no, Mr. Holden loves the coffee you make the most.”
In the end, the task fell to the diligent, quiet, and reliable senior assistant, Elton.
Holden was definitely not in a good mood. He didn’t think he was particularly concerned about Sarah; it was just that Sarah was currently serving as his “sleeping pill.”
Could he let someone else take a bite out of his sleeping pill?
He tapped his desk.
Assistant Elton placed the coffee in front of Holden.
Holden’s tone was icy, “Look into my wife’s past with Ronald.”
Looking into his wife’s past relationships and how long they lasted was a perfectly normal thing to do. Nothing wrong with that.
The ever-capable Assistant Elton nodded, “I’ll prepare a report for you.”
In no time, Assistant Elton, who could’ve easily held a leadership role in an intelligence agency, had diligently gathered a ton of information from various sources and compiled a detailed investigation report for Mr. Holden.
From Assistant Elton’s perspective, when the boss assigns a task, he must gather everything related to it.
So, not only did he include details on the school where Sarah and Ronald studied and which classmates provided testimonies that Ronald had a crush on Sarah or vice versa, but he also listed the names, ages, phone numbers, and addresses of Sarah’s close friends. He even outlined Ronald’s past romantic partners, including those with long-term sexual partners.
Assistant Elton even managed to dig up information on Sarah’s time studying abroad, detailing her major, professors, classmates, and friends.
You could say Assistant Elton never fell short of earning his generous paycheck; whatever his boss asked for, he delivered threefold.
Holden read through the report, finding it all a bit ridiculous.
It made sense that the old Sarah was into Ronald-back then, Ronald had some redeeming qualities.
But the idea that the current Sarah still loved Ronald? Holden figured she must’ve lost her mind.
Ronald was the type who used the money to toy with girls from lower social classes, avoided responsibility, and didn’t want to offer any emotional support-just expected others to cater to him.
Meanwhile, Ronald went on arranged dates with girls of similar status, where he hid his arrogance and chauvinism, acting perfectly normal.
After every failed date, he’d run back to Elisa, claiming his family forced him into it, that it wasn’t what he wanted.
Holden couldn’t see what Sarah found appealing in Ronald, besides maybe his face.
If she was going to love a man, why not him? Holden thought he was clearly the better choice.
After reading the report, Holden shared his thoughts with Butler Ted.
Butler Ted was quiet for a moment before saying, “If Lady truly loves you, that would violate the prenuptial agreement, and she wouldn’t get a dime.”
As a working man, Butler Ted understood the mindset. If it were him, he’d probably prefer Ronald too.
Holden’s expression didn’t change. “Oh?”
Butler Ted continued, “Young Master, if you miss the feeling of being loved, why not visit home? Miss Linda is still waiting for you there. Or you could attend a few more galas-there’s always someone confessing their feelings for you at those.”
A wave of disgust surged through Holden. He gave a faint smile. “When did I ever say I wanted Sarah to love me?”
Butler Ted replied, “Well … Understood.”
******
At that moment, Sarah was stretching on her yoga mat.
In a couple of days, she was going to start training for a role, specifically focusing on dance. With her dance background, it wasn’t too difficult for her. Each night, she’d take some time to stretch and practice a few dance moves.
Her body was soft and flexible, dressed in cotton shorts and a white tank top. Her golden hair was tied up in a bun, and as she stretched, her legs appeared long and straight, like they’d been drawn with a ruler. Her profile was particularly delicate and flawless.
She caught a faint whiff of smoke and turned to see Holden standing nearby in a white shirt and black pants, a cigarette between his long fingers. The smoke curled around him, giving him an air that was more distant and aloof than usual.
Sarah wrinkled her nose. “Wow, you smoke?”
Holden raised an eyebrow with a hint of a smile. “Hmm?”
Sarah had finished her workout and was lightly sweating. She wanted to head back to her room for a shower.
As she passed by Holden, he reached out and grabbed her shoulder. “What’s wrong with smoking?”
Sarah replied, “I can’t stand men who smoke. It smells awful.”
Maybe it was because Holden’s cigarette was expensive, with a special blend that gave it a faint, woody scent, far less harsh than what Sarah was used to smelling in public.
She thought to herself that those romance novels where the CEO’s tobacco scent was described as pleasant might actually have been right.
Holden chuckled. “So well-behaved. Didn’t you sneak a try when you were in school?”
Sarah hesitated. “Uh…”
Who sneaked off to smoke while they were still in school?
She really hadn’t tried it before.
Holden brought the cigarette halfway to her lips. “Wanna try?”
Sarah had beautiful lips, a soft, natural pink that looked really smooth. Even without lipstick, they had a kind of pure, understated sexiness.
With a doubtful look, she wondered if it really tasted as good as he made it seem, then leaned in for a small puff.
She swallowed the smoke and immediately started coughing like crazy.
Holden laughed while patting her on the shoulder.
Her thin strap was barely more than a soft cotton string, and with their height difference, his large hand easily covered her whole shoulder.
Sarah’s face turned bright red from coughing. “I knew it! You business tycoons are all heartless-you’re trying to kill me!”
She couldn’t stand the taste and rushed back to her room to rinse her mouth.
Holden finished the cigarette, still smiling, and stubbed it out in the nearby ashtray.
Sarah dried her hair and rubbed a bit of essential oil into it. Being the wife of a big shot had way better perks than being a third-tier actress. The hair oil she used was a high-end custom blend, edible-grade rose oil, often called “liquid gold.” A tiny bottle cost over 100000 dollars.
She was already wondering how she’d adjust to a simpler life after Holden eventually divorced her and kicked her out.
In the original story, Holden ended their marriage because he grew disgusted with Sarah’s lawless behavior, but she kept the divorce a secret to keep her status as Mrs. Holden. Eventually, the clever Elisa figured it out and teamed up with Ronald to take her down.
As she put down the hairdryer, her phone rang.
Sarah went to grab it, but Holden, who was sitting on her bed, beat her to it. “What a coincidence, Ronald’s calling.”