Paisley and Bevan discussed their plan for a while and made their way to the company. Hardy was calling Talitha at the office with a loving and gentle tone.
They glanced at each other and were feeling utterly uncomfortable upon the sight at the office.
Hardy had no choice but to end the call upon seeing them. “Is there anything that requires the both of you to come here?”
“Ms. Paisley would like to have a word with you,” Bevan said.
“Such great timing. I want to discuss something with you too.” Hardy got up from his office chair and had a seat on the sofa. “You shall go first.”
Bevan decided to give them some privacy and swiftly left after closing the door. Paisley said, “Hardy, don’t you think that you have changed into a whole new person?”
“What do you mean?” Hardy questioned.
“I am talking about your attitude towards Talitha. You hated her very much last time but your feelings towards her had changed out of the blue. What is the reason behind it?”
“I don’t know as I can’t explain it either. I just suddenly realized that I adore her very much.”
She was taken aback and said, “Hardy, have you forgotten about Valeria? You were deeply in love with her and did so many things just to please her. You have always been persistent about your interest in her and never give up. What has changed?”
“Valeria?” Hardy was stunned as he was also aware of it. He genuinely liked Valeria but had not been thinking of her nowadays.
How was it possible for his feelings for Valeria got subsided so quickly? He frowned and felt strange about his diminished interest in her.
He remembered that he used to adore Valeria very much. A sudden burst of pain emerged from his chest as he thought about it.
He pressed his chest and crumbled on the sofa with a painful look on his face.
Paisley was shocked and raised her voice, “Hardy! What’s going on?”
“Let me catch a breather as I’m in pain! My chest hurts so badly!”
He continued to press his chest while laying on the sofa with a struggled look on his face. The pain slowly subsided and he finally could sit up straight.
Paisley glanced at him anxiously and asked, “Hardy, why would you have this bizarre reaction? Why would you be in pain upon mentioning Valeria?”
“I have no idea,” Hardy answered with a pale face.
“Did Talitha poison you just like how Natasya did to William?” Paisley voiced out her speculation.
Hardy was stunned as she had a solid point. He did undergo a body checkup and his health condition was top notch. He could not explain the reason behind his changed feelings towards Talitha and would be in pain upon thinking about Valeria. What had exactly caused it?
Was it really Talitha who used the vermin and successfully had him in control? He decided to try things out once again to prove his point.
Hardy then brainwashed himself that he had feelings towards Valeria instead of Talita. The pain had once again been felt in his chest.
He had a sullen expression on z his face after calming himself down. Hardy recalled that William would also suffer upon hearing Valeria’s name as he was drugged by Natasya last time. William had no choice but to address her as Valentina instead of Valeria.
William and Hardy had the same reaction although their method of pain was different. Hardy was now uncontrollably in love with Talitha and there was no room for him to question this train of thought.
He had changed ever since he had dinner with Talitha that night and she was behaving rather strangely. She had always taken the initiative to flirt with him whenever they meet up and was very upfront about her feelings towards him.
Talitha surprisingly had been very gentle towards him and was very well-mannered that night. He felt strange but did not put much thought into it. He then now recalled that she had been planning to mess around with him all along.
Hardy knew that it would be a big mess and immediately told Paisley, “Paisley, you’re right. I think Talitha has poisoned me and I reckon it is the same thing that her sister had used to control William. I would follow everything that Talitha tells me to do and I can’t think about my affection towards Valeria as well. I will be in unbearable pain if I go against my artificial feelings towards Talitha.”
Paisley was fuming with anger and said, “I knew it! You fainted after having a meal with her and became a whole new person towards her when you have awakened. That bitch! I questioned her when you were unconscious but she denied all the accusations.”
“She is not so foolish to admit her intention of poisoning me.” Hardy had a stern look on his face and continued, “Paisley, it would be a huge mess if Talitha is really intending to control me.”
Paisley was well aware of it and asked, “Hardy, what is her ulterior motive?”
“I don’t know. Paisley, I reckon that it is not a simple intention of becoming my wife. Talitha could have easily forced marriage upon me as the child in her belly is mine and she also has dirt on me regarding the footage. I think she wants to control me and eventually own Acma Corporation.”
“That ruthless and shameless bitch!” Paisley cussed and continued, “I really want to have a piece of her. Hardy, do you want me to arrange for someone to get rid of her?”
“No! I have no idea about the poison inside me. I might be in trouble if anything bad happens to her,” Hardy did not want to take any risk.
“What should we do then?”
“We have to find out about the control substance inside me and get ahold of the antidote next.”
Hardy was indeed an intelligent man judging by his business-savvy skill. “William did not listen to Natasya when he was being poisoned and I suspect that he has found the antidote. Talitha should have it too if my speculation is correct.”
“Talitha must be aware of the medicine since she was the one who had drugged you. We can easily get ahold of the information as she is quite stupid and naive,” Paisley agreed on his idea.
“You are right. However, I am afraid that Raelyn and Devon were the mastermind behind this instead of Talitha. That disgusting pieces of shit are very greedy and it would be troublesome if this is the case. They must have fixed their eyes on Acma Corporation and would not tell Talitha about the antidote.”
Hardy caught a breather and continued, “I am also concerned about another thing. It would be terrible if I am completely under their control and would eventually lose myself.”
Paisley was feeling anxious and asked, “Hardy, do you have any plan in mind?”
“I need to take some necessary precautions just in case anything happens to me.” Hardy stood up and opened the safe box which had contained his personal seal in it. He wrote a letter and stamped it with his personal seal before handing it to Paisley. “You shall notify dad to strip me from this position if I really lose myself in the future. The company will then be under your care. It would be over my dead body if the Anderson family are hoping to steal this company away from us.”
“Hardy, this tragedy would never happen. I will go all in to get ahold of the antidote to rescue you from this mess.”
“I know, but it’s always wise to play safe and we have to prepare for the worst. Do not give way to Talitha if there is no recovery medication and I eventually lose myself. I would be satisfied as long as The Anderson family do not get what they want.”