“That’s alright, I can move into a smaller house. You, youngsters, are way too stressed out these days. As an elder, it’s only right for me to help you out however I can.”
“I’m not stressed out. Life is as breezy as it can get for me.”
Dustin and Florence bantered back and forth through the phone, neither of them coming clean with the truth. Since Florence took him as an idiot, Dustin gladly went along with the act and pretended to not know any better.
It was Dahlia, however, who found the conversation unbearable. She now fully believed what Dustin had told her. Her mother would not be so nice to Dustin otherwise. What she said about atoning for her wrongdoings and relieving Dustin of his burdens was all bullshit!
Florence had been grinning from ear to ear when she managed to scam Dustin into buying that piece of land! Now that she knew she had made a loss by selling it, she chose to put on a righteous and upright facade to buy it back instead of being honest with Dustin. She was despicable and
greedy!
“Hey! Why are you so stubborn? I’m only doing this for your good, so hurry up and sell me that piece of land!” As the conversation progressed, Florence began to lose her patience. Had it not been for the money, she would never have wasted so much effort coaxing him gently, and would immediately start shouting and cursing at him instead.
“Florence, why are you in such a hurry to purchase the abandoned construction site?” Dustin pressed. This was Florence’s last chance to come clean. If she told him the truth, he would willingly let her have a share of the profit.
“Have I not made myself clear yet? I can’t bear to see you lose money! I’d rather bear the burden myself!” Florence stubbornly refused to spill the truth.
“That’s enough, Mom!” Dahlia finally could take it no more. “Are you still going to keep on cheating people out of their money?”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? When have I cheated others of their money?” Florence raised
her voice.
“Dustin already knows the truth. That piece of land is worth at least two billion dollars! You’ll never be able to buy it back at the original price!” Dahlia exclaimed.
“What?” All was quiet for a while before Florence said sheepishly, “Oh, so you already knew? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Florence, I’ve already reminded you repeatedly since a week ago! It was you who refused to
believe me,” Dustin retorted calmly.
“Oh, look how forgetful I am. I think my age is catching up on me!” Florence exclaimed regretfully. “Dustin, I was wrong. I’ll listen to all your advice from now on. Can you please sell the piece of land to me?”
“Had you shown just the slightest bit of honesty earlier on and did not intend to trick me out of my money, I’d have readily shared a part of what I profited from it with you. But your actions have
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truly disappointed me, so I will not be selling it to you,” Dustin told her truthfully.
“You’re not selling it?” Florence’s voice raised an octave when she heard what Dustin said. “That belongs to me! What right have you got to not sell it to me?“
“The ownership of the land belongs to me. I can handle it however I please,” Dustin said matter–of-
factly.
“I don’t care! You better give me back what belongs to me, or I’ll make you regret it!” Florence threatened menacingly. Just a few minutes ago, she had spoken so gently and kindly, but now her
true colors showed
“Behaving like this won’t get you anything,” Dustin said.
“You–you bastard! You vile, shameless scumbag! I’ll sue you! I’ll sue you for swindling me of my money! You-” Florence spewed a torrent of curses through the phone with no care in the world.
But she was cut off when Dahlia ended the call. How aggravating! She was the one who bore bad intentions, and she had the gall to berate Dustin? Utterly unreasonable! As Florence’s daughter,
Dahlia felt ashamed of her actions,
