Chapter 274 I Don’t Want to See You Lose Everything
Oliver’s sudden confession had shocked Courtney.
Courtney was stunned to the point where she lowered her head. Then, she bit on her lips as she thought about it. “Actually, you don’t have to tell me about it so soon.”
Oliver froze slightly when he saw her smiling at him after she lifted her head—it was her usual warm smile and she looked as caring as before. “You knew about it?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Not as precise as what you have mentioned, but I only knew your memories have roughly returned.”
“Then, why did you—”
“Pretend that I know nothing?” She sighed. “It’s because I hurt you in the accident. When I sent you to the hospital back then, I suspected that you were a homeless man based on your disheveled look. Apart from that, even if you wanted to leave, you probably would have left sooner, so I guess you had some difficulties.”
Even though he felt touched by her gesture, he was also amused at the same time. After all, it was not a good feeling to be mistaken as a homeless man by another person. “Courtney, I’m really not a homeless person.”
“Got it.” Courtney winked. “You are a student of Public Security University. You should have told me earlier before I decided to bring you up forever!”
Oliver’s heart fluttered as he grabbed her hand after a moment. “You are such a good person, Courtney.”
“Of course I am. You don’t have to remind me about it.”
“Why don’t you break up with Alexander? His family matters are too complicated. Date me instead. I can provide for you and Tina for the rest of your lives.”
“You?” Courtney rolled her eyes and withdrew her hands before she gently slapped the back of his hands. “You are only a penultimate year student at the Public Security University. I bet that you still ask for money from your parents. How can you simply say something like that?”
“Who told you that I’m receiving money from my parents? I’m earning my own money!”
“You are already working? Then, why do you stay at my place, use my things, and eat the food that I prepare?” Her eyebrows slightly arched as she crossed her arms in front of her chest while demanding an explanation from him.
Oliver quickly gave an excuse. “It’s true that I’m poor; it’s just that I am—”
“It’s fine. If you like to stay here, then stay for as long as you like. No one is chasing you away.” She gently laughed. “Do you want more noodles? There are still some left in the pot.”
Oliver finally heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. “Of course.”
After he had finally told Courtney about the secret he was hiding, he felt less burdened than usual. He also could not understand why he felt uncomfortable lying to her, even though he often lied to other people.
After the drama about Courtney’s family background had subsided, Ivory Apparel’s deliberate attempt to suppress Citron Apparel also appeared on the trending pages online. Courtney never arranged for it, but looking at how it trended for more than a week, she immediately knew who was behind it.
After all, even though it was a huge incident, Elijah had never even called her. It did not seem like him not to help her.
When she received the news that they had received the tender from Sakura Group, she called him to personally thank him. “We have gotten the bid from Sakura Group. Thank you, Elijah.”
On the other end of the phone, Elijah’s cheerful voice rang as he teased, “The tender should have been yours in the first place. It’s just that someone popped up midway. I’ve helped you before in many matters, but since when have you called over such a trivial matter to thank me?”
“I don’t have to be thankful for huge favors. However, for small favors like these, I definitely need to convey my thanks.” Courtney sounded that she was entitled for the past favors. “But, I can’t hide from you indeed—I actually have something else to discuss with you in this call.”
“About the lawyer?”
“How did you know about it?” She froze.
“I heard that you have reconciled with Alexander.” She could not hear any emotions in Elijah’s voice. “So, I guess we can temporarily dismiss the lawsuit again.”
Courtney sounded slightly embarrassed. “I really can’t hide anything from you, but I have no other options this time around. I don’t want him to learn about my relationship with Jordan so soon. Let’s just continue with this and see how everything goes in the future.”
“Not this time.” Elijah sounded serious. “You guys have already broken up and reconciled so many times. I don’t think it’s a stable relationship. You need to have a backup plan for yourself. If you can’t be with him in the future, you’re willing to forgo your parental rights for Jordan?”
“Of course I want his parental rights.”
“Then, listen to me. The lawyer is already in Melrose City, as per our plans. Take some time to meet him and briefly discuss Jordan’s matters. As for the lawsuit, you can decide whether you still want to continue with that in the future. There’s no harm in making preparations in advance.”
“But—”
“No buts. This is all that I can do for you. If you are blissful with him and you guys can live happily ever after, that’s great. If not, I don’t want to see you lose everything,” Elijah advised with worries. “If it’s possible, I even wish that you could send Tina over to me, just in case there are any changes in the future. If you can’t make the arrangements in time, I can’t help you because I’m too far away.”
“Let me think about it.”
Courtney knew that Elijah was not being paranoid. After all, he was trying to help her out with the meticulous planning.
After glancing at her wristwatch, she exclaimed, “Oh no! Elijah, it should be evening at your side. I hope you have a good night’s sleep. I’m rushing to sign the contract with the Sakura Group.”
Without waiting for his reply, she hung up after saying ‘goodnight’.
Across the Pacific Ocean, in Manhattan, which had a time difference of 14 hours away, Elijah looked at his dimmed phone screen while he was in the middle of the city’s nightscape. Then, he heaved an exasperated sigh. When you love someone else more than yourself, her happiness and joy is more important than anything else. I can watch her being with another man and I can tolerate being alone for the rest of my life. I just simply can’t accept the man whom she chose because he could give her both short-lived happiness and lifelong threats. I have to arrange a backup plan for her.
Adhering to the time of their appointment, Courtney and Natasha went to the headquarters of Sakura Group to sign the contract with Mr. Vinsmoke, who was the person in charge of the group in the east region.
Even though there were many incidents caused by Ivory Appeal, it actually was a blessing in disguise for Citron Apparel. Everyone now knew that Citron Appeal had a strong background in addition to the invisible support of the Hunter Group’s revival.
The signing of the contract proceeded smoothly.
After that, Courtney shook hands with Mr. Vinsmoke. “I hope we have a good time in our collaboration.”
“Same here.”
It was the first batch of huge orders that she had completed since she founded the company. Even though she was emotional, she remained calm and collected on the surface.
After she gently rejected his invitation for lunch, she went downstairs to wait for Natasha to collect the car from the garage.
At the main hall of the Sakura Group headquarters, the moment she walked out of the elevator, she ran into one of the top three people on her list of ‘people I don’t want to ever meet again’—James Duncan.
“Miss Hunter.” However, James was quite nonchalant and he did not forget to change his salutation. “I should probably call you President Hunter now. Are you here at Sakura Group to sign the contract?”
Courtney maintained her manners on the surface. “Indeed, President Duncan. Citron Apparel won the bid.”
“In that case, congratulations, President Hunter! By the way, I’m having lunch with Mr. Vinsmoke later. Would you like to join us? You can treat it as a celebratory meal for your collaboration.”
