Chapter 56 Can’t Afford It

The staff on the side politely put the emerald pipe in front of Nicole, who picked it up and looked at it. There was a small red spot at the bottom of the tobacco pipe. ‘So it is the real deal… Nicole thought. “Thank you,” Nicole said to the staff. She simply ignored the two women who were on the side. Quinn could not stand it anymore and coldly snorted. “Nicole, are your eyes on your feet? Don’t you know how to be polite when you see your elders?” “How did she treat me back then? She never treated me properly when I was her daughter-in-law and expects me to treat her like an elder now?’ Nicole’s eyes flickered. She raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh, Mrs. Ferguson, you’re here too. What a coincidence!” Her words were enough to make Quinn die from exasperation. Quinn’s face turned red with anger. “You think that just because you have a backer, you don’t need to respect me? Don’t forget that I’m your mother-in-law!” Before Nicole and Eric’s divorce, Quinn had never considered herself as Nicole’s mother-in-law. Instead, Quinn only thought of herself as a master and treated Nicole as if she was a servant. Whenever Nicole went back to the Ferguson Villa, Quinn would always find ways to mock Nicole’s lowly ingratiation. She would make Nicole do housework Fortunately, her mother was here, so Ingrid worked up the courage to speak. The atmosphere felt heavy for a moment. Nicole’s smile faded as she swept a cold glance at Ingrid. “Are you trying to teach me what to do?” Ingrid shrank to the back and dared not make another sound. She just looked at her mother helplessly. The Ferguson mother-daughter pair originally wanted to pull Nicole off her high horse, then coax her and take the emerald pipe away, but it turned out that Nicole did not do anything as they had planned. If not for the staff in the room, Quinn would have been more straightforward and would not have the patience to babble on with Nicole. and chores, and find excuses to reprimand and punish Nicole. Quinn would often bring back other young single ladies from other affluent familiest o hang around in front of Nicole and even gave those ladies Eric’s private numbers o that Nicole would know what to do and back off by herself. At that time, Nicole was a thorn in Quinn’s side. Nicole could not help but laugh lightly.“ Have you gone senile? I divorced your son long ago. You can find someone else to be your daughter-in-law…” “Nicole, you’re so rude! How can you talk t o your elders like that?” Ingrid could not help but speak up. She was greatly humiliated by Nicole on several occasions, so when she saw Nicole again, she began to fear her. Fortunately, her mother was here, so Ingrid worked up the courage to speak. The atmosphere felt heavy for a moment. Nicole’s smile faded as she swept a cold glance at Ingrid. “Are you trying to teach me what to do?” Ingrid shrank to the back and dared not make another sound. She just looked at her mother helplessly. The Ferguson mother-daughter pair originally wanted to pull Nicole off her high horse, then coax her and take the emerald pipe away, but it turned out that Nicole did not do anything as they had planned. If not for the staff in the room, Quinn would have been more straightforward and would not have the patience to babble on with Nicole. Quinn was a little nervous and said,” Nicole, I’ll give you $30 million. I must take the pipe!” She had already contacted her son because she knew that she could not hide it any longer. If Nicole really took their family heirloom away, not to mention her father-in-law, even her husband would not forgive her! Nicole paused for a moment and laughed. “If you had $30 million, you could’ve raised the bid earlier when it was still fair play. Now it’s too late.” “I’ve contacted Eric. He’ll be here soon.” Quinn knew how obsessed Nicole was with her son. Once Eric was here, she was certain that Nicole would compromise just to see him “Whether he comes or not doesn’t change the fact that this emerald pipe is now mine.” Nicole laughed. ‘Does she still think that I’m the stupid woman from three years ago? Does she think that I’ll forgive and forget everything when I hear Eric’s name? “Nicole, $30 million is not a small amount. Can you even afford it?” Quinn did not believe that the penniless Nicole could fork out $30 million so easily. Back then, Nicole married into the Ferguson family without a penny to her name. Quinn was laughed at by other high -society women for having such a poor daughter-in-law, so Nicole was a disgrace to her. Although Ingrid said that Nicole now had a lot of men backing her, why would they spend so much money on a divorced woman? Were those men dumb? Nicole hooked her lips, took out the black card from her purse, and handed it to the staff at the side. “Swipe it.” There was no hesitation. “Yes, Ms. Nicole.” The staff member took the card with both hands. Quinn and Ingrid stared at Nicole with their pale faces. Ingrid felt so antsy and kept clutching her phone to call someone. ‘Who is she calling? Eric Ferguson?’ Nicole smiled faintly. ‘It’s useless regardless of who shows up!’ She could spend $30 million in a second without the slightest hesitation and could even afford to pay more than $30 million as long as she wanted to! “It’s useless for you to take this pipe. What’s the point of spending so much on i t?” Quinn softened her attitude and used a roundabout way. “I only took it out so that everyone could see it. You know that this is the old man’s life. He’ll die without this pipe. Do you want to see him suffer at such an old age?” Quinn said and began to cry. ‘Who are you acting for?’ Nicole looked at Quinn with a cold gaze and wanted to laugh “Since you said so yourself that this is Old Master Ferguson’s life, were you thinking of killing him by putting it on auction? You’re the reason for his suffering at his old age. So… What do I have to worry about? I bought this through the proper channels with real money. Anyone here can testify to it. The old man is quite revered in the industry, so I believe that he’ll understand what integrity means.” “Ms. Nicole, the transaction is complete.” The staff carefully handed her the card. Nicole took it and signed her name on the relevant documents. This emerald pipe officially belonged to her now. At that moment, the door was suddenly pushed open…