Chapter 168 The Foolish Woman
“Stop trying to dupe me, Jonathan! How could that worthless watch be worth over ten million?” Margaret didn’t believe Jonathan in the slightest.
Could a dud like him be willing to buy a watch costing more than ten million? What a lie!
“It’s your choice whether you believe me or otherwise, but the receipt is in the box. If you don’t believe me, you can go and take a look for yourself!” Jonathan was not in the mood to continue talking with her.
“Who knows whether your receipt is genuine or fake?” Margaret rolled her eyes, but still, she couldn’t resist opening the box.
The moment she saw that the receipt indeed indicated thirty-six million, her eyes abruptly went wide. “Have you lost your mind, Jonathan, you wastrel? You spent more than thirty million to buy two worthless watches?”
She gaped at him as though he was a nutcase.
There were plenty of things he could’ve bought with over thirty million, yet he bought two worthless watches? He must be a sandwich short of a picnic!
“I don’t think how much I spend has anything to do with you!” Jonathan threw her a chilly look.
“Who said it has nothing to do with me?” Puffing up her chest, Margaret asserted, “Your money is Josephine’s money, no? And she’s my daughter, so it has something to do with me!”
Before she could launch into her spiel, Jonathan interrupted, “My money is indeed hers, but her money isn’t necessarily yours! All right, stop trying to sell me your nonsense! If you’ve got so much time to prattle, you’d be better served to figure out an idea to get the watch back!”
“How am I going to get it back when I’ve already given it to them to clear my debt?” Margaret couldn’t help rolling her eyes once more.
“Just get it back in the same manner you gave it to them! Do you need me to teach you even that?” At this point, Jonathan was thoroughly fed up with this foolish woman.
“I’ve got no money!” Margaret answered curtly.
So what if the watch cost over ten million? I wasn’t the one who bought it anyway. So be it if it’s gone! No way am I going to fork out fifty thousand to buy it back!
“I’ll give you the money!” Jonathan snapped impatiently. If it weren’t for Josephine’s sake, I wouldn’t even bother with this brainless woman!
“Really?”
When Margaret heard that he was volunteering to shell out money from his own pocket to get the watch back, all her worries vanished into thin air.
“What do you think?” Having had enough of her, Jonathan got up to leave. But just when he was about to do so, she called him back again. “Wait a moment!”
Jonathan jerked his head back with impatience written all over his face.
“What if they refuse to give me the watch after I’ve given them the money?” That possibility occurred to Margaret out of the blue.
Since they’ve already got the watch from me by trickery, would they still return it to me?
“Lodge a police report, then!” Jonathan replied with a frown.
It goes without saying that they definitely wouldn’t give the watch back to her so easily after having set her up and tricked it from her!
Curling her lips, Margaret grumbled, “Will that do me any good? Their husbands are either police chiefs or secretaries-general of the city council! Would they fear the police?”
“What do you think?”
Truly at the end of his patience, Jonathan whirled around and stalked off.
Even if the mayor of Jadeborough dared to steal from me, he would have to obediently return it, not to mention mere police chiefs and secretaries-general!
“Hah! He’s acting as though he’s some big shot!” Margaret sneered at the man’s back in disdain.
Then, she snagged a bottle of nail polish and started painting her nails as though the entire matter had nothing to do with her.
And in truth, it was indeed no concern of hers.
Everything is good as long as he gives me money. What has it got to do with me whether they’ll be willing to return the watch? So what if they refuse to do so? In that case, I’ll even be getting fifty thousand for nothing!
…
Meanwhile, the light in the study remained brightly lit.
Josephine had her head lowered with a pencil in her hand, not at all affected by the fiasco in the living room. At that very moment, she was amending something or other on the paper with a pencil from time to time. As the faint light hit her face, it reflected a trace of weariness.
At that moment, she had finally put away her usual icy expression that rendered her unapproachable.
Instead, she even appeared a touch gentle that one would unwittingly have a surge of affection for her.
However, she seemed particularly engrossed with her head lowered that she didn’t even realize it when Jonathan strolled to her back.
“Are you tired, Darling?” Only when his voice sounded from behind her did she jolt back to reality. “Jonathan? When did you come in?”
“Just a while ago.” Jonathan massaged her shoulders and murmured, “Go to bed earlier if you’re tired.”
“I’m not tired.” Josephine shook her head before she took off the black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose bridge, seemingly inclined to get to her feet. “I’m going to seek Mom out. She must have hidden the watch!”
As her daughter, I know better than anyone what my mother is like. That watch is definitely still in her hands, but she hid it because she didn’t want to give it back to Jonathan!
Jonathan pressed her back into her seat just when she was getting up. “There’s no need to do so. The watch isn’t in her possession.”
“It’s not?” A glimmer of surprise flickered in Josephine’s eyes. But no sooner had she said that than Jonathan continued, “She lost it in a game of cards.”
“What?” Hearing that, Josephine shot to her feet at once. “She lost it in a game of cards? Who did she lose it to?”
She was so livid that her face flushed bright red.
That watch cost over ten million, yet she actually lost it to someone else? Does she know how exorbitant it was? How much did she bet that she lost more than ten million in a single afternoon?
“They set a trap for her, and she jumped right in. Don’t worry about this matter. I’ll resolve it,” Jonathan reassured mildly.
“No! I’ve got to confront her!” Josephine’s expression was exceedingly grim.
The watch was worth over ten million, but she lost it just like that?
However, Jonathan stopped her. “It’s no use confronting her. She’s already lost it anyway, so what’s the point of doing so?”
“What should we do, then? We can’t just let it be, can we?” Josephine fretted, distraught marring her face. Never mind if it were my money, but that was his money!
“Of course not! Trust me. I can resolve it!” Jonathan maintained with a smile.
I’m no fool that my things are so easily stolen away by trickery!
“But—” Josephine was going to argue further when Jonathan cut her off, “There are no buts!”
Chuckling, Jonathan reached out and patted her head. At that, Josephine reflexively dodged, only to be gathered into his arms.
“W-What are you doing, Jonathan?” In a flash, panic manifested on her face.
Never have I been in so close proximity with him that I can even hear his heartbeat loud and clear!
“What do you think?” Dipping his head, Jonathan slowly closed the gap between them. Alas, the urgent ringing of a phone abruptly interrupted him.
In an instant, his expression turned as black as thunder.
