Chapter 820 Facing Off
Crystal stood rooted to the spot with resentment flashing in her eyes. Derrick, you think I’m shameless? Fine, I’ll make sure your marriage with Tiffany falls apart. You deserve it for looking down on me. I’ll turn you into a pathetic fool.
With that thought in mind, anger boiled within Crystal. Her expression darkened after she felt the strange gazes on her from the surrounding people. With a glare, she spat, “Why are you looking at me? Stop staring!” With that said, she strode off proudly with her head held high.
Meanwhile, Derrick took the elevator down and caught up with Tiffany nervously. Then, he tried to explain himself. “Tiff, listen to me. It’s not what you think it is.”
Tiffany did not shake off Derrick’s hand. Instead, she looked at him calmly and said, “Derrick, I’ve given you many chances. So I don’t want to listen to your excuses anymore. It’s repulsive. I wish for a blissful life for you and Ms. Halliwell in advance. Please have a lifetime of happiness and have a lovely baby together.”
Anxious, Derrick grabbed her hand tightly and said, “Tiff, don’t do this to me. I can explain. If you don’t believe what I say, you can check the security footage for today. You’ll believe in my words after you watch them.”
Tiffany gazed at him intently with a deep sense of exhaustion in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to watch any footage. I’ll appoint a lawyer to proceed with our divorce. After our divorce, I won’t take a dime from you. So you don’t have to worry about that.” Tiffany wanted to pull back her hand after saying that. However, Derrick tightened his grip.
In response to that, she said placidly, “Let go of me. There’s no point in doing this. Let’s end things on good terms.”
With a pull, Derrick held Tiffany in his arms and hugged her tightly in his embrace. It was as if he didn’t want to get separated from her.
“No, Tiff. You said you’ll forgive me. Don’t take back your words now. I’ve never begged anymore before, but I’m begging you now. Please, just watch the footage. If I did anything to hurt you, I promise I’ll get a divorce right away.”
Without a word, Tiffany stood still in Derrick’s arms like a piece of wood.
Derrick’s heart lurched when he saw Tiffany behaving this way. He brought her to the car and buckled her up. Then, he cupped her cheeks and pleaded, “Please, Tiff. Don’t act coldly toward me. You have no idea how scared I am when you do this. Please, I’m begging you.”
Tiffany blinked before looking straight at Derrick. Then, she pursed her lips.
“We’re done, Derrick,” she said decisively. This time, it was completely over between them.
Derrick’s face went pale abruptly, and he lost whatever strength was left in his arms. Unwittingly, he let go of Tiffany’s arm.
Tiffany continued, “Take good care of yourself in the future. Let’s go to the City Hall to go through the divorce procedures when you have time. Otherwise, I’ll ask an expert to handle this.”
With that, she turned and left.
Derrick stayed at the same spot while staring blankly at Tiffany’s retreating figure. The only thing on his mind was that he was doomed.
Meanwhile, Crystal stood not far from where Derrick was and looked at him until he turned around. The two locked eyes. After meeting his gaze, Crystal flashed a faint smirk and walked toward him.
“Has Tiffany left, Derrick?”
Derrick clenched his fists tightly and quickly threw a punch at Crystal under the horrified eyes of the nearby employees. Being a pampered daughter of a prominent family, Crystal was caught off guard and was sent flying away by Derrick’s punch in an instant.
She fell to the ground as Derrick walked toward her intimidatingly. Terrified, she hurriedly scrambled back. At this moment, she was scared that Derrick would lose his cool and kill her.
“Help! Mr. Hisson is going to kill me! Stop him now!” Crystal screamed her head off just before Derrick threw another punch at her face.
The next moment, Crystal’s shrieks rang through the whole lobby. Derrick changed the direction of his punch and snapped her arm instead.
The people watching them eventually realized the seriousness of the situation and stepped forward to try to hold back Derrick, who was in a rage. However, they didn’t expect him to act like a manic lion out of control, and nobody could stop him.
While the people were trying to stop Derrick, Crystal took the opportunity to get up and run off. Upon seeing her action, Derrick blew his top.
Like a mad lion, Derrick quickly chased after Crystal. She would have been killed or heavily wounded if it weren’t for the security guards that stopped him.
Aghast at his behavior and his hateful glare even after being stopped by the crowd, Crystal took out her phone and called Kate in shock.
“Mrs. Hisson, please come to the company now. Derrick is trying to kill me,” she gibbered.
Derrick looked like he was about to break free from the security guards to chase after her, so she got so frightened that she ran even faster.
When Kate and Terrence arrived at the company, Derrick was no longer angry. However, there was a lingering gloom between his eyebrows.
Kate trotted toward Derrick and asked anxiously, “Where’s Crystal, Derrick? What have you done to her?”
Devoid of all emotion, Derrick glanced at Kate and said, “I killed her, Mom. You planned all of this. Shouldn’t you be satisfied with this result? You forced your son down the path of no return.”
Hearing that, Kate felt a jolt in her heart and her eyes brimmed with disbelief.
She looked at Derrick anxiously and asked, “Is this a joke, Derrick? Tell me where Crystal is right now. Why would you kill someone all of a sudden?”
Derrick smirked and said with a sneer, “But isn’t this what you’ve always wanted, Mom? I just did it in advance. Shouldn’t you be happy?”
Kate’s hands trembled slightly as she looked at her son with mixed feelings. Then, she said, “What are you talking about, Derrick?”
Terrence walked up to them and prodded the cane in his hand on the floor. He said, “What’s with all the fuss? Let’s continue when we get home.”
Feeling numb, Derrick followed behind them and got into the car.
Back at the Hisson residence, Terrence summoned Derrick to the study.
“Tell me. Where is Crystal now? You should know that I wouldn’t be able to protect you from the Halliwell family if you did kill her.”
Derrick remained silent and couldn’t care less.
“Derrick,” Terrence said with a more assertive tone.
Derrick hooked his lips and said coldly, “Granddad, I would love to know where she is too. That’s because I want to kill her now. She ruined everything I have. Tiff decided to divorce me. I just lost the person I cherish the most.”
Terrence’s face sank as well.
“Granddad, don’t forget how much Amelia cares about Tiff. If she finds out about our divorce, I’m not sure what Oscar will do to the Hissons. You know how much Oscar cares for Amelia too,” Derrick looked at Terrence and said deliberately.
He wanted to stir Terrence’s attention so that the latter would persuade Tiffany on his behalf. He knew that Terrence cared about the interests of the Hissons.
“How dare you!” Terrence glared at Derrick. “You’re the one who screwed up, and now, you want me to clean after your mess? Where is your conscience?”
Derrick said blankly, “Granddad, keep in mind that it was your beloved daughter-in-law who did all this. She was the one who caused all this mess.”
Terrence was baffled.
Then, Derrick puffed out his chest and continued, “Granddad, if Tiff insists on divorcing me, I’ll give up all my inheritance right, and I’ll never intervene in the Hissons’ businesses again. The Hissons will have nothing to do with me anymore, even if that means I’ll lose everything I have.”
“You—” Terrence got so angry that his chest hurt. He clutched his chest and took several deep breaths to calm down. Looking as if he had compromised, he said, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you get divorced.”
Curling his lips, a glint of hope flashed in Derrick’s eyes.
“I’ll be waiting for the good news from you then, Granddad. I’m willing to let go of everything I have now as long as Tiff doesn’t leave me. I’ll help out at the family’s company as I promised. No one matters more to me than her,” Derrick promised with an unflinching gaze.
There was a trace of scrutiny in Terrence’s eyes.
He seemed to be deep in thought after hearing what Derrick said.
Terrence made an effort to go to the Clinton residence. However, to his dismay, Tiffany did not meet him. It was Amelia who attended to him instead.
Molly served Terrence a cup of coffee and said, “Please have some coffee, Mr. Hisson.”
To that, Terrence nodded his head.
After Molly left, Terrence went straight to the point. “Amelia, I’m here today to apologize on behalf of my unfilial grandson. I’m doing this because I don’t want them to get a divorce. Can you ask Tiff to meet with me?”
“Mr. Hisson, please don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I refuse to. But things are over between Tiff and Derrick. Their marriage is fated to not last long. I’m doing this because Tiff doesn’t want to step up herself. I’ve already hired the best lawyer in the city. Tiff is such a nice person that she doesn’t want money from the Hissons. Also, we won’t be asking for a matrimonial assets division after the divorce.” A smile adorned her lips as she spoke courteously.
All tensed up, Terrence said, “Amelia, I know you’re young and do not tolerate mistakes. But I’ve lived a long life and seen many things. Young couples become each other’s companions when they grow old. No matter how much they love each other, humans yearn for a considerate companion when they age. Although Derrick did something wrong, I don’t think it was unforgivable. Don’t you think so?”
“You have a point, Mr. Hisson. But we can’t force them to stay together in a broken marriage. I’m sure you know about Tiff’s condition too. She can never get pregnant. I don’t think you should insist on their marriage,” Amelia retorted. The hidden meaning in her words was that Terrence wasn’t sincere to Tiffany, and he only came here for the business collaboration with the Clintons.
Terrence could read between her lines, but he was not bothered.
“Young lady, I’m an old man who’s nearing his end. Although I care about the Hissons’ future, I care about my grandchildren’s marriage, too. I want Derrick to get married to a virtuous woman. I’m an old-fashioned person with a not-so-open mind. I can tell Derrick and Tiff is a match made in heaven. That’s why I’m here. If possible, I hope you can help to dissuade Tiff from getting a divorce. As the saying goes, I would rather destroy ten temples than a single marriage. I’m sure you want Tiff to be happy too,” Terrence persuaded.
At that, Amelia merely flashed him a faint smile without saying a word.
Then, Terrence shot her another glance.
