Chapter 8

Selena Thorp returned to her room, rubbing her slightly sore forehead. She felt extremely annoyed. When had she and her elder sister ever said that Adrian Thorp wasn’t allowed to get married?

The mere thought of her elder sister made her head hurt even more. Her elder sister had been driven out by her family and was now living alone with her child, in very difficult circumstances. She had a vague idea that something must have happened between her elder sister and Adrian Thorpe. But every time she brought up the topic, both of them would deliberately change the subject. In fact, not even the name “Adrian Thorpe” could be mentioned in front of her elder sister.

Several times, she wanted to hire a private detective to find out what was really going on. But every time, her older sister stopped her. She had no idea what secrets were hidden behind all this.

“As long as it isn’t you who lies on the operating table for an abortion, that’s enough.” Selina Thorpe murmured to herself. All she could do was pray in her heart that Adrian Thorpe would come to his senses before it was too late, and not fall victim to Eloise Rhodes.

She didn’t see the complex and contradictory expression on Adrian Thorpe’s face as she turned to enter the room—there was resentment, greed, and a hint of barely detectable fear.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Eloise Rhodes sat in the president’s office of the Rhodes Corporation, staring at the messily drawn calendar on the desk. Frustrated, she scratched her hair. She had made a bold promise to handle Selina Thorpe within a week. But now, three days had passed, and not only had she failed to handle Selina Thorpe, she hadn’t even seen her once.

There are only four days left until the betting period ends. No, it’s already the afternoon of the fourth day. So, there are three and a half days left. Half of the time has already been wasted like this.

His tried-and-true techniques for approaching girls didn’t even get him a chance to act. Thankfully, he’s no longer a naive young man in his twenties. Otherwise, this situation would have surely affected his work progress.

Eloise Rhodes leaned back in her chair, frustrated and puzzled. In her twenty-eight years of life, she had never found it so difficult to pursue a woman. Could it be that there was something wrong with his masculinity?

But soon, he rejected this thought. Throughout those three days, hadn’t Adrian Thorpe and Chen Jialing been constantly around him? That meant he was still as charming as ever. So why then was Selina Thorpe like she’d vanished into thin air, completely gone without a trace?

He called Selena Thorp. The first two times, Selena Thorp would say a few words to him, then hang up quickly, claiming she was busy. Later on, he couldn’t get through anymore—he had been blocked.

It was the first time in his life that a woman blocked him. If he told anyone, they probably wouldn’t believe it. Women from all over the city would do anything to get his calls. But Selina Thorpe blocked him without hesitation, and even changed her phone number.

He wasn’t willing to give up. He tried calling from the company’s landline instead. Finally, someone answered the phone. But when he tried to call again, he couldn’t get through.

What was most annoying was that he went all the way to Youai Hospital to look for her. The nurse told him that Selina Thorpe was on leave, and it was unclear when she would return. He then went to the apartment they rented together. But instead of meeting the person he wanted to see, Adrian Thorpe approached him and kept talking non-stop, which was extremely annoying.

He went to Madix Rhodes in a fury, wanting to find out where Selina Thorpe was. But instead of finding her, he got scolded by Madix Rhodes, who told him to stay away from Selina Thorpe. Madix Rhodes said that Selina Thorpe wasn’t like the other women he’d been with before, and advised him not to hurt her.

Without Maddix Rhodes having to say anything, he already knew all this. Selina Thorpe was indeed different from those women. Those women tried every means possible to get close to him, but Selina Thorpe, on the other hand, tried every way to avoid him.

He now realizes that when Selena Thorne said she wanted to find a rich man, it was probably just empty talk. Or maybe, he wasn’t even her target at all.

But the thought of losing and being laughed at by those bastards like Li Daqi, Ye Da, and Lenn Gibson made him furious. When in his life had Eloti Rhodes ever lost? And to top it off, to a woman he didn’t even consider worthy of his attention.

“Ring, ring, ring”—The internal phone suddenly rang, breaking the silence in the office.

Eloise Rhodes impatiently pressed the speakerphone button. The sweet voice of her secretary, Wu Jierong, came through the phone: “Chairman, Mr. Li Daqi is here and wants to see you.”

Eloise Rhodes’s face darkened as she cursed inwardly. You really can’t speak ill of anyone during the day or mention ghosts at night. The moment she thought of those bastards, one of them showed up right away. She was sure that within half an hour, Yeda and Lenn Gibson would also show up, just to make fun of her.

“Tell him I have no time to see him now. Tell him to get back where he came from!” Eloise Rhodes’s tone was filled with anger, and she didn’t even bother to hide it.

“Why are you so irritable?” Before the internal phone call could even end, Li Daqi walked in, dressed in a crisp suit, his tone slightly teasing.

Eloise Rhodes rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, “Didn’t I already say I have no time to see you right now?”

Every time it’s the same. Before he even has a chance to hang up the phone, Li Daqi just bursts in. He also makes the secretary dial some internal numbers. It’s completely a waste of his money.

Li Daqi walked over to the chair across from his desk with ease, sat down, crossed his legs, and leaned back casually. He glanced at Eloise Rhodes with a teasing look in his eyes. “When do you have time to see me? It seems like you’re too busy courting women to spend time with me, aren’t you?”

His gaze fell on the badly drawn calendar on Eloise Rhodes’s desk, and the smile in his eyes deepened. It seemed like Eloise Rhodes hadn’t had a very smooth few days.

“Is the Li Group going under? Why are you so idle?” Eloise Rhodes snapped as she put away the calendar, her tone filled with impatience.

“It’s precisely because I haven’t collapsed that I have so much free time,” Li Daqi said with a laugh, his teasing tone unmistakable. “I’m here to see when my ‘free driver’ will finally be ready to work. Young Master Xuan, how’s it going? Have you dealt with that woman yet?”

Upon hearing this, Eloise Rhodes became even angrier. He really had no reason to start this bet with them in the first place. Thankfully, he’d found out that Selina Thorpe would be returning to work at the hospital tomorrow. That meant he could wait for her downstairs at her apartment tonight.

“What’s the hurry? There are still three days left.” Eloise Rhodes tried to remain calm, her tone still arrogant. “Once I’ve dealt with her, I’ll make sure you keep your promise.”

He definitely couldn’t let Li Daqi know that he hadn’t even met Selina Thorpe yet. Otherwise, his entire reputation would be ruined.

“At your current pace, I’m afraid…” Li Daqi hadn’t finished speaking when the internal phone rang again.

Without thinking, Eloise Rhodes reached out to hang up the phone. From past experience, whoever called was either Yeda, or that jerk Lenn Gibson—the cousin who, according to him, wouldn’t be able to get Serena Thorpe to agree to anything in three months.

But Li Daqi was quick to block his hand, pressed the speakerphone button, and said with a smile, “Don’t worry. Maybe it’s good news.”

On the phone, Lenn Gibson’s cheerful voice immediately came through: “Brothers, if I go in now, might I see something I shouldn’t? Like, maybe Xuan is on the phone with that woman?”

“How does Wu Jierong do things?” Eloise Rhodes was so angry that her teeth clenched. She vented her fury on her secretary, completely forgetting that when she went to other companies, she did the same thing—just barging in without saying hello.

“Xuan Ge, don’t be angry!” Lenn Gibson’s voice was still playful. “I just wanted to see how things were going with your bet. If you really can’t handle it, just tell me, and I’ll help you figure something out…”

“Hang up on me!” Eloti Rhodes didn’t give him a chance to finish speaking. She pressed the hang-up button right away, her face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

He really couldn’t understand how his serious-looking uncle could have a son like Lenn Gibson. Often, he secretly wondered if Lenn Gibson might be the child of his aunt with another man. But then again, Lenn Gibson’s face was exactly like his uncle’s. So, these doubts could only remain buried in his heart forever.

Li Daqi sat across from her, smiling smugly. Watching Eloise Rhodes lose her composure like that, his eyes were filled with mockery. It had been a long time since he’d seen Eloise Rhodes get so upset. In the past, she always seemed confident and in control of everything. When had she ever been rendered so flustered by a woman like she is now?

If he had known, he should have taken a picture with his phone as a souvenir. That way, he could use it to tease Eloise Rhodes in the future.

Eloise Rhodes noticed Li Daqi’s teasing gaze and realized she had lost her composure. She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. After all, Li Daqi had already seen it. It didn’t matter if he kept looking for a little while longer.

But he knew in his heart that he couldn’t go on like this anymore. Tomorrow, Selina Thorpe would be back at the hospital. He had to seize the opportunity to get her, to win this bet. Otherwise, he really wouldn’t have the face to look those bastards in the eye ever again.

What he didn’t realize was that what he thought of as “getting things under control” would ultimately turn into complete chaos. He thought he was the hunter, manipulating his prey. But in reality, he had already fallen deep into Selina Thorpe’s world, with no way out.