Chapter 337
Chapter 337
Evadne’s eyes widened in shock, her body tense, her lips quivering in disbelief!
She wasn’t slow to react, but the event was so sudden. A full–bred, muscular horse was charging at her with the speed of a top–end sports car!
Human reaction time, even at its best, couldn’t prevent this kind of accident!
“Mr. Chambers!”
The secretary, with a voice strained with fear, shouted out to Avery, desperately trying to reach him in time. But it was too late!
The wild black horse, panting heavily and with a manic glint in its eyes, was barreling straight towards Evadne!
Evadne’s breath hitched. She wanted to run, but her legs felt as if they were nailed to the ground, frozen in fear!
“Evadne!”
Just in the nick of time, Avery lunged forward, arms outstretched to shield her from the impending danger. He pulled her close, then with a swift movement, they were sent tumbling away from the horse’s path!
Crash!
Dust billowed around them as they hit the ground.
Avery’s back took the brunt of the fall and Evadne cradled safely in his arms. Besides a few minor scratches, she was unscathed.
But the impact and the fall stirred something within her, a discomfort that twisted her insides into knots.
One could only imagine how much pain Avery must be in!
“Ave, are you okay?” Evadne, panic stricken, cried out, her eyes welling up with tears.
“I… watch out!”
Avery’s face turned pale as a sheet. Ignoring the pain he was in, he held Evadne closer, rolling to the side just as the horse bucked and reared again!
“Whinny!”
The horse’s front hooves shot up, missing Avery and Evadne by mere inches!
“Ugh!”
A sharp pain shot through Avery’s back, leaving him drenched in sweat. His suit was practically soaked through with it!
“Ave!”
Evadne felt as if her lungs were being squeezed, making it hard for her to breathe.
Just then, the secretary and two horse trainers finally reached them, managing to subdue the frenzied horse. They injected the horse with a strong sedative, calming it down.
Under the influence of the medication, the horse finally settled down, the crazed look in its eyes slowly fading.
“Mr. Chambers! Mr. Chambers!”
The secretary rushed over to them, his face pale with worry. Seeing Avery lying on the ground, unable to get up, he panicked.
“How could you let this happen?”
The secretary, his face red with anger, berated the trainers, “If anything dangerous happens to Mr. Avery, I swear you two will pay!”
The trainers trembled in fear, unable to utter a word in their defense.
“Let’s not talk about blame right now. We need to get him help!”
Evadne, her forehead beaded with sweat, instructed the secretary to call for an ambulance while she checked Avery for injuries.
“Where does it hurt? What kind of pain? Tell me while you’re still conscious!” Evadne demanded, her voice carrying the authority of a doctor.
A smile tugged at the corners of Avery’s lips, despite the pain he was in. “Evadne, seeing you so worried about me, I don’t feel the pain anymore. Really.”
“Avery, is this the time for jokes?” Evadne, worried and frustrated, snapped at him.
Realizing that he had upset her, Avery bit back the pain and softly said, “My arm and my back hurt a bit,”
Before he could finish speaking, Evadne found the fracture in his arm.
Feeling the protruding bone, and recalling the terrifying incident, Evadne felt a pang of guilt.
“It’s okay, Evadne.” Avery looked at her, his voice gentle and reassuring.
“Okay? Your arm is broken, Avery!” Evadne, her eyes red from holding back tears, shouted at him.
Even though he was the one injured, he was consoling her, which made her feel even more guilty.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you. If a bone is broken, I’ll mend it. Even if all your bones were broken, I’d fix them all. I promise you, I’ll take care of everything.”
I’ll take care of everything.
A warm wave of affection washed over Avery.
No woman had ever promised to take care of him before.
But Evadne did. That was one of the many reasons he was smitten with her.
“That’s so strange!”
One of the horse trainers scratched his head in confusion, “This horse is usually the most gentle one in the stables. It’s normally so timid. How could it suddenly go berserk like this?”
The secretary shot him a scathing look, “Who do you think you’re asking? Do you even have a clue? Useless!”
“Horses usually react like this when they’re severely spooked,” Evadne mused, a serious look on her face.
“But how is that possible?”
The other trainer chimed in, “This horse was just quietly resting in the stables all day. No one approached it and it didn’t leave the stables. How could it get spooked?”
At his words, a solemn look crossed both Evadne and Avery’s faces.
Meanwhile, at the Elmsworth Convention Center, a high–profile gathering was taking place.
Frederic was engaged in lively conversation with some familiar business moguls, a glass of wine in hand.
“Mr. Frederic! It’s been a while!”
Frederic turned around in surprise, only to see Bevis approaching him, a glass of champagne in hand and a warm smile on his face.
“Oh, it’s you, good to see you.” Frederic nodded politely.
Compared to Bevis‘ amicability, Frederic’s response was noticeably cold.
Even though Bevis was Emeric’s only brother and held the position of Vice Chairman in the K Group, the majority of the company’s shares and assets were still controlled by Emeric and his children.
Bevis was nothing more than a figurehead. In fact, his influence in the company was even less than that of Cassius, the CEO.
Naturally, as Emeric’s eldest son and the child of his first wife, Cassius was the likely heir to the K Group. In a few years, Bevis‘ position as the second–in–command would be rendered meaningless as he would be overshadowed by his nephew.
The business world had always been so smitten with power. People hobnob with those who wield it. Frederic might dislike Emeric, but at least Emeric’s status warranted a conversation with him.
But this Bevis, that’s a whole different story.
“Bevis, where’s Mr. Emeric? Did you come alone?” Another big shot curiously looked around.
“My older brother has been busy with family affairs and couldn’t make it.”
Bevis feigned concern and sighed, “My older brother’s wife Myra had some trouble recently. You must have heard about it. I heard she’s been down in the dumps and barely hanging on. Emeric is afraid she’ll do something rash, so he’s been staying by her side day and night, he has no time to attend events, Frederic listened without showing emotions, but his eyes revealed a complex mix of feelings.
“Oh dear, I heard about that incident. That’s such old news. I can’t believe people are still bringing it up. They must have ulterior motives!”
“Just plain jealousy! Seeing her getting all the birthday wishes, marrying into wealth, and being so beautiful, they couldn’t stand it and resort to underhanded tactics. The artists under my entertainment company always squabble like that, they must have too much time on their hands!”
Frederic tightened his lips and furrowed his brows.
Although the person didn’t mention any names, just expressing a point of view. But he felt a prick of irritation.
“Chairman Emeric is indeed a man of great loyalty and affection.”
“Indeed, Myra was a mere actress, only bore Chairman Emeric a daughter, yet Chairman Emeric didn’t slight her. It shows his honorable character!”
The guests nodded in agreement.
Bevis awkwardly smiled, feeling disgruntled.
He brought up the subject, thinking people would laugh at Emeric, but it unexpectedly backfired and garnered his brother praises!
He thought, “These sycophants. Would they still kiss Emeric’s ass even if he shits his pants?”
Frederic glanced at the clock, scanned the room, but didn’t see Thaddeus.
“Mr. Frederic, for such an important occasion tonight, why didn’t Mr. Thaddeus come?” Bevis probed.
“Oh, he’ll be here in a bit.”
“Really? That’s great!”
Bevis’s eyes lit up, his tone became more enthusiastic, “We have a promising project in our group about the highly–supported environmental protection field My brother assigned me to handle it and we’re looking for partners.”
Then he briefly explained the project. Frederic nodded, showing a bit of interest.
“My daughter Dolores recently came up with two good cooperation plans. She’ll be here later as well. After the party ends, I have arranged a place. Mr. Frederic, why don’t you and Mr. Thaddeus join us for a deep talk?‘ Bevis seized the moment with a smile.
“Your daughter?” Frederic frowned.
“Yes, I only have one daughter, Dolores, same age as my brother’s daughter Evadne, just four months younger. She studied at the highest institution in Oldrun, received full scholarships every year, and even worked as a translator for the president of Oldrun. After returning to the country, she joined K Group with her own abilities, and has been serving as the director of the product design department.” Bevis proudly introduced his daughter, as if
promoting an exquisite product crafted by his own hands.
The guests nearby silently dismissed Bevis’s claim that his daughter needed abilities to get into K Group. Who did he think they were, idiots?
“Oh, your daughter is indeed an outstanding woman.” Frederic had no choice but to force a compliment.
“Let’s settle it then, I’ll arrange it after the party ends!”
Fredéric was taken aback.
Settled? Who said it’s settled?
Although Frederic wasn’t young anymore, he was not senile. Couldn’t he see that Bevis’s intention to do business was just an excuse, the real purpose was to introduce his daughter to him, to create an opportunity for Thaddeus and his daughter to meet?
“Bevis, my father didn’t answer you yet, how did he agree with you?”
Everyone was stunned and turned around.
They saw Thaddeus striding towards them with a cold and handsome face, his beautiful eyes were intimidating, clear yet indifferent.
“Thaddeus, why are you just coming now?” Frederic complained, feeling relieved.
Bevis’s smile stiffened a bit. When he was about to speak, Thaddeus coldly cut him off, “If you are sincerely here for business, you could have chosen a more appropriate time, instead of acting on a whim, so rushed and careless. At least, you should have made an appointment. After all, we are not familiar enough to hang out anytime, anywhere.”
“Mr. Thaddeus, I actually.”
“If your intention is not to talk about business, but something else. Like introducing your daughter to me.” Thaddeus’s eyes turned–icier, not giving any face, “I’m sorry, but I won’t participate in this matchmaking game”