I once knelt in a bank manager’s office, begging for a loan; I stayed in the hospital caring for my business partner’s sick father, fighting to save a lost deal…
That’s when I finally realized some people only care about profit, not feelings. Maybe selfishness really did run in the blood.
My heart suddenly grew calm, the sadness fading away.
Ignoring my mother-in-law’s shouting, I grabbed my car keys and hurried to the hospital.
As soon as I reached the second floor, I saw Raline walking toward me, arm in arm with Hudson, looking shy.
When our eyes met, a quick panic and embarrassment showed on Raline’s face, then she turned aside and coughed.
“What happened to your head?” she asked coldly.
“Just look at you! A grown man and you still manage to get your head bleeding. If you had even a bit of your brother-in-law’s ability, I wouldn’t have to work this hard.”
My stare settled on Hudson beside her, my face cold, my eyes dark and heavy. That was when I knew I was no match for him; he was truly hard to read.
“Alright, go check on yourself. Don’t cause any more trouble.” Saying that, she quickly took Hudson’s arm, as if afraid of being tainted and walked away without turning back.
Just as they disappeared around the stairwell, a message from Raline appeared. [I’m pregnant. Hudson is hosting a celebration banquet for me this Wednesday. You have to be there.]
[Hudson wants the public to think the baby is yours. After it’s born, you can hand it over to him for adoption to make it look proper. Don’t say anything you shouldn’t.]
I quietly deleted the message, then opened one from my lawyer. [President Palmer, if you choose to leave with nothing, the divorce will move fast. But once property division is involved, it’ll take more time.]
Reading it, I replied, [I want you to handle my rightful share. I won’t walk away empty-handed.]
From the day I graduated and joined the failing Leighton Group, I worked alone to build a company that earned over a hundred million dollars in just three months. Why should I leave like a fool with nothing?
I just wanted what belonged to me. Even if I ended up donating it, I wouldn’t let that bastard child get a share.
By Wednesday, I arrived right on time.
Raline walked through the crowd with Hudson by her side, smiling as the guests offered their congratulations. Hudson also laughed and chatted with everyone.
I quietly handed the gift to Raline. She glanced at it, then stepped a few feet away, as if trying to avoid any misunderstanding.
“Alright, Hudson has already given me more than a dozen gifts, so don’t bother.”
I gave a faint smile. "Okay!"
So she already saw Hudson as her husband. Her real husband giving her a gift only made me look nosy.
I passed it to the butler, Alvin. “Alvin, this is for your wife. Please take it to her.”
Alvin immediately thanked me sincerely. “Mr. Palmer, you’re too generous. I’ll thank you on behalf of your wife.”
He bowed to me.
See? Sometimes, a small act of kindness from a stranger could touch someone deeply.
Some people, no matter what you did for them, stayed indifferent, treated you like nothing and thought you were just trying to please them.
A business partner came over to congratulate me. “Mr. Palmer, congratulations on your son’s birth!”
Then, looking confused, he asked, “Mr. Palmer, why don’t you take care of President Leighton yourself? Why do you keep asking Mr. Pellegrini to handle it?”
I smiled lightly. “It’s all the same. We’re one family, no need to make it sound so formal.”
The people around me watched me with curious looks, then turned their eyes to Raline and Hudson, who stood close together. They seemed to get the idea and smiled in understanding.
