Chapter 33 You Are the Woman I Love the Most!
Osflow, the old Smith family crib.
Philip had his goons take a chopper and, when they were still like 3 feet off the ground, they just tossed Oliver out, landing him right at the doorstep of the old Smith house.
Oliver felt like his bones were about to shatter from the fall!
"Damn it! Do you guys even know the law? This is straight-up assault!" he ranted.
The bodyguard in black shades sneered, "Philip said it's a good deed to send you back home. You know exactly how you treated Catherine!"
Oliver thought to himself, 'Is that the same thing? Catherine's just an ungrateful brat, but I'm the president of the Smith Group!'
The bodyguards bounced as soon as they dropped him off, taking the chopper with them.
The wind from the chopper's blades messed up Oliver's hair, wrinkled his suit, and left dust and dirt all over his face, making him look like a hobo.
A few beggars at the doorstep of the old house almost mistook him for one of their own.
Oliver was fuming. He pulled out his phone to call the cops, only to find there was no signal!
Neil, the caretaker of the old house, saw Oliver and quickly ran out to greet him.
"Mr. Smith, why didn't you tell us you were coming back? Are you here to make a donation?"
Oliver was speechless.
He cared about his rep and usually didn't come back. When he did, it was always with a big fanfare, donating a few tens of thousands of dollars, making sure the whole village knew about it.
Oliver changed the subject, "Why is there not even a road in the village?"
"Oh, are you here to build a road for the village? That's awesome! I'll inform the village chief right away!" Neil said happily.
Oliver quickly stopped him and said, "No, first get me out of here. My phone has no signal, so I can't donate to the village right now!"
"What? You want to build a signal tower for the village? That's wonderful!" Neil said happily again.
'Damn Neil! Taking advantage of his poor hearing to deliberately twist my words!'
Oliver couldn't bring himself to say he wouldn't donate, but he really didn't want to give money to these people. He grabbed Neil and said, "I have a big business deal to attend to. Get me out of here first. Does the village have a car?"
Neil said with an innocent smile, "Yes, wait here while I bring it over!"
Oliver was puzzled.
'What kind of car needs to be brought over?!'
While Neil went to get the car, Oliver looked up at the Smith family's ancestral home.
He had lived here as a kid and had worked hard to become a well-known millionaire in Serenitia City. He never wanted to come back.
'Now, looking at it, the old house seemed to have been renovated?'
'And with the best materials, even planting a maple tree at the entrance, which Elodie loved. I've seen this type and old age at auctions, and it isn't cheap.'
'It certainly wasn't me who renovated it. How could I spend money on this old house?'
'Could it be that Lucas, for Clara's sake, secretly renovated the old house to surprise our family?'
The more Oliver thought about it, the more likely it seemed!
'Lucas is so thoughtful!'
'Although the Johnson family had some business issues recently, they've always been a tier above the Smith family.'
'Luckily, Clara has been close to Lucas since childhood, unlike Catherine, who was always indifferent to the boys from prestigious families.'
'When I get back, I must discuss Clara's engagement with the Johnson family. Such a good son-in-law shouldn't be snatched away by someone else!'
Just as Oliver was happily thinking about this, he saw Neil leading a bullock cart over!
The bull was clearly old, needing to rest after every step!
"Mr. Smith, this is the only bullock cart in our village. Hurry up. You'll definitely reach the town before dawn!" Neil said.
Oliver's voice trembled, "Will there be cars in town?"
"Yeah, you can switch to a bus there and get to Osflow City!"
Oliver remembered!
He had avoided coming back for so many years because it was so hard to leave this place! There wasn't an airport in Osflow. He would need to take a train to the nearest airport.
A few years back, the folks from his hometown hit him up to donate for road construction. He thought it wasn't worth it and couldn't get any publicity out of it, so he threw his money at building a highway in Serenitia City instead, barely scraping his name onto the list of donating millionaires.
Neil enthusiastically called out, "Mr. Smith, hop on. Daylight's coming soon!"
Oliver cursed under his breath and pinched his nose as he climbed onto the bullock cart, which was covered in cow dung and dry grass!
Neil called over a beggar, "Hey, take Mr. Smith to the town."
The bullock cart started shaking like crazy after just a few steps, making Oliver want to puke!
Neil watched Oliver's back and chuckled.
He pulled out a satellite phone and called Catherine.
"Catherine, I recorded Mr. Smith saying he'd build roads and a signal tower for the village. I'll send it to you right away!"
"Thanks."
Neil's face wrinkled into a smile, "No problem. If it weren't for you, the village wouldn't have survived, let alone you funding the renovation of the old house and the village!"
"That's Elodie's home. It's the least I could do."
Catherine looked at the video Neil sent and then closed her phone.
'The small mountain village in Osflow is where Elodie lived her whole life, and I'm gonna protect it!'
Five days later, at the Serenitia City police station.
The cops opened the holding cell door and let Celeste and Clara out.
Oliver, with a scruffy beard and looking utterly exhausted, waited at the door.
Celeste was stunned when she saw Oliver's condition!
"Oliver, how do you look more worn out than I do after being in there for a few days?"
Oliver felt like crying as he recounted his ordeal!
He had barely made it back from Osflow, pulling every string within the Smith family to get Celeste and Clara released.
"At least you're out now. Let's go home."
Celeste grabbed Oliver's arm and asked, "Did Catherine agree to a settlement?"
"I used my connections to bail you out. If Catherine wants to press charges, you'll have to go back in," Oliver said.
Clara covered her mouth, sobbing, "What are we gonna do, Oliver? I don't wanna go back in there. It was terrifying! How could Catherine be so heartless? What did the Smith family ever do to her?"
"Oliver, Catherine must have found some rich guy to back her up. Otherwise, how would she get the nerve?" Celeste said.
Oliver thought the same!
Just thinking about Philip's face made his legs tremble!
"Clara, Lucas is a good son-in-law. You gotta hold on to him. Once he's out of the hospital, we'll arrange your wedding! As for Catherine, we'll publicly cut ties with her and make sure she doesn't bother us again!" Oliver said.
Clara blushed, "Okay, I'll visit Lucas tomorrow!"
ICU, Heartfelt Hospital.
Clara handed Lucas a bowl of soup and said, "Lucas, I made this soup myself. Please have some."
Under the Johnson family's meticulous care, Lucas could finally speak.
He grabbed Clara's hand, with a face full of tubes, managing to show a loving expression and said,
"Clara, you're the woman I love most. I'll marry no one but you. From the moment I first saw you as a kid, I fell deeply in love with you!"
Clara blushed deeply, her face turning bright red, and said, "Lucas, I love you too. Let's get married once you're better!"
'Married? No way!'
'I still wanna enjoy life, with so many beautiful women waiting for my affection. How could I limit my life to just one woman?'
Remembering Molly's words, Lucas forced a smile and said,
"Alright, Clara, once I'm better, we'll get married. I'll give you the grandest wedding in the world, making you the envy of everyone! But Clara, I had my eye on a diamond ring for you, but our family's business has hit a bit of a snag recently."
He held Clara's hand tightly, looking at her with deep affection, and said, "Would you be willing to help me, as the future mistress of the Johnson family?"
'The future mistress of the Johnson family!'
Those words made Clara feel like she was floating on air!
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