Chapter 58 These Things Must Never Be Known to Mrs. Turner
"Mrs. Howard, you..." Alvin's eyes were all intense, like he had something to say but just couldn't spit it out.
Margaret sighed, "I know you want us to patch things up. But if Raymond and I could turn back time, we would've done it already. Me picking out a tie for you to take back might just blow up in our faces."
She gave a little chuckle, more at herself than anything. "You should ask Sarah to help you with this."
Alvin wanted to tell her that Raymond and Sarah weren't what she thought.
Sarah had given ties to Raymond, but he never wore them.
Raymond cared way more about this marriage than Margaret realized. He'd done a ton of stuff behind her back, like firing Ashley to cool Margaret's anger, using his connections to have Silverbrook police secretly watch over her on Ironwood Lane.
He even secretly dug into who was behind Marlon's car accident.
But Raymond had made it clear that Margaret couldn't know about any of this, like he was all about doing good deeds without taking credit.
Alvin could only drop a hint. "Mrs. Howard, sometimes what you see isn't the whole picture. You gotta look deeper."
Margaret scoffed. "Alvin, you're Raymond's assistant. I get why you're defending him. But the stuff between him and me is super complicated. Stay out of it."
"Got it." Alvin nodded, went to the bedroom, and brought a blanket to cover Margaret.
After leaving The Hughes Manor, Alvin made a call, gave a few instructions, then hit the mall to buy a tie, and drove back to The Hughes Group.
Raymond was deep in his work. Even though it was after hours, the lights in the CEO's office were still blazing.
The office was toasty warm.
Raymond, in a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing off his muscular arms, leaned back in his leather chair, eyes glued to the computer screen. His fingers flew over the keyboard, probably replying to some messages.
Alvin walked up, standing respectfully by his side, waiting for Raymond to finish up.
Raymond, with his chiseled features, looked most captivating when he was all serious about his work.
Raymond and Margaret were a perfect match.
Maybe because they'd been married for so long, their styles had started to sync up.
Raymond finished typing, looked up, and his cold gaze landed on Alvin, frowning slightly. "Where's the thing I asked you to get?"
Alvin pushed the shopping bag in front of Raymond.
Raymond opened the bag, glanced at the tie inside, pure black, and the brand was familiar.
Raymond closed the bag, squinting at Alvin. "This isn't the one I asked for. Did you buy this?"
"Mr. Howard, you're kidding, right? I wouldn't dare. This is picked for you by Mrs. Howard," Alvin said calmly, "Mrs. Howard lost your tie, so she got you this one as a replacement."
Raymond gave a cold smile, touching his chin, and asked meaningfully, "Is that so?"
Alvin nodded. "When I got to The Hughes Manor, I found Mrs. Howard had sprained her ankle, and it was pretty bad. So, in your name, I bought medicine for her and called Mary to take care of her. Mrs. Howard was worried I wouldn't be able to explain myself to you and make you mad, so she helped pick out this tie."
Raymond believed that Margaret had picked out the tie. The style and brand were definitely her favorites.
She'd bought a ton of his clothes from that store. Alvin's story checked out.
Raymond just stared at Alvin, not saying a word.
Alvin spoke up, "Mr. Howard, it was my call to have Mrs. Howard get you a new tie. If you wanna punish someone, punish me."
Raymond's voice was ice-cold, "Your salary and bonus for this month are gone. Don't let it happen again."
Alvin replied quietly, "Yes, sir."
Raymond said, "Leave."
Alvin nodded. "Yes, sir."
After Alvin left, Raymond reopened the bag, took out the tie with a complicated look, stared at it for a long time, then tossed it back in the bag and rubbed his temples, exhausted.
Mary made Margaret's favorite soup, and she drank several bowls.
From Mary, she found out that Alvin had arranged for her care.
Alvin was Raymond's guy, so it had to be Raymond's idea. Alvin wouldn't dare make such calls on his own.
In the past, she might've thought this was Raymond softening up, showing he cared, maybe even apologizing.
But now she knew better. He didn't care about her. Whatever he did was just to mess with her more.
Margaret held the soup, smiling bitterly.
Mary looked at her with pity. Since the last time they met, Margaret had lost a lot of weight, a clear sign she wasn't doing well.
Mary grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. The news was on.
The female anchor was talking about Ashley's upcoming funeral.
Mary sighed. "So sad, only 23. Why would she kill herself? Once you're gone, everything is gone."
Margaret turned her head and saw the news. She stared at the TV screen.
Ashley was being pulled out by the police and loaded into an ambulance.
Then the funeral home's car hit the highway.
Finally, there was a shot of Sarah wiping her tears, looking all sad.
"According to media reports, Ashley's funeral will be held in two days at the Silverbrook Funeral Home. Her classmate Sarah is organizing it and covering all the costs." The female anchor sighed, looking all sorrowful.
Margaret blinked her dry eyes, totally shocked.
So Ashley and Sarah were classmates.
Could it be that Sarah had Ashley try to kill her, but Ashley bailed at the last minute?
A terrible suspicion grew in Margaret's mind. Sarah had a motive to kill her.
But if Ashley failed, why didn't Sarah distance herself?
If Margaret had known what would go down at the funeral, she wouldn't have gone.
Her phone buzzed, snapping her back to reality.
"Ms. Hughes, you got a message." Mary bent down, picked up the phone from the sofa, and handed it to Margaret.
Margaret took it, looked down, and after unlocking it with her fingerprint, a refund notification popped up.
Daniel hadn't accepted her transfer.
The money was back in her account.
He didn't reply. The last message was from her, sent yesterday while she was on the plane: [Thanks for the ride.]
He hadn't accepted it. Did he think the amount was too small?
Margaret transferred the money again, this time with a bigger amount.
The last time she knelt outside The Hughes Group building, in a blizzard, surrounded by the media, if it hadn't been for Daniel's help, she would've been utterly humiliated.
He had even given her an ointment.
Just after sending it, Daniel replied: [No need to transfer money. I don't need it.]
Did he misunderstand, thinking she was trying to insult him with money?
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