Chapter 629 Michelle Doesn't Deserve It
Hayden didn't hide anything from Teresa and told her everything.
Teresa, after hearing it all and seeing Jocelyn dressed as the bride, finally believed that the person marrying Jasper today was indeed Jocelyn, not Hayden.
Having grasped the situation, Teresa gleefully congratulated Jasper and then excused herself to the restroom, unable to contain her excitement, to call William.
On the other end of the phone, William had just arrived at the office and knew that what Teresa wanted to talk to him about was probably related to Hayden and Jasper's wedding.
However, he always spoiled Teresa, so he never ignored her calls unless he didn't hear it.
"William, do you want to know the good news or the bad news first?" Teresa's excited voice came through as soon as the call connected.
Teresa's excitement always infected William, so he smiled. "What's the bad news?"
"The bad news is, Jasper didn't marry Hayden." Teresa stifled a laugh on the other end of the line, speaking from the restroom at the Hart family residence.
William thought, "Jasper didn't marry Hayden?"
William's handsome brows furrowed, and he immediately asked, "Then what's the good news?"
Teresa continued, "The good news is that Jocelyn married Jasper."
Once again, William's brows furrowed, and he was momentarily stunned.
Teresa meant that the Hart family and the Bush family were allied, but the person Jasper married was not Hayden but Jocelyn.
How could this happen?
"Tell me what happened exactly, Teresa?" William asked immediately after comprehending the situation.
Whether it was Hayden or Jasper, they both clearly told him that the bride was Hayden and the groom was Jasper, so how did it turn out that Jasper married Jocelyn now?
There must have been something that happened in between.
"William, are you upset by this news?" Hearing William's somewhat worried voice, Teresa suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.
"Why should I be happy?" William asked again.
"William, even for Chloe and Logan's sake, haven't you ever thought about being with Hayden again?" Teresa asked again.
"No." William's answer was straightforward.
Previously, because he had an engagement with Michelle, he never thought about betraying Michelle and being with Hayden again.
Now, even though Michelle had agreed to dissolve their engagement, he still hadn't thought about being with Hayden, even for a second.
Although he had never truly let go of her in his heart, after all, Hayden was his first woman and the only woman so far.
"William, what misunderstandings do you and Hayden have that you can't open up and talk about?" Teresa frowned.
"I've explained all the misunderstandings between us, but we missed our chance. As for what happens between me and Hayden in the future, you don't need to worry about it. Focus more on yourself and Gabriel," William replied, somewhat displeased, under everyone's eager yet dissatisfied gaze.
"Fine!" Teresa was more unhappy. "Just pretend I never made this call."
Hearing Teresa's unhappy voice, William sighed helplessly, "Alright, have fun."
"Okay." Teresa replied listlessly and then hung up the phone.
Listening to the sound of the call being disconnected on the phone, William sighed helplessly once again.
Originally, he wanted to call Jasper to ask what had happened, but considering today was Jasper's wedding day, he had to give up.
After all, whether Hayden married Jasper or not, it didn't really concern him anymore.
After Teresa and Gabriel attended Jasper and Jocelyn's wedding in the Imperial Capital, they returned to River North the next day.
On the night they returned to River North, they had dinner at the Bennett family with Robert.
However, upon their return, they found Patrick looking particularly unhappy. It wasn't just him; Sophia didn't look too good either.
"Dad, Mom, what's wrong? Why do you look so unhappy? What happened?" Teresa asked with concern when she noticed something was off.
"Grandpa Patrick, Grandma Sophia, you need to smile to regain your youth. Frowning easily accelerates aging." Robert climbed onto Patrick's lap, his chubby little hands rubbing Patrick's troubled face to comfort him.
Being comforted by his precious grandson like this, Patrick immediately smiled and kissed Robert's head, nodding. "Alright, I'll smile."
"Dad, Mom, what's going on?" Teresa looked at them and asked again.
"It's your brother, I don't know what he's up to. He didn't tell me or your dad anything and transferred 3% of the Bennett Group's shares to Michelle's name." Sophia didn't want to hide anything from Teresa and Gabriel, so she directly told them.
In Patrick and Sophia's eyes, Teresa and Gabriel were family, and Teresa also owned a considerable share in the Bennett family, all managed by William.
"Transferred the entire 3% of the Bennett Group's shares to Michelle?" Teresa was shocked. "Dad, Mom, are you sure?"
Gabriel, sitting next to Teresa, was also surprised. He hadn't sensed any particular fondness between William and Michelle before. Now, for William to be so generous and transfer such a substantial stake to Michelle's name was unexpected.
This move meant that aside from the Bennett family, Michelle would become one of the largest shareholders in the Bennett Group.
"What's there to be unsure about? Can your dad and I be mistaken about such things?" Sophia scolded Teresa.
Since it was confirmed, Teresa couldn't help but furrow her brows in confusion. "When did my brother become so good to Michelle?"
"Your brother is not impulsive. He must have his reasons for doing this. He'll explain when he comes back." Gabriel hugged Teresa's shoulder and smiled at her.
Sophia nodded. "Your dad and I just want to understand why he transferred the Bennett family's shares to Michelle."
"Mr. William." The voice of a servant came from the doorway as Sophia finished speaking.
"William." Robert saw William coming back and immediately slid down from Patrick's thigh, then pounced on William.
William handed his suit jacket to the servant, then bent down to pick up the child who was rushing toward him.
"You've gained weight again in just a few days," William chuckled as he looked at the adorable child in his arms.
Robert grinned. "I love eating delicious food, so I eat until I'm full every day."
William chuckled and lightly rubbed his round belly, saying, "Let me see what you've been eating."
"I've eaten all the delicious food." Robert grinned and then pointed to the people in the hall. "Uncle William, Grandpa Patrick and Grandma Sophia are not happy. They are going to criticize you for making a mistake."
Following his finger, William finally looked toward the people in the hall and then walked over with the child in his arms.
"Dad, Mom." Walking over, William called out coldly.
Patrick looked at him and immediately frowned, asking directly, "What's the deal with the 3% of the shares? Why did you transfer them to Michelle without consulting me and your dad?"
"William, even though the 3% of the shares were taken from yours, this is not a small matter. How could you not even discuss it with me and your dad?" Sophia also looked at him reproachfully.
"William, even if you want to marry Michelle, do you have to rush to make her the fifth largest shareholder of the Bennett family? After all, you two are not married yet!" Teresa didn't have a good impression of Michelle, so she did have some objections to suddenly making her the fifth largest shareholder of the Bennett family.
"I'm not marrying her. We've already called off the engagement," William replied calmly as he sat on the sofa, playing with the child amidst everyone's curious and displeased stares.
"Dissolved the engagement!" Teresa thought she misheard, asking, "William, you and Michelle have called off the engagement?"
"William, what's going on? When did you call off the engagement with Michelle? Why didn't we hear anything from you? What's going on?" Sophia looked at Patrick and Teresa, also surprised.
"Yesterday." William sat on the sofa and replied coldly while playing with the child.
"Yesterday!" Teresa was even more surprised. "Wasn't it the day of Jasper and Hayden's wedding, no, Jasper and Jocelyn's wedding?"
"Yes." William replied coldly again.
"Did Michelle think that since the bride was Hayden, she agreed to dissolve the engagement with you on the day of Hayden and Jasper's wedding?" Teresa guessed.
"Maybe." William replied coldly again.
"So, is transferring the 3% of the shares your way of compensating Michelle?" Gabriel asked William.
William glanced at Gabriel and answered with a hint of ambiguity. "You can understand it that way."
"Even if you and she are breaking off the engagement, you don't need to compensate her with 3% of the group's shares." Patrick couldn't help but get angry upon hearing this and said firmly, "Call Michelle now and have her return the 3% of the shares."
"Yes, William, even if you're breaking off the engagement, it was a mutual decision. Even if Michelle has some losses and is unwilling, you don't need to compensate her with 3% of the group's shares!" Sophia was also somewhat annoyed.
Teresa nodded in agreement, feeling displeased. "Many socialite wives climb the wealth rankings after divorces. Michelle made it onto next year's rich list just by canceling the engagement, which seems excessive."
It was not that Teresa was narrow-minded. It was just that Michelle didn't deserve it.
