Chapter 103 Mrs. Howard, are you satisfied?
Seeing how quickly I agreed, Edward was over the moon. After a passionate kiss, he pulled out a folder from his bag and opened it right in front of me.
"What's this?" My heart started racing. The surprises Edward had for me tonight were just too much to handle.
Edward grinned and said, "Take a look."
The folder had "Stock Transfer Agreement" written in big, bold letters.
I skimmed through it; it was an agreement Edward had put together to help me sell my shares in the Cooper Group. I had been haggling over the share price with the Cooper Group's execs for a week, but we couldn't reach an agreement. Frustrated and swamped with court cases, I had put the whole thing on hold. But to my surprise, Edward had managed to sort it all out in less than a week.
I looked at the key figures in the contract and sighed. "At this price, those guys will never agree."
Edward's price was way higher than what I had in mind. They were already trying to lowball my original price, so how could they possibly agree to buy my shares at an even higher price?
Edward's tone was a bit smug, "Won't agree? Check out the last page."
I flipped to the end of the contract, and there it was—the other party's signature. Ironically, the first signature was from my former subordinate who had initially opposed me. I had no clue what Edward had said to them or what extra perks he had promised. But somehow, these execs had agreed to buy my shares, and now they were just waiting for my signature in the transferor column.
Seeing me in a daze, Edward whispered in my ear, "Mrs. Howard, are you happy?"
I was momentarily lost and replied, "Yes."
But I couldn't shake this nagging feeling that something shady might be going on.
"If you're happy, then go ahead and sign." With that, Edward handed me a pen. I looked at the pen and fell into deep thought. This pen was familiar, a constant presence in Edward's life. Even when it broke once, he couldn't bear to toss it. Anne and I had bought him plenty of pens, but he never used them. Instead, he got this one fixed. I had tried to find out if this pen had any special meaning to Edward. He had brushed me off, saying it was a gift from an old friend, but he never mentioned who that friend was and didn't let us ask more.
I pushed the pen away slightly and said, "No rush. Since this is the final version of the contract, I think I should review it again." I closed the folder and gently put it in my bag.
Edward cut a piece of steak and chewed it thoughtfully. "I didn't expect that you still don't trust me."
His words were soft but hit me like a punch. We had been married for four years, but recent events had shaken my trust in Edward. This contract was a big deal, selling my shares in the Cooper Group, but the ease with which he presented it raised all my suspicions. So I half-jokingly said, "It's not that I don't trust you, but as a lawyer, I need to double-check the contract before signing."
I couldn't blindly trust Edward just because he was my husband. I needed to use my professional skills to carefully review the agreement and make sure every clause was in my favor.
Edward nodded, "Of course, you can sign whenever you want. The contract kicks in the day after you sign, so the Cooper Group is still yours for now." It felt like he was reminding both of us.
"Try the steak. It's really tender," Edward said, taking a bite of his own.
I had been eyeing this hotel for a while, but Edward's actions today were making me uneasy. He was being too nice, almost unnaturally so. I cut a piece of steak and chewed it slowly.
"What about Anne? What are your plans?" I asked casually after finishing a piece of steak. "I don't want to live in a three-person household, never."
Edward frowned slightly. "Why bring her up?"
"Why not? Isn't Anne your sister? Can't I mention her?" I tried to stay calm.
I had thought it through. Edward and I didn't have any major issues or conflicts. If it weren't for Anne's interference, I would still deeply love him. And I believed that without Anne, Edward would be a good husband.
Edward stared at my lips and said, "You know Anne is my sister, yet you always compete with her. But seeing you jealous makes me happy because it shows you care about me."
I nodded. "Yes, I care about you, but who do you care about?"
Edward's frown deepened. "Diana, I'm in a good mood today and don't want to argue about this. I'll say it again, Anne is just my sister, and I won't allow you to have those crazy thoughts about her," Edward replied firmly.
"Just a sister?" I looked up seriously at him.
"Of course, what else would you think? I've never had anything with her, and I never will," Edward said.
"Really? Then why did you sleep with her?" I asked.
Edward's face darkened. "Diana, what are you implying? When did I ever do that?" he demanded.
I asked again, "Didn't you? Anne ended up with an anal fissure and was sent to the hospital. How do you explain that?"
Edward sighed, "You think that was me? Impossible. It wasn't me; it was a male classmate from her school. That guy is a jerk. He noticed Anne's good family background and naive nature and took advantage of her."
Edward fell silent, then suddenly seemed to remember something, "It was the guy who threw liquid at you on the street today. Every time I see him, I want to hit him."
Talking about that man, Edward suddenly broke down emotionally, and he buried his head in his hands, his voice trembling.
I asked Edward, "He's not just Anne's classmate, is he?"
I knew bringing up that man would hurt Edward more, but to clear my doubts and for the sake of our future, I decided to uncover the truth.
Edward froze for a moment, then asked cautiously, "What else do you know?"
"I know he's Anne's boyfriend," I answered.
Edward shook his head and said, "No, he's not. He pursued Anne, but she didn't like him. That man relentlessly chased Anne, trying to use her to take over our family's assets."
This matched what the man had told me in the alley. But Edward still shifted all the blame onto that man, avoiding Anne's own mistakes.
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