Chapter 365
Two hours after Jennifer's apology hit the web, the buzz about her finally died down. The Clinton Group also gave the green light for the collaboration to continue, but they made it clear: if Jennifer ever tried to mess with Constance again, there'd be no second chances for the Chambers Group or Jennifer.
Preston let out a big sigh of relief and called Eric into his office. "Eric, have you figured out why the Clinton Group is backing Constance?" he asked.
Eric's face was tight with frustration. "Dad, remember Felix's ex-wife?"
Preston nodded. "Yeah, but what's that got to do with Constance?"
Eric explained, "Turns out, Constance looks almost exactly like Felix's ex-wife."
Preston's eyes widened. "I just remembered, the Drake Group cut ties with the Clinton Group not too long ago. Could it be that Felix saw Constance as a stand-in for his ex, which pissed off the Drake family and made them end things with the Clinton Group?"
"Very likely," Eric said, determination in his voice. "But I won't let Felix be with Constance!" He was dead set on having Constance for himself.
"Eric, you need to step up your game. If Constance isn't into you, start with the Drake family," suggested Preston.
Eric's eyes lit up. "I remember when Constance was in the hospital, Mrs. Drake seemed to like me. She even set up chances for me to be alone with Constance."
Preston grinned, "Then you should take advantage of that. Win over Mrs. Drake first. If she's on your side, you won't need to keep texting Constance every day."
"Dad, got it. I'll get ready and visit the Drake family tonight!"
As the workday was wrapping up, Constance got a call from Eliza, telling her to hurry home because they had guests coming over.
Constance was puzzled. Eliza never rushed her home for guests before. "Mom, who are these guests you're so excited about?" she asked.
"You'll see when you get here. I'm not telling you now," Eliza replied.
Feeling a bit helpless, Constance started packing up to leave work. When she got to the villa, she heard laughter coming from inside.
Curious, Constance quickly walked in. As soon as she opened the door and saw who was on the sofa, she froze, a cold glint in her eyes.
Seeing Constance, Eliza quickly said, "Constance, come sit. Eric's here to visit. You two chat while I check on the soup in the kitchen."
Constance pursed her lips, took off her coat, and sat down opposite Eric.
Once Eliza left, Constance looked at Eric coldly. "Mr. Chambers, what brings you here?"
The wariness in her eyes made Eric pause. "Miss Drake, do you really dislike me?"
Constance's expression was icy. "Mr. Chambers, you know what your sister did to me at the company. If my brother had crushed the Chambers Group, would you still have feelings for me?"
"I would! I genuinely like you and won't change because of any external factors!" Eric said, his voice sincere.
But Constance's eyes remained emotionless. "I don't like you. There are plenty of women in Thundertop who'd be a good match for you. Stop wasting your time on me."
Eric's face darkened, his eyes filled with gloom. He couldn't understand why, despite his sincerity, Constance wouldn't give him a chance.
The atmosphere grew awkward, but Constance acted like she didn't notice, pulling out her phone and fiddling with it.
If it weren't for not wanting to worry Eliza, Constance would've already kicked Eric out after what Jennifer did today.
A few minutes later, Eliza came back into the living room.
Noticing the tension between Constance and Eric, Eliza frowned and said, "Constance, how can you ignore our guest and play on your phone? Since there's still some time before dinner, why don't you take Eric for a walk in the garden?"
Constance felt a bit exasperated and looked up at Eliza. "Mom, I still have work to finish. You can chat with Mr. Chambers."
Seeing her get up to leave, Eliza quickly grabbed her hand and whispered, "If you don't want me to keep setting up blind dates for you, just take Eric for a walk!"
After a moment of hesitation, Constance reluctantly agreed. She turned to Eric and said, "Mr. Chambers, it's pretty hot outside. You probably don't want to go for a walk, do you?"
She hoped Eric would take the hint and decline, but to her surprise, he smiled and said, "Not at all. Miss Drake, it's my honor to have you show me around the garden."
Once they stepped outside, Constance coldly said, "The garden isn't that big. Mr. Chambers, you can walk around by yourself. I'm really tired and want to rest for a bit."
With that, she headed straight to a nearby pavilion.
Eric smiled and followed her.
Seeing Eric sit across from her, Constance frowned. "Mr. Chambers, didn't you want to walk around the garden?"
Eric replied, "I just want to spend time with you, Miss Drake. What we do doesn't matter."
A look of impatience flashed in Constance's eyes, and just as she was about to speak, she saw Mira leading someone from the entrance.
At first, Constance only noticed the person's height, but as they got closer and she saw the face, she couldn't help but frown.
What a terrible day. Not only was Eric pestering her, but now Felix had shown up too.
Felix clearly saw them but only glanced briefly before indifferently looking away and walking into the villa with Mira.
Seeing Constance's gaze on Felix, a dark look flashed in Eric's eyes. "Miss Drake, I heard you look a lot like Mr. Clinton's ex-wife who passed away three years ago," he said.
Constance was extremely annoyed with him at this point. Couldn't he see she didn't want to talk to him? "What does that have to do with you?"
Eric replied, "Miss Drake, I just wanted to remind you that Mr. Clinton might see you as a stand-in for his ex-wife, but I genuinely like you."
Constance let out a light laugh and looked at him coldly. "Mr. Chambers, your liking for me is based on the fact that I'm a member of the Drake family. If I weren't a Drake, you probably wouldn't even have the chance to meet me, right?"
Eric showed no embarrassment at being called out. Instead, he smiled and said, "Miss Drake, that's unfair to me. If I weren't a Chambers, I wouldn't have the chance to meet you either. Our backgrounds aren't something we can choose, but it's precisely because we're well-matched that I can date you and fall in love with you at first sight."
A look of mockery flashed in Constance's eyes. "But I'm not interested in you. Your actions have already bothered me. If you truly liked me, you wouldn't disregard my feelings and impose your so-called love on me."
Eric sighed, "Miss Drake, since you don't like anyone else, why can't we give it a try?"
Just as she was about to refuse, Constance caught a glimpse of Felix walking towards them. She said, "Mr. Chambers, you're right. I can give you..."
Before she could finish her sentence, a cold voice interrupted her, "Constance, if you dare to agree to him, the Chambers Group will be bankrupt by tomorrow."
As Felix's words fell, both Constance and Eric's expressions changed.
Constance let out a cold laugh. "Mr. Clinton, do you think you can threaten me like this?"
Eric's face turned ashen, but he still stubbornly said, "Mr. Clinton, isn't it a bit too much to use the Chambers Group to threaten me to stay away from the woman I like?"
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