Chapter 170 How About I Help You out Tonight
Mars turned pale with fear at the sight and hurriedly stepped forward to stop him. "Mr. Sterling, don't do this! Let go!"
Mars tried to make him drop the glass shard, but Philip only gripped it tighter, blood dripping from his hand onto the floor, eventually forming a winding stream.
Philip's face was ashen as he let out a self-deprecating laugh. "If I cut my carotid artery with this shard, then it would all be over, wouldn't it?"
Hearing Philip's low murmurs, Mars thought he had truly gone mad.
Mars had hired the best psychologists for him, but it seemed that even the world's best couldn't cure Philip's mental illness.
Seeing the shard sink deeper, Mars was helpless.
He slowly withdrew his outstretched hand, his expression wooden, standing aside helplessly.
The company's situation was extremely dire, already driving people to their wits' end.
"Mr. Sterling, Edward is ready to return to the board. Several major shareholders have decided to transfer their shares to him. But you said Edward was kicked out by you and only got a small portion of William's assets. Where did he get the money to buy their shares? They must have signed some private agreement."
Mars' guess was correct.
Douglas had spared Edward to use him against Philip.
Edward was not a useless person. He had been rooted in the Heyday Group for over a decade, always having supporters on the board. Before William's death, his rise seemed natural and well-supported. But after William's death, he was kicked out, which was a real test of loyalty.
Philip's ruthless methods could sometimes force people to submit, but not always sincerely.
In winning people's hearts, he was not as good as the hypocrite Edward.
So even though Edward didn't have the money to buy the shares, there were still people willing to be his stepping stones.
Philip still held 51% of the Heyday Group's shares, giving him relative control over the company, but he had less than a third of the employees' support.
In this war, winning hearts was a more effective weapon than real weapons.
Mars sighed deeply. "Now more than half of the shareholders have agreed to transfer their shares to Edward."
According to the company's share transfer rules, if Philip didn't agree to the transfer, he would have to come up with billions of dollars to cut off the deal and buy their shares, but Philip didn't have that money.
After William's sudden death and the internal turmoil, Douglas had frequently targeted the Heyday Group.
First, he competed for projects, then cut off the Heyday Group's most important supply chain.
All this had led to a tough first half of the year for the Heyday Group, with significant financial losses.
In short, someone seemed determined to drive him to the ground.
But Philip wasn't ready to wait for death.
Even if it meant struggling until the very end.
Meanwhile, Douglas headed straight home after leaving Peace Club.
On his way, he was caught in a summer night's storm—thunder crashing, lightning flashing, and the noise was deafening.
Jason, glancing through the rearview mirror, noticed Douglas was glued to his phone.
First, Douglas called the housekeeper to check on Regina. Hearing she had woken up, he then dialed Regina directly.
"Mrs. Semona, are you still awake?"
Regina, staring up at the crystal chandelier, shook her head. "Can't sleep."
"I'm on my way back."
Regina paused for a moment, wondering, 'Tonight is Charles' birthday. Shouldn't he be out late?'
But then she remembered Douglas had been canceling many engagements recently, including business ones. He didn't have a habit of staying out.
About half an hour later, Douglas arrived home.
He stood before Regina in his formal shirt and trousers, while Regina, in a white nightgown, sat on the bed reading a half-finished book, looking both relaxed and lazy.
Seeing her calm demeanor, Douglas finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Noticing his visible relief, Regina couldn't help but laugh. "It's just thunder and rain. It's not the end of the world. Don't worry so much about me. I'm not scared."
Regina had heard about prenatal anxiety and postpartum depression, but she wasn't worried about herself. Instead, she was concerned about Douglas' state of mind.
"I'm really fine," she urged him, "I'll read until you're done. You go take a shower."
As he turned to head for the bathroom, Regina instinctively grabbed his wrist and tentatively asked, "Um, could you stay with me tonight?"
Douglas chuckled softly, reaching out to ruffle her hair with a look of undeniable affection. "Sure."
Realizing she had been waiting for him to stay, Douglas made quick work of his shower. Twenty minutes later, he returned to the bedroom wearing a black robe.
He carried a faint, refreshing scent of mint. Regina wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest, feeling utterly content.
The unexpected storm had already made her sleepiness fade.
They lay quietly together for a while until Douglas suddenly spoke up, "I saw the tweet you posted this evening on my way back."
Regina had announced her pregnancy on Twitter earlier that day.
The reason? Miranda had shown her some online comments where people seemed to be urging them to have a baby. Regina figured that since everyone was so eager and she was genuinely pregnant now, why not share the news as a joyous occasion? After all, there were many people out there who cared about them in the online world.
To be honest, it wasn't really Regina's style. After the fact, she realized it might have been a bit impulsive.
"Um, you're not mad at me for posting it without consulting you, are you?"
"Why would I be mad?"
Douglas was actually quite pleased about it.
Relieved, Regina relaxed.
They fell asleep in each other's arms.
As Regina listened to the rain pattering against the window, she gradually sensed something unusual about Douglas.
It had been almost a month since she'd learned about her pregnancy, and during that time, Douglas had been remarkably restrained. He hadn't done anything that might cause her any mental strain, not even uttered a single word about what he wanted. His self-control was truly impressive.
But Regina didn't want him to suffer so much.
Feeling a mix of spontaneity and seriousness, she said, "How about I help you release some of that tonight?"
