Chapter 58 That Night’s Woman
That statement left Pearl rooted to the spot.
A chill spread from her feet upwards, draining the warmth from her body and stealing her vitality.
What did Auntie Gu mean by that?
Oscar married her for her grandfather’s shares?
Pearl’s gaze went blank; turning toward the door, she peeked through the gap and saw Magdalen standing inside, visibly upset.
Oscar was lounging on the sofa, his legs crossed, his eyes betraying no emotion.
“Hmm,” he grunted simply in response.
Pearl’s face went pale, shock the only thing visible in her eyes.
No wonder he had married her; there had been conditions attached.
No wonder, on their wedding night, he had said there would be no relations between them and had told her to know her place.
She had started as just a bargaining chip.
Once he had secured the deal, he could let go, which explained the three-year contract.
Magdalen pressed on, “I knew you weren’t one to compromise easily, but is this fair to Pearl? You’re hurting her.”
Oscar’s eyes remained calm, and his lips barely moved, “I will compensate her.”
He appeared indifferent, which infuriated Magdalen. She shot back with a question, "So now, you realize you should treat her well? Are you trying to make amends?"
Oscar paused briefly before admitting in line with her accusation, "You're not wrong."
Pearl's heart felt like it was splitting apart as she stumbled backward a few steps. Was he simply compensating her? The gentleness and sweetness she had perceived were nothing but his way of making up to her. He felt guilty, he was using her, and that's why he was being kind!
Pearl clutched her mouth tightly with her hands, fearful of crying out, not wanting to disturb them, and risking being the clown in the situation.
"Oscar, how could you become such a person? You'd go to any length to achieve your goals, even hurting those closest to you! After all, I have been with you since childhood, and you’re acting just like Mrs. Brown. You've disappointed me so much…" Magdalen's voice was loud with accusation, and Pearl could hear everything clearly, but she lacked the courage to listen any further, fearing that knowing too much would only hurt her.
She almost ran away in panic, getting farther and farther from the ominous study.
As her steps became more frantic, she fled down the stairs and out of the house.
Meanwhile, in the study, Magdalen continued to reproach Oscar. She was unhappy with his behavior and sympathized with Pearl's wasted efforts over the years. He had failed to see the good in Pearl and was still taking advantage of her.
"This is between Pearl and me," Oscar said with an icy look, refusing to discuss the matter.
"How can you be so indifferent?" Magdalen pressed. "Your grandfather set this up for you. How can you let him down?"
Oscar pressed his lips together, refusing to speak.
"The three-year deadline you set with Pearl is almost up, and then you can divorce her and claim half the shares without any issue! What a scheme!" she exclaimed.
"And what about what you told me earlier? You said you hadn't thought about divorcing Pearl. Were you lying to me?" Magdalen asked.
Oscar looked at her, thinking carefully before he responded coolly, "I wasn't lying to you."
Magdalen felt both angry and sad, initially thinking it was just a minor spousal spat that would eventually blow over.
But it was never that simple. Oscar had planned too much, even calculating his marriage into his schemes. This would leave Pearl with nothing.
She was a good girl who didn't deserve such ill-treatment.
Yet his final words made Magdalen feel somewhat relieved. Her anger dissipated halfway, at least confirming that he wasn't completely without conscience.
--
Pearl was gasping for air, the cold wind beating against her without her feeling its chill. She didn't notice the cold or the biting wind; she focused solely on escaping.
Not knowing how long she had been running, Pearl finally stopped, out of breath.
Cradling her knees with both hands, tears began to fall unconsciously to the ground.
At that moment, Pearl realized she was crying uncontrollably. The warm droplets turned ice cold, seemingly slicing through her cheeks.
Why must it be this way?
Why must it be this way?
Pearl asked herself why all the beauty had turned into lies.
She used to think that Oscar's gentlest, most heart-fluttering demeanor was just his way of compensating and expressing guilt.
She finally understood what Haley meant by her words.
Oscar had married her only to use her.
He didn't feel any pity for her, nor did his heart beat for her, not even slightly.
Pearl crouched down, feeling an unbearable chill in her heart as she hugged herself tightly.
She now yearned for a turtle shell to hide in so she wouldn't get hurt.
But what could she do?
She was utterly defeated.
After an indeterminate time, Pearl's hands were nearly numb when she finally stood up. Turning to look at the vast mansion behind her, she realized the identity of Mrs. Brown was never meant for her.
But where could she go?
Pearl's hands and feet were cold from the shock; she hadn't brought anything with her, not even her cell phone.
She had no idea where she could go that night.
She wrapped her arms around herself, walking aimlessly with a foggy mind, everything around her blurring until she eventually collapsed.
Meanwhile, Magdalen emerged from the study, still simmering with anger but warned in no uncertain terms, "You better be right about what you said. Pearl is a good girl, many times better than Haley. Even if you couldn't let go of her before, you have to now! If you do anything to hurt Pearl, I'll make sure you pay for it!"
"I know what I'm doing," Oscar responded coldly.
Magdalen looked at Oscar again and again, her heart breaking over his situation, afraid that he would be blinded again by his attraction to people like Haley.
The Brown household would certainly be thrown into chaos.
However, Magdalen felt a sense of relief seeing Pearl return happy; their relationship seemed to be mending, and she decided not to worry too much or interfere.
After composing herself and leaving Oscar to his thoughts, Magdalen left without further comment.
Once Magdalen had gone, Oscar returned to the study.
He turned on the computer to a rather lengthy surveillance video.
It showed Haley's figure.
The day she returned to the country, she appeared in the footage, with the background being the hotel where he had gotten drunk.
Oscar watched the surveillance clip for several minutes but only included the first half. The latter half was missing, so he could not know if he had been with Haley.
His brows furrowed as he thought about it. There was a discrepancy between the time Haley left and the time he supposedly spent with her.
He still had his doubts about that night.
It wasn't necessarily Haley.
At that moment, his phone rang.
A voice came through, "President Oscar, Ms. Haley did indeed come to see you that night, but later in the night, she went somewhere else. Based on your described time frame, that woman couldn't have been Ms. Haley."
Oscar tapped his fingers on the desk, recalling the scenes from that night. He couldn't remember what the woman looked like or any significant details, but he had a sense that it was similar...
He stopped tapping his fingers, his eyes narrowed slightly, and in a cold voice, he asked, "Are you sure that Pearl was in the office all night?"
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