Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Vantage Besieged by Other Companies

A flash of annoyance crossed Cecilia Croft’s eyes. Her dislike for Jude Sheridan had just deepened.

’He really knows how to cause trouble for me!’

She rubbed her brow, opened Sebastian Hawthorne’s contact information, typed out a message, and sent it.

Mr. Hawthorne, if you are concerned that I might get back together with Jude Sheridan now that I’ve returned to Silvercrest, you needn’t be.

The biggest taboo in the workplace is a superior harboring suspicions about a subordinate.

’If Mr. Hawthorne refuses to trust me because of Jude Sheridan’s messages, my work going forward won’t be so smooth.’

After she sent the message, he didn’t respond.

Cecilia Croft hesitated for a moment before typing and sending an additional message.

I don’t take my work lightly, nor will I neglect the Croft Group because of a relationship that ended in betrayal.

「Meanwhile.」

Sebastian Hawthorne saw Cecilia Croft’s message and was about to reply. Just as his fingers touched the screen to type, he saw a second message from her pop up.

His hand, poised to type, froze. The warmth that had just softened his gaze vanished, replaced once more by a cold glint.

Cecilia’s explanation was serious and formal. Every word was about work, with no mention of him personally.

He stared grimly at the chat window for a long moment before putting his phone away without a word.

Cecilia Croft’s eyes were glued to the word "Typing..." at the top of her phone screen. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Clearly, Mr. Hawthorne had seen her message.

She waited quietly. About five minutes passed, but no message from Mr. Hawthorne came through.

Cecilia Croft’s grip on her phone tightened.

’Just how long of a message is Mr. Hawthorne typing to chew me out?’

’Surely not.’

’That was just Jude Sheridan acting on his own. It has nothing to do with me.’

Even after the "Typing..." indicator disappeared from the chat window, Cecilia still received no message from Mr. Hawthorne.

She waited patiently for a few more minutes. Still no reply.

She still hadn’t received a reply from Mr. Hawthorne by the time the driver pulled up to her grandmother’s house in the suburbs.

Unable to figure him out, Cecilia Croft thanked the driver and got out of the car.

She went inside but still couldn’t resist checking her phone over and over.

Still no response.

’Mr. Hawthorne really knows how to hold a grudge.’

Cecilia Croft sighed softly, put her phone away, and started tidying up the house.

Though she had only been gone for a few days, the yard was littered with fallen leaves since no one had been there to sweep.

Half an hour later, she had finished cleaning up.

A steady, unhurried knock sounded at the door.

Cecilia Croft walked to the door and called out casually, "Who is it?"

Jude Sheridan’s voice, tinged with delight, rang out. "Cecilia, it’s me."

Cecilia Croft’s brow furrowed. Her hand, which had been about to open the door, froze and then fell back to her side.

"What are you doing here?"

Stung by the coldness in her voice, Jude Sheridan remained patient and said softly.

"I’ve been looking for you this whole time; I’ve practically torn Silvercrest apart. The moment I heard you were back at your grandmother’s, I rushed over. Cecilia, please open the door. Can we just talk?"

Cecilia Croft’s brow tightened. "Are you having someone watch this place?"

"No," Jude Sheridan denied. "I just wanted to be the first to know when you got back. Please, will you open the door?"

Cecilia Croft: "No."

Jude Sheridan: "..."

Her blunt refusal gave him no opening, completely shutting down the conversation.

Jude Sheridan took a deep breath and tried a new topic, his tone filled with concern.

"Cecilia, where have you been these last few days?"

Cecilia Croft: "What’s that got to do with you?"

Her retort made Jude Sheridan choke, a breath catching in his throat.

"Cecilia, I know I made an unforgivable mistake..."

Cecilia Croft: "Then you’ve got some nerve showing up here asking for forgiveness."

Jude Sheridan had come mentally prepared, knowing Cecilia Croft wouldn’t forgive him easily. But after she shut him down with that tone time and again, he couldn’t help but feel his own temper begin to flare.

"Do you have to speak to me like this?"

Cecilia Croft snorted, her tone not softening in the slightest. "Am I being too polite for you? Then get lost."

Jude Sheridan fell silent for a moment. He lowered his voice, trying not to be provoked by Cecilia’s attitude.

"Cecilia, even for Vantage’s sake, we can’t keep going on like this. I came to see you today for two reasons: one, to talk about the issues between us, and two, to discuss tomorrow’s shareholder meeting."

Cecilia Croft’s eyes were filled with indifference.

"The issue between us has been resolved; there’s nothing to talk about. As for company matters, I’ll be at the office tomorrow to handle them."

Jude Sheridan said urgently, "Cecilia, how can you say there’s nothing to talk about between us? Are you really dead set on breaking up with me? Stop this nonsense. We were together for seven years. I know you’re just as reluctant as I am to throw this relationship away."

Cecilia Croft: "Don’t insult me. We are not the same."

She was willing.

Perfectly willing.

"Cecilia, Jessica Keller had a miscarriage. My mother has gone back to the countryside, and she promised she’ll never show her face to you again. We can go back to the way things were..."

As Jude Sheridan was launching into his monologue, the door was flung open.

The moment he saw Cecilia Croft, his eyes lit up.

To make his words sound more sincere, he even let his eyes redden at the corners.

"These past few days, I’ve missed you so much..."

He didn’t get to finish his sentence before a basin of foul water hit him square in the face.

Cecilia had thrown it so suddenly that, as his mouth was still open to speak, a good amount of the dirty water went right in.

A wave of nausea washed over him, and Jude Sheridan gagged on the spot.

Cecilia Croft slammed the iron gate with a BANG. Her emotionless voice came from inside.

"The next time you try to disgust me with those words, it’ll be a bucket of sewage."

With that, she crossed the yard and headed back inside.

"Cecilia Croft!"

Jude Sheridan roared, the disgusting taste still in his mouth.

Her next-door neighbor, Auntie Walker, was just returning from her farm work. When she saw Jude Sheridan, she made no attempt to hide the disgust in her eyes.

She was carrying buckets of manure on a shoulder pole, and the memory of his last unpleasant encounter with her made Jude Sheridan hastily step aside.

Auntie Walker spat on the ground in his direction.

Jude Sheridan gritted his teeth. Realizing he couldn’t shamelessly linger any longer, he had no choice but to leave.

Cecilia Croft went to the kitchen and started making herself some porridge, simultaneously reviewing the files Assistant Zimmer had sent to her phone.

Due to the fallout from the wedding, Vantage had lost many long-time clients and couldn’t ship out its finished products. On top of that, their previous partners were all taking a wait-and-see approach, so the factory, lacking raw materials, was on the verge of shutting down completely.

Jude Sheridan had also taken the funds he’d withdrawn from Grandeur Enterprises and invested them in other projects. Now, due to some issues with the project’s documents, it had been suspended for reorganization. He had signed an agreement not to withdraw his capital for one year, so all of that money was completely tied up.

None of this came as a surprise to Cecilia Croft.

Jude Sheridan had grown far too arrogant over the years and had made many enemies. It was only natural that other companies would now unite to bring him down.