After Prison I Rushed into Marriage with a Comatose Tycoon-Chapter 13: I Didn’t Beat You Enough, Did I?

"What did you say?" Reina Miles’s face was a mask of disbelief.

The other colleagues who glanced over also wore incredulous expressions.

Everyone knew Reina Miles was Manager Preston’s trusted subordinate. As a veteran designer, she held a lot of sway in the department. No newcomer would dare to cross her.

"President Lockwood is back at the office. He could walk into the design department at any moment. When he sees all these documents on the floor... I’ll have to ask you to explain it, Designer Miller."

"How dare you threaten me!"

Eliza Sutton simply smiled without a word.

Reina Miles was about to explode with anger, but she didn’t dare make a scene. Now that Shane Lockwood was back, everyone in the Lockwood Group was on edge. She had no choice but to crouch down and pick up the documents.

With so many people watching, Reina Miles felt utterly humiliated.

She gritted her teeth, her hatred for Eliza Sutton boiling over. But then she remembered what Mr. Walker had told her, and a sense of relief washed over her. ’She dared to offend Manager Preston. She won’t last more than a few days in the Lockwood Group’s design department. When the time comes, I’ll kick her while she’s down!’

There were simply too many documents. Eliza Sutton buried her head in the work until quitting time but only managed to sort a small portion. Everyone else in the office had already left.

Eliza Sutton stretched her body and was about to pack up and leave when her phone rang.

She froze when she saw the number light up on the screen. Her expression turned dazed, and it took her a moment before she answered the call.

"Isla Sutton!" Eva Monroe’s booming voice rang out. "I command you to appear before me in half an hour, or you’ll face the consequences!"

「In the coffee shop.」

The moment Eliza Sutton walked in, she was pulled into a tight hug.

Eva Monroe said huffily, "Isla Sutton, are you trying to get yourself killed? You’ve been out for so long and you haven’t even tried to see me. You looking for a fight?"

Eliza Sutton took out a Silver Needle. "I’m not against it."

"AHH!" Eva Monroe shrieked, so scared that she immediately pushed Eliza Sutton away and clung to a nearby pillar. "Let’s talk this out! What kind of girl plays with needles? Do you think you’re the Invincible East or something?"

"Isn’t this what you asked for?" Eliza Sutton smiled and put the Silver Needle away.

"It’s not that I was scared," Eva Monroe said stubbornly, then hugged Eliza Sutton again. "Welcome back."

Eliza Sutton thought about how, for the past five years, Eva Monroe had visited her on every single visiting day, rain or shine. A warm feeling washed over her.

"Eliza, what’s the deal with your marriage to Shane Lockwood? It’s fake, right?"

Eliza Sutton shook her head. "It’s real. The marriage-license kind of real."

Eva Monroe instantly panicked. She immediately pulled a bank card from her wallet and shoved it into Eliza Sutton’s hand. "There are five million in this card, the PIN is your birthday. Take the money. I’ll have my cousin arrange for you to be smuggled out of the country. No matter how far Yama Lockwood’s reach is, it can’t extend overseas."

As she spoke, Eva Monroe started pulling Eliza Sutton toward the exit, as if she wished she could attach a pair of wings to her and make her fly away from Seabourne immediately.

As a Seabourne native, she had heard more than a few stories about Yama Lockwood. He was the kind of bogeyman who could scare children into silence. Being with a man like that wasn’t a question of happiness, but a question of survival.

"Eve, calm down. Listen to me," Eliza Sutton said, holding Eva Monroe back.

"Say what? What is there to say? I’m warning you, don’t you dare say you can’t bear to leave that bunch of heartless, ungrateful vipers in the Sutton Family." Eva Monroe clenched her fists, looking like she would beat Eliza Sutton to a pulp if she dared say she was reluctant to leave.

"I have nothing to do with the Sutton Family anymore. I’m not leaving because I don’t have to. Shane Lockwood and I have an agreement. We’ll only be husband and wife for three months. Once the three months are up, we’ll get a divorce, and then I’ll be completely free."

Eva Monroe’s spirits lifted. "Really? Just three months and Shane Lockwood will let you go?"

"Of course it’s true. Eve, I’m just an ex-convict who spent five years in prison. If Master Lockwood hadn’t taken a fancy to my auspicious birth chart, Shane Lockwood wouldn’t have given me a second glance."

"That’s not true! You’re innocent! The real criminal is Cedric Sutton!" The thought of what happened five years ago made Eva Monroe practically die of anger. ’I’ve never seen such a terrible family.’

"It’s all in the past."

"Yeah, let’s not talk about them. It’s bad luck. Come on, let’s go on a shopping spree at the mall. The Stroud Family’s brand has a ton of new clothes out recently, and they’re all to die for."

Eliza Sutton was a little surprised. "You like clothes from the Stroud Family’s brand?"

"Of course! My favorite is Innis’s work. You have no idea how beautiful it is." Eva Monroe was squealing with excitement. Without giving Eliza Sutton a chance to speak, she enthusiastically pulled her upstairs.

"This one, and this one! Quick, go try them on in the fitting room." Eva Monroe grabbed several outfits in a row and shoved them into Eliza Sutton’s arms.

Looking at the familiar clothes, the corner of Eliza Sutton’s mouth twitched. "Eve, I don’t have any occasion to wear these."

"If you don’t wear them, just let them sit. Who says you have to wear every piece of clothing you buy? You’re happy buying it, they’re happy selling it. Isn’t that enough?" Eva Monroe, with all the confidence of the fabulously wealthy, gave Eliza Sutton no chance to argue and pushed her into the fitting room.

When she came out in the new outfit, everyone in the store turned to look.

"Wow, gorgeous, gorgeous!" Eva Monroe circled Eliza Sutton excitedly. "Quick, go try on the other outfits!"

"There’s no need to try..." Eliza Sutton was halfway through her sentence when a familiar voice came from behind her.

"Eliza Sutton, you’re here too? No wonder the Stroud Family’s store has such a sour stench today. It’s disgusting." Amelia Sutton waved her hand with a look of revulsion. "Manager Zimmerman, what is wrong with your store? How could you let criminal scum like her in?"

Eliza Sutton glanced over and saw Amelia Sutton and her best friend, Chloe White, being warmly welcomed by the manager. Her expression instantly turned cold. "Amelia Sutton, I guess you didn’t get enough of a beating at the Sutton Family’s house last time, did you?"

"You..." Amelia Sutton’s face changed at the mention of that day, but she quickly recovered with a sneer. "An ex-convict like you thinks you’re worthy of shopping at the Stroud’s? If you damage anything, you couldn’t afford it even if you sold yourself. Manager Zimmerman, you’d better be careful. If something goes wrong, you’ll be the one to suffer."

Manager Zimmerman’s expression changed abruptly. He immediately stepped forward and said, "Ma’am, you do not fit our brand’s image. You are not our target customer. Please take off the clothes immediately."

Chloe White fiddled with her freshly manicured nails. "I don’t want any clothes she’s touched. They’re tainted and dirty. Honestly, what kind of riffraff dares to step into the Stroud’s these days, let alone wear a piece by Innis? I wonder who gave her the nerve."

Hearing this, Manager Zimmerman’s face grew even uglier. The outfits Eliza Sutton was trying on were the very ones Chloe White had intended to buy, and now the sale was off.

He immediately called over a sales associate. "You will escort this woman to the fitting room to change. Make sure she doesn’t damage our clothes. And get a good look at her face. Pests like her are not allowed to step foot in the Stroud’s again. We can’t have her lowering our standards!"