“Natasha Harmon! What’s wrong with you? Who gave you the green light to call off the marriage?” Once Jayla left, Jessica finally unleashed her temper. The marriage concerned the fate of their family, and she would not allow Natasha to do as she wished.
“Natasha, do you know how lucky you are to be able to marry Tyler Grant? What are you doing? Calling off the marriage?” Quentin felt like he was staring at a fool. Tyler Grant was the cream of the crop of the Southern province, and the hope of Dragonmarsh. Before he hit thirty, he had been appointed as a general who led tens of thousands of men. Young and talented, he was deemed the best bachelor, and women fell on his feet in admiration.
To their dismay, Natasha had no interest in Tyler at all, which everyone thought was dumb.
“I will have the final say in my marriage. I have no feelings for Tyler, and I won’t marry him,” she replied calmly. In the past, she would have accepted an arranged marriage in the interest of the Harmon Family, especially when Tyler was an impeccable candidate in terms of family background, talent, and potential. He was literally perfect. She would meet everyone’s expectations by marrying Tyler, but now, she only had eyes for Dustin.
“You can develop your feelings for him over time. No matter what, you’re marrying him!” Jessica declared firmly. “This is the only way you’ll be happy, and we will be safe. If you call off the marriage, you’ll put your family in trouble!”
“Right, Natasha! You better not forget about the existence of the Dark Lord. He’s a looming threat to our family. Without the Grant Family’s backing, the Dark Lord might come for us at any time!”
Quentin warned her sternly.
But she replied with a frown, “I will think of a way to deal with the Dark Lord.”
“Deal with him? How?! It’s been ten years. Every year, one of us Harmons would be killed for no good reason. Even after your dad and your uncle hired experts and gave their best efforts, they have no way to stop the Dark Lord, so what makes you think you can take him down?” Jessica
retorted.
“Give me some time. I can do it.” Natasha had a determined look in her eyes.
Jessica shook her head. “There’s no time. In seven days, Tyler will show up at our annual family gathering to ask for your hand in marriage. If you turn him down, our family might as well be
ruined.”
Natasha fell into a heavy silence. She only had seven days left, and she had no idea what her fate would be if she could not come up with a solution.
Meanwhile, Dustin was at the Nicholson Villa, where he handed Dahlia a check. “Here you go. These are the investments I got for you.”
“Investments?” She took a better look and froze up. “O–one billion dollars? Where did you get that money from?”
“I have a friend who works at a bank. I got him to issue me an interest–free loan. This will tide you
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over,” Dustin explained. Technically, he wasn’t lying because Roderick Brooks indeed owned a few private banks.
“When did you have a friend in the bank?” Dahlia looked at him curiously. The friend practically lost out on the deal if it was an interest–free loan, and that was a pretty huge favor for Dustin to
return.
“I’m a doctor, after all. I save lives all day, so it’s not weird for me to make friends along the way.”
He shrugged.
“That’s true.” She nodded and beamed at the sight of the check in her hands. “I have to say, you really helped me a lot this time. With this one billion check, I will secure my position as the chairman of Cardinal Group.”
“A billion–dollar check? What are you talking about?” Florence and James wandered into the room
at that moment.
“Mom, look at this!” Dahlia handed Florence the check. The latter was overjoyed when she saw the figure on the check. “D–d–did I see wrongly? This is a check worth one billion!”
“One billion?” James‘ eyes bulged in shock. He had never seen that insane amount of money in his
life.
“How’s that? It’s a surprise, isn’t it? Dustin brought me the check,” Dahlia showed off proudly.
“Dustin?” Florence furrowed her brows and examined him from head to toe with doubt. “Are you sure he’s capable of this? Is the check a fake?”
“Of course not. I verified it multiple times. It’s a real check!” Dahlia looked serious.
“This can’t be right! He’s dirt poor. Since when is he loaded?” James remained suspicious.
“I might be poor, but I have a couple of rich friends. If you don’t trust me, just hand the check back to me.” Dustin gestured for the check.
“We trust you! Of course, we do!” Florence hurriedly stuffed the check into her pocket and squeezed a smile at him. “Oh, Dustin, you’ve changed in such a short time! I never thought you’d have a billionaire friend! When are you going to introduce him to us?”
An extra connection would open up paths. A man who could lend a billion dollars in one go was definitely someone remarkable. If the Nicholsons could get on his good side, they would benefit immensely from this relationship in the future.
James protested with displeasure, “Mom, are you seriously falling for all his garbage?”
“You’re the garbage!” Florence spat at him and gave him a good slap on the back of her head. She chided him, “You little brat! Watch your manners when you speak to your brother–in–law! Speak nicely!”
“Huh?” James was caught off–guard by the sudden change in his mom’s attitude. She had been haughtily pointing fingers at Dustin, but in a matter of seconds, she was smiling and groveling at him.
James thought, “It’s shocking how she changes in a blink of an eye! What a skill!”
“Dustin, are you hungry? Do you want me to cook you some food? By the way, don’t forget to share the contact details of that friend with me. I need to ask him for advice on personal finance matters.
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“Florence was practically glowing with a level of enthusiasm unseen before.
“It’s alright. I’m not hungry.” Dustin shook his head. This was the first time he received such warm treatment from Florence in his three years of marriage, and he wondered if that was the
power of money.
“Mom, you should go get the groceries. I need to go somewhere with Dustin, and we’ll come home for a meal later,” Dahlia suddenly suggested.
“Where are you going?” Florence questioned.
“Of course, we’re on our way to make Madam Gloria fulfill her promise. We now have a billion dollars worth of investments. They have nothing to say, even if they’re unwilling to make me the chairman!” Dahlia smiled brightly.
“Okay! Go now and have that chairman position secured!” Florence urged her daughter to leave with excitement.
Once Dahlia secured the position as the chairman of Cardinal Group, she would be one step closer to becoming the head of the Nicholson Family, and the rest of them would be elevated to a higher status as a result too.
