Bride of Retribution: Aloof Billionaire's Dominant Game

A photograph quietly lay in Avery Jane’s black bag; no one knew what it might bring.

Avery Jane was only eighteen at the time, standing next to the tall and slim Lucas Yates. It was taken in a small park not far from the Yates Family’s residence, just after winter, seemingly in this very season. The branches were laden with tiny pink and white plum blossoms, and in the chill of early spring, Avery Jane wore her school uniform, quietly leaning beside Lucas Yates, serene and beautiful, like a gentle breeze in spring.

The wallet was placed into the bag, pressing down on the photo of the two, pressing down on Avery Jane’s youthful smiling face...

"President Hughes, a Ms. Johnson has an appointment and she’s already on her way up." The secretary’s intercom call made Joshua Hughes’s eyes grow even colder; what’s inevitable will come.

He had been waiting. Harper Johnson and his mother shared an unspeakable secret. One of them would inevitably reveal it, and he hoped it wouldn’t be his mother because hearing anything from her would always be unsettling.

The office door was pushed open. In just two days, Harper Johnson’s complexion had significantly worsened, carrying a look of extreme annoyance, yet suppressed with complete helplessness. She had thought it through at home and could only come to Joshua Hughes to plead. After all, he had had a past with Evelyn, and she wondered if he might soften and let the Yates Family go?

"Joshua, what exactly do you want? Evelyn is already ruined, do you still want to ruin our Caleb? What did the Yates Family ever do to offend you that you feel compelled to pursue absolute destruction?" Harper Johnson was desperate, she could only make one last attempt to plead for Caleb Cooper. Originally, she and Arthur Yates thought they had planned well; with Evelyn chosen, they could manipulate Joshua Hughes through their daughter, step by step making Evelyn sit in Mrs. Hughes’s seat, even eventually touching Hughes Family’s immeasurable wealth. But unexpectedly, they were the ones utterly played, without the strength to resist at all.

Now Old Master Yates’s heart condition had relapsed, the second time since Lucas Yates’s passing, and this time it’s more serious. And they also faced bankruptcy, even possibly losing the house they currently lived in. She could only come to plead with Joshua Hughes not to continue targeting the Yates Family.

"What did Avery Jane ever do to you that you are so eager to remove her?" Joshua Hughes’s sharp gaze pierced the air like a knife, striking Harper Johnson.

"She was supposed to be our Yates Family’s daughter-in-law. She broke the rules by engaging in such acts with you, stealing the position that originally belonged to Evelyn. I just... I just wanted her to leave you, is that wrong?" Harper Johnson, originally a Yates Family maid, until she became the second Mrs. Yates. Although her status had fundamentally changed, some of her inherent views were deeply rooted.

She believed that since Evelyn Yates had already lived in Hughes Family, and been with Joshua Hughes, their relationship already established, she was naturally Hughes Family’s person. She naturally wanted to clear obstacles for her daughter.

"The Yates Family fundamentally doesn’t qualify to be in Hughes Family’s selection. Mrs. Yates, I need you to honestly tell me, why was Evelyn Yates among the twenty people invited that night? You’d better speak honestly, or it won’t be just about bankruptcy; merely the insider trading amount Lucas Yates was involved in is enough to imprison him for more than ten years. Ten years later, when he comes out, it will be a completely different world, do you think he has any future?" Sitting in the swivel chair, Joshua Hughes nonchalantly played with the pen in his hand, glancing at Harper Johnson, whose face had turned pale. She truly didn’t understand the depths of this world, nor where she found the courage to challenge his bottom line.

He never used to think about where those women were selected from, but this time was different. It connected to Avery Jane; he couldn’t be careless. Given the Yates Family’s background, it was impossible for them to obtain that invitation, yet Evelyn Yates had one, and that night he chose her.

"Our Evelyn is very beautiful, beautiful enough to be chosen. If she wasn’t beautiful, why did you choose her initially?" Harper Johnson knew there were things she still couldn’t say, so she had to avoid Joshua Hughes’s sharp gaze, nervously lowering her head.

Joshua Hughes’s pen tapped the desk twice heavily with a chilling intensity; even across such a distance, it was palpable of his burgeoning rage. Throwing down the pen, Joshua Hughes walked over with a cold murderous aura, strides elegant yet rebellious, standing over her seated on the sofa, gazing down at her with supreme hauteur.

"What I dislike most is hearing people lie, and you exhibit too much confidence in your daughter’s looks, otherwise why wouldn’t I accept your offerings? I advise you to honestly spill everything; I don’t have much patience. Also, stop contemplating any harm against Avery Jane, you’ll regret it." His cold eyes fixed on Harper Johnson’s fearfully trembling form, his words carried a piercing sharpness and murderous intent, permeating the vast office with a chilling effect.

"You’ll have to ask your mother about this matter; I swore an oath. If I reveal it, our entire family will be doomed. I really can’t say." Harper Johnson recalled outside the hospital’s operating room, swearing to that beautiful lady, if any detail leaked from that day, both she and the Yates Family would be destroyed. She really couldn’t divulge it...

Within Joshua Hughes’s ink-black eyes flashed a brilliant gleam, his thin incisive lips mocked: "Your mind really isn’t functioning well. The Yates Family doesn’t need to wait for the future, from today onwards, you will soon face total ruin, no need to wait until later." His voice carried a threatening pressure, leaving no room for resistance.

His phone suddenly rang on the desk, it was his personal phone. He walked over, seeing the caller ID, cold, yet some tender ripples crossed his handsome face, walking into the lounge as he opened the door: "Avery, what’s up?" She seldom called him at this hour.

"After work today, I’ll be going to the mall with colleagues; can you go home first?" Avery Jane spoke quietly from the restroom, recently Emma White mentioned major sales after the New Year, and the girls made plans to shop, tempting her slightly to join them.

"No." Joshua Hughes flatly refused, absolutely disallowing a repeat of what happened last time when she encountered Beckett Wright; although this time it might not be Samuel Cooper, it could still be someone else.

"Listen to me, Avery, if you want to shop, I’ll accompany you, okay? Your colleagues don’t have as good taste as I do. Just wait obediently for me after work, okay?" Joshua Hughes coaxed and urged her, lately sensing an increasing apprehension, nearly terrifying him. In his life, he had never known fear, but this time, he tasted every fear and worry.

The voice on the other end of the phone reluctantly agreed with a huff, then hung up.

He knew she’d agreed, such a compliant Avery believed in him fully. How could he possibly let her encounter even the slightest danger again? Exiting the lounge, gazing at Harper Johnson, who was restless on the sofa, Joshua Hughes’s expression grew even more sinister, cold enough to frighten.

"If you don’t speak, then don’t attempt any discussion; just get out of here." Harper Johnson raised her eyes, gazing at Joshua Hughes’s dauntingly dark face, momentarily unable to utter a word.

He truly didn’t grant anyone face, being domineering to such an extent.

"But Evelyn, Evelyn has a Hughes Family child after all, you mentioned that if born, Hughes Family will ensure someone responsible for her, right?" Harper Johnson wondered what bargaining chip she still had to negotiate with Joshua Hughes. "Luis Hughes may not acknowledge, so what can I do? Evelyn Yates doesn’t even know whose seed rests in her womb; don’t you find it laughable?" Piercingly accurate, turning Harper Johnson’s face pale as a freshly painted wall.

"I said, can you ensure nothing happens to the Yates Family? Moreover, I wish for Hughes Family’s second-youngest to marry Evelyn, offering five percent of Hughes Clan shares as dowry." Harper Johnson bit her lip, some secrets she truly intended to keep, but there was no way because anything that happened could never remain secret. It only revisits the sordid truth; however, since one transaction had occurred, employing it again would do no harm.

Joshua Hughes cast a glance at her, his face terrifyingly grim, eyes icy and ruthless like a frozen abyss: "You haven’t understood, today you’re the one pleading with me, not I with you. Five percent of Hughes Clan shares—do you realize its market value? Some things merely lend an ear; don’t take them seriously. My sole assurance is that Caleb Cooper won’t be imprisoned; beyond that, you must ensure your own safety."

This woman’s greed was nauseating. She actually dared demand five percent of Hughes Clan shares; only his father ever indulged such romantic gestures. But this ignorant woman dared envisage that callback to high society lore for her daughter; does she not see what kind of asset her daughter is?

"Then is our Evelyn just taken advantage of by your brood? Hughes Clan’s truly bullying!" Harper Johnson expected nothing, tearing off propriety and admitting anything fearlessly.

"She willingly came forward; what’s it to me? Even if I, Joshua Hughes, bullied her, what can you possibly do?" Joshua Hughes’s lips curved in mockery, cold and unfeeling...