After All the Hurt, She Chose Herself novel Chapter 317

Aria had never been this aggressive before.

Besides, what she was doing genuinely crossed a line.

Even if Graham had wronged her, there were plenty of other ways to punish him. Why resort to something so dangerous?

Seeing the shock in Charles's eyes, Aria felt a cold wave of amusement.

She knew exactly why he was stunned.

Back when she lived with the Rowan family, she had never been this "rebellious" or "difficult." Her only real argument with Charles had been on the day they broke up.

This was the second time she had ruthlessly torn down his pride.

But now, she couldn't care less.

"If you want to do business with me, you follow my rules. If I haven't invited you in, you wait outside."

When Roxanne transferred that money to her yesterday, Aria knew the massive payout would severely cripple the Brent Group.

If Charles wanted a partnership to inject life back into his company, he would have to play by her rules.

She was his only lifeline right now. Aside from the Evernight Group, Evercrest was the only company capable of bailing him out.

Charles understood this perfectly. After a tense silence, he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Graham immediately put on a fawning smile. "Ms. Rowan, I can keep drinking! If it makes you happy, I'll down another bottle! No problem at all!"

Power truly was a beautiful thing.

Aria glanced at the shattered glass on the floor, an idea forming. "No need. Just make a donation to the Hope for Youth Charity."

Graham froze.

He hadn't expected such a demand. Given how he had treated her in the past, her grand condition for forgiveness was... a charity donation.

It offered her absolutely zero personal benefit.

"Then... I'll donate... five million dollars?" Graham asked cautiously.

Making a lifelong enemy out of him served no purpose. She wasn't planning on staying in the corporate world anyway, and Graham would never have another chance to cross paths with her.

It just wasn't necessary.

Out in the hallway, Graham noticed Charles still waiting in the reception area. After a moment's hesitation, he walked over.

"Mr. Brent, I was the one who bullied Ms. Rowan first. I used a contract dispute to force her to drink an entire bottle of liquor before I'd sign. Now she's returning the favor. I deserve it."

Charles's brow furrowed heavily. "She... drank a whole bottle?"

"No, I just wanted her to submit. I didn't think she'd actually try to chug the whole thing.

I got scared something would happen and stopped her, but she had already downed half the bottle by then."

A sharp pain pierced Charles's chest. He swayed slightly as a horrific realization hit him. He grabbed Graham by the shoulder.

"Do you remember the exact day you forced her to drink?"