Emilia thought for a moment, then typed a message to the other party and sent it.
If they wanted to play hardball, she wasn't one to be trifled with!
***
Elsewhere.
In a dark alley, a man walked up to a small stand on the street corner and bought a couple of breakfast tacos and a coffee.
"That'll be 8 dollars," the vendor said warmly.
The man paid with his phone and then stood at the corner of the intersection, eating his food while watching the live broadcast of Vivienne's charity sale on a nearby screen.
Watching Vivienne's "pale but resilient" face, he gently caressed the bracelet on his wrist and smiled strangely.
***
In a hospital room.
A man lay motionless.
He was in a coma, having been in this state for a long time after a car accident.
All the turmoil of the outside world had passed him by.
Beep, beep, beep...
The heart rate monitor chirped softly.
Beside the hospital bed, the man's wife secretly wiped away her tears.
"When are you going to wake up? If you keep on like this, what am I and the kids going to do...?"
"You fool... if you don't wake up soon, I'm going to take the children and remarry!"
At that moment, unseen by anyone, the man's fingers twitched.
***
Time passed slowly.
Vivienne's charity sale proceeded in an orderly fashion.

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Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Farewell to Love: The CEO's Desperate Chase
Theodore is the right man....
Completely hooked on this!...