He Gave Her Strawberries, Gave Me Hives (Ford and Sylvia) novel Chapter 181

Chapter 12

le could only mumble some vague pleasantries to get through it.

Maren stood beside him, maintaining a proper smile, but her fingernails were already digging deep into her palms.

hat night, Theodore was plagued by nightmares.

He dreamt that Evelyn was in a white wedding dress, but instead of walking toward him, she was smiling at him coldly, a smile that was icy and desolate. The he turned and walked further and further away, refusing to look back no matter how he called out to her.

He also dreamt of the stables, dreamt of Evelyn covered in blood, struggling under the horses‘ hooves, her eyes fixed on him, filled with confusion, despair. ind… hatred.

He shot up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

t was the first time he didn’t dare to delve into the details of the day he had “punished” Evelyn.

He had always firmly believed that Evelyn had pushed Maren, and so her punishment was justified.

But now, that conviction was beginning to waver.

Theodore, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Maren, woken by his sudden movement, leaned over with concern, trying to comfort him

But Theodore felt a sudden wave of irritation. The feeling of having his innermost thoughts exposed made his tone harsh. It’s nothing! Can you just give me a

ninute!”

Maren’s outstretched hand froze in mid–air. Her eyes instantly reddened, and she bit her lip, hurt.

This was the first time Theodore had ever snapped at her.

The next day, Maren excitedly put on a new dress and twirled in front of Theodore, asking softly, “Theodore, do you think this dress is pretty?”

Theodore looked up, and for a moment, he thought the cut and style of the dress looked very similar to a style Evelyn used to love.

He commented instinctively, “That style… it doesn’t suit you. It’s too sharp. It would probably look better on Evelyn.”

The air instantly froze.

The color drained from Maren’s face, leaving it as white as a sheet of paper.

Tears quickly welled up in her eyes. She stared at Theodore in disbelief, her lips trembling. In the end, she said nothing, just turned and ran back to her room, the sound of her suppressed sobs faintly audible.

Only then did Theodore realize what he had said, and a strong sense of guilt washed over him.

He followed her into the room to comfort her, but seeing Maren crying so pitifully, looking utterly wronged, besides repeating “I’m sorry, that’s not what ! meant,” he felt an unprecedented wave of exhaustion.

This kind of relationship, which required such careful maintenance, was starting to suffocate him

But what truly shocked Theodore happened in the business world.

A crucial overseas project that Harrison Industries had been certain to win was, at the last minute, snatched away by the Ashworth Corporation from the neighboring state, who won by a narrow margin.

The Ashworth family’s power had greatly diminished since their heir, Daniel, fell into a coma. How could they possibly have such substantial capital and such precise vision?

Chapter 12

Theodore immediately ordered a thorough investigation.

The results stunned him: Ashworth Corporation had recently brought in a mysterious new shareholder who injected a massive amount of capital. Furthermore, their bidding proposal was cunning and sophisticated, precisely identifying the project’s core weaknesses and a detailed risk that even Harrison Industries had

overlooked.

During the project review meeting, Theodore studied the rival proposal’s strategy carefully, and the more he looked, the more alarmed he became.

This unorthodox yet lethal style… he was too familiar with it.

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