Diego immediately reached out for the check. Meanwhile, with a voracious look on his face, he mumbled, "Good, good. Five million will do."
But Laura took a step back right before his hand reached the check.
Diego froze for a moment.
Then, Laura said word by word, "You can have it if you promise me something."
Diego immediately frowned in annoyance.
"Nonsense! I'm your father. I have every right to have your money. Why do I have to promise you anything in return?"
Laura almost laughed out loud after hearing this.
Diego joined hands with others to gang up on her the other day at that bar. But now, he saw her as his daughter now?
Who gave him the nerve to make that speech?
Laura didn't want to bicker with him. She said bluntly, "You take the money and divorce my mother. If not, I'd rather burn this check than give you a penny."
Diego was stupefied as he heard this.
In fact, several years ago, Laura's mother already asked Diego to divorce her.
But at that time, Diego wouldn't agree no matter what. The court could only tell them to come back and file the divorce application again when they reached an agreement. At last, because Diego didn't agree, Laura's mother didn't get a divorce.
In the years afterward, Laura's mother tried to end their marriage several times, but Diego always said no.
Laura knew that getting a divorce was the only way that she and her mother could shake off this ruffian for good.
Yet, Diego was a scoundrel. Since he knew Laura had become a celebrity, he realized that he had gained a money tree.
As long as he was married to Laura's mother, Laura couldn't get away from him. So how could he agree to get a divorce?
Knowing this, Laura could only lure Diego into divorcing her mother by offering him a big, fat check.
As she expected, Diego's face darkened the instant he heard his words.
He eyed Laura coldly and said with a sneer, "Your mother and I have been married for more than a decade. I didn't agree to divorce her a few years ago, nor will I do that now. But today, you're asking me to get a divorce? Do you think of me as a fool? Perhaps you're the fool instead!"
Laura knew he would say that. Instead of getting angry, she put the check away.
In a cool voice, she said, "Now that you insist, I have no choice. The bottom line is, no divorce, no money. I know you're resourceful. Bring it on. See if you can scare me and make me yield."
She had had enough!
She didn't want to live one more day in hopelessness and fear again.
She had given this matter some thought and had thought this through.
It was hopeful that her mother could get better after the surgery. As long as what Natalia told her was true, her mother could soon have the surgery.
Then, if Diego really threatened to expose her past or mar her reputation and career by telling others he was her stepfather, she would just let him!
If that happened, she could go abroad with her mother or move to a remote village. Even if she stepped out of the limelight, she and her mother could still live a good life.
Seeing that Laura seemed bent on making him end the marriage with her mother, Diego began to panic.
"Laura, you can't do this to me! I'm your stepfather after all. How could you force your stepfather to divorce your mother?"
Laura said aloofly, "I've laid out the options for you, but you refused to make a choice."
After a short pause, she continued, "It's late. You should go. Or I'll call security."
Diego's face was somewhat pallid. He stared angrily at Laura, as though hoping to slice a chunk of flesh off her.
"Don't, don't need to threaten me. I'm telling you, if you drive me to a corner, I'll really go to the media and tell them all about your past. After that, you won't be able to make a penny anymore. How would you support your mother..."
Laura's patience had run out. She fished out her phone and prepared to call the property management.
"Why can't the property management people do anything right? I pay such a high property management fee every month. But is that all for nothing?"
"How could they let any random guy enter the neighborhood?" she complained inwardly.
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