Rags to Riches

Chapter 19 No One Else Is Worthy

"W-What do you want me to say …?" Marcus instinctively rubbed the tip of his nose, knowing he couldn't hide the truth from Vivian anymore.

Vivian's jaw was set as she snarled, "Here's your last chance—will you tell me the truth?"

"I swear I'm not hiding anything … Um. I-I'm going to take a shower now."

At once, Marcus grabbed a fresh change of clothes and bolted for the bathroom. He refused to reveal the truth because the day after tomorrow was the 12th of March, their wedding anniversary.

All his efforts to surprise her would be for naught if he came clean now.

"Ugh, you asshole!"

Feeling utterly pissed off, Vivian stomped hard on the ground.

…

The next day, two shocking news updates shook all of Cromford.

The first was that a mysterious bidder had bought the Tender Moon necklace at Riverton for a whopping two billion dollars.

Aa for the second, an unknown magnate had acquired all the villas of Hingbrook Hills for five billion dollars.

Whispers and excited chatter broke out in the Lorimer Group's office area.

"Oh my God! I wouldn't know a person this wealthy existed in Camron if I hadn't read the news!"

"Being commoners has really limited our imagination. Receiving the 500 million dollars in investment funds was already enough to make us overjoyed. Yet, this random guy's dropping billions on whatever captures his fancy!"

"Gosh ..." someone sighed. "I wonder who the lucky recipient of the Tender Moon necklace is."

"I have a theory. What if these two mysterious figures are the same person? My gut tells me something big is about to happen in Cromford."

Enthusiastic words filled the office as everyone chattered in envy at the news. That was when they saw Marcus and Vivian arrive at the company.

"Look! It's the man who's about to celebrate his wedding anniversary. I understand you want to drop your wife off at work, but why are you accompanying her into the office? Are you afraid we'll mistreat her?" Luke taunted.

"Yeah." Faye joined in, her lips curling into a sneer. "I remember someone loudly declaring they'd make it up to Vivian. I wonder what special gift you've prepared for her? Don't tell me you were the one who bought Tender Moon?"

"You don't have to worry about that. All will get revealed tomorrow." Marcus didn't plan on explaining himself, so he walked Vivian to her spot before leaving.

"I wonder what he's getting me," Vivian mused while she watched the former's figure retreat.

Her eyes sparkled ever so slightly, and she couldn't help anticipating the arrival of tomorrow since he had given her so many surprises in the past few days.

…

As for Marcus, he had just arrived downstairs when he received a call from Wendy.

"Mr. Coleman, Cromford's top twenty famous families have reached out to Globestone Investments in unison. They'd like to meet you!" Wendy's voice took on a bubbly lilt.

She knew that getting along with these wealthy, older families would undoubtedly boost their company's scale of operation.

"Okay, have them visit the company. I'm on my way over now," Marcus answered. He, too, knew it was unwise to underestimate the capabilities of such elite families.

His guess was the crafty families, who had been in the business game for ages, discovered clues that pointed the mysterious buyer of Hingbrook Hills to Globestone Investments. Thus, they wanted to befriend said buyer through the company.

"Perfect timing! I have something that requires their help tomorrow." With that thought, a frosty look flickered in Marcus' eyes.

He knew it was unlikely that Vivian would get named the company's successor at the press conference tomorrow. That was why he needed to get the chess pieces in place for her victory.

…

Marcus sat on the CEO's chair in Globestone Investments' conference room two hours later. His gaze swept past all the faces around him as he asked, "Well? Is everyone pleased with these collaborative arrangements?"

"Absolutely! The one billion dollars you're investing into my company will resolve the issue with our capital flow. I'm sure we can expand our businesses beyond Cromford City and even establish success all over Camron state!"

"Yeah! Mr. Coleman, thanks to your help in introducing my company to the masses, I've received hundreds of millions of orders in only two hours! That's enough to support me financially for a few years!"

"The entirety of Cromford's business industry should make you our leader, Mr. Coleman! We'll go to the ends of the earth and swim to the bottom of the ocean if you tell us to. We'll do anything you want!"

The top families of Cromford had all received incredible benefits from Marcus, so their gazes were filled with enthusiasm. They wouldn't hesitate to kneel if that's what Marcus wanted them to do.

"I don't need you to go that far for me." Marcus waved dismissively while flashing an amused smile.

After a pause, however, he added, "But there is something I need your help with. During the Lorimer Group's press conference tomorrow, I hope that all of you can—"

…

The skies had already darkened when Marcus got home.

"Oh, so you're finally back! You didn't make dinner or wash the tall pile of laundry! All you ever do is fool around at God knows where!" Lisa's screams tore through the air.

Once she saw Marcus, she did not hesitate to fly into a rage, her face reddening like a boiling kettle.

Vivian didn't say a word. She merely sat on the sofa, her lips pressed together while she frowned.

"Is something bothering you, honey?" Marcus asked in concern.

It was like a rain cloud had formed above Vivian as she glumly replied, "Luke told me that Grandma has already decided. She's making him her successor. He wants me to give up for good."

A scoff came from Lisa, who placed her hands on her hips and spoke heatedly. "What gives? You won this fight fair and square! How could your grandma be that biased? I'll talk some sense into her tomorrow!"

"What's the use of that? No one in the Lorimer family can change Grandma's mind after she decides on something!"

That was all it took from Vivian to shut Lisa up.

"Don't worry, honey. Apart from you, no one else is worthy of becoming the Lorimer family's successor." Marcus assured her.

It felt a little like he was swearing a sacred oath.