Ch. 841..850

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 841

“Looks like my ambition back then was indeed rather lofty!” Back then, Sophia was impoverished to the point that Michael had to pay for her living expenses. Meanwhile, Michael was already an Academy Award winner for Best Actor, globally renowned. Where did I get the courage to have Michael Fletcher be my kept man?

The two of them then reached Michael’s car, planning to take his car to Bayside University. His car looks much better than mine with the entire body painted noble black. It looks just like a king in the dark night, speeding like the wind anytime. I love this color! It’s much more stunning than my sports car!

The Michel Family had a subsidiary in the automotive industry, manufacturing high-tech supreme cars. Thus, Cooper gifted her a fleet of cars from time to time for her to use or play bumper cars with. However, she was always rendered speechless by his tastes, for the cars he gifted her were either pink, rose, green, or red in color. She didn’t even dare drive those cars out! Instead, she furtively sent one to the auction house to have it appraised in exchange for cash, saving the money for Carmen’s kindergarten fee and debut fund.

Hence, she was very much in love with this car of his. Eager to try it out, she asked, “Can I drive your car?”

“Sure, no problem!” Michael agreed. Going over to the trunk, he took out a pair of flats and handed them to her. “You loved driving my cars, so I have a pair of shoes for you in the trunk of every single car of mine.”

Taking the shoes, Sophia looked down at her high heels, a feeling of warmth suffusing her. “Thank you.” After changing into the shoes, she then climbed into the car. Gripping the steering wheel, she said to Michael, who was in the passenger seat, “It’s not as advanced as mine.” Despite being a tad bewildering in terms of color, her small car was great in all other aspects. As soon as she slipped into the car, it’d adjust the air-conditioning according to the temperature outside to ensure the best and most comfortable environment. Besides, it was also voice-activated.

Fastening his seat belt, Michael countered, “I’m a kept man, so my car should naturally be inferior to yours.”

Chuckling, Sophia then started the car and drove off. Meanwhile, the bodyguards followed in the car behind, maintaining an appropriate distance.

It was a half-hour drive from Crimson House, which was where they had their meal, to Bayside University. Midway, Sophia abruptly accelerated and sped past the pedestrian crossing at the final second the green light flashed, giving Michael such a scare that he gripped his seat belt tightly. As the sports car shot out like an arrow, Sophia glanced at the rear-view mirror. Upon seeing that the bodyguards’ car was forced to stop at the traffic light to wait out the red light, she beamed with joy. “I’m not a fan of them following me around every day,” she explained.

Michael nodded in agreement. I’m not a fan of them following you around every day either. They cock-block me!

The car sped toward Bayside University. When they arrived, Sophia parked the car in the parking lot. Just when she’d parked, she saw that the bodyguards’ car had caught up to them and was looking for a parking space. “Quick, let’s go! Hurry! Let’s scoot!” she said hurriedly.

Locking the car, Michael grabbed her hand, and they sprinted into Bayside University under the cover of darkness. They laughed as they ran, and it was as though they’d returned to the past, many, many years ago. Wearing flats, Sophia kept up with him closely. At his lead, they quickly lost themselves within the university after numerous twists and turns, hiding where the bodyguards couldn’t find them. After all, he was very much familiar with this place.

Only when she was out of breath did Sophia stop, panting while clutching her stomach. Resting a hand on a small tree, she laughed uproariously. “Did you see how ridiculous they looked earlier, Michael? Haha…”

Sweat dotted Michael’s forehead from his sprint. I love this feeling! It’s as though we’ve gone back in time.

It was now time for nightly self-study at Bayside University, so the buildings were brightly lit. Nonetheless, there were still plenty of students strolling and jogging within the campus, rendering the atmosphere vivacious with a youthful vigor filling the air. “So, this is what a university is like…” She studied everything before her, her eyes teeming with envy.

Michael then bought two ice creams at the store with her card. As they enjoyed the ice creams and gazed at the students jogging and frolicking on the lush, green field, he replied, “Yup, this is Bayside University, the first university in Cethos and your alma mater.” Pointing at the adjacent stadium, he commented, “You were the champion sportswoman in your class back then, leading your class in clinching first place in the basketball championship during sports day.”

As Sophia ate her ice cream, a trace of disappointment manifested in her eyes. It’s such a pity that I’ve forgotten everything. If only I could remember it all!

After they’d finished their ice-creams, Michael walked with her on campus. Under the illumination of the streetlights, their shadows intertwined on the ground, sticking to each other like glue to the point that one couldn’t be discerned from the other. He surreptitiously took her hand as they strolled within the campus, introducing her to everything once again. Then, he brought her to her favorite cafeteria to shop and spend all the money in the meal card.

Sophia, who’d been lacking in appetite, was eager to try the fare on this day, ordering two grilled wings and a Coke. Taking a huge bite of the chicken wing, she mumbled indistinctively as she ate, “The food here is indeed delicious and cheap!” In no time, she finished the chicken wings and Coke.

Michael could no longer stomach anything after eating so much, but still, he looked on as she ate. “Eat more if they’re to your liking,” he told her. “Don’t worry about gaining weight, what with you being so thin now.”

There were few people in the cafeteria since it was now night, and it wasn’t yet suppertime, while dinnertime had just passed. Thus, no one had recognized them so far as they sat eating in a corner. On this night, Sophia’s appetite soared, and she ate a lot. When she’d finished the chicken wings, she even ate a bowl of noodles and a bowl of red date porridge.

There was a little over one grand in the meal card; it was the sum of her hard work, so it’d be a waste not to spend it. However, the food in the cafeteria was cheap, so no matter how much one ate, one wouldn’t be able to finish that much money in a single meal. Thus, Michael then suggested, “Why don’t we go over to the canteen next door? The food there is more expensive, so you’ll be able to finish a grand in a single meal.”

Holding the card, Sophia hesitated for a moment. In the end, she declined, saying, “Never mind. I don’t feel like doing so. I want to keep the card… Let’s come and eat together again next time.” Staring at her card, she muttered, “A little over a grand… A meal will only cost two to three hundred at most, so we can eat another 20 to 30 times!” This was already a blatant hint that Michael still had 20 to 30 times the opportunity to accompany her here to eat.

Michael dipped his head and gazed at her indulgently. “Sure, no problem. If you wish to eat here, my goddess, your humble servant is always ready to accompany you,” he murmured.

Beaming, Sophia then placed the card into her bag. As soon as she’d put the card away and her hand was empty, Michael reached out and grasped her petite and fair hand. She didn’t reciprocate, yet she also didn’t object, merely allowing him to hold her hand.

When I held her hand in the past, I could still feel some fleshiness, but now, it’s all skin and bones. “Let’s go. I’ll bring you around some more, then we’ll go home.”

They then strolled around the campus with fingers interlocked. Soon, Michael brought her to the alumni corridor. “All famous alumni of Bayside University are exhibited here.” They started with the establishment of the institution whereby he explained Bayside University’s history before introducing the people she might like one by one—Ivan, Harry, and himself, for instance. Besides, Linus, Faye, and Sandra were also here.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 842

“That’s Stan!” Upon taking two steps forward, Sophia glimpsed Stanley’s picture hanging on the wall, looking all formidable with his trademark crew cut while holding Judge’s leash in his hand, Judge appearing very impressive as well. With the illumination provided, she could clearly see that his introduction included the founder of Plum Technology, a renowned esports player, and a multi-time singles champion of Esports World Championship. Beside him were Sean and Sarah, both listed as the founders of Plum Technology. Regretfully, she wasn’t there. She pouted. “I’m not there…” Even Faye, Sandra, Irene, and Lucy were there, but not her.

“Back then, the pictures of you four were hung up concurrently, but the accident then befell you, and Plum Technology increased in scale, so they changed things up,” Michael explained. “It’s fine. You’ll also be there in a few days.”

As they both walked along the alumni corridor, Sophia asked him some strange questions, such as, “Are Stan and Sean dating?” and “Are they planning to go abroad to get married soon?”

Michael’s brows furrowed. Never had I expected her intuition to be so spot on. He gave an exasperated sigh. “It’s a long story. It all began when Sean was young…” When Sean was young, he often visited Fletcher Residence to play with Stanley. Since he had long, black hair and wore a pink tutu, everyone thought that he was Stanley’s little girlfriend. Even Michael thought that he was a girl and treated him exceptionally well, but unexpectedly, he turned out to be a boy.

They chatted while walking, the two of them blending into the dark sky in Bayside City after walking through the alumni corridor… At long last, the bodyguards found Sophia. Upon seeing that their fingers were interlocked, they were driven by the urge to commit murder, but since Sophia was there, they couldn’t really do so. Thus, they maintained a dark expression throughout the drive home, feeling that their lady had been defiled.

When they arrived back at The Imperial, Michael saw Sophia to the door, only to be greeted by the sight of the 2.5m cat blocking the door. Cooper was treating the cat like a guard dog, tying it to the door to keep him out. Sophia could only get in by stepping over it, and Michael followed behind her. He was on cloud nine today, so the enormous orange cat seemed much more pleasing to him, and he couldn’t help stroking it.

Upon entering the house, the lights in the living room were turned on. The three members of the Mitchell Family were sitting in the living room, watching television. Again, Cooper wore a long face, dourness and displeasure written all over his face.

The moment they stepped foot into the house, Carmen flew over like a butterfly. “Mommy! Daddy!”

Hugging her, Sophia couldn’t help giving her a kiss. How adorable! She’s grown a lot. It’s just been half a day since I last saw her, but she seems to have become cuter by 100 times! When she was done with her cutie pie, she then walked over to Cooper and said, “I’m home, Dad.”

“Hmm…” There was a sense of resentment within Cooper, but he couldn’t vent at his precious daughter, so he shot daggers at Michael. He knew that his daughter would have her own life now that she was all grown up and would date sooner or later. Mark phoned him today, saying that he’d seen the live broadcast, thus inquiring about their progress since they seemed to be getting on very well. Cooper then proposed that Michael marry into the Mitchell Family, to which Mark instantly agreed, all gung ho to have him married away immediately. However, at the sight of them both coming into the house with fingers intertwined, he was still very much irritated.

“Mr. Cooper, I’ve brought Sophia home safely, so I’ll be taking my leave.” After hugging Carmen and giving her some instructions, Michael then went home. His steps were airy when he left, and he felt as though he was walking on air. I’ve already held her hand, so I’ll surely get to kiss her on the cheek next time! Today, Great-Grandpa even called to ask whether I was willing to marry into the Mitchell Family. Of course, I’m willing! I’m extremely willing. It’ll be great to be a live-in son-in-law!

Sophia scrolled through the news, only to see that she and Michael had become the talk of town. Fans were all offering their blessings to the actor who was past his prime yet made a comeback now for finding his love for the second time. Carmen’s identity had also been brought up since she’d become popular thanks to a video. The fans indeed had a keen eye, for they managed to surmise the identity of Carmen’s father from her cute countenance. Some reckoned that she was Taylor’s daughter, while some guessed that she was Scarlett’s daughter. In short, a myriad of speculations abound. Michael didn’t reply, knowing that it’d then all die down after they’d had their fill of gossip.

When they were in bed at night, Carmen burrowed into Sophia’s embrace and whined pitifully, “Mommy, I miss Judgey. It won’t be coming back after moving, will it?” Judge had been with her since young, so she truly missed it now that it had moved away.

“Judgey has its own home, but we can go over to its home to visit in the future,” Sophia comforted.

Carmen nestled into her arms, yet not falling asleep at once. Sophia, on the other hand, was still scrolling through her cell phone when Michael sent a few videos to her. Playing one, she then saw herself. Michael’s voice sounded in the video though he didn’t come into view. “12 weeks pregnant. Mommy is healthy, and pregnancy is progressing normally. She even gained weight.” That was Sophia a little over three years ago. She was lying on the sofa with a nightgown, watching television when Michael walked in with his cell phone, filming her. Judge was sprawled beside her, and she stuck her tongue out at the camera while stroking the dog’s head.

“11 weeks pregnant. Baby and mommy are both healthy. Pregnancy is progressing well.”

“10 weeks pregnant. Mommy is healthy and even has a bit of morning sickness.”

And so it went on.

When she was pregnant, he filmed her every week to keep a journal. As she watched her stomach grow increasingly bigger in the video, her heart filled with happiness and warmth. Alas, I’ve forgotten everything! I’ve forgotten how I gave birth to Carmen and how satisfied and blissful I was when she was in my stomach. While I’ve forgotten the past, I can still cherish the present! Putting down her cell phone, she pecked Carmen on the cheek before turning off the lights and going to sleep.

The next day, Faye’s studio issued a statement, accepting Scarlett’s apology. The day after, Calvin, the lawyer Michael retained, went over to negotiate the compensation with Faye. Faye’s lawyer made a list of numerous damages, to which the compensation totaled up to over 50 million. Faye revealed to the public that she merely makes one to two billion a year when she made it to the top five highest-paid actresses in Cethos, and it has only been a few days since she was bitten by the dog. As she’s injured on her thigh, it’s true that she can’t film any action flicks, but she can still film sedate movies. Furthermore, her shampoo, perfume, and jewelry advertisements are all the more unaffected. A flesh wound only takes a month at most to heal, so how could her damages amount to 50 million? However, her lawyer swore that this was her unvarnished income, claiming that she made 50 million a month.

Calvin brought the list back to Sophia. After looking at it, Sophia signed the agreement, and the compensation was swiftly wired over.

When Faye received the exorbitant compensation of 50 million, she counted the money happily, never once expecting that before she’d finished counting it, the subsequent events had developed beyond her imagination.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 843

After Faye had gotten the money, she boasted to Sandra with no holds barred. Seizing the opportunity, Sandra suggested, “Demand that she apologize to you in person!”

Engrossed in her victory, Faye agreed at once. It so happened that her birthday was just around the corner, so she was hosting a small birthday party and had invited quite a number of people. Many from the Mitchell and Edwards Familywould be in attendance, as would business partners in abundance; all attendees were either rich or aristocratic. Besides, Sandra had even specially invited many of the Mitchell Family’s elders.

I want Scarlett to apologize to me publically during my birthday party! I want the Mitchell Family to see how Cooper Mitchell’s daughter lowers herself and apologizes to someone else! I just want to utterly humiliate her and have them realize who should be the rightful lady of the Mitchell Family! Faye then contacted Sophia, and Sophia agreed right away.

It was going to be Faye’s birthday soon, so her fiancé, Vincent Mitchell, definitely had to prepare her a gift. Vincent was Alex’s biological nephew, a direct descendant of the Mitchell Family. Alex’s son was still young, so he groomed Vincent as though he was his biological son and entrusted him with important tasks. Faye had long since had her eye on him, finally becoming his fiancée after playing all sorts of tricks, and unsurprisingly, they were going to get married within the year.

When they were married, she’d then retreat behind the scenes and become a producer. At the same time, she’d have stocks from both the Edwards and Mitchell families. It’d be much more enjoyable than filming. Thus, she was now at the pinnacle of her life, being the center of attention in the Edwards Family and soon-to-be young mistress of the Mitchell Family in addition to procuring 50 million in compensation. In short, it was smooth sailing for her.

With her impending birthday, Vincent once indirectly asked her what birthday gift she wanted, but she naturally feigned hesitance since she couldn’t really speak her mind. In reality, however, she was already hankering after a car. It was a burgundy ladies’ sports car manufactured by the global industrial giant, Michel Group. In fact, it was a customized sports car commissioned by the mysterious director of Michel Group, Fass Michel, for his daughter, Lucile Michel.

This was the world’s first sports car to be specially customized for ladies with a gorgeous burgundy coat and car seats as well as windows designed especially for ladies. Furthermore, it was brand new. It’d be auctioned by Bayside Golden Age Auction House with a starting price of 30 million, the sports car going to the highest bidder. Not only was the car superb, but the former owner of the car was also extraordinary, so it’d be doubly prestigious to drive it. However, she couldn’t just admit it bluntly, so she merely said that she fancied a piece of jewelry that would be auctioned at the same time to avoid appearing crass and invited him to attend the auction with her.

The appearance of that burgundy sports car at an auction house in Bayside City in Cethos attracted widespread attention from celebrities. Fass was indeed a mysterious figure whose origins were unknown to everyone, and this was even the first time they were hearing that he had a daughter. It was rumored that he pampered his daughter greatly and had tailored many exclusive sports cars for her. Only one of those was auctioned this time, but still, it caused a stir. Many people were even dubious, but the auctioneer this time was Linus Michel himself, so it seemed credible. Many celebrities came from abroad just for a look at how advanced the car belonging to the eldest young lady of Michel Group was. It was even said that it exceeded the current standard for at least ten years.

Therefore, an invitation to the auction was truly difficult to procure. Nonetheless, Faye managed to finagle an invitation and attended with Vincent.

On the day of the auction, a huge crowd thronged the venue. Dressed in a stunning burgundy dress with her arm hooked around Vincent who was young and handsome, Faye attracted much attention. Just after she’d sat down, she caught sight of many acquaintances, such as Nicole, Bethany, and of course, Sandra. Sandra wore a white sheath dress, appearing elegant and stately as she made her appearance with her arm hooked around her fiancé, Ian.

Very quickly, Ethan who seldom made public appearances showed up with his wife, Sarah.

Finally, the actor past his prime who was the current talk of the town, Taylor, made his appearance amidst a torrent of exclamations. After his dog, Judge, had bitten Faye, he was once again thrust into the limelight while riding on the coattails of her fame and was recently at the height of popularity.

Michael had deliberately brought Judge along. Judge was wearing a muzzle, but it was richly bedecked in gold and silver, looking as dazzling as ever with an imposing bearing. It’d just bitten Faye a while ago, yet he’d brought it out now, and to the same event in which Faye was in attendance to boot. Hence, the media swarmed him for an interview as though they’d discovered something huge.

After Michael, Sophia appeared with her hand hooked around Cooper. She was dressed extremely plainly today in a dress and a pair of leather shoes. As someone who was involved in pet luxury goods, she needed to bring a pet, so she had Corrado on a leash. Naturally, Corrado was bespangled in accessories, simultaneously showcasing her products.

When the auction was about to begin, the guests from all walks of life sought out their seats and sat down. Everything to be auctioned today was women’s favorites such as jewelry, accessories, and also that sports car exclusively for ladies.

Sophia sat beside Cooper, and on her other side was naturally Michael. Faye stole several glances at her, noticing that she and Sarah who was sitting behind her were gesturing at the sports car’s promotional brochure. So, she’s also here for the sports car! But well, with me, Faye Edwards, here today, that sports car can only be mine! I want to use the compensation she paid me to buy the sports car she fancies!

However, never had she imagined that Sophia and Sarah’s conversation was actually thus: “Why are you selling off such a good car for no good reason? Are you broke from compensating Faye that you’ve got to sell your car to recoup your losses?”

“Huh? Nah, that’s not it. I’ve got too many cars that this garage in Bayside City has run out of space. So, why not exchange it for some pocket money? I’ve still got several more cars like this. Come over to my house and have your pick one day. I’ll give you one as a gift!”

“How affluent!”

Today, it wasn’t just the ladies who had their eyes on the car, but also many of the male guests. Michel Group had subsidiaries in the military industry and also the hi-tech industry, so this car boasted a combination of both industries’ advantages. The military material ensured that it was bulletproof, while the hi-tech components made it fully intelligent; it was a perfect combination of the two. Besides, it was specially designed by Fass for his daughter, so the quality and significance were extraordinary.

There wasn’t much suspense during the first two rounds of auction. At long last, the final round of auction began. The supercar rose automatically, slowly ascending before manifesting in the crowd’s line of sight. As the lights hit it, it appeared magnificently stunning as though an aristocratic lady in a burgundy dress, its perfect body reflecting a breathtaking countenance. As the auctioneer introduced the main item in the auction today, his voice steeped in enthusiasm, exclamations rang out from the guests below.

“I think this car matches you well.” At a single glance, Vincent could tell that the color of Faye’s dress today truly matched the supercar.

Covering her mouth with a hand, Faye giggled in embarrassment. “Indeed.”

Vincent understood her meaning without her pointing it out. Her birthday is right around the corner, so it’s time for me to prepare her an insightful gift. She didn’t fancy any of the jewelry earlier, so why don’t I just buy her this sports car? Thus, he emphatically called out a bid as soon as the auction began. “40 million!”

This price instantly shocked everyone, including Ian who wanted to buy the car for his fiancée. After mulling it over, he decided to give up. It’s obvious that Vincent is determined to win the bid, so I won’t fight him for it.

It was extraordinarily intimidating when Young Master Vincent spoke out, so many people were discouraged. However, someone called out a higher bid in no time. “41 million!” Everyone’s gaze swung over, only to be greeted by the sight of Taylor with his bidder card raised.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 844

The starting price of this luxury car belonging to Lucile was 30 million with an increment of a million for every bid. Vincent hiked up the price to 40 million in a single go, while Taylor merely increased the price by a million. The implication of this was rather obvious.

Vincent cast a glance in Michael’s direction. He’d been long since aware of Michael’s identity as Mark’s biological grandson and a descendant of the Fletcher Family. However, he’d never cared a whit about him. After all, Mark’s influence was limited to the military, and Michael wasn’t in the military, so he wasn’t worth a damn.

Seemingly sensing his gaze on him, Michael looked in his direction. His eyes were gleaming as though he was resolute to win, and beside him, Scarlett seemed to be harboring some kind of expectation as well.

Just after he’d called out his bid, another person raised his bidder card. “42 million.” The person who bid was the heir of a particular European conglomerate, a handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes.

“43 million.”

“44 million.”

There were successive bids, all by people who boasted an impressive background. Besides, all of them were men. While this car might be contrary to men’s tastes, all who bid on it were men. At a single glance, one could tell that some were bidding for their female companions, such as Vincent and Michael, while some had their sights on the car’s former owner.

Rumor had it that Fass’ daughter, Lucile, was breathtakingly beautiful and was only in her early 20s, yet to be married. Regretfully, she kept an extremely low profile and wore a mask during all her appearances. If one could make the acquaintance of this superbly fair, wealthy, and stunning lady and start a relationship with her, one’s entire family would be spared several years of struggle. Thus, many European celebrities and royalty flew over from Europe and America just to attend this auction. This auction was destined to be a bloodbath, for it wasn’t only a car, but also a chance to make the acquaintance of the eldest young lady of the Michel Family!

Vincent had known that it’d be a financial battle from the beginning itself, so he again whipped out his bidder card. “50 million!”

The crowd went into an uproar. It’s just been a mere few rounds, yet the bid has gone up by more than ten million!

However, there were still people who continued bidding despite it being 50 million. “51 million.” Michael raised his bidder card.

“53 million!” It was a European royal prince who called out the bid.

“55 million!” This time, it was a prince from a country rich with oil in the Middle East.

Harry hurriedly joined in the fun. “57 million.” He definitely wasn’t buying it since he’d save the middlemen fee if he got it from Sophia directly. Thus, he was merely playing the game now and driving the price up.

Emanating a cold air, Vincent swept a disdainful gaze over the crowd. With his utmost confidence as the Young Master of the Mitchell Family, he squeezed the slightly anxious Faye’s petite hand before loudly proclaiming, “60 million!”

Faye was over the moon. After all, who wouldn’t be moved in her shoes? Is there a woman who won’t be envious of me to have a fiancé who’s throwing away money recklessly for my sake? She glanced at Sandra out of the corner of her eye, only to see that her eyes were blazing with jealousy. However, Ian knew that Vincent was determined to win the bid for the car today, so he’d long since given up bidding. Since Cooper Mitchell is here today, the opportunity to stand out naturally has to be given to Mitchell from Alex’s line. Thus, she was set on showing off before Cooper. While she was inwardly ecstatic, she still needed to keep up appearances. “Why don’t we just call it a day, Vincent?”

Gazing at her, Vincent flashed her a gentle smile. “It’s fine. It’s just a drop in the bucket.” This amount was actually quite taxing to him, but he was dead set on getting the car.

When the price had gone up to 60 million, a group of bidders gave up, but still, some persevered. Of those, some were merely hiking up the price, while others were truly wealthy. “61 million.” This was from Michael who was driving up the price.

“62 million.” This was Sean who was likewise driving up the price.

“65 million.” This was the truly wealthy heir to the European conglomerate.

“68 million.” Similarly, this was the truly wealthy oil prince from the Middle East.

With his own woman and another member of the Mitchell Family looking on, not to mention Michael whom he looked down upon bidding on it, Vincent definitely wouldn’t give up, so he sneered and called out, “80 million!”

It’s an increase of more than ten million at a single go! Everyone sucked in a breath. The Mitchell Family is truly rich! And this time, Vincent Mitchell is hell-bent on winning the bid!

“81 million.” Michael promptly countered without even having to consider it. Every time Vincent called out his bid, he always followed with an increase of one million. It was an even figure of one million, no more no less as though his goal was to provoke him.

The heir to the European conglomerate stopped bidding, but the oil prince with deep pockets instantly called out, “85 million!”

In the next moment, Harry shouted, “89 million!”

Vincent had finally realized the cruelty of bidding, but he had no retreat since it was him who’d authoritatively started bidding, and his fiancée was even looking on beside him. Hence, after Harry, he declared, “90 million!”

All at once, Michael spoke up and said, “91 million.” Again, it was one million more, no more no less.

This time, no one made a bid. The oil prince frowned as he scrutinized the laptop in his assistant’s hand beside him. Harry had also gone silent, appearing very much defeated, even pulling Sarah who was beside him for a consoling hug as aggrieve manifested on his face.

Only two people present continued to persist—Michael and Vincent. Now that the price had more than doubled, many were pulling out. Gritting his teeth, Vincent slammed his hands on the table and sprang to his feet. “I offer 100 million!”

The auction hall plunged into pin-drop silence. This time, everyone’s gaze swung to Michael, only to see that his brows were deeply creased as though he was hesitating. Several times, he made to raise his bidder card, and his mouth was even twitching in preparation of calling out ‘101 million,’ but he seemed to be holding back the words that were right on the tip of his tongue, dithering a handful of times. It was apparent that he was exceedingly hesitant; he wanted to buy it, but at the thought of the price, he swallowed his words again.

In the end, the auctioneer hammered the nail in the coffin with the gavel. “Congratulations to Mr. Vincent Mitchell for winning the bid for this one and only exclusively-customized luxury car in the world at 100 million!”

Thunderous applause broke out in the hall. Meanwhile, Faye was so touched that she threw herself into Vincent’s arms and sobbed quietly. Despite his heart twisting in agony, Vincent forcefully stifled it amidst the applause of numerous celebrities, leaving smug satisfaction on his face. Then, he even instinctively glanced at those few people who’d countered his bid.

Michael had a distressed expression, seemingly talking to Cooper about something, and it looked very much like he was apologizing or mollifying him. In short, he looked despondent, making it plain as day that Cooper was enraged. Therefore, this had Vincent feeling all the more conceited as though he’d done something exceptional.

When the curtains fell on the auction, everyone slowly left. Reporters were waiting outside the door for the celebrities to make an appearance so that they could interview them. The news that Vincent had bought a luxury car at 100 million for his fiancée, Faye, had quickly spread throughout the entertainment industry, making headlines. Thus, the reporters caught wind of it and rushed over for some hot interviews.

Harry was the first person to exit. When he accepted the interview, he expressed his deep regret, saying, “I was actually planning to buy my wife a new car, but it looks like this car isn’t meant for her.”

Then, it was Michael who was interviewed next. Forcing a smile, he lamented, “I initially wanted to buy this car just to put a smile on Miss Scarlett Mitchell’s face, but regretfully…”

Finally, Vincent was interviewed. As he held on to Faye, who was so touched that she was crying, he declared smugly, “Faye likes it, so I got it for her birthday present.”

Faye dashed off her tears of gratitude, but still, she was keeping a triumphant eye on others around her out of her peripheral vision, such as Scarlett whom she hated to the bone. She’s bound to be extremely frustrated now!

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 845

Sophia too saw the complacent look in Faye’s eyes, but she drove off without making any comments. Arriving at Crimson House, she booked two private rooms, which was soon populated by a crowd. Among them were Michael, Linus, Harry and his partner, as well as Sean and Stanley. Even the filthy rich prince from the Middle East who fought with Vincent, as well as that heir to an European conglomerate were present.

Upon entering the room, Sophia announced, “I appreciate your support, so tonight’s meal is on me.”

If there were no worthy opponents present for the occasion, it would be hard to prompt Vincent into action, which would make it hard to raise the price of the car. A thirty million car being sold at the price of a hundred million was quite the deal in itself, more so when it could benefit from Faye’s popularity.

Faye’s birthday soon arrived. As the Mitchell Family’s future daughter-in-law, the Mitchells honored her by inviting a lot of celebrities, as well as members of the Edwards Family. The birthday party was held in the riverside mansion that Vincent bought for Faye. The four-storeyed mansion spanned across more than 700 square meters, whereas its interior was not only lavishly decorated, but equipped with an elevator. Vincent personally drove the burgundy car to the venue before parking it in the garden of the mansion, which quickly garnered a lot of attention and praise.

，兴奋地投入了他的怀中。

While the crowd watched on in awe, Vincent got out of the car to hand the keys to Faye as if it were a solemn affair. His actions seemed to touch Faye so much that she threw herself into his embrace in elation, with the subsequent round of applause seemingly having fulfilled Faye’s vanity.

However, other than the sports car, the other highlight of the day was Scarlett’s apology. Sandra brought along with her a few of the elders from the Mitchell Family, as she wanted them to witness Scarlett’s humiliating public apology. They spent a long time waiting before Scarlett finally arrived. Upon glancing at Cooper’s daughter, whom they had yet to meet till then, the elders determined that she was but another celebrity with a plastic face, her appearance a splitting image with many among the crowd.

On the other hand, Cooper came alongside Sophia, only to be irked upon seeing people walking around with faces similar to Sophia’s. In fact, Sophia’s appearance was somehow being hailed as the latest beauty standard, so a lot of people had been tweaking their faces to look like her, which was something that Cooper was unhappy about.

Aside from Cooper, Michael, Sean, and Stanley came along as well. To add to their already grandiose line-up, they brought with them the 2.5m cat, Barney. Judge came along with Stanley as well, but it cowered at the entrance upon noticing the enormous cat.

All eyes on them, the crowd fell silent for a moment upon their entry. Although it was outrageous of them to have brought a lion to someone else’s birthday party, to be fair, the lion was docile, sitting down upon finding itself a spot where it could rest.

That was the elders’ third encounter with Cooper after his return. The first time was when Woody Mitchell passed away, the second being during Woody’s funeral, while the third being this birthday party. Instead of returning to the Mitchells, Cooper had been going solo ever since his return without heeding the elders’ summons. His actions made the elders felt their statuses challenged, so they always gave Cooper the cold shoulder whenever they met him.

However, Cooper also ignored their presence. For all he cared, the elders were only superior to him in age, as some of them were still among the servants when he took over the Mitchell Family.

On the other hand, Sophia kept a low profile by dressing up plainly today, as she didn’t intend to steal the limelight. Aside from applying some of Carmen’s baby powder, she wasn’t wearing any makeup at all. Due to its ritualistic significance, she only ever put on makeup when she had to meet someone important, but not when she was merely gracing someone inconsequential with her presence.

As soon as she arrived at the venue, she went to Faye and apologized, “Miss Faye Edwards, I hereby offer you my deepest apologies regarding the hurt I caused you during Pourl’s product launching ceremony. Please accept my apology.” She gave Faye a sincere bow after saying so.

Chuckling complacently, Faye scanned the crowd before she responded, “It’s alright. You don’t need to take it so seriously. Let’s consider this settled now that you already paid the fines. Vincent and I will soon be married, so we will become family soon.” While she spoke, Faye deliberately combed her hair using her slender fingers to show off the huge diamond ring she wore, whereas a similar one resided on Vincent’s ring finger.

Seemingly unaffected, Sophia said, “Oh, so I see you are registered.”

Faye was so proud of herself, her face was flushed from all the emotions. “Yeah, we did. Because it’s my birthday as well as an auspicious day, we got registered in the morning, while the ceremony will be held next month.” In fact, news regarding their marriage was the trending topic on the Internet ever since a week ago, which helped to promote her upcoming movie.

Sandra chimed in, “Miss Faye will be a member of the Mitchells from now on, while Vincent is the youngest member among the board of directors with a firm hold on the shares of Mitchell Group, so I bet they have a bright future ahead of them! With how compatible they are, this sure is a match made in heaven!” Getting ahead of herself, Sandra was starting to show off unabashedly. “The Edwards Group provided Faye with a huge amount of dowry, which indicates how important her wedding is. And we Mitchells also offered a huge sum as a betrothal gift, seeing the significance of the wedding for both families. My wedding with Ian will be happening next year, which would deepen the bond between the Mitchells and Edwards as we’re now in-laws. This is surely the strong banding together to form an even stronger union!”

However, Sandra wasn’t referring to Cooper and Scarlett’s family. Although the Edwards and Mitchells would be coming into union, Cooper had nothing to gain from it. With nothing under his name, the fact that Cooper had Mark’s assistance meant nothing, more so when Mark would kick the bucket any moment.

Even by arranging for Scarlett to marry Michael, it was naive of Cooper to think that they were secure. Not so long ago, Michael wasn’t even regarded as a member of the Fletcher Family. They only inserted him into the family tree after the poor sod lost his wife. Cooper was therefore being regarded as a senile fool who misjudged the situation in Bayside City after being a castout for more than twenty years.

Despite catching on to the fact that Sandra was trying to show off, Sophia seemed unaffected when she replied nonchalantly, “Yeah, that sounds great.” Without further words, she turned to reunite with her father and the lion.

Exchanging a smile, Faye and Sandra assumed that Sophia’s nonchalance was but a facade to the dejection she felt deep down, as a public apology should be extremely humiliating. However, Faye wasn’t about to let Sophia off the hook, so she dragged the latter with her to check on her new car. “Look, Scarlett, this is my new car that Vincent bought for me! It was used by Lucile Michel! I bet you have no idea who she is! She is one of the top socialites in the world! Her father is Fass Michel, the president of Michel Group, whose net worth could easily rival that of a country! Vincent and I had an audience with her when we went to sign the contract for purchasing the car! We became friends very quickly, and she even invited us to visit her manor! It was a shame that she left for Africa for an errand, or else you might even get to meet her today!”

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 846

Meanwhile, Vincent listened in silence, opting not to expose Faye’s lie. The truth was that Lucile did not show up when they went to sign the contract, as Linus acted as proxy throughout the process, so Faye actually missed out on Lucile. However, her vanity seemed cute at the moment, while the lie served to show Cooper and Scarlett the connections that the Mitchells possessed, as not everyone got to meet Linus and Lucile.

Through buying the car, Vincent got to meet and exchange contacts with Linus, which meant that they had established some sort of connection in the least. Spending a billion in exchange for a chance to meet the vice president of the Michel Family was—to him—a fair deal.

On the other hand, Sophia was rendered speechless by Faye’s vain attitude, more so when the latter dragged Sophia over to check out the car which Sophia was in fact tired of. Meanwhile, the car was being treated as the hottest luxury item, with celebrities taking selfies in front of it before posting a heavily edited version of the picture onto their social media.

Faye dragged Scarlett over to inspect the car. “Scarlett, try running your hands over it! The car was produced according to military standards! Look at the color, the shimmer, as well as the fully automated system embedded in it! I bet you’ve never laid eyes on such an advanced car before!”

However, Sophia maintained a blank expression while she recalled that the car was in fact one of the more plain ones she owned. The reason she sold it was because it was too small to comfortably fit her 2.5 meter cat. In the meantime, both Michael and Harry put on a look of adoration.

Michael ran his hands over the car in awe while lamenting, “This is such a superb car! It’s a shame that I don’t get to own it!”

With a look of envy, Harry cried, “Oh, even laying eyes on it is a pleasure!”

The two best actors put on their best act to portray themselves as poor sods who could only begrudgingly behold the car of their dreams but couldn’t own it. Their flawless acting not only managed to satisfy both Faye and Vincent’s vanity, but also put on show the Mitchells’ sturdy financial foothold.

In the meantime, Cooper was on the verge of nodding off while on the sidelines. Although the elders of the Mitchell Family were discontent about his defiant attitude, they refused to approach him actively, thus resigned to cursing him mentally. Cooper had always stuck out like a sore thumb ever since young, so the elders—despite being not much older than Cooper—were rejoicing in the fact that not only was he met with his downfall, but her daughter was also being publicly humiliated.

Meanwhile, Sophia’s face was devoid of expression when Faye was showing her wealth off. In fact, she wouldn’t even have attended Faye’s birthday party if it wasn’t for the upcoming incident that she’d planned.

Eventually, during the climax of the occasion, a few cars pulled over, from within emerged a group of people in uniforms. Their leader sought out Faye before inquiring placidly, “Greetings, Miss Faye Edwards. We’re from the Inspection Division of the Local Tax Bureau. Miss Scarlett Mitchell reported that you had been committing tax fraud, so we will need you to come with us for investigation purposes.”

The fact that Scarlett reported Faye came as a huge shock to everyone present on the occasion. It was public knowledge that tax fraud was illegal. Having set up her own studio that was independent from its shareholders, Faye would be faced with charges if she was found guilty of tax fraud.

The crowd fell into silence while closing in on Faye to check out the situation. Upon knowing who was after her, Faye shot Sophia, who was watching from the sidelines, a menacing glance before feigning surprise. “Oh, why would you accuse me of that? How is that possible? I have always paid my taxes accordingly!”

In fact, she was aware that she had broken the law, but she was confident that even the bureau had to bend to the combined will of both the Mitchells and Edwardses due to how powerful both families were. Even if they managed to uncover anything, she had both families behind her back, so Faye didn’t believe for a second that Scarlett could topple her. There was just no f*cking way that she could.

In the meantime, Vincent explained cordially, “There must be some misunderstanding behind this. Seeing that we’re already this late into the night, why don’t we proceed with the investigation tomorrow?”

The people from the bureau agreed to his proposition, so were soon on their way, allowing them to go on with the party. However, the atmosphere in the mansion during the latter half of the occasion went through a drastic shift. The guests were beginning to whisper among themselves regarding Faye’s supposed crime, as well as the fact that Scarlett Mitchell opted to do so without even trying to cover up for herself.

The amount that Faye declared last year was a little more than two hundred million. However, she requested a compensation of fifty million just that year after being bitten by a dog, which forced her to recuperate for a month. Only a small sum was dedicated to Faye’s mental anguish and medical bills, as the majority of the compensation was determined based on the loss of income when Faye was recuperating.

According to the available data, it was apparent that Faye was able to earn approximately fifty million within the span of a month, which meant that she could earn approximately five hundred million in a year. However, she only declared a total of two hundred million, so it meant that the remaining three million was untaxed. It became apparent to the public now that Scarlett had been waiting all this while to get back at Faye after being subjected to an unreasonable compensation of fifty million.

Sophia left the mansion for her car in the nearby parking lot after the men from the bureau left. While on her way out, she made a call to administer a quick order. “You can now spread the news around.” Upon ending the call, Sophia turned to observe the glorious mansion behind her while wearing a menacing smile. You won’t be getting away easily, Faye!

The incident became a hot topic overnight. There were already various conjectures and contesting opinions going around on the Internet regarding the matter when news broke of the astronomical amount of money being compensated to Faye after she was bitten. The fact that an actress who had no skills and having undergone extensive plastic surgery could earn fifty million per month made Faye the object of people’s envy.

Aside from the peasants in the lower ranks of society, even Faye’s colleagues wished to be in her position. As soon as a hatred toward the rich was triggered, it ignited a blaze that managed to destroy the foundations of lies that Faye’s riches were built upon.

With the aforementioned incident being the preamble of the situation, the fact that Faye was being investigated by the Local Tax Bureau became the critical point that kickstarted a series of gossips that trended the Internet. It was soon discovered that Faye’s wedding ring cost tens of millions, while the new mansion Vincent bought for their wedding spanned across a few hundred square meters, equipped with an elevator no less. On the other hand, someone else uncovered that her car was worth a hundred million.

Every single amount spent on the items were getting on people’s nerves, as they could hardly earn fifty million even if they worked for life, so it was extremely unfair that she could earn fifty million within a month. Her movie saw one of the lowest-grossing box offices, as she had no skills in acting. Other than that, her beauty was artificially constructed, and all she knew was to latch herself to globally-acclaimed award-winning actors, so it was incongruous that she could earn so much more than the other actors who worked hard.

Meanwhile, her envious colleagues were all lashing out at her now that they finally found fault with Faye, direly hoping that the incident would be her downfall that would subsequently end her career. The incident was blown out of proportion during the next few days, so much so that it gave the Mitchells and Edwardses a headache, as they couldn’t possibly come out unscathed.

In the meantime, because Sophia reported Faye publicly, her brand and Michael’s new movie were both gaining attention due to the incident. As things went south, Faye was beginning to panic, all the while regretting lying about her income. Thus, she quickly agreed to cooperate with the tax bureau with their investigation.

After a thorough investigation, it was revealed that although Faye did commit tax fraud, the amount wasn’t huge, so things began calming down after she paid both the required taxes and the fine, as well as finding herself a scapegoat to serve her jail sentence in her stead. It was also revealed that she didn’t earn as much as she’d declared, as the true sum was merely two-fifths of it.

Faye’s studio quickly announced the truth to the public, admitting that Faye didn’t earn as much as she’d claimed. As soon as the statement was issued, it seemed that the incident would resolve itself after a few more moves to soothe the public. But without warning, Pourl filed a high-profile police report at that critical moment to sue Faye for scamming.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 847

The events unfolded one after the other according to plan. Just when the case with Faye’s tax evasion was finally beginning to subside and the public was on the verge of turning their attention to something else, Pourl made a move to sue Faye for scamming. In effect, they were using the whole ordeal with Faye as an opportunity to market their brand.

Since Faye admitted that she didn’t earn as much as fifty million per month, the fact that she requested a compensation of fifty million from Pourl would be a scam. The list for compensation was done by Faye’s team, which listed out in black and white each of the items that were being compensated for. Compensation for medical bills and mental anguish didn’t even amount to a million, while the rest were all compensation for loss of income. Faye had no way of denying any of the claims, as it was listed out on paper.

The lawsuit caught Faye unawares. It wasn’t until then that she realized she had fallen into a trap. Right after the people from the tax bureau were done with her, the police would come knocking on her door as well. It was all a meticulously planned trap for Faye that was set into motion ever since she requested a fifty million compensation. All Sophia had to do was wait for Faye to fall deeper into the trap.

Pourl set up a social media page just for that single event, on which their first post was the police report they filed against Faye. Of course, she came to know of it quickly. Pourl made sure to keep a high profile; they went as far as to make it live on the web, as if reminding Faye to brace herself. Meanwhile, the police would soon be knocking on Faye’s door, so she quickly gave Vincent and Sandra a call, as it was Sandra’s idea to make the outrageous request for compensation.

The incident quickly alarmed the Edwards and the Mitchells, as they placed a lot of importance on Faye and Vincent’s marriage. As soon as the two main families came into union through marital ties, it meant both families would effectively be considered as one. However, it also meant that Cooper would unscrupulously work against that union, as a union between Alex Mitchell and the Edwards would put him at a disadvantage. In short, Scarlett would be targeting both Faye and Sandra as both were the key to the union of both families, which was precisely why neither family would sit out of it.

Soon, news broke that the Mitchells and the Edwards spent an astronomical amount to hire ten or so lawyers from both local and abroad to form a team that would work on Faye’s case. The intense lawsuit went on for two months, and by the end of it, Faye was determined as innocent. Both the Mitchells and the Edwards spent a lot of money on the case; just the attorney fees alone amounted to an impressive sum. Besides, they wouldn’t have been able to pull through this if it weren’t for their connections.

After the case was closed, Faye gave Sophia a call to gloat. “Scarlett, you should know that both the Mitchells and the Edwards agreed to teach you a lesson. Extras like your father and you should never have returned! Neither the Edwards nor the Mitchells will let you off the hook that easily, nor will you have any chance at winning this feud! Scram back to where you came from!”

However, Sophia mocked, “Thank you for endorsing our products for free. We owe you one for Pourl’s booming business.”

When Faye heard that, she was so furious that she hung up. Meanwhile, Sophia was expanding her business, whereas the marketing team that Cooper recommended seized the opportunity to market the company’s products when news regarding Faye’s case was the trending topic. Their combined efforts helped to boost Pourl’s reputation greatly.

On the other hand, Ivan and his team managed to come up with brilliant designs that swept multiple international awards, which helped to consolidate his status within the industry. In short, Pourl was thriving.

It was within Sophia’s expectations that both the Edwards and the Mitchells would do their best to protect Faye at all cost. After all, Sophia was Cooper’s daughter, while Faye was the daughter-in-law of the Mitchells, so anything she did to Faye was bound to be perceived as a slight to the Mitchells. Therefore, it was no longer just a matter between Sophia and Faye, but also a feud between both Cooper and Alex.

However, she didn’t ask for help from Cooper regarding the matter, as the latter was busy expanding his local business while soliciting the support of other Mitchells. In fact, Sophia preferred to focus on being Cooper’s witty sidekick while working on expanding her own business related to pet products. She liked her career pertaining to pet luxury goods, and would soon be expanding into more areas regarding pets by the coming year.

Pourl’s office and design studio was moved to the second floor of its flagship store. The building was a gift from Sam, but Sophia only held onto a single floor to be used by Pourl, while the rest were rented out. The offices and shoplots in the building were mostly bought off by Cooper, with the branch family being based upstairs, while the local HQ of Michel Group had just moved into the building next to them. After all, Cooper wanted nothing more than to keep watch on his precious daughter 24/7 every day of the week.

On this day, Michale brought Judge with him to Sophia’s shop. As soon as Judge saw Sophia, it began barking. After leaving The Imperial, Judge was sent back to Stanley’s place. The latter just bought a mansion beside the sea, with Sean settling down in another mansion next to his, so they could take over looking after Judge.

Judge became the only doggo in the house, but despite the fact that everybody doted on it, Judge was still feeling dissatisfied. It missed Sophia and Michael since it had grown attached to them and the place that it spent a few years living in. Not only was the orange cat not with it in the new place, neither was Sophia the loli there; both of them were being perceived by Judge as its subjects. Nowadays, the lion had stepped in to seize everyone and everything away from Judge, which made it unhappy, to say the least.

Woof! Judge was barking non-stop. Caressing its head, Sophia asked Michael, “Why is Judge barking so much?”

Michael replied, “Perhaps it’s because Judge wants to come back to The Imperial since it’s now living alone by the sea. Stanley spends a lot of time away from home, so Judge might be feeling a little lonely.”

“But Judge doesn’t want to play with Barney,” Sophia said with a frown.

Judge was still barking when Ivan opened the door to the design studio. Right now, Barney was having its measurements taken inside as Sophia wanted to make Barney an outfit. Upon seeing Barney, Judge quickly cowered behind Michael with its ears flattened. On the other hand, Ivan was slightly nervous upon receiving such a large animal in his studio for the first time, but he quickly got used to it.

Ever since business expanded, Pourl had been taking on other more exotic pets aside from the normal ones, including golden pythons, groundhogs, koalas, alpacas, kangaroos, monkeys, squirrels, ostriches and even giant earthworms. They also had a century-old tortoise waiting outside, as its owner was planning on giving it a golden tattoo on its shell.

In the meantime, Sophia was going through the datas of recent clients to get a grasp on the latest trending pets among the upper class society in Bayside City. However, Michael was watching in trepidation as he didn’t want her getting any weird ideas on buying any other exotic pets, as in most cases, he would end up being the one taking care of them. Therefore, he quickly redirected her attention. “You used to like dogs when you were younger, and you had a dog that you kept for ten years!”

He succeeded in capturing Sophia’s attention. “Oh, is that so? What was the dog’s name?”

Michael recalled Sophia having told him about a dog she kept when she was living with her grandmother. With how smart it was, it helped to find aluminium cans in bins whenever Sophia went scavenging for trash. Michael went on for a while with the story. “You kept the dog with you for many years until it passed away of old age.”

However, the truth was that after Sophia’s grandmother had passed away, she moved into her uncle’s place with the dog. When her cousin bullied her, the dog bit him so hard that it tore off a chunk of his flesh. After that, the dog was beaten to death before being used to boil soup that ended up as nourishment for her cousin.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 848

Of course, Michael would never tell her about the gruelling parts, as it would be better to allow her to assume that her dog simply died of old age. The dog was her only friend who got killed for protecting her, and was made into soup after that. After that, its bones were retrieved by Sophia from the bin before being put together and buried in a tiny grave she dug for it. The trauma scarred her for life, but fortunately, she had forgotten all about it.

After listening to the story, Sophia heaved a sigh. “They’re just our furry babies…” Pets’ lives were so short, while humans had lifespans that were so much longer than theirs, so it could be considered fate for one to be able to encounter his or her own ‘furry baby’. Thus, it was all the more reason why Sophia decided to offer the best she could to the pets she encountered.

Caressing Judge’s head, she could smell the fragrance of shampoo as well as feel the smoothness of its fur from its recent shower. Judge was around five to six years old by that point, so since huskies had an average lifespan of under twenty years, she didn’t have much time left with Judge.

Michael changed the topic after that. “My movie will be released the week after this, but there will be a premiere before that. Would you like to join us?” Being an actor had its merits seeing that he had at least gotten a superb reason to ask a girl out.

However, Sophia turned down his offer after some thought. “I think I’ll wait for the release, as I prefer to watch it on a big screen in the cinema. It would be great if the seats are all filled up. I like it when the audience cheers for a good movie.”

Taken aback, Michael hung his head low while being on the brink of tears upon realizing that his chica was the same as before, and she hadn’t changed at all. Michael hung around until afternoon when Stanley, Sean and Maddie came over for an exclusive interview about Judge.

As the main character behind the incident with Faye, Judge was the reason why Pourl lost fifty million, as well as the reason why Faye had to face lawsuits against her for tax evasion and scamming. Therefore, fans of Faye tracked Judge down through their combined efforts, going as far as to crowdfund to have Teddy rape Judge. It was under such circumstances that Judge rose to fame, eventually becoming one of the most well-known dogs with the highest net worth in the world.

However, though Judge’s action of biting Faye caused Pourl to lose fifty million, the level of fame they gained due to it far outweighed their financial loss; even spending fifty million on celebrity endorsements might not necessarily guarantee a similar outcome. Thus, Maddie figured she could do an interview about Judge to add to Pourl’s fame.

As soon as the interview began, Judge barked nonstop as if announcing that it never bit anyone to begin with. Despite having chewed on sofas, chairs, beds, toilet lids and TVs, Judge didn’t seem to recall ever biting anyone. It almost sounded like Judge was denouncing Faye’s claims for having been bitten, while Sophia was simply strung along.

Maddie asked a few more questions regarding Judges’ daily life, to which Stanley replied in detail, allowing the interview to go on smoothly. However, when Maddie was about to leave when they were done with it, Sophia’s bodyguard reported to them, “Miss Irene Weber is downstairs.”

Not only was her presence unexpected, but none of them knew if she was after Maddie or Michael. Even Maddie was disgruntled about her arrival, as Irene had been constantly dropping by to harass both Joel and her. Whenever Joel was away from home for military duties, Irene would harass Maddie by hurling insults at her in front of her house. The fact that Irene would even come to Sophia’s shop was unexpected. “I’ll go chase her away!” Maddie volunteered.

On the other hand, Joel knew Maddie was often being harassed by Irene, but he also acknowledged the fact that she didn’t like to have a bodyguard following her around. Thus, he adopted two retired army dogs that she could bring along with her to work, which were with her at the moment. However, Sophia held her back. “That won’t be necessary. I can handle her.”

In the meantime, Irene was waiting downstairs, knowing that Michael was upstairs, orbiting around that wench, Scarlett as usual. She decided she would make everybody’s life difficult, because she could easily get away—even from Mark Fletcher—due to her parents’ status as fallen heroes.

Soon, Sophia showed up wearing a pair of sunglasses and having a lion beside her. Upon noticing Irene’s presence, she walked toward Irene with the lion in tow, which shocked Irene so much that she ran away shuddering. It wasn’t until then that she led Barney onto the car to head back home with Michael tagging along.

Not even Michael could do anything about Irene. “She is the daughter of fallen heroes. Both her parents sacrificed themselves for the country, so she was left orphaned when she was a child. Although the Fletchers adopted her…”

The Fletchers treated Irene as one of their own, providing her with all the necessary resources to become the best singer in the military. However, her low self-esteem caused her to fixate on the dream of becoming a true Fletcher by being listed on their family tree. If she could be more firm in her stance back then, she would’ve already married Michael and their children would’ve been in high school by now. Yet, she chose Joel instead of Michael, only to be shunned by Joel with the only reason of him having no feelings for her.

It was tricky for Michael to deal with Irene, as he couldn’t just cast her aside like how Joel did, and that was precisely why Irene was able to do as she pleased. Michael’s relationship with Sophia hadn’t seen much progress, so he didn’t want Irene’s presence to affect their relationship. Meanwhile, Sophia knew full well who Irene was, but she issued a harsh warning nonetheless. “While you did owe her something, I don’t, so I will treat her the same way I did Faye if she ever crosses me.”

At the mention of Faye, Sophia was reminded that the movie Faye was starring in was still being promoted, and it would be released on the same day as Michael’s. Also, Faye’s wedding with Vincent would happen within a few days on a private island that the Mitchells owned. Sure enough, it was common practice among celebrities to draw attention by publicizing either their wedding or breakup. After a round of advertisements and promotional activities, Faye’s movie was currently the trending topic, which was expected to gross at least 1.5 billion.

Faye and Vincent’s wedding was the hottest topic of the season, with the media either portraying them as a fairytale couple, or focusing on the fact that the Mitchells had settled Faye’s two court cases, which indicated just how important Faye was to Vincent. All in all, the wedding received a lot of attention from the public.

On the other hand, though Alex sent Cooper an invitation, the latter turned it down as he wasn’t interested. As a major event for both the Edwards and the Mitchells, the wedding was in fact a stage to show off their financial prowess and familial status to their opponents. However, it would be pointless if their opponents weren’t even there to witness their achievements.

Upon arriving home, Sophia got a call from Faye. “Scarlett, you must attend Vincent and my wedding that will happen in three days! He told me you’re a member of our family, so you have to attend such an important event! Our wedding would be incomplete without your presence!”

Sophia could hear the pride in Faye’s cute voice over the phone when the latter began describing her supposed wedding. “My wedding will be held on a private island that Vincent and I own! The ceremony will last three days, with invitations being sent to upper class people such as government officials and people of noble statuses. By right, people like you would never even get to set foot on it, but since you’re a Mitchell, we will make an exception for you!”

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 849

Sophia retorted without hesitation, “I’m sorry, as I won’t be able to come. Still, I wish you a happy marriage!”

On the other end of the call, Faye couldn’t help but chuckle in complacency. “Scarlett, are you worried that you might cry after witnessing my marital bliss?”

Without holding back at all, Sophia snapped, “You’re right! I’m so jealous of you, so I will make sure to ruin your wedding. Also, I will never allow the union to happen, so I will do my best to trash it! Your wedding will become the laughing stock for everyone!”

As soon as she said so, Faye burst out laughing. “Hahaha! Scarlett, you’re too full of yourself! Both the Edwards and the Mitchells placed a lot of importance on the wedding, so you won’t even come close to thrashing it! Haha, I will be sending you the invitation, so come trash our wedding if you can!”

With a nod, Sophia replied, “Sure, just you wait! I will make sure your wedding goes down the drain!” Hanging up, Sophia cast her phone to the side before lying down on the sofa to organize her thoughts. Linus was cooking in the kitchen, whereas Carmen and Cooper were playing with toy blocks while the latter had his hair tied up in two stubs. As Carmen was familiar with building houses with the toy blocks, she could do so with much ease.

Michael never slacked when it came to Carmen’s education. Although she had yet to start attending kindergarten, she could already speak in four languages fluently. She also learned to dive and roller skate, while Michael also took time to go on trips with Carmen on their private jet. However, the presence of family was also important for the education of a child. While Michael had a hard time attending to every single need of the child back then, things were easier now that Sophia and her family were there to help.

As they were playing, Cooper was able to teach her a lot of things, and he was also able to let her practice speaking, so Sophia had it much easier, for all she needed to do was play with Carmen after work.

“How do you plan to trash their wedding?” Michael overheard Sophia’s conversation with Faye when he came for dinner in his pajamas after a shower.

Propping herself up, Sophia smiled before replying, “What will you do if you ever see someone you dislike getting fed sht without knowing it was in fact a pile of sht?”

With a frown on his face, Michael imagined the situation. Well, I figure I would remind him about it only after he ate it!

……

Faye’s wedding was held as scheduled. The occasion would last for three whole days, which was a feat that shook the entire nation. Before the wedding, Faye’s team already began publicizing it. It was as if they wanted the whole world to know about their wedding, as well as the unbreakable bond forged through the amalgamation of two prestigious families. A lot of celebrities and people of status were invited, and Faye would occasionally post a photo of her in her wedding gown as a means to showcase the progress of the wedding preparations. Meanwhile, all of the publications served to help market her new movie.

Sophia wore a cruel smile on her face while reading through those articles regarding the glorious wedding on the Internet. After that, she made a call. “You can now release all 28 gigabytes of the data.”

……

During the first day of their wedding, Edwards Island was buzzing with activity. After the three-day ceremony, the guests would be ferried back to Bayside City on a luxury cruise owned by the Edwards. The entire wedding cost hundreds of millions, making it the event of the century. To celebrate the occasion, both the Edwards and the Mitchells had invited a lot of important partners to witness it.

The scale of the wedding was absolutely unprecedented. The entire island was covered with flowers. Also, Faye’s outfit cost a good forty million. Other than the thousands of prominent guests present, they also commissioned a renowned Hollywood director to direct and produce a clip to be showcased during the ceremony. Such was the grandiose of a rich person’s wedding.

The ceremony of the first day ended without a hitch. The next few days would be followed with banquets, cocktail parties, balls and performances. Shockingly, the performers were all world-renowned artists who rejoiced in being invited to the wedding.

While the Edwards and the Mitchells were busy promoting the wedding as the event of the century, a 28 gigabyte compressed folder which contained a ton of incredible videos was being uploaded onto the largest legal overseas pornsite.

All of the videos were of a woman having sex with her face clearly shown. There were a variety of genres, ranging from normal sex to hardcore fetishes. Soon, the female lead was quickly being pointed out as Faye Edwards, the hotshot celebrity of Cethos. All 28 gigabytes of videos were of her having unscrupulous sex with all manner of subjects.

Aside from Faye, prominent figures such as Richard Harper of the Harper Group and another hotshot celebrity called Nicholas Yates were also captured on the videos. Almost all of the younger men and women who were managed by her studio were forced to have sex with her.

The videos were uploaded when Faye and Vincent were exchanging their rings. Such impeccable timing made it obvious that this was an act of blatant mockery. Meanwhile, a bunch of self-proclaimed experts downloaded the videos to determine if those uploaded contents were true. They did such a meticulous job of it, which resulted in them being able to firmly determine that the woman featured in all the videos were in fact none other than Faye Edwards herself.

All of the videos indicated the time and location of filming, with the most recent one being filmed in a bridal shop. It showed Faye—dressed in her wedding gown that Vincent spent a huge fortune on—having sex with a man. According to the officially released material, the gown was worth tens of millions. Although it was Faye who wore the gown, the man who was having sex with her sure didn’t seem to be Vincent.

News regarding the videos were being spread around like wildfire. Initially, they were only circulated on foreign websites, but within a span of few hours, it infiltrated the websites in Cethos. Meanwhile, the wedding of the century was proceeding as planned on the island. After the ceremony in the day, there would be a banquet by night. In the meantime, the videos were being spread onto all major local websites in UHD quality.

There were a lot of similar scandals among female celebrities, which in some cases were deliberately done in order to attain a certain level of fame. However, Faye’s case was different, for it was a stark contrast to her clean public image as seen through news regarding her wedding, which made the scandal all the more shocking and exciting.

In order to get Faye to marry into their family, the Mitchells had spent a lot of money, going as far as to exhaust their connections ever since she was involved in the lawsuit. All the while, Vincent was constantly showing her his support and love. Occasionally, the couple would even show off their love by showering each other with expensive gifts.

They made sure that their wedding was publicly known, and by allowing the world to know that Vincent married Faye, the release of those videos also in effect announced the fact that Vincent was cuckolded through and through. Furthermore, he essentially brought this upon himself, for it was too late to hide the scandal now, not when he had made sure that the wedding was being publicized so heavily!

Due to the differences in time zones, the fact that time was needed for the so-called experts to determine the authenticity of the videos, the hasty removal of the videos due to them being regarded as indecent, and also the isolated condition of the island, a delay in the passing of information was being resulted. Thus, it wasn’t until the next day that the guests saw the videos.

When it was time for the cocktail party in the morning, the guests were already gossiping about it, but none dared confront the newly married couple. It was their wedding after all, so it didn’t seem nice to dump such a scandal in their faces.

In the meantime, Sophia’s private jet landed on the island. As a member of the Mitchells, she figured she should bear witness to the wedding of the century, or else, as what Faye told her, it wouldn’t be complete.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 850

The wedding would last for three days. On the first day, the ceremony and the dinner party would take place. On the second day, there would be more exciting performances and other social gatherings. On the final day, all of them would board the cruise ship and return to Cethos.

Although the most climactic and sacred part of the wedding was over, Sophia didn’t think she was late. The show has just begun. After showing the security guards her invitation card, she got into the place easily. Also, she was accompanied by some people.

Meantime, Harry and Michael had gotten their invitation cards as well. After all, they were the only two Cethosian winners of the Academy Award. Even if they were not as popular as previously, they were still influential figures in the country.

Furthermore, Cooper had brought with him Sean and other Mitchell Family members. Since this was Vincent’s wedding, of course they had to come.

As the second most powerful person in the Michel Family, Linus was also invited to the wedding.

Additionally, Stanley arrived at the venue as the representative of the Fletcher Family.

Since the return of Cooper, he had always kept a low profile. He especially tried to keep some distance from Linus and the Michel Family because he intended to get back what was rightfully his on his own. He had to prove to everyone that even if he had left the Mitchell Family for more than twenty years, he was still the king of the family.

So, Linus came to this island in Michael’s small naval ship, while Cooper, Sophia, and her huge orange cat flew over in a private jet. When they met up on the island, a cocktail party was taking place. Sophia decided to attend the party.

In fact, this cocktail party was a prelude to the wedding dinner. With no designated seats, the guests could pick up glasses of wine and chat with each other freely. As a pleasant aroma permeated across the venue, the atmosphere was wonderful.

However, after a long time, the bride and the groom still hadn’t reached the venue. Even the most important family members on both sides hadn’t appeared, so the suspicion of the guests had been aroused as they talked about a particular topic.

There were many promiscuous people within the wealthy families. Nevertheless, as privileged members of the society, they tried to keep a low profile when engaging in salacious activities. However, Faye was the exception. The extent of her immoral behavior stunned the general public.

“The latest video was taken just two months ago, right? Her leg was still bandaged because of a dog bite.”

“I can’t believe that when she was still injured, she hooked up with the staff member when she was trying out a wedding dress. Perhaps Vincent was just waiting outside.”

“They decided to wed on a whim. The wedding dress was ready-made and then modified. It was two months ago when they tried out the dress. At that time, Vincent had just bought a luxurious car that was worth a hundred million for her.”

“Taking the monetary gift, the wedding, the diamond ring, the car and the new house into account, Vincent had to spend more than a few hundred million to marry her, but he was still cheated on.”

…

After a momentary silence, one of the guests went on to say, “I think the person exposed the video at this point intentionally. With evidence in his hand, he never uploaded the video at moments like the confirmation of their relationship, the engagement party or when they were getting their marriage certificate. Right before the wedding, he decided to expose the video for maximum effect. It is an unfortunate moment as all the guests have arrived.”

“Even I feel embarrassed for Faye and Vincent. If I were in their place, I would have jumped into the sea.”

“Even if they’re not embarrassed, I feel utterly awkward being here. Did you see those performers who just left? They also hooked up with Faye before.”

The atmosphere on the island was rather sullen. Even outsiders like them felt uneasy, let alone the family members of the couple who was about to wed. However, they couldn’t leave early. No matter how unsettled they felt, they had to go through this wedding that they would never be able to forget. There’s one more day to the wedding itself…

One of the sensitive guests took a look at a group of people at the other end of the venue and said in a lowered voice, “Who do you think is the culprit who messed with Faye?”

Another person raised his chin at the same group of people. “Isn’t it obvious by now?”

The group of people they were talking about were Cooper and Sophia, who came from one of the branches of the Edwards Family.

Since Sophia had said that she would destroy Faye’s wedding, she would definitely do it. Not only did she want to humiliate Faye on her wedding day, but she also had to stop the political marriage between the Edwards Family and the Mitchell Family.

It was like when someone she hated was about to eat some poo, she had to wait until the person was done having it before she would remind the person about it.

This wedding was the poo the Edwards and Vincent had eaten. Now that the whole world had found out about this scandal, Sophia eagerly awaited their response. Would they go on with the wedding? Or would they fall out on the spot?

Didn’t Vincent marry Faye because of her influence as a famous actress? She was touted as the most beautiful and desirable woman in the country, but after this scandal, could she still stay in showbiz? Could Vincent tolerate the fact that Faye had cheated on him, since the whole world had learned about this scandal?

On this day, Sophia was clad in her usual simple outfit. Looking at her fair skin, it was hard to tell that there was a scar on her face before. While Barney was snoozing by her feet, Sophia was clinking her glass with Cooper.

At the same time, Michael was having a chat with Harry and Linus in a nearby spot. Seeing her, he raised his glass at her.

Knowing that Cooper had arrived, Sam rushed over to the venue. Having been out of the public’s sight for some time, he seemed to have grown older. Perhaps it was because he was infuriated by what happened with Faye.

“Why would you still dare to come here?!” That was the first thing Sam said to Cooper and Sophia when he saw them.

At this point, the Edwards and the Mitchells were scrambling to come up with a solution. Whether or not they would continue with the wedding, it was already shameful enough for them. Hence, they decided to send Sam to calm the guests down.

Basically everyone believed that it was Cooper’s doing, and they thought that his move was extremely ruthless. Also, no one could have imagined that Cooper and Sophia would swagger into the venue.

In reality, this wasn’t Cooper’s doing, as he didn’t like to use dirty tricks. He was an upright man who would fight with his opponents head-on. Even if the political marriage between the Edwards and the Mitchells were successful, they would still be no match for him. However, since Sophia had done such a thing, he was blamed as well.

In a confident manner, Cooper replied, “Why wouldn’t I dare to come here? It’s not like you can do anything to me.”

In fact, the Edwards were in a mess now. While Jordan was close to Alex, Sam was on Cooper’s side. In spite of that, Sam had to protect the reputation of the Edwards. Torn between laughter and exasperation, he decided to give up and leave the problem to Alex and Lucy.

“If Alex finds out you’re here, he’ll kill you.” He wasn’t joking, as Alex had countless ways to kill a person without anyone’s knowledge.

In a calm manner, Cooper said, “My own troops have surrounded this island. I’ve brought with me a naval ship, two submarines and five armed helicopters. As soon as I give the order, they will destroy this island. None of you will survive.”

Sam was drinking a glass of wine to calm himself down at that moment. Upon hearing that, he sprayed out the liquid from his mouth. Horrified, he was thinking if he should beg Cooper to think twice.

The Michel Group was the second largest arms manufacturer in the world, so it was just a piece of cake for them to destroy the island, even if they had to suffer as well in the process.

“W-Why are you even thinking of doing that? This place is packed with the elites of Cethos! If anything happens to them, you’ll be dead!” Sam stammered.

Cooper replied, “Well, this island isn’t within the territory of Cethos. We’re now in the territory of Demarca, which is currently troubled by some rebel troops. After all of you are killed, the rebel troops of Demarca will be held responsible instead of me.”

Sam was soaked in sweat upon hearing that. Previously, he had persuaded his family members against getting involved in the internal strife of the Mitchell Family. Unfortunately, things had come to a point where they could not stay out of this mess anymore. F*ck it! I’m not gonna care anymore!

After meeting with other members of the Edwards Family, Sam proceeded to greet other guests, leaving the problem to his other siblings.

“Corrado, do you miss me?” Sam was stroking the dog’s head. Corrado had come to this island with Cooper. Since Cooper had taken Corrado away, Sam hadn’t seen the dog for a long time.

With its tongue stuck out, Corrado was taking a rest under the umbrella with Judge.

All of a sudden, the crowd broke into a commotion because the bride and the groom had arrived.