For Linda, having saved Emily from committing suicide was not a big deal. It was something that she had needed to do. But for Emily, it had changed her entire life. Emily would be grateful for what Linda had done forever.
It was a hot summer day, they played a few more rounds of mahjong before lunchtime came.
Charles might be very busy the whole day. He couldn't even come back home for dinner.
Linda didn't want to interrupt him, so she just sent a message to Charles, but Charles hadn't texted her back, yet. Linda didn't think anything of it. She just thought that he might be extremely occupied because of work.
After dinner, Linda finally received Charles's reply.
It wrote, "Honey, have you had dinner already? The company has been keeping me busy today, so I can't be back for dinner, but I'll be home before nine o'clock tonight."
Charles was working a lot lately, so Linda was worried about his health. She responded back with a message, "Is there a lot of work to do in the company? Please take care of your health!"
"Yes. I'll talk to you after I come back home. Something happened in the company, " Charles wrote.
Linda immediately became worried as soon as she read Charles's message. She guessed that it had to be something serious. Otherwise, Charles wouldn't have been so busy these days.
Linda immediately stopped texting back so as not to interrupt him anymore.
At night, Linda had been reading a comic book in the living room when Charles returned home. Charles frowned as he saw Linda reading late at night. He immediately stopped her and said, "Linda, it's late. Stop reading the book. It's not good for your eyes."
Linda put down the book and said with a smile, "It's better to read books than to watch TV. Also, I started reading this comic book during the day, so I wanted to finish it in the evening. Anyway, I was trying to amuse myself while I waited for you."
Charles was with Paul when he went inside the house. Charles took off his suit and handed it to Paul. Then, Paul put it neatly aside.
Linda had been together with Charles for so long. She could easily notice any subtle changes happening to him. When she noticed the weary look on his face and the black rims under his eyes, Linda felt so worried.
"Honey, what have you been busy with these days? Why do you look so tired?" Linda got two glasses of water and brought them to Paul and Charles before she sat next to them.
"Honey, I haven't told you the story about my uncle, my father's younger brother, have I?" said Charles.
"Your uncle?"
Linda searched the memory in her mind. Charles didn't tell her anything about his uncle, but she seemed to have heard a little about him. Linda then remembered that Bun had once told her some rumours about Charles's uncle.
"Well, yes. My uncle is coming back, and we have to fight against him when he arrives. The fight would only have one outcome. Either the domestic Mu's Group would purchase the branch abroad, or the Mu's Group abroad would swallow up our company here, " said Charles with a serious face.
"Is your uncle called George Mu?" asked Linda.
Charles was a little bit surprised, so he asked, "How did you know his name?"
Linda said with a smile, "I've heard about him a long time ago. Bun had mentioned some rumours about your uncle in our chats."
Because his grandfather thought that James was more composed and decisive in work, he wanted James to manage the whole group. Considering the sustainable development of the Mu's Group, Charles's grandfather chose James to be the son who would take over the company. As for George, Charles's grandfather thought he was quite cruel in making business decisions. Sometimes, George even used some unscrupulous divisive tactics to achieve his goals, and Charles's grandfather didn't want George to continue his wrong deeds.
He didn't want his son to commit crimes for the sake of the Mu's Group's development.
After thorough deliberation, Charles's grandfather was determined to hand over the whole Mu's Group to James.
George got furious when he found out about his father's decision. He couldn't accept it. He was also a son of the Mu clan, so why would his brother get the whole Mu's Group while he would get nothing of it? That was also one of the reasons why George hated James so much. He stirred up so much trouble after that.
Actually, it was also a traditional rule of the Mu clan that only the oldest son could inherit the whole Mu's Group. But James sympathised with George and asked his father to give the branch company abroad to George to let him have a try in managing it. James would only take over the company in China.
However, unexpectedly, after George had attained the right of the branch company abroad, he didn't come back anymore. He had been staying there for more than twenty years.
"But he is your uncle after all. You should have a close relationship with each other. How could your relationship turned out this sour? Even if he couldn't get your mother, he shouldn't have blamed everything on your father. Your mother wasn't his girlfriend before she got together with your father, " Linda asked confusedly.
They were family members. Linda couldn't understand why their relationship became so bad.
Charles looked at Linda with a complicated look in his eyes. He touched Linda's head and said, "Things are not always simple in a big family like ours. Money and power can change a person. My uncle is a person who loves power very much. Even without the issue with my mother, he would still fight against my father and I for the assets of the Mu clan. It's inevitable, unless both my father and I are dead."
Linda's face stiffened with gloom after she heard Charles's words. Things were so complicated in such wealthy families.
Love between family members might be the least important thing in families like theirs. Linda suddenly felt so lucky that she was truly in love with Charles. She loved Charles's true self, not the power and background of his family or the marriage contract between them.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Vengeful Girl