Love Me Or Leave Me

Chapter 253

Whether or not Jenny was a villain was not something Theodore wanted to concern himself with right now. His biggest headache was the collaboration between the Edwards and Smith families. Jenny had originally arranged these projects, but now, with her in prison, the Smith family had changed their representative. This is property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

The new person in charge discovered that most of the benefits from the collaboration were not going to the Smith family. Instead, Jenny had secretly funneled them into a small company she and her mother, Dorothy, had started. When the new representative reported this to Edwin, he was initially shocked but then turned furious.

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Edwin wanted to confront Dorothy, but he quickly realized he could in touch with her. The small company that had absorbed most of the benefits had been hastily sold by Dorothy at a very low price not long ago. Edwin was not stupid. He quickly realized something was fishy and was livid. However, finding Dorothy immediately was nearly impossible.

The first thing Edwin did was to halt all collaborations between the Smith family and the Edwards Group, even involving the courts to request a thorough investigation of the Edwards Group. Because of this, most of the Edwards Group’s funds were frozen, making it impossible to continue major projects and even causing internal cash flow issues.

leading to a massive strike. The workers Just a few days ago, one of the Edwards Group’s projects could not pay its worke called in journalists to demand their wages at the Edwards Group’s headquarters. Theodore was so anxious that he used his personal savings to barely pay the workers and prevent a major incident. If the media had caught wind of it and reported it, the Edwards Group would be completely doomed. But even so, it was just a drop in the bucket. The

Edwards Group had many projects, and whether they were halted or continued, the Edwards Group could not bear the burden.

At Theodore’s most difficult moment, his biological father, Michael, and Michael’s illegitimate son, Gifford, suddenly returned, deliberately mocking him. Theodore was so angry he flipped a table, but no matter how much he lost his temper, it could not change the fact that the Edwards Group was about to collapse under pressure and go bankrupt.

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Ian said the only way for the Edwards Group to get out of this mess was to seek help from Rebecca – no, Stacey. If the Carter family was willing to help, the Edwards family might be able to overcome their difficulties. But now, how could he have the nerve to go to the Carter family, to go to Rebecca?

In the club, Theodore drank himself into a stupor, feeling like his whole life was a joke. Even Taylor did not want to be friends with him anymore, and Ian’s parents were urging Ian to stay away. Only Ian, out of friendship, dared to secretly remain friends with him.

After a week of this torment, the Edwards Group finally could not hold on any longer. More and more projects were going wrong, and he could not contain the situation. Many workers took their grievances to TV stations, bringing journalists to demand their wages from him.

The Edwards Group ended up on television, but not in the way Theodore had once imagined – being invited to speak because of success – but as a cautionary tale of failure, as the company that owed wages to migrant workers and became the example used by the media to advocate for their pay.

In the end, Theodore filed for bankruptcy. His company was gone, and even his mansion was auctioned off by the court to pay the Edwards Group’s debt to the workers. Not only that, but he also ended up 600 million dollars in debt.

‘Can I ever pay back this much money in my lifetime?‘ Theodore wondered. He walked down the street with his suitcase, looking at the people passing by, feeling lost. He did not know what his future held. Absentmindedly, he found himself at the airport. But because he could not repay his debts, the court had blacklisted him, and he could not even buy a plane ticket. He stood at the airport for a long time, unable to hold back his emotions, and crouched in a corner with tears in his

eyes.

He regretted it all. He regretted being so arrogant back then, not trusting Rebecca even a little. If he had trusted her and investigated a bit, he would have easily seen through Jenny’s clumsy schemes. But he did not believe her. Blinded by his self-

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righteous hatred, he bullied and humiliated her, leading them to this point. Even after their divorce, he had not sincerely repented. Jenny’s apparent kindness was so fake, but he believed it. Ultimately, he was too confident and too self–assured.

He thought he was so great, that being loved and cared for unconditionally was normal. He even spitefully thought Rebecca’s unwillingness to remarry him was her loss. He dreamed of surpassing the Carter family quickly, making Rebecca regret the divorce and beg for reconciliation. Even though men rarely shed tears, at this moment, Theodore could not stop his tears from falling.

“Where do you want to go?” a voice suddenly asked beside him. Theodore was startled. He slowly turned and saw Wyatt. It had been a long time. Wyatt looked much older and more mature. “Where

do you want to go?” Wyatt asked again as Theodore spaced out.

Theodore snapped back to reality, laughing bitterly at himself. I can’t go anywhere.”

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“I will take you,” Wyatt said. Theodore froze, staring at him. Wyatt’s lips moved as speak, but he said nothing. He had no right to speak. It was his betrayal of Theodore’s trust that had led to this.

After leaving the Edwards Group, Wyatt tried to stay away, not wanting to upset Theodore with his presence. But when he saw the news of the Edwards Group’s bankruptcy, he could not help himself and rushed over, abandoning his work.

He worried about not finding Theodore but spotted him in the airport lobby as soon as he arrived. Theodore’s tears made Wyatt feel terrible. They had once been best friends, trusting each other completely. It was because Theodore had trusted him so much that Theodore ended up in this situation. He owed Theodore. So from now on, he had to repay it. Otherwise, he would never find peace.

“I want to go to Hivalis,” Theodore finally said, his voice hoarse with a hint of desperate hope.

Wyatt looked at him and asked, “To find Rebecca?” Theodore paused, then shook his head. Wyatt was silent for a long time before speaking again. “I will take you there.”

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