Chapter 599 Awkward Encounter

Years ago, when Malcom took over Crown Group, he wasted no time shaking things up. He pushed the company public, cut out the dead weight, and drove profits to skyrocket. Everyone said Malcom was a once-in-a-generation business genius. His only real rival was Abram, who ran DY Group. For a while, the two companies battled neck and neck – something no one in Cetherland had ever seen before.

If Abram hadn’t retired, things might look very different now. Jude took over and, by his early twenties, transformed DY Group from a struggling firm into an unstoppable giant. In just a few years, he built it to heights never seen before, leaving Crown Group far behind. If things had gone another way, people might still talk about two leading giants – DY Group and Crown Group – instead of DY Group standing on top alone.

And now, both Malcom and Ashby showed up here.

Tilda found the whole thing strange.

Russell’s eyes widened. “Ashby and Malcom? What are you doing here?”

Ashby laughed. “We saw you walking to the hotel all by yourself. No driver, no bodyguard. We thought it wasn’t safe, so we followed along to make sure you got there.”

He glanced at Tilda, surprised. “But we didn’t expect to see her here. Russell, why are you with Tilda? Weren’t you two already—”

Halfway through, Ashby seemed to realize something. He stopped mid-sentence, then burst out laughing. “So the two of you finally made peace! I’m so happy for you! I knew it. You’re father and daughter – blood is thicker than water. Nothing can break that bond. Tilda, just earlier, when your dad was drinking with us, he was in tears talking about you. He’s so proud of you!”

Because it was dark, Ashby couldn’t see the expressions on Tilda or Russell’s faces. He just kept talking.

If he had seen them, he would have understood he had misunderstood the whole situation. Ashby would’ve shut his mouth right away.

Ashby was drunk, carried away by the excitement of meeting Russell and Malcom after so long. He’d had more than a few drinks.

Malcom, whose tolerance was much higher, wasn’t nearly as tipsy. He noticed something was off and tugged at Ashby’s sleeve. “Ashby, stop talking.”

“What? Why stop?” Ashby’s face was red, his eyes bright like stars. He pointed at Tilda and Russell with a silly grin. “Look at them. Don’t they seem fine now? Malcom, aren’t you happy for Russell? We’ve been friends for years!”

“Wake up, Ashby!” Malcom nearly groaned, wanting to bury his face in his hand.

The atmosphere between Russell and Tilda was strange – icy, even.

There was no way the father and daughter were making up.

This was just how Ashby got when he was drunk – blurting nonsense without paying attention to the mood.

“Hmm…”

Malcom’s warning finally sank in, and Ashby started to realize something was wrong.

He glanced carefully at Tilda and Russell.

Crap! Why did the air between father and daughter feel so cold?

There wasn’t the slightest sign of reconciliation.

In the end, he could only clear his throat a few times, trying to cover his embarrassment.

Ashby’s face burned with shame. He had never been so embarrassed in his life. His voice cracked as he stammered, “Sorry… I… I must have said the wrong thing. My bad. Just pretend we’re not here, okay?”

If it were possible, Ashby hoped he could turn invisible; that would save him from the embarrassment.

Russell froze, completely numb.

If this had happened anywhere else, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad.

But after Tilda had just accused him of following her?

Even though he knew he was innocent, this only worsened it.

And sure enough—

“He actually praises me and claims I’m his pride in front of you guys?”

Tilda’s voice dripped with disgust. Saying it out loud felt like she’d just swallowed a fly.

Russell’s chest sank.

He couldn’t find a single word to defend himself.

It felt like some secret shame of his had been dragged into the open, exposed under the harshest light.

There was no escape.

A heavy, wordless shame crashed over him.

“Yes, I can see Russell really means it. Tilda, I know things between you two have been rough, but at least today everyone’s been amazed by what you did. Your speech was brilliant – it represented Professor Kerrigan and the honor of this whole country. We’re all Cetherlanders here, all carrying the same love for this nation. Even online, people overseas are praising you, saying you give them hope for the country’s future.”

Since Ashby had already spoken up, he had no choice but to keep going. To stop the moment from spiraling any further, he forced himself to keep saying good things about Russell.

But to Tilda, those words only sounded like mockery.

“If those words had come from you two, I might believe them…”

Her eyes cut to Russell, sharp and mocking. “But coming from you, Russell? Of course. You really are a clever businessman. A capitalist to the bone.”