Chapter 450 Not a Joke
This demand didn’t cause much trouble for Malcolm, so he readily agreed.
Lydia couldn’t help but worry for Sandra.
Sandra’s flower shop was started with Malcolm’s investment, costing him several hundred thousand dollars. But that was just the small stuff.
The real stakes involved properties, cars, and stocks. They were easily worth tens of millions of dollars. If everything had to be returned, Sandra would be left with absolutely nothing.
Over the years, Sandra had not only been Malcolm’s companion in meals and in bed but now stood to lose even a place to live, let alone any support for her lifestyle. Bianca seemed intent on making her pay back every cent Malcolm had ever spent on her.
Lydia assumed that Malcolm would at least take some time to think it over. But to her surprise, he agreed on the spot without a hint of hesitation!
She was stunned.
However, Lydia couldn’t openly help Sandra now, even though she desperately wanted to. She was trying to win Bianca’s favor and had her own agenda, so siding with Sandra wasn’t an option.
As Malcolm agreed, Bianca’s gaze shifted to Lydia.
“Want to get along? Well, my other condition is that you cut all ties with Sandra. If you do that, you’ll still be my good daughter.”
Lydia froze, not expecting the issue to come around to her.
She was now forced to be accountable for her words. Lydia knew that if she refused now, it would clearly show Bianca that her previous declarations weren’t genuine.
Having spent years by Bianca’s side, Lydia was well aware that this wasn’t a decision Bianca would have come up with on her own.
Lydia’s eyes darted toward Meryl.
She thought to herself, “This has to be Meryl’s idea! What a cunning move!”
In the end, both Malcolm and Lydia agreed to Bianca’s conditions.
They knew that Bianca’s family also held significant power, and if she insisted on a divorce, the stock price of Celestial Ventures Group would undoubtedly plummet, and the company would face chaos.
But then, Bianca did something even more unexpected.
She took Malcolm’s phone from his hand, found Sandra’s number, and dialed it.
“Since both of you agreed, let’s do this properly. Call Sandra and end things in front of me!” Bianca declared.
Malcolm suggested, “Can’t I do this privately?”
Bianca snapped back, “Privately? So, you can meet her in secret? Malcolm, are you planning to play both sides here?”
Her words silenced Malcolm completely.
By the time the conversation ended, Sandra’s phone call was already connected, and her overly sweet voice came through, “Malcolm, what’s going on?”
Bianca slapped Malcolm on the back, signaling him to stop stalling and speak up.
Malcolm finally said, “Sandra, it’s over between us! I’m short on cash lately, so I need you to return all the money I spent on you!”
Sandra was in disbelief as if she hadn’t heard correctly. “What… what did you just say?”
“The property, the money, the stocks. All of it was part of my marital assets with Bianca."
“If you don’t pay it back, we’ll take legal action, and you’ll be forced to return everything."
Malcolm’s tone was dead serious, and it was clear he wasn’t joking. Sandra was completely stunned.
After a long silence of nearly half a minute, she finally spoke, her voice breaking into sobs. “Malcolm, what about all these years I’ve given to you?”
Malcolm, showing no shame whatsoever, replied, “What have you given me?”
“My youth, my body, my love. Malcolm, you can’t just walk away like this!” she cried.
Malcolm remained indifferent. “You gave me those things, and didn’t I also give you plenty in return? Sandra, let’s keep this civil and part ways peacefully.”
Bianca couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
She thought, “I’ve been with Malcolm for so many years. Even if I didn’t achieve anything remarkable, I’ve been through all the ups and downs with him. Plus, I gave him a child. Now, is he seriously going to demand back everything he ever spent on me too?”
Without giving Sandra another chance to respond, Malcolm hung up the call.
Barely two minutes later, Lydia’s phone started ringing.