Chapter 217: Chapter 217: Sibling Jealousy
"If you can defeat my assistant, then you can question my abilities. Excuse me for now."
Sherry watched Ann Vaughn leave her seat, recalling how she had just whispered, "Have fun, he can’t beat you," which made her want to laugh.
Her Annie didn’t take this person seriously at all.
The middle-aged man slammed the table in anger, "Arrogant! Today I’ll teach you a lesson!"
Ann Vaughn wasn’t worried at all that Sherry would lose to the middle-aged man. She left the garden, asked a Morgan family servant where the bathroom was, and headed there.
"Miss Aquarelle!"
Suddenly, someone hurriedly called out to Ann Vaughn, followed by the sound of clacking high heels approaching. Bella Hawthorne rushed over to block Ann Vaughn’s path.
"I have something to ask you..."
"I’m Ann Vaughn. Is that what you want to ask?" Ann Vaughn was upfront, looking directly at Bella Hawthorne with clear eyes.
This straightforward statement left Bella Hawthorne stunned and speechless.
All that was left in her mind was a single thought.
"Sister-in-law, are you a human or a ghost..." Her legs started trembling.
Ann Vaughn’s faint smile suddenly faded, "Of course I’m human. I’m no longer connected to your brother, you can call me by my name in the future."
Bella Hawthorne paused, inevitably recalling everything from four years ago, somehow able to understand Ann Vaughn’s feelings.
"Then I’ll call you Miss Annie from now on."
"Sure." Ann Vaughn smiled gladly, as long as it wasn’t that accursed title, even calling her dad would be acceptable.
Besides, although Ann Vaughn had no fond feelings for the rest of the Hawthorne family, she didn’t intend to distance herself on purpose from Grandpa Hawthorne and Bella Hawthorne.
It wasn’t until Sherry texted saying the banquet had ended that Ann Vaughn said goodbye to Bella Hawthorne and left.
Bella Hawthorne watched Ann Vaughn’s gentle, graceful silhouette leave, feeling an inexplicable sense of melancholy.
She angrily took out her phone and called Cyrus Hawthorne.
It took over a minute before the connection was made, and a man’s deep, cold voice came through, "What is it."
"Can’t I call you for no reason?" Bella Hawthorne pouted, her voice suddenly excited, "Cian, guess who I just saw?"
"Who."
"Miss Annie! Aren’t you surprised? Did you think Miss Annie died four years ago? She’s actually not dead, she..."
Before Bella Hawthorne could finish, Cyrus Hawthorne cut her off coldly, "Where is she?"
"Hmph, now do you realize the importance of your sister?" Bella Hawthorne recalled the bitterness of being overworked by Cyrus Hawthorne to the point of exhaustion, "It seems your fate with Miss Annie isn’t as strong as mine."
"Last time I met Miss Annie at the hotel’s hot springs, and now I’ve run into her again! Cian, you..."
"When did you see Ann Vaughn?" Cyrus Hawthorne interrupted her again, asking casually.
Bella Hawthorne thought for a moment, then mentioned a time.
On the other end of the phone, the man’s handsome face took on an even cooler expression, then he laughed softly, "Bella Hawthorne."
"Ah?"
"The branch company on Continent F needs a project manager. Get ready and head over the day after tomorrow."
"Ah??" Bella Hawthorne looked puzzled, and even after Cyrus Hawthorne hung up, she couldn’t understand what he meant, grumbling in her mind that he was just jealous of her.
But the next second, Bella Hawthorne screamed in terror, "Ah--"
Her brother just said where is he sending her?!!
Meanwhile.
After adding each other’s contact information with the woman at the banquet, Ann Vaughn left.
"Annie, you should’ve been there, the look on that man’s face was indescribable." Sherry drove, complaining to Ann Vaughn, "He can’t even measure up to me, how dare he mock you?"
What she’s learned doesn’t even reach one-tenth of Ann Vaughn’s skills, and it was enough to leave that man in awe.
He probably won’t have the face to show up in front of Ann Vaughn again.
Ann Vaughn looked at the pile of business cards Sherry had handed her, a bit puzzled, "What are these?"
"Those are business cards from people saying you should drop by for tea sometime. And Elder Morgan seems to want you to join The Herbalist Association, asked me to check with you."
"Decline for me, there’s no need." Ann Vaughn placed the pile of business cards aside, indifferent to the vast network they represented.
"I thought you’d refuse."
Ann Vaughn was about to speak when her phone rang. She glanced down at it.
It was a call from Cyrus Hawthorne.
Is he looking to settle a score?
Without a second thought, Ann Vaughn hung up and tossed her phone aside, yawning.
"Who was it?"
"Spam call. By the way, I’m going to Cloudmere Manor tomorrow, remember to prepare the gift I picked when I returned to the country for me to take with me."
"Got it, don’t worry."
At the same time.
In the master bedroom on the second floor of the European-style villa.
Cyrus Hawthorne, the owner of the dropped call, was staring intently at the phone screen, a cold, amused smile on his lips.
Uncle Dexter, standing by, had already figured it out from his young master’s expression, looking as if he understood completely.
Don’t ask, if you ask, it’s because Miss Vaughn’s phone bill wasn’t paid so she couldn’t be reached.
"What did you just say?" Cyrus Hawthorne casually tossed the phone into the drawer, asking in a deep voice.
"Ah, the family doctor said Old Master Hawthorne caught a cold, it’s not serious but his appetite isn’t good," Uncle Dexter replied.
Though Cyrus Hawthorne couldn’t see Old Master Hawthorne, nothing in the manor escaped his ears.
"I see, you can leave now."
Uncle Dexter acknowledged and then left the master bedroom.
Cyrus Hawthorne was about to close his laptop when a familiar message appeared on the screen again.
He frowned slightly, opened the message, and his thin lips curled into a cold smile.
The message read:
[Click me to watch the exciting bear video!]
Attached was a link, which, once opened, would immediately play familiar music.
Then it would show Briar and another bear chasing a character named Bald Strong in a video...
About half a month ago, Cyrus Hawthorne’s computer would receive such a message and link every night at 9 pm without fail.
Oh, and yesterday’s was Sweetie the Sheep taking a bath.
Moreover, at the end of the video, a little character would drop from the top of the message interface, crashing down into pieces.
The implication was unmistakably clear.
"Who are you?" Cyrus Hawthorne coldly typed a line, then switched interfaces to quickly search for the person’s IP address.
"I’m Briar, the bear," came the reply.