Chapter 4
Derek's expression was icy.
Derek said, "These shares are enough to make up for what happened to you. Don't push your luck. Just take it and move on."
Jenna stared at Derek's icy face, her mind drifting back to her previous life.
This wasn't the first time Lilah had tried to get rid of her.
Jenna had gone to a party and run into Derek and Lilah there.
Lilah was cocky and wild, boldly saying, "The real homewrecker is the one who isn't loved."
When Jenna let her guard down, Lilah sent her crashing into the champagne tower. Jenna bled out so badly that she spent three days in the hospital before waking up.
When Jenna finally came to consciousness, Derek was right there by her bedside, his eyes red and tired from staying up for days. For once, he showed a rare tenderness.
Lilah was just a foot spa girl, shallow and gaudy, but Derek spoiled her like she was a princess.
Thinking about Lilah's dumb, reckless, gold-digging ways, Jenna asked him calmly,
She asked, "Why do you love her, anyway?"
Back then, Derek paused for a moment, then let out a chuckle, speaking seriously.
He said, "I know she's vain, shallow, entitled, and greedy. I know she's petty, ordinary, and materialistic and just second-rate.
"But I like her. I like her blunt honesty, her wild ambition, and how genuine and adorable she is.
"Because I'm not much better. I'm selfish, cold, and unfeeling. We're made for each other."
Jenna knew, right then, that she had lost.
It wasn't Lilah she had lost to. It was Derek, trapped in his own illusions.
Jenna glanced at the share transfer agreement lying in front of her and nodded slowly.
She said, "Alright, I'll trade this agreement for letting her go this once."
Jenna would make sure to spend the rest of her days living well, with the money Derek had earned himself.
As for Derek, let him cling to his second-rate girl and play the second-rate fool he wants to be.
After Derek left, Jenna didn't waste any time. She dialed Francis Gonzales's number.
The call connected almost instantly.
Francis's voice was lazy, with a hint of playful indifference.
He said, "Hey, young lady, what made you think of calling me all of a sudden? Something up?"
Hearing Francis's familiar, deep voice, Jenna spaced out for a moment.
The Ramirez family and the Gonzales family had always been close, and Jenna and Francis were betrothed as kids.
But Jenna went missing when she was little, and when she came back, she was set on marrying Derek. So, her engagement to Francis was called off.
Francis never made a fuss about it, but whenever Derek was trying to get his business off the ground, Francis would quietly throw a wrench in his plans.
Derek couldn't stand the fact that Francis had once been Jenna's fiancé, and the two of them just couldn't stand each other.
Before long, they became archrivals.
Jenna knew all too well that the Gonzales family had deep roots, and Francis was a true business prodigy.
If Francis had really wanted to, he could've crushed Derek's startup before it even got off the ground.
In her previous life, Francis had been overseas for years and never came back.
It wasn't until right before Jenna died that she heard rumors he might be coming home.
Jenna pulled herself together and said quietly, "51% of JenHeart Group's shares. Are you interested?"
Francis went quiet for a few seconds, then his voice grew a lot more serious.
He said, "Did you and Derek split up? Did he hurt you?"
Jenna gripped her phone tightly.
Jenna said, "Francis, I'll give you 51% of JenHeart Group for seventy percent of the market value.
"If you can drag Derek down to hell for me, I'll sweeten the deal even more."
As soon as she finished, Francis laughed. It was a sharp, dangerous sound, like blood in the air.
Francis said, "Being your muscle, miss? I'd love nothing more."
Jenna spent three days in the hospital, and Derek didn't bother to visit her even once.
Only Lilah reached out, sending her a sinister message.
It read, [Jenna, since you're so stubborn, don't blame me if I get ruthless!]
Thinking about Lilah's insane, over-the-top attitude, Jenna's heart skipped a beat.
Lilah was just a rabid, uncontrollable monster.
Jenna got in touch with her asset disposal manager and told them to liquidate everything she owned as quickly as possible.
She also called her lawyer to draft a brand new will.
If anything happened to her, every penny would go straight to her parents, not a dime for Derek.
Once she had taken care of all that, Jenna finally felt at ease.
There were only two days left before Jenna headed overseas to be with her parents.
After heading out, Jenna stopped by the mall and picked up a bunch of gifts for her parents before heading home.
With the time she had left, Jenna still needed to pack her bags and sell off her marital home.
When Jenna pulled into her driveway and stepped out of the car, a black sedan parked a short distance away suddenly flashed its headlights on.
The glare was blinding. Jenna shut her eyes tight and instinctively stepped aside.
The next second, she heard the car suddenly gun its engine.
The black car roared like a wild stallion, charging straight at her.
Jenna's eyes went wide with terror as she said, "No..."
Crash!