In Love, Never Say Never

In Love, Never Say Never Chapter 1276-1277-1278-1279-1280

In Love, Never Say Never Chapter 1276-1277-1278-1279-1280

Astonished, I stared at Ashton with widened eyes. I felt as if I just knew him today. Since when did he learn a new language?

It was only then that Zander noticed Ashton’s hostility. His hand froze in the air for half a minute before he withdrew it in silence. He appeared embarrassed when he spoke again. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. I just feel that Scarlett has the potential to become an excellent lawyer. Tinsel Group is my father’s blood, sweat, and tears, so I yearn to recruit more talents. I sincerely hope that Scarlett can work with me to uphold my father’s legacy.”

This reason didn’t sound valid to me.

Judging from how well he could speak our language, he knew our culture deeply, but he didn’t understand what Ashton meant. Hence, I wasn’t convinced when he said that he meant no harm, even though he often tried to cozy up to me.

Meanwhile, Ashton was showing his aversion to Zander brazenly.

Lifting the tickets in his hand, he tore them right in front of Zander and threw the pieces onto the ground. Right after that, he took out a checkbook, scribbled on it, and tore it off the book. Marching over to Zander, he slipped the cheque into the pocket of the man’s shirt and patted it.

“There. You can leave now.”

Zander turned to look at me. His brows snapped together, and his gaze was full of grievance. Nevertheless, he could do nothing but accept the cheque and leave.

As soon as he got into the car, Ashton turned around and headed toward the house.

He quickened his steps. Thanks to his long legs, it only took him a few strides to leave me far behind him.

“Ashton, wait for me.”

It wasn’t until he reached the room upstairs to see the babies that he finally stopped and I was able to catch up to him.

Gregory was asleep. On a couch in the bedroom, Ashton was holding and playing with Audrey, gazing at her affectionately. The one-month-old baby looked tiny in his arms. The corner of my lips curled up as I looked at his gentle demeanor, acting as if the baby was made of porcelain.

The second I stepped into the bedroom, the grin on Ashton’s face vanished. With a poker face, he turned to glance at me indifferently as if I was a stranger. Meeting his gaze, I shuddered instinctively.

“Didn’t you say that you’re coming over tomorrow?”

He remained silent, but his expression turned grimmer. His forehead creased as he asked sternly, “Are you trying to say that I came at the wrong time?”

Unexpectedly, John’s voice sounded behind me just then. “There you are. Come to the study. Uncle Louis has something to say.”

With that, he didn’t linger around and disappeared behind the door.

There was pin-drop silence for two seconds. Then, Ashton gently put Audrey on the bed and strutted past me out of the bedroom.

What’s with that attitude? Why did he give me the cold shoulder all of a sudden? What had I done to offend him?

Whatever. Everyone was bound to lose their temper once in a while. Perhaps he’s dealing with some problems at work. I decided that I would talk to him after meeting with Uncle Louis.

When I arrived at the study, everybody had taken a seat. The three domineering men looked in my direction in unison. If I were an ordinary person, I would’ve gone weak in the knees.

I was supposed to sit by Ashton’s side. However, he averted his gaze on purpose. I could tell that he didn’t want to be close to me, so I sauntered over to the single-seat couch beside John and sat down.

“Uncle Louis, John said that you have something urgent to discuss with us.”

“Yes.” Louis nodded. He then turned to look at John, who immediately understood him. “Armond told Holden that his men had developed the antidote. He guaranteed that you would be healed, providing that we return the petroleum exploration agreement to the Murphys.”

Louis then added, “What I mean is, Armond’s reputation is in tatters, overseas and locally. Even if he gets the agreement, Meudari might not want to work with a man with many criminal records. As such, it probably doesn’t hurt to give it to him. Besides, the toxin in Letty’s body is like a time bomb and we can’t afford to wait any longer.”

He heaved a long sigh and asked Ashton, “What do you and Letty think?”

In love, never say never chapter 1277

The moment he finished his sentence, the study room fell into an awkward silence.

Armond had revealed his trump card. Now, everyone was aware of his ambition to make a comeback by leveraging on petroleum.

“No,” I replied in a serious tone. “Armond’s reputation is in tatters, but how will we know if he won’t somehow reinvent himself and make a comeback? If he gains control of the oil, that would be equivalent to getting the backing of all the countries within Meudari. By then, the shockwaves he may cause won’t be something that we can handle.”

It doesn’t matter if I die. If my death could guarantee my family’s safety, then it would be well worth the risk. Even if I could somehow survive by a stroke of luck, I still couldn’t bear letting everyone else fall into such a dangerous predicament.

Armond had gone crazy. Since that was the case, he should be imprisoned for life instead of allowing him the opportunity to recover.

Louis and John remained silent. All they did was furrow their brows and looked at Ashton skeptically, waiting for his response.

It was obvious that they were considering Armond’s demands, or else I would not have heard about it. The Stovall family was only concerned about my survival and not about how great the risks were.

“Ashton.” I gave him a pleading look and shook my head solemnly. “We can’t do this.”

Pursing his lips in silence, Ashton remained expressionless, making me wonder if he could read the look in my eyes. After a long while, he turned around and answered Louis. “I agree with Letty that being controlled by someone is bad. Armond’s greed is boundless. Even if we give him the contract, we might still not get the antidote. Separately, I have contacted the most advanced medical researchers in the world and invested huge sums of money for them to analyze her disease. I believe we can look forward to some positive news soon.”

“Huh?” I was surprised. “Why didn’t you tell me about it before?”

“I did.” Ashton’s expression remained distant. “I told you that you can trust me. And that you won’t die without my permission.”

I was stunned by the look he gave me. It was true that ever since I knew I had a terminal disease, I was always worried about my death despite claiming otherwise. Hence, I was mentally prepared for it to occur at any time because I knew how vicious Armond could be.

Before I could reply, Ashton’s tone grew more solemn. “Don’t tell me you’re considering nobly sacrificing yourself? Thinking that your death would somehow grant us some ridiculous form of ‘stability?’“

Feeling my heart sink, I furrowed my eyebrows as I had nothing to rebut him with. He didn’t care whether I believed him or not. Instead, he was more concerned that I subconsciously wanted to leave him by dying.

With his eyes fixated on me, his gaze felt like a bottomless lake, ready to drown anyone that fell into it.

Sensing the tension in the atmosphere, John quickly eased the situation. “Alright now, since we already have a solution, let’s just ignore Armond. Anyway, it’s getting late. So let’s go down and have dinner.”

Ashton’s cold stare swept across the room as he scowled. “How can you still have any appetite? I’m not hungry at all, so I’ll take my leave first.”

Just as he spoke, he stormed out of the room without even saying goodbye to Louis nor turning back to take another look.

It was a long while before everyone else regained their senses.

“What’s up with him?” John asked curiously. “Did you two argue again?”

“Huh? Uh… yeah, you can say so…” I pursed my lips, unwilling to explain further.

A few days later, John suddenly picked Emma and me up from the mall, saying that he wanted to take us somewhere.

After driving for less than five minutes, the car entered the basement carpark of the most glamorous skyscraper in the city center.

Upon entering the elevator, Emma asked curiously, “Why are you acting so secretive? Where are we going?”

Whirling a key around his finger, John smiled smugly as he continued to keep us in suspense.

As Emma’s face grew red in anger, I could only try and calm her down.

Ding!

In love, never say never chapter 1278

The elevator doors opened, and an exquisitely designed reception greeted us. On the wall, there seemed to be a sign covered by a striking piece of red cloth.

The moment John stepped out, the receptionist greeted him with a smile, “Mr. Stovall.”

“Mmm-hmm.” John nodded as he shot me and Emma a glance. The receptionist approached us and ushered us to where the red cloth was. “This way please.”

Standing in front of it, the receptionist handed me one end of it. “Ms. Stovall, if you may.”

“Pull it open,” John urged.

As I fumbled to pull the cloth away, I saw the words written on the sign: Scarlett Stovall Attorney At Law.

“Are you surprised? The logo has been designed by one of the most famous designers in the country. Doesn’t it give you the vibe of a modern independent woman?” John boasted. I wasn’t sure about the vibe, but I knew better than anyone what the name “Scarlett Stovall” symbolized.

Not expecting John to jump the gun, I was at a loss. “Aren’t you going to explain yourself?”

“What’s the point?” John’s enthusiasm was dampened instantly as he explained, “Isn’t it obvious? I know you’re feeling bored at home. So, isn’t having your own law firm better than working for someone else’s? Going forward, you will be the one calling the shots. At the same time, you will enjoy the same level of security as the Stovall family which will put our minds at ease.”

Emma paced around and scrutinized the place. “Did you rent the whole floor?”

“Of course. The Stovall family doesn’t need to share our territory, do we?” John replied in a serious tone.

Any office within this building would costs at least a hundred thousand a month in rent. From the way John spoke, the rent would definitely be above a million every month. There’s no way I, as a trainee lawyer, would be able to attract so much business to cover the cost…

Feeling troubled, my frown didn’t escape John’s notice.

“Don’t worry about not having any business in the near term. The Stovall and Moore family alone spend hundreds of millions in legal fees on external lawyers. Instead of benefitting someone else, wouldn’t it be better to use your firm to save some cost?”

I smiled wryly. “Do they even need the savings?”

“Since when is anyone satisfied with the money they have?” John shrugged while spreading his arms. He walked ahead and urged me forward. “Come and take a look at your office.”

John always had a good eye. The whole office was minimalistic yet grand. The largest room had the best lighting as it allowed the sunlight to shine through its large windows and provided an unobstructed view of the rest of the office.

As I ran my fingers over the suede-wrapped chair, I was overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions. Perhaps, when I was no longer around, this law firm would become my legacy.

Knock! Knock! A man in a suit and leather shoes entered.

“Mr. Stovall.” He greeted John respectfully before nodding at me. “Ms. Stovall.”

John took his hands out of his pockets and pointed at the man. “He is the legal adviser of Stovall Corporation, Brooklyn Newman. Now, he and his team will join you here. As he is someone trustworthy, you can leave all the complex issues to him.”

I turned toward Brooklyn and exchanged glances to acknowledge him. However, the matter of managing the law firm came too suddenly for me to accept. Hence, I still hadn’t decided what to do.

For starters, the twins were just one month old and needed a lot of attentive care. Secondly, the law firm needed someone who was in it for the long haul. Considering that I had one foot in the grave, I couldn’t bear the responsibility of running it.

“Why don’t you wait for us outside,” John instructed Brooklyn when he sensed the struggle I was experiencing.

“What is it? Is Brooklyn not up to your standards?” John teased me to ease the tension in the air. “That shouldn’t be the case. Other than not being as rich as Ashton, he is quite popular with the ladies back in the office.”

“Men love to ogle at pretty ladies, must it be the same for women?” Emma snapped.

“That’s why I say you lack exposure. It is man’s basic instinct to crave money and sex. Just looking at something pretty alone will improve one’s mood. This will be beneficial to Scarlett’s condition.” John gave her a cursory reply before asking me, “Just say the word, Letty. After all, I have bought the whole

floor and the law firm will definitely begin its operations. It’s just a matter of whether you’re working for someone else or here instead. It’s your call.”

In love, never say never chapter 1279

After giving it some thought, I asked, “Did you start the law firm to fulfill my wish, or do you have other reasons?”

“Both. It will guarantee that no one can make things difficult for you, and it also has a role to play within the Stovall family.” John paused for a moment as his gaze became serious. “Uncle Louis has begun to make his move. After this, we will need a law firm we can control in anticipation of future lawsuits.”

I nodded in acknowledgment. Despite how good John was to me, that reason alone wasn’t enough to have invested so much. It appeared that this law firm would have an important role to play in the future.

Perhaps, this might be the last place I’m able to showcase my talents.

After pondering upon it, I decided to accept John’s arrangement. “Fine, I’ll do it on one condition.”

“Go ahead. Even if you have ten, it won’t be a problem at all.” John acted generously as he was in a good mood.

“Get that famous designer of yours to redesign the logo. As someone who hasn’t officially become a practicing lawyer, it would be preposterous to have my name on the sign. It would be more appropriate to use the Stovall name instead,” I explained.

Although Brooklyn didn’t fully introduce himself just now, he was likely a very experienced lawyer given his demeanor. To have him work under me would be too much to ask of him. Furthermore, to have the law firm named after me would be terrible for staff unity.

John readily agreed without a word of protest. “Sure. I’ll get him to redo it until you’re satisfied.”

“You don’t have to go back to him. Just leave it to me.” Suddenly interested, Emma remarked with her hands on her hips, “Scarlett, what do you think about leaving this to me?”

“Is business at your company that bad? That you need to rely on friends for work?” John teased while raising his eyebrows in curiosity.

“What do you care?” Emma rolled her eyes at him as she walked over to hold my arm. “This is between Letty and me. What’s wrong with me doing this for free as it will be my gift for her grand opening?”

“Free?” John furrowed his eyebrow, skeptical of her words. “The logo represents the company’s image. The design firm you work for is considered mediocre in K City. Are you sure you are able to design something that lives up to the Stovall Corporation’s standards?”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Who says only a large firm can produce quality work? I just want to design a logo for Letty because I like her. Do you have a problem with that?” Emma retorted.

“No, I don’t. But, to avoid any complaints in the future that will damage your company’s reputation, I would advise you to reconsider in the interest of the bigger picture.”

“Who says I will definitely disgrace myself? I’m going to design something so amazing that it will shut you up!”

“Stop!” I had no choice but to stop their argument from escalating any further. After all, their tempers were beginning to flare. “It’s just a sign. The most important thing for a law firm is how many cases we win. Aren’t both of you taking this too seriously?”

Right after I spoke, both of them looked at me in unison before turning their heads away.

“Pfft!” “Hmph!”

In the end, I had the final say and decided to let Emma do the design.

As Louis wanted to take action against Ezra’s men recently, John was supposed to help him. Hence, John had to leave after tying up loose ends at the law firm.

As for Emma, she couldn’t wait to prove herself. Therefore, she returned to her office to work overtime, ignoring the fact that it was her day off.

As they took their leave one by one within half an hour, I was the only person left in the office.

“Those two really hate each other’s guts,” I couldn’t help but complain.

“Ms. Stovall.” Brooklyn suddenly entered with a bunch of documents in his hands. Standing right in front of me, he placed them on my table.

“There are three cases here that involve contract disputes between some small companies. I’ve gone through them and found them straightforward enough. I reckoned they will likely not cause you too much trouble.”

Before I could be called to the bar, I needed to complete ten cases independently. It appeared that John had informed Brooklyn about this.

In love, never say never chapter 1280

“I appreciate what you’re doing for me, Mr. Newman. I will complete this to the best of my abilities and not disappoint you.”

It was an industry practice within the legal fraternity that anyone new would not have the opportunity to meet with clients. Even Eugene of Tinsel Group only allowed Zander and me to accompany him to court. But now, Brooklyn was directly giving me his cases. By doing so, he was doing me a huge favor for which I was naturally grateful for.

“Don’t rush. Just take your time. As someone new, it will be a while before you settle down. Also, there’s something else I want to talk to you about.” Brooklyn was someone easy to talk to. Furthermore, his gentle expression gave off a warm and friendly vibe.

John was right to say that pleasant sights do improve one’s mood.

“Go ahead,” I replied with a smile.

“Since Mr. Stovall trusts me enough to put me under you, there are certain things which I want to be upfront with you.” With a serious expression, Brooklyn clasped his fingers in front of himself. “Although it is just the law firm’s first day of operations, we are burning money every second. Therefore, I was wondering if you could link our company up with the Moore family as soon as possible? Or perhaps work out a legal partnership with Fuller Corporation? So that we can prevent any potential trouble.”

As I had just thrown my weight around in front of Stella, it would be a bad idea for me to visit Fuller Corporation so quickly. Therefore, my only choice was to meet with Cameron and Zachary.

It wasn’t a difficult endeavor. In fact, I could even get the Harrisons and Tinsel Group to let us manage their legal affairs. However, Brooklyn’s candidness caused me to feel concerned.

After the many painful lessons that I had been taught, I realized time couldn’t show one’s true character. After all, compared to the eternal nature of time, the duration we could spend with anyone was simply too short.

“I understand. I will work on that. But, for these few days, let’s just focus on stabilizing the firm’s operations.”

“Sure. In that case, I’ll stop bothering you then. I’ll be outside if you need me.”

Just as he spoke, Brooklyn stood up and left.

His actions are all very decisive. John really knew my taste well.

When Emery called and invited me for afternoon tea, I agreed as I was coincidentally working on a case with a company in the vicinity.

The person who received me at the company likely had been in contact with Brooklyn. Everything went smoothly, and I was done in less than half an hour.

When I arrived at the café, Emery was still driving her way there. Hence, I chose a seat by the window and ordered a glass of warm milk while waiting for her.

Before long, the waiter served me my milk. The moment I took a sip and looked out the window, I saw Emery swaggering glamorously toward the café in her sunglasses and fashionable outfit.

Just when she was on her way here, a figure suddenly stood in front of her, blocking her way. The man’s body was so massive that he blocked off my view of her. What worried me was that he didn’t look friendly at all.

The next moment, the man said something, causing Emery to take off her sunglasses and stagger a few steps back. Realizing something was very wrong, I quickly paid the bill and rushed out.

“Emery!” Yelling from the entrance, I hoped to scare the man away. After which, I continued running toward her.

Having heard my voice, both the man and Emery looked in my direction. As they weren’t far from me, I managed to reach her side within a few seconds.

“Who are you? Are you trying to commit a crime in broad daylight?” Gritting my teeth, I calmly waved my phone in the air and threatened, “I have already called the police. If you don’t want to go to jail, I advise you to leave now.”

“Damn you b*tches for daring to call the cops!”

The man had a deep scar that stretched across his nose and extended toward the corner of his mouth. Given how agitated he was, his expression was filled with ferocity. When he heard what I said, he raised his fist in rage and threw it in my direction.

I instinctively tried to block his attack. Before his fist could reach my face, however, Emery stepped forward and launched a surprise attack by kicking the man in between his legs.

“Argh! F*ck!” Grimacing in pain, the man covered his groin and dropped to his knees.

“How dare you try and hit my friend! You are certainly asking for it!” Emery looked down at the man with a fearless expression.

Just as she spoke, she pushed me behind her to protect me. Not far away, the Moore family bodyguards came rushing over. The group of young men in sunglasses and black suits caused quite a commotion with their appearance.

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