I wasn’t about to take that from her. ‘If not me, who else is my husband supposed to spend his money on? You? I’d advise you to stay out of our business. This is a private matter, so stop meddling.’
Ashton’s action had surprised me too, but I wasn’t going to back down in front of Genevieve.
I turned to Ashton and whispered, ‘Honestly, there’s no need for all this. I... I don’t need this much jewellery.’
I had no idea how much buying Verris & Co would cost, but I knew LVMH had spent a staggering $16 billion to acquire Tiffany & Co., and Verris wasn’t that much smaller.
‘What? Are you worried about my money?’ Ashton asked, his voice as calm as ever.
‘Yeah, you work so hard, you shouldn’t be spending it ,’ I said, feeling a little guilty. ‘How much is everything in this shop going to cost? Hundreds of millions? I don’t even need it. Let’s just forget about it. Just buy me the bracelet instead.’
I felt I had been a bit too impulsive. Just to win an argument, I had called Ashton, who was probably in the middle of an important meeting, only for him to buy an entire shop for me. When had I turned into a spoiled wife?
‘I want everyone to know that if my wife likes something, she gets it, no matter the cost,’ Ashton said.
When he saw me still frowning, his voice softened. ‘A few hundred million is nothing. All that matters is that you’re happy.’
Genevieve just stared, dumbfounded.
‘I’m happy, it’s just...’ What wife wouldn’t be happy? He was spoiling me rotten.
‘There are no “justs”,’ Ashton cut me off. ‘As long as you’re happy, it’s worth every penny.’
Soon after, Harry finished his call. He turned to Ashton and said, ‘I’ve contacted the LGH legal and mergers and acquisitions team, and I’ve also reached out to the store’s owner. They’ll be here shortly.’
‘Get the transfer done as soon as possible,’ Ashton told him.
‘Yes, boss,’ Harry replied with a nod.
I knew Ashton’s people worked fast, but I was still stunned when, before the end of the day, I held a transfer agreement in my hands. Verris & Co had been bought by Ashton for 200 million and transferred into my name.
‘Now this store is yours,’ Ashton said.
‘I... I can’t believe this,’ I stammered. ‘But I already have Mira & Joie.’
‘Which is a studio specialising in bespoke orders,’ Ashton explained. ‘You can keep this one as a retailer of ready-made pieces. You’ll get a broader customer base here.’
I was speechless. I had no idea Ashton had thought everything through for me. This wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment decision, and it wasn’t simply a gift for fun.
The next day, I drove to the shop. Now that it was mine, I wanted to see how I could make the best use of it so I wouldn’t waste Ashton’s efforts.
The store was open, and I spotted two familiar figures I never thought I would see there again.
I walked towards Pink Hair. She had slunk away quietly with Genevieve yesterday after realising Ashton was serious about buying the entire store.
What was she doing back here? Was she checking to see if Ashton had been bluffing?
As I approached, Pink Hair started to look uneasy. She nervously chewed on her bottom lip as she watched me.
I ignored her and turned to Genevieve, giving her a small smirk. ‘What’s mine will never be yours, no matter how hard you try to steal it.’
She just bit her lip and said nothing.
I left the mall in a much better mood.
‘Where to next?’ Kit asked as I climbed into the car. Ashton had put him on chauffeur duty despite my protests that I could drive myself.
I gave him the address of an OEM factory on the outskirts of town. Priya thought they might be able to handle our custom orders, but I wanted to inspect their work in person. With a new shop under my name, there was so much more I could do. It was time to think about expanding production. For original chapters go to novelFɪre.net
Head down, I scrolled through my tablet as Kit drove smoothly.
Suddenly, something bumped the car, and I jolted forward, held in place only by the seatbelt.
I knit my brows. ‘What was that?’
‘That car seems to be following us,’ Kit said, his face going grim. He checked the rear-view. ‘Do you recognise it?’
I twisted in my seat and looked back. A black Toyota Camry trailed us, plates I did not recognise. The driver wore a baseball cap and I only caught a brief, partial glimpse of his face.
A second impact hit us, harder this time, and my stomach dropped. I had a bad, crawling feeling.
Kit stamped on the accelerator to put distance between us and the Camry. ‘It’s coming at us. I can’t shake them off,’ he said, his voice tight as he watched the pursuer in the mirror. He was sweating, his hands trembling slightly on the wheel.
Who would be doing this? Could it be Genevieve? She wouldn’t be bold enough to try something , would she?
I fumbled for my phone. Just as I was about to dial the police, I changed my mind and pressed the first speed-dial number.