Chapter 125: Chapter 125: My Girlfriend Is Angry

Giselle Sullivan saw that Cecilia Croft had clearly let go, and she tentatively asked.

"What if President Sheridan really wants to turn over a new leaf? Aren’t you willing to give him one more chance? You know what they say—a prodigal son’s return is worth more than gold."

Cecilia Croft raised an eyebrow. "Who’s offering the gold? I’d make that trade. Right now, I’m not short on anything except gold."

Giselle Sullivan sputtered with laughter.

It was obvious Cecilia Croft was completely done with Jude Sheridan.

"Exactly. These jerks need to be taught a lesson, or they’ll think every woman will just accept their betrayal and wait around for them to come back."

Cecilia Croft just gave a casual smile. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"I even speed up short videos. Why would I possibly stand around and wait for someone?"

Giselle Sullivan raised an eyebrow. "I officially declare you my hero."

Cecilia Croft smiled, turning to look at her, and said softly.

"Giselle, there’s no need to languish in a failed marriage. You’re more than capable of standing on your own."

When the conversation turned to her, Giselle Sullivan sighed, her voice dropping.

"My situation is different."

"We signed an agreement. From the very beginning, it was all about mutual benefit."

Cecilia Croft hummed in response and didn’t press the issue. After all, she was only an observer.

Giselle Sullivan didn’t want to talk more about her marriage either, so she quickly changed the subject.

She was one of the few who knew Cecilia Croft had sold her Vantage shares to Sebastian Hawthorne. With that door opened, the conversation naturally shifted to work.

Giselle Sullivan had already booked a table. Before entering their private room, Cecilia Croft caught a glimpse of a man heading their way, a crowd of people fawning around him.

He was in a well-tailored black suit, walking at an unhurried pace at the front. His eyes were cold and aloof, and he would occasionally nod slightly in response to what the people around him were saying.

Cecilia Croft glanced at his entourage; they were all part of the network Jude Sheridan had once painstakingly cultivated.

The very people Jude Sheridan used to have to approach with gifts and caution were now swarming around Sebastian Hawthorne, trying to curry favor with jokes and flattery.

Sebastian Hawthorne seemed to notice her too. He looked up in her direction, his thin lips curling into a barely perceptible arc.

Cecilia Croft gave him a slight nod and a faint smile in acknowledgment before stepping into the private room.

The two shared a perfect understanding. Neither of them let their gaze linger, so much so that the people with Sebastian Hawthorne didn’t even notice Cecilia Croft’s presence.

Giselle Sullivan glanced outside and, noticing Sebastian Hawthorne’s group, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes before she followed Cecilia Croft into the room.

"Those people just now..."

Cecilia Croft nodded slightly, answering Giselle Sullivan’s unfinished question.

Giselle Sullivan took a deep breath and asked in a low voice.

"Cecilia, are you truly willing to see Vantage swallowed up by the Hawthorne Group?"

"The die is cast. Why wouldn’t I be? This might be the best possible outcome for Vantage." Cecilia’s voice was serene as she calmly sat down.

Giselle Sullivan’s eyes filled with shock. Seeing Cecilia Croft’s completely unruffled demeanor, she sat down as well, her voice tinged with wistfulness.

"I could never be as detached as you."

When she took over Grandeur Enterprises, it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

She single-handedly saved Grandeur Enterprises, pouring countless days and nights of hard work into it.

If a major corporation wanted to acquire and merge with Grandeur Enterprises, she could never be as composed as Cecilia Croft.

Cecilia Croft smiled faintly and said in a calm voice.

"This is Vantage’s destiny. It was meant to go down this path. To be noticed by Mr. Hawthorne and become a part of the Hawthorne Group is the fulfillment of its value."

Giselle Sullivan was bewildered. Cecilia Croft’s words made it sound as if the entire purpose of Vantage’s creation was to become part of the Hawthorne Group.

Cecilia Croft didn’t explain further. She just smiled, clearly in a good mood.

Giselle Sullivan didn’t press, smiling along with her as she raised her water glass to gently clink with Cecilia’s.

"Thanks to you, I was able to get a connection to Mr. Hawthorne. When Grandeur Enterprises gets back on its feet, I will never forget what you’ve done for me."

"Then I’ll hold you to that, President Sullivan," Cecilia Croft said, raising her water glass to clink gently with Giselle Sullivan’s.

After the meal, Giselle Sullivan offered to drive Cecilia Croft home.

Cecilia Croft needed to go to the underground garage for Sebastian Hawthorne’s car, so she waved off the offer.

Seeing Cecilia Croft insist, Giselle Sullivan didn’t press the matter.

Her car pulled away. Just as Cecilia Croft was about to call a ride, Sebastian Hawthorne’s driver approached her and spoke respectfully.

"Miss Croft, Mr. Hawthorne asked you to wait for him in the car. He said he has something to discuss with you after his dinner."

Hearing this, Cecilia Croft nodded and followed the driver to Sebastian Hawthorne’s car.

Sebastian Hawthorne’s dinner meeting wasn’t over yet.

Cecilia Croft sat waiting in the car for over half an hour.

She had been busy with documents at noon and hadn’t gotten any rest.

Now, waiting in the cramped space, drowsiness washed over her, and Cecilia Croft leaned back in her seat and fell asleep.

「The dinner party ended.」

Sebastian Hawthorne walked out of the restaurant.

The driver quickly pulled the car up to the restaurant entrance.

The man standing beside Sebastian Hawthorne was quick-witted. Seeing the car pull up, he didn’t wait for the driver to get out, but personally opened the rear door for him.

"Mr. Hawthorne, you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw that there was a woman in the back seat of Sebastian Hawthorne’s car.

The woman was leaning against the seat, her face turned toward the other window, clearly asleep.

He quickly made a "shushing" gesture and said to Sebastian Hawthorne in a low voice.

"Mr. Hawthorne, please get in."

The others also saw from different angles that there was a woman sitting in Sebastian Hawthorne’s car.

The woman wore a black suit, its skirt cut to a modest length that revealed a pair of slender, straight legs.

Her profile was hidden in the dim interior of the car, making it hard to see clearly.

Her long hair fell loosely over her shoulders, and her bearing alone suggested she was a woman of uncommon beauty.

Seeing her so still, Sebastian Hawthorne knew she must have fallen asleep. He immediately bent down, blocking the others’ prying eyes.

Cecilia Croft sensed someone approaching, opened her eyes, and turned her head.

The car window was still open. Sebastian Hawthorne immediately cupped her face in his hands.

Cecilia Croft, who had been groggy, was instantly jolted awake by the handsome face suddenly so close to hers.

She subconsciously swallowed and asked in a small voice.

"What’s wrong?"

Sebastian Hawthorne wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her into his embrace, and said in a deep voice, "People are watching."

Cecilia Croft froze for a second, then quickly buried her head in Sebastian Hawthorne’s chest.

’Those people outside... I met them so many times with Jude. If they recognized me, who knows what they’d report back to him.’

As her head suddenly burrowed into his chest, Sebastian Hawthorne felt a scorching heat where she touched. He glanced down at the top of her messy head and found the sight endearing.

He placed an imperceptible kiss on her hair before turning to the men still lingering by the window. His tone was one of feigned exasperation.

"My girlfriend’s been waiting for a while, and she’s getting a little upset. My apologies, I’m going to have to call it a night. I’ll treat next time, we’ll all get together again."

Hearing this, everyone expressed their understanding and bid him farewell with a laugh.