No Wife, No Life Chapter 185

Kaitlyn's eyes filled with tears, almost spilling over.

Seeing her so upset made Jeremy feel even worse.

Mark stepped forward and spoke slowly, "Kaitlyn, do you think Dad and I are bad people?"

Kaitlyn said, "Of course not."

Mark asked, "Then why are you willing to believe what Manuel says and not trust Dad and me?"

"But what Manuel said..." Kaitlyn choked up.

"Is everything Manuel says necessarily true?"

Mark didn't give her more time to respond.

"He stands with Harper. Everything he says and does is to protect Harper. Didn't you notice? Tonight's dinner party was specifically for Harper. He's intentionally collaborating with her."

"Manuel knows Harper well. He knows Harper has a grudge against our family, so he deliberately said those things."

Mark continued to gently persuade her.

"Kaitlyn, don't heed the words of others. Trust me, Dad and I would never harm you. We are the ones who love you the most dearly."

Kaitlyn wasn't naive; she understood what Mark meant.

He enlightened Kaitlyn that the world was not as uncomplicated as she believed; it was not merely inhabited by good people and bad. They were situated in the murky shades of gray.

He was subtly telling Kaitlyn that she had to make a choice, and only he and Jeremy were her true allies.

"Kaitlyn, when you're targeted and insulted, only Dad and I will stand up for you. You care so much about Harper, but Harper doesn't care about you. Only Dad and I love you the most. We are the ones who will never hurt you." Mark's tone was sincere.

Kaitlyn felt a lump in her throat.

She understood his point.

At the dinner party, Manuel had aggressively mocked her, but Harper did nothing.

She didn't know what the Lavien family had done to Harper, nor did she want to know.

What she knew for sure was that her brother and father were the most important, and Harper was the outsider.

With Mark's persuasion, a wave of resentment rose in Kaitlyn's eyes.

No matter what, Harper was no longer her sister-in-law, and Harper would no longer stand with her.

Seeing this, Mark knew he had successfully convinced her. He gently patted her shoulder and said, "Alright, let's go back."

Back at the villa, Kaitlyn seemed genuinely exhausted. She quickly washed up and went straight to bed.

After making sure she was settled, Mark left her room and went downstairs.

Jeremy was already waiting for him in the living room.

As soon as he saw Mark, Jeremy threw his teacup at him.

Mark didn't dodge. He stood still, looking at Jeremy with a calm expression, his lips tightly pressed together.

The cup hit his forehead, and blood started to trickle down his face, dripping onto the floor.

Mark lowered his eyes and asked, "Dad, what did I do wrong?"

Jeremy's right hand slammed the armrest of his wheelchair, his voice filled with barely contained anger. "You know I don't want Kaitlyn involved in these matters."

He had always protected Kaitlyn, wanting her to remain untouched by the ugly realities of the world.

Mark walked over, took a tissue, and slowly wiped the blood from his forehead, his voice still gentle.

"Dad, Kaitlyn will be the future heir of the Lavien Group and she can't avoid these things. I will take back the Lavien Group and personally hand it to her."

"To achieve that, she can't stay truly clean. If Kaitlyn doesn't understand this now, she will eventually be betrayed by our enemies."

"So, do you still think I shouldn't have told her?"

This was Mark's reasoning.

If Kaitlyn was to inherit the Lavien family, she had to face the darker side of things.

Jeremy remained silent.

After a while, he finally spoke, "Take Kaitlyn to the financial summit tomorrow."

It seemed he had come around.

Mark asked, "Should we bring Jeffrey too?"

Jeremy looked at him with a meaningful smile, "Of course, bring him along. After all, he's the boy Kaitlyn likes. You should take good care of him."

Mark didn't ask further, simply saying, "Alright, Dad"

As he turned away, his expression darkened, his eyes filled with coldness.

---

Jeffrey's apartment.

He turned on the faucet, listening to the sound of running water.

Then, he opened his laptop and accepted an invitation link.

A beautiful face appeared on the screen.

Looking at her, he didn't speak but started typing on the keyboard.

Harper: [Jeffrey, are you contacting me because you've taken care of everything?]

Jeffrey: [The surveillance footage has been covered, and the tracking device is in the bathroom. I have twenty minutes.]

From the beginning, Jeffrey knew the Lavien family was watching him.

He was smart. He knew that if anyone had ill intentions towardKaitlyn, Jeremy, and the others would set a trap and make them disappear.

Harper: [Good, so what do you want to discuss?]

Jeffrey: [I'm an orphan. My parents died in a car accident when I was young. When I grew up, I found out that Jeremy was the one who acquired my family's shares. I discovered that Jeremy was behind it all, and I wantedto  revenge. So, Ms. Orsini, we have the same goal. We can be allies.]

Harper paused her typing.

She knew Jeremy well. Back then, to prove his abilities to Holden, he had secretly used illegal means to acquire many small companies.

It seemed Jeffrey's family business was one of them.

Harper: [Alright, I can help you.]

With that, the screen went black as Harper logged off.

---

The financial summit was approaching.

For the summit, the FusionX Company board promoted Harper from vice president to executive president.

This position originally belonged to Caden. After his incident, the position had been vacant, and now Harper was taking over.

Harper understood their intentions. They wanted her to secure more contracts and partnerships at the summit.

At that moment, Felix was delivering her appointment letter. "Ms. Orsini, here is your appointment letter."

Harper took the letter and thanked him politely.

Felix waved his hand, his smile stiff.

Harper noticed his discomfort and spoke softly, "I've written a new appointment letter. Starting today, you will take over my position as vice president."

Felix was stunned.

The role of Vice President at FusionX Company had always been his lifelong aspiration. And now, was she truly offering it to him with such ease?

"Really? Ms. Orsini, you're not joking, right? You really want me to be the vice president of FusionX Company?" His voice trembled with excitement.