CHAPTER 139: CHAPTER 138. NEGOTIATION

The chairman frowned deeply. He didn’t look angry, just thinking hard. Sarah has stopped looking at the chairman as a father ever since she returned home, but at that moment, she looked at the chairman as if he were nothing more than an opponent in a negotiation.

"You look so confused, Chairman. All you have to do is treat me like I’m a business client, not a daughter," Sarah tilted her head slightly; lips curled up and eyes unreadable. "It’s not like you’ve been treating me as one, so it shouldn’t be too hard, should it?"

"Are you going to be like this till the end?" the chairman lowered his voice. It was clear that he had started to get tired of Sarah’s disrespectful conduct.

Unfortunately for him, there was nothing more Sarah needed from the house.

"Yes," Sarah smiled heartlessly. "It’s okay, you still have another two--maybe three--daughters."

The chairman sighed--he had no idea how many times he would have to just that day alone. "Business..." he muttered while staring at the numb black eyes of his daughter. "You want compensation."

Sarah leaned back and crossed her legs. "Oh, we’re going somewhere."

"Do you want money?" the chairman tilted his head. "I heard you just put everything in a big investment."

"I did, but it’s not very creative, don’t you think?" Sarah twisted her lips.

The chairman narrowed his eyes. "So, money in another form."

Sarah smiled and waited. Offer was always the best when it was something the other side initiated.

"What do you want? Shares?"

Sarah smiled at the way the chairman leaning more and more to treat her like a business partner. Or client. "Not bad," she said.

"Sarah, I thought you hated going around," the chairman said with a frown.

"I suppose so," Sarah shrugged. She chuckled and clapped her hands lightly. "Alright, it’s simple: just give me what Mason has."

The chairman arched his brow. How couldn’t he saw that coming, Sarah had no idea. For her, that was the most logical compensation; it was one of the reason she chose this route of recklessness.

"You stripped me of my assets just because of an unintentional accident. Surely you wouldn’t let him cling to his assets for this kind of transgression?" Sarah scoffed. "Unless you favor a stranger more than your own blood, of course."

"Hmm..."

"You said you’re not going to make him heir anyway," Sarah shrugged. "Or would you rather the company’s money go to the woman who deceived you and her lover abroad?"

"Well...you’re right about that," the chairman clicked his tongue.

"Oh, I don’t want his position or anything--company life doesn’t suit me anyway," Sarah waved her hand dismissively. "Just his assets are enough."

"Haa..." again, the chairman let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, I guess that’s reasonable."

But at least he wasn’t being unreasonable. Sarah gave her standard service smile and clapped her hands again. "And I want it to be processed as soon as possible. Today would be ideal, but if you can’t, then by the end of this week."

This time, the chairman finally didn’t look so agreeable. The corner of his eyes twitched and the line of his lips stiffened. As if ignoring the possibility of her getting kicked out of the house instead, Sarah continued brazenly.

"I don’t want to be disturbed by him or his mother over this."

Mari only came with information about the third wife’s faction, but they also heard what happened on Mason’s side through the staff’s gossip. The first wife, as expected, was in panic and distraught over her son’s situation. The cat was out of the bag, and she knew her position--as well as her son’s--was at the edge of the cliff. She was still too troubled to do anything at that point, but Sarah had no doubt the first wife would start to contact her. Whether to blame her or beg her, it would be harassment all the same.

And the chairman should know this. The first wife disturbed him a lot after all.

"I’ll talk to the legal team," he massaged his temple, looking older in just a few minutes. "But today would be too much. Just consolidating the assets will take time, and I will have to talk to Mason first."

"Ugh," Sarah stuck her tongue out and made a nauseous expression. "Pardon me--hearing his name alone is enough to upset my stomach."

"Your ginger milk, Master."

As if on cue, the silent bodyguard came sweeping in with a warm ginger milk, placing the mug straight on Sarah’s hands.

Sarah smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Puppy."

The chairman narrowed his eyes, observing the bodyguard as his daughter patted the young man’s cheek. A man too good-looking to be doing anything but posing for cameras and being pampered by rich lovers. Even disregarding his lineage, the chairman couldn’t deny the man’s innate talent to make most women infatuated with him. Perhaps men too.

And it was clear that his daughter was also weak to beauty.

After drinking her ginger tea, Sarah exhaled in relief and continued. "Well, that’s too bad, Chairman. In that case, the legal team can call me by the end of the week at the latest," she said. "I’m not going to be here anymore, after all."

"What?!" the chairman scowled, exclaiming loud enough to cover a certain little lamb’s shocked shriek from the kitchen. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I’m going to leave the mansion," Sarah shrugged, as if leaving the house was nothing more than going out for a grocery run.

"Sarah?"

"Chairman," Sarah put the milk cup down and looked at her father sharply. "There’s no way I can stay in the same space as that person."

The chairman eased his scowl, but the knitted brow stayed. He understood Sarah’s aversion to Mason at least, but still abhorred the idea of Sarah leaving.

"Besides, you’ll need a new vacant place for your mistress--or new wife, whatever. You can’t possibly place those two within arm’s reach," Sarah wiggled her index finger. "You can have Vivian here, or just put that woman here instead. It was supposed to be her place anyway."

"Sarah..." the chairman closed his eyes and exhaled heavily.

For a while, he said nothing, just closing his eyes while leaning back on the couch; looking like he was deep in thought, or questioning why things happened the way they happened. Sarah entertained a thought that her father smelled something; that she was the one behind the whole chaos.

It might be interesting if he were capable of thinking that his daughter could do something other than being a man’s accessory.

"Can we take a walk?"

But in the end, he said something Sarah did not expect. The chairman opened his eyes and looked at Sarah deeply. It might be her imagination, but Sarah felt like she could finally see a trace of a father within that gaze--although she quickly dismissed it.

"Suddenly?" she arched her brow in a genuine surprise.

"Just the two of us," the chairman added.

Tilting her head curiously, Sarah shrugged. "Hmm...sure."

Signaling her puppy to stay, Sarah stepped out of the annex. The house manager was still on the porch, staying close to the window--perhaps trying to hear the conversation inside. Sarah quite enjoyed the old man’s flabbergasted expression when the chairman told him to return to the main house alone before following Sarah.

Without waiting for the chairman, Sarah walked toward the garden and strolled through the stony path. The chairman followed her quietly, even though he was the one suggesting the walk.

Well...it wasn’t like he ever took a walk with any of his children before.

Curiously, he followed Sarah onto a path he didn’t even know existed; one quite hidden by the trees near the enforced wall surrounding the mansion. It seemed like they were heading nowhere until Sarah slowed down and stopped in front of a small, unassuming broken fountain surrounded by empty flower beds.

The chairman waited for a while, but when Sarah did nothing but stare at the small fountain, he decided to restart the conversation. "Are you serious about leaving?"

"Yes," Sarah replied without hesitation.

"Even if I kick Mason out?"

Sarah laughed then. "Maybe not," she replied while turning around to face her father. "But who are you kidding, Chairman? I know you’ll never do that."

The chairman frowned, but Sarah was undeterred. She walked around the small fountain while looking at the stones and boulders scattered around the empty flower bed.

"You might not care about image in general, but..." Sarah chuckled. "Getting deceived by a woman is pretty painful for your pride, isn’t it?" she glanced at the chairman from the other side of the fountain. "That’s the real reason why you hide it even though you knew."

The chairman did not reply, just observing Sarah with his hands behind his back. It was like someone discovering a curious artifact that piqued his interest. The silence itself, on the other hand, was an affirmation.

"In that case, you won’t kick him out," Sarah continued calmly. "Changing the heir can be explained by talking about achievements and whatnot, but kicking him out will be harder to explain without dragging yourself too much."

Again, the chairman made no remark. His eyes kept following Sarah, who had already circled back to the front of the fountain.

"Why?"

The chairman hummed. "I’m surprised that you know me very well."

"If only you do the same with your children," Sarah smiled cynically. "Anyway, a problem daughter leaving the house won’t pose much question--I already spent a lot of time at hotels anyway."

"Don’t tell me you’ll live in hotels too this time," the chairman narrowed his eyes.

"Who knows?" Sarah laughed, crouching in front of a rock as big as her head. Perhaps a bit bigger.

"With that bodyguard of yours?"

Sarah smirked. "Obviously."

The chairman paused for a few seconds before finally asking the question that made him ask Sarah for a walk. "Is it true that he’s Chairman Yoo’s son?"

Sarah chuckled while patting the big rock. "Well...you’ve met the old man."

Indeed. It was the kind of thing that people didn’t really see until it was pointed out. Afterward, they couldn’t help but see the similarities, especially people who knew the man when he was young.

"Did you know from the start?"

"No?" Sarah laughed. "I just picked him because he’s pretty--guess I’m similar to you in that regard."

Hmm...the chairman couldn’t refute that.

"Why?" Sarah stood up, glancing at the old man through her shoulder. "Do you feel fine letting me go since I’m going to stay with a decent suitor?"

"Well..." the chairman did not deny it. It’d be good if Sarah could end up with Kang Daniel, but the possible heir of a top trading company was not bad at all. "But...what are you going to do with that?"

The chairman narrowed his eyes at the head-sized rock in Sarah’s hand. Not just the weirdness of lifting a rock, but also the fact that Sarah could lift it easily.

"Oh, this?" Sarah smiled deeply and raised the rock above her head--as if he was going to throw it to the chairman. There was a maniacal look in her eyes that startled the chairman, who stepped back in fright.

"Sarah--?!"

Before the chairman could call any guards, the rock had already left Sarah’s hands and hit the broken fountain hard. Pieces of marble and dust flew around the small, desolate piece of garden.

"What...are you doing?" the chairman widened his eyes, more confused than shocked. "Venting?"

Sarah stared at her father and threw a question instead of answering. "Do you know this fountain?"

"No," the chairman replied honestly while dusting his shirt. "Should I?"

"I’m glad," Sarah smiled mysteriously. "Anyway, I’m going to leave. Ah--can you tell Vivian to see me? I think it’ll be better for her to take the annex, after all. That woman won’t want to leave her little fake kingdom anyway."

With a light hum as if she had just finished a mission, Sarah walked back to the garden, throwing her bitterness into the pile of destroyed reliquiae.