CHAPTER 165: CHAPTER 165: THE COMPANY HAS BEEN DEREGISTERED

"What a sin, truly a sin!" Mrs. Gallagher clutched her chest and cried bitterly.

The butler and the doctor quickly helped her to the side, anxiously comforting her, "Ma’am, please don’t be so anxious. President Gallagher is just agitated, he won’t be too badly affected. Please sit down and rest, try to calm down."

Mrs. Gallagher listened and glared viciously at Eleanor. "How can I calm down? It’s all because of you, you shameless woman."

"If it weren’t for her, Josephine wouldn’t have cruelly aborted the child, and Nathaniel wouldn’t be so shocked. Do you still have the nerve to stay here? Let me tell you, don’t expect to enter the Gallagher family’s door!"

"..." Eleanor was in a blank daze, sitting on the bench with numbness all over her body.

How did a perfectly good wedding turn into this?

"Josephine Thompson, you ruined my wedding, and I will never let you go easily..."

She subtly clenched her fists, her nails deeply digging into the skin of her palms.

In a moment of intense resentment.

She suddenly deflated like a balloon, releasing her grip weakly.

Why blame Josephine Thompson?

Wasn’t it I who provoked her first?

And clearly, it’s Nathaniel Gallagher who can’t let her go.

Mrs. Gallagher cursed even more fiercely, venting all her anger on Eleanor, "Did you hear me? If you have any shame, leave my son now."

"Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Do you think you match standing next to my son? Don’t you feel ashamed? If you truly love Nathaniel, you should consider his dignity."

"With a woman like you by his side, the whole Gallagher family is disgraced. If I were you, I’d find a hole to crawl into. How could you have the nerve..."

Eleanor’s gaze turned icy as she glanced at Mrs. Gallagher.

Mrs. Gallagher’s words were so harsh, deeply wounding her pride and nerves.

She stood slowly, limping towards Mrs. Gallagher.

Mrs. Gallagher still spat insults like a fighting cock, "What are you coming over for? Looking at your ghostly appearance dirties my eyes..."

Suddenly, Eleanor’s eyes flashed coldly and she grabbed Mrs. Gallagher’s hair out of the blue.

Then, with all her strength, she dragged Mrs. Gallagher up from the bench and slammed her head against the armrest of the chair.

BANG— a loud crash.

Mrs. Gallagher’s forehead hit the stainless steel armrest of the chair.

A large swelling appeared visibly on her forehead.

"Ugh—" Mrs. Gallagher screamed in pain, nearly losing consciousness.

Before she could recover.

"BANG BANG—"

Her forehead was slammed twice more.

"Ah—"

The servants and butler were dumbfounded with fear, hurriedly stepping forward to stop her, "What are you doing?"

Mrs. Gallagher was dazed by the blows, her head buzzing.

"Young madam, how can you strike an elder?"

"Ma’am, are you alright? Hurry and call the doctor over."

Mrs. Gallagher was furious, angry, and scared, trembling all over, "You... you dare to lay hands on me?"

With a fierce look, Eleanor pushed her to the ground, looking down at her like the Grim Reaper, "If you weren’t Nathaniel’s mother, the first time you cursed at me, you would’ve met your maker."

"..." Mrs. Gallagher fell heavily to the ground, shivering all over.

Indeed!

She only saw today’s Eleanor as old, damaged, and unimpressive.

She’d forgotten about the infamous Fourteenth Sister from Audenburg years ago.

Forgotten the hero who risked her life for the Gallagher family, clearing every obstacle. Forgotten the female devil who blocked over thirty knives for her son, counter-killing her attacker with her last breath.

The servants and butler quickly helped Mrs. Gallagher up.

The bodyguards also surrounded them.

Mrs. Gallagher’s momentum weakened, "Throw her... throw her out of the hospital."

Eleanor’s eyes widened, "Let’s see who dares!"

"..." The bodyguards looked at each other, not knowing whose orders to follow.

The butler hurriedly intervened, "Ma’am, young madam, please calm down."

"President Gallagher is still in the operating room. If he finds out you’re both fighting again, it might shock him even more, which is bad for his condition."

Mrs. Gallagher felt her heart clogging with anger but didn’t dare to curse Eleanor without restraint.

At the same time, she regretted deeply in her heart.

Compared to Eleanor.

Josephine Thompson’s temperament is so gentle and kind, well-mannered, understanding, and forgiving. No matter the conflict, she would never lay hands on an elder.

Such a good daughter-in-law.

She must have been out of her mind back then to urge her son to divorce his wife.

Mrs. Gallagher: "You... you..."

Eleanor: "What about me? Without me, your son would be dead by now, and the Gallagher family would have already collapsed."

"Without me, do you think you could still stand here flaunting like a rich lady?"

Having said that.

Eleanor pushed away the servant again, grabbed Mrs. Gallagher’s collar, and lifted her viciously to eye level, "On account of you being Nathaniel’s mother, I will tolerate you one last time."

"If you accept me as your daughter-in-law, I will call you ’mother.’ If you look down on me as your daughter-in-law, it’s best you don’t provoke me. I’m not Josephine Thompson, I haven’t had a good education and I don’t know about respecting elders and caring for the young."

BANG!

Mrs. Gallagher was pushed away forcefully.

The butler and servants hurried to catch her, "Young madam, ma’am is after all getting on in years, you..."

Eleanor’s face darkened, her eyes like gun barrels looking at him, "Shut up, it’s not your place to teach me."

"..." The butler choked, hurriedly silencing himself.

She dared to hit Mrs. Gallagher, let alone them, the servants?

Mrs. Gallagher was so enraged she had a heart attack, clutching her chest struggling for breath, "Eleanor, you’re too barbaric."

Servant Aunt Talia quickly supported her, "Ma’am, say one less word. Now quickly let the doctor treat your wounds, doctor, doctor."

The doctor hurried over.

"Ma’am is injured, please take a look."

Mrs. Gallagher’s eyes rolled back in anger, and she fainted.

"Quick, quickly, carry ma’am into the ward."

Everyone scrambled, lifting Mrs. Gallagher into the ward.

The butler and bodyguards glanced at Eleanor, then all hurriedly and consciously stepped further away.

Only Eleanor remained in the hallway.

She walked dazedly towards the restroom.

Once inside.

She turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on her face a few times.

Her makeup was already smeared and now looked even more disastrous.

The pristine, expensive wedding dress was stained with blood and mud, sleeves and train torn.

Hair disheveled, in utter disarray.

"Ha~ Is our love destined to end up like this?"

Staring at her own miserable reflection in the mirror, Eleanor’s tears slid uncontrollably down.

Yes.

In her current state, how could she still be worthy of Audenburg’s top financial magnate? She did have the self-awareness to leave him voluntarily.

But...

She was already 36 years old.

Her most valuable everything, she had given entirely to Nathaniel Gallagher.

Her body, full of ailments, and daily complications from various hormones and medications.

How many good years are left?

Her life, fraught with danger, chaos, and wandering. Her greatest wish in life was to marry him, to become his wife in name, to lie beside him in death.

While he’s still very young, he can wait for her to pass, then pursue his Miss Thompson.

She just wanted to savor the simple, happy days, even if only for a short three to five years.

That’s all.

...

An hour later.

Nathaniel Gallagher groggily woke up.

He slowly opened his eyes, and the room instantly fell silent.

The doctor and a group of nurses stood around him with solemn expressions.

"President Gallagher has woken up? That’s great, President Gallagher has finally woken up."

"Hurry, go lie down, Mrs. Gallagher..."

Nathaniel Gallagher’s brain was blank and muddled, his eyes slowly and mechanically scanning the room.

"Hiss~, where is this? Is it a hospital?"

Doctor: "Yes, President Gallagher. You just fainted, and we’ve already treated you."

"..." Nathaniel Gallagher felt the world spinning, fragmented memories slowly resurfacing.

The pain in his heart intensified, piercing like a knife cut deeper and deeper.

"Hiss ugh..." Nathaniel instinctively rubbed his chest.

It felt as if a knife was lodged in his heart, aching, tight, and blocked.

"Josephine Thompson... You are so cruel. I will not forgive you..."

"Click!" The sound of the door opening.

Eleanor entered with a face full of worry and tension, "Nathaniel, you finally woke up?"

She walked with a limp to the bedside.

The wedding dress had already been changed, her makeup washed off, leaving no trace of bridal joy and happiness.

"...Eleanor!" Nathaniel Gallagher frowned, feeling even more irritable.

At this moment.

He was truly agitated, filled with hatred and anger, not wanting to see her.

Eleanor held his hand worriedly, her eyes brimming with tears, "Nathaniel, are you feeling better?"

"I was really, really worried just now..."

"Eleanor, please leave!" Nathaniel Gallagher pulled his hand away awkwardly, turning his cold face to the side.

"..." Eleanor felt her heart tremble, as if falling into an ice cave.

For a long time.

She called out to him with a trembling voice, like leaves in the autumn wind, "Nathaniel, I just can’t stop worrying about you, I just want to be with you."

But Nathaniel seemed not to hear, taking a deep breath with his eyes closed, a trace of agitation surfaced in his eyes, "I don’t need you here, I want some peace and quiet."

"Everyone, leave me alone for a while."

"Okay."

Eleanor’s voice was hoarse, unlike her usual self, "I’ll leave."

No arguments, no questioning, not even tears shed.

She just gave him a deep look, as if to engrave his current image into her bones, then slowly turned around, walking out of the ward step by step.

...

Outside the ward.

Eleanor suddenly laughed softly, tears rolling down as she laughed.

She wiped her face with her hand, took off her ring, and casually threw it into the nearby trash can, as if discarding something burning hot.

Then, she straightened her somewhat bent back and walked toward the hospital entrance.

...

Outside the hospital.

She took a taxi to the village house she had once rented.

She wanted to see the place she once walked through again.

After getting in the car.

The sun was glaring, yet Eleanor felt a chill all over her body. She reported an old village house on the outskirts that had been abandoned for many years.

— It was where she had grown up and from where she had climbed to the top of Audenburg step by step.

"It turns out that no matter how deep the affection, it can’t withstand the ravages of time, can’t withstand the replacement of new people."

"Nathaniel, since you won’t even give me the last bit of love. Then I really have nothing to say, since you love Miss Thompson so much, then go find her..."

The next day.

By noon, Nathaniel Gallagher’s hospital room was in an uproar.

Mrs. Gallagher, after waking up, dramatically cried about Eleanor’s "atrocity", pointing at the bump on her forehead and calling her a lunatic.

Nathaniel listened, his brows knitted tighter, yet a fleeting image of Eleanor’s straight yet broken silhouette as she turned and left flashed through his mind.

"Butler, where did Eleanor go?"

The butler stammered, "Miss Churchill... no, the young lady left the hospital yesterday and hasn’t contacted the company since."

Nathaniel clenched his fist, feeling inexplicably suffocated.

He hurriedly took out his phone to call Eleanor.

But he couldn’t get through.

"Ssss~, Josephine Thompson irritates me, and now you do too. Why are the women around me so troublesome..."

...

By the afternoon.

Nathaniel Gallagher ignored the doctor’s and Mrs. Gallagher’s advice, insisting on being discharged.

A man like him.

How could he tolerate Josephine Thompson’s provocation and antagonism in such a manner?

The sky was gray, like a soaked woolen blanket.

He refused any company, driving straight to Josephine Thompson’s company alone. His knuckles turned white from gripping the steering wheel, fury in his eyes almost burning through the windshield.

He wanted to ask clearly, on what grounds did Josephine Thompson decide to abort the child on her own? On what grounds did she stab him the hardest when he thought everything could start anew?

The car stopped at the office building.

He strode into the lobby, only to be stopped by the receptionist, "Sir, do you have an appointment?"

"Where’s Josephine Thompson?" Nathaniel’s voice was as cold as ice, the pressure around him made the receptionist turn pale.

"Do you mean President Thompson?" The receptionist hesitated for a moment, then answered truthfully, "President Thompson deregistered the company three days ago, and the team has been disbanded..."

Bang!

"What did you say?"

Nathaniel suddenly grabbed the receptionist’s arm, his grip was terrifyingly strong, "Deregistered? Where did she go?"

The receptionist winced from the pain, her eyes reddening, she shook her head in panic, "I don’t know... President Thompson left in a hurry, the office is all cleared out."

Nathaniel suddenly released his hand, stepping back as if he hadn’t heard clearly, asking again, "The company’s closed? She’s gone?"

The receptionist nodded timidly, too scared to even breathe as she saw his expression darken instantly.

"Ha~, so she was prepared all along!"

Nathaniel looked around grimly.

Indeed.

The Thompson Group’s sign had been taken down.

The Antiquarian Market was already almost empty.

"You might escape as a monk, but the temple remains. To play games with me? How dare you?"

He turned and got back into his car.

Then drove straight to the Thompson Estate.

Meanwhile, he scrolled through his phone contacts to find Josephine Thompson’s name and dialed.

"Beep--"

"The number you have dialed is not in service, please check and dial again..."

He tried all her other numbers.

Without exception.

All her phone numbers had been canceled.

"You even canceled your phone number, do you think this will keep you hidden from me?"

Nathaniel was even more infuriated, flooring the gas pedal.

The car seemed to fly, roaring towards the Thompson ancestral home.

...

Twenty minutes later.

He drove as fast as he could to the Thompson Estate.

As he pulled up to the mansion.

He saw a few cars parked at the entrance, with property agents in suits recording a house sale vlog.

Nathaniel’s heart ached fiercely, as if it were being torn apart.

"Truly decisive, even wanting to sell the ancestral home..."