CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 39: CALL HER OVER AND HAVE HER KOWTOW TO ME

Men of his status have encountered many women, in all shapes and colors.

Yet Iris Crawford is one of a kind, unmatched.

She defies societal norms, carrying a heart that trusts no one, but her blood runs hot with revenge.

Grabbing Iris’s wrist, Lachlan Wyatt said, "If I really wanted to go after you, I wouldn’t care about your brother’s presence."

"Young Master Wyatt, if you want to come after me, feel free."

Iris leaned close to Lachlan’s ear, her voice low and seductive, her eyes filled with undeniable ambiguity, "Let’s see who ends up victorious. I’m afraid you’ll fall for me first."

Lachlan chuckled, this woman knows well how to play the game.

He pointed to his own lips and said, "Wanna try kissing me?"

Iris froze.

What ambiguous flirtations hasn’t she engaged in with Lachlan? What outrageous flirting words hasn’t she said? Yet now, he’s asking her straightforwardly if she wants to kiss.

Iris lifted her chin, "No."

Lachlan tugged at her collar, pulling her body down. In the confined space of the car, they were pressed close, the man’s breath as fierce as a beast enveloping her, he said, "If you’re going to divorce Jordan Jacobs, why not give him a cuckold; wouldn’t that be a better revenge?"

Jordan Jacobs values his reputation, so he fears Iris exposing the truth of the kidnapping case back then, which would damage his image in the public eye.

Iris laughed, "Even if I cheat, I won’t choose you."

The consequences of getting involved with Lachlan are too severe, she doesn’t want to provoke them.

Lachlan’s eyes sparkled, "Then who would you choose?"

"Hector Sutton? Dane Rivers?"

Iris stroked Lachlan’s back deliberately to provoke him, "Jeremy Carter is quite handsome too, not talkative, a brooding type of handsome..."

Lachlan laughed freely, "Jeremy Carter plays in finance, you should know those in finance aren’t decent."

"How could they surpass our uniquely devious Young Master Wyatt?"

After finishing with Lachlan’s back, Iris went to touch his face. Damn, why does this scoundrel have such good looks, even through clothes, she can feel the strong taut muscles of his back, a face both fair and smooth, capturing all the good traits!

After a while, Iris thought, indeed, good looks were given to him, without accompanying good character, which makes sense.

Hearing Iris call him bad, Lachlan took it as praise, for he was bad to begin with, asking, "How long are you going to keep touching?"

Daring to touch him so boldly, Iris really had the nerve, other women wouldn’t even dare to think so.

Iris was stunned for a moment, then regained her composure, withdrawing her hand, "Oh well, taking advantage of you isn’t a loss for you."

After speaking, she straightened up, opening the car door, "Young Master Wyatt isn’t so petty, right?"

Looking at her, Lachlan remembered the carefree way she held Dane Rivers’s hand, coldly snorted, then stepped forward, grabbing Iris.

Iris was startled, "I barely touched you twice, are you really going to start something?"

She learned to fight from him, how could she beat him?

Lachlan smiled tightly, "If I wanted to do something, I wouldn’t have waited till now; I could have hit you two years ago."

Iris fell silent, really if it came to blows, she’d only end up lying on the floor, unable to win. Better let him hit, then roll away in a wheelchair to ask for compensation.

Dragging Iris into the house, Lachlan asked Iris, "Even if divorcing, you need to gather evidence, recently there’s a cool-off period for divorce, you might not be able to quickly finalize the divorce."

"I’m very calm." Iris said as she tidied up the living room, "I won’t be lenient with Jordan Jacobs, I’m determined to divorce. We’ve been separated for two years, legally speaking, getting a divorce isn’t difficult."

"Oh?"

Lachlan curved his lips mysteriously, his eyes always carrying a meaning Iris couldn’t grasp, "You want to divorce, but he might not be willing to."

After all, Jordan Jacobs’s gaze towards Iris now is completely different from before.

"I have collected evidence of his infidelity during the marriage, it’ll be in my favor if it goes to court."

When Iris spoke, she was particularly calm, as if she had thought of every tactic. Generally, when others divorce, they are heartbroken, but she seemed to have passed through anger, paving her escape and leaving Jordan Jacobs no room.

A woman who can soberly escape from a failed marriage is capable of great things.

Lachlan clapped his hands, "Then I’ll look forward to seeing you and Jordan Jacobs in court, by then, all evidence will be exposed, his public persona will collapse once more."

"But..." Iris lowered her head, "I don’t have concrete evidence for the kidnapping case back then."

Lachlan paused.

"Being kidnapped is a fact, Jordan Jacobs not rescuing me is also a fact." Iris gripped her phone, seemingly filled with hatred, "But the kidnappers are in jail, and I can’t reach them for now. And I can only subjectively accuse Jordan Jacobs of not rescuing me, but there’s no evidence proving he didn’t save me..."

Because Jordan Jacobs is too smart, he hadn’t said a single word like "let her die", instead coldly neglecting her presence, conveying to the kidnappers the message of abandoning Iris, but if he wants to deny, he can have countless excuses—

Iris can even imagine Jordan Jacobs shamelessly claiming that he was sacrificing the small for the greater good, choosing to save Yvonne Jennings, a "stranger", over his wife, a grand gesture, which would earn praises from the uninformed masses.

So to prevent Jordan Jacobs from vindicating himself, Iris must find evidence to nail him to the cross.

"You need to know, failing to save isn’t illegal."

Lachlan looked at Iris’s complex expression and said, "Human nature is inherently cold, the kidnappers are the criminals, so it’s the kidnappers who broke the law, Jordan Jacobs merely didn’t choose to save you, he can explain as having no time, and there’s no law that can punish him."

At that time, he deliberately ignored Iris to omit her existence, wishing the kidnappers would kill her, so he could rest easy... but these are Iris’s subjective thoughts, unable to convince everyone.

Mediators would still advise, "Don’t harbor malicious thoughts toward your husband, he shares your bed, with a chance to save you, surely wouldn’t abandon you."

Such remarks frighten Iris.

The kidnapping was an accident, everyone thinks it’s unreasonable to expect Jordan Jacobs to save Iris, one survivor among two hostages is already lucky.

But the more this is the case, the more Iris holds hatred.

Why can’t Jordan Jacobs’s indifference be punished?

Why, can he abandon her life without facing any consequence?

Why!

She gritted her teeth hard, tasting blood, when Iris raised her eyes, swollen and red, she looked at Lachlan, "Because there’s no way, I must seek revenge."

She wants his family shattered, his wife and children separated, his Jacobs family dreams broken, unable to sleep night after night!

Starting with the divorce, she wants to tear off Jordan Jacobs’s skillful disguise!

******

After the weekend, it was Monday, a working day as usual, but Iris, having a leave slip, didn’t choose to go to work, she slept in and upon waking realized Lachlan hadn’t gone to work either.

Iris Crawford said, "Why didn’t you go to work?"

"I’m the boss." Lachlan Wyatt glanced at her amusedly, "Who dares to rush me to work?"

"..." Damn capitalist!

Iris was thinking of indulging herself while he was at work these few days.

And now, she had to see Lachlan Wyatt’s handsome but annoying face at home in broad daylight.

Iris said irritably, "Shouldn’t you set an example? Otherwise, Roxanne Young and the others will say I skipped work with you and start gossiping about me."

"Let them gossip." Lachlan sipped his coffee and turned a page of his book, "Aren’t they just speaking the truth? Our relationship is ambiguous anyway."

It was only a matter of time before something happened.

Admiring Iris’s enchanting figure, Lachlan squinted contentedly.

A thorough villain must be paired with a stunningly beautiful woman to be a true overlord, right?

Indeed, he picked the right person back then.

"Now it’s great, the whole company knows I got in through the back door," Iris noticed Lachlan’s deep gaze and gave him a fierce glare, "In their eyes, I’m probably a seductress who’s led you astray and made you neglect your duties!"

Lachlan seemed particularly delighted to hear such talk about Iris. He thought Iris was fascinating; the more beautiful and arrogant she was, the less she cared about her reputation, impossible to be criticized by morals.

Putting down his book, Lachlan didn’t answer Iris’s words but reminded her, "These days, you can check the accounts of the Jennings Family. None of them are good people, relying on Yvonne Jennings’s looks to latch onto Jordan Jacobs, likely doing lots of bad things."

"Hmm." Iris still had a laptop under her arm, which she placed in front of Lachlan, saying, "I need to visit the Jacobs Family. I have to get the fifty million into my account, then deliver the divorce agreement and lawyer’s letter. Also, I’ll stop by the police station to find the Jennings Family."

"All in one go?"

Seeing her sit down beside him, Lachlan naturally wrapped his arm around her waist, a move so practiced it felt like they were intimate lovers. He touched Iris’s waist and clicked his tongue, "Want me to accompany you?" Who knows what dirty tricks that bastard Jordan might have waiting for Iris.

Iris laughed, "It’d be great if Young Master Wyatt were there."

"..." Wasn’t this just using his identity to intimidate others?

Lachlan stared at Iris for a moment, "No benefits, not going."

Iris said, "I’ll pay you an appearance fee."

Lachlan’s gaze fell on Iris’s legs, "I’m not short on money. Just one request, wear black stockings to work next Monday."

"..."

******

Jordan Jacobs never expected Iris Crawford to come knocking two years later.

Not only did she visit, but she also brought a man with her.

The ex-wife who was supposed to be dead now stood at his door, dressed in red fluttering in the wind, with long black hair cascading like a waterfall. She wore stylish Martin boots that accentuated her long, straight legs, and the hand adorned with a dazzling diamond ring knocked on Jordan’s door.

When Jordan saw her from the entrance, he was stunned; this woman seemed completely transformed.

Black hair, red lips, eyes determined like a Valkyrie.

"Iris Crawford..."

The ring on Iris’s hand had been sparkling all the way, and now she extended her hand, still shining, clearly worth a fortune.

Lachlan shielded his eyes, uncertain whether it was the diamond’s glare or Iris’s face that was more blinding, he said, "Move that rock of yours away."

"Visiting requires good gear."

Iris smiled with curled lips, "Let him know I got a more expensive ring after leaving him."

Back then, when Jordan got married, he did so reluctantly, even bought the wedding dress and ring casually. Despite having money, he was unwilling to spend a cent on Iris, and the diamond on the ring was pathetically small.

Yet Iris had foolishly bought him his favorite limited edition supercar on their registration day, and the roar of the engine masked Jordan’s shameless whispers, so Iris never heard his true thoughts.

An unfortunate encounter, an everlasting disaster.

—As expected, Jordan noticed the ring on Iris’s hand and, while opening the door, stared at the ring with a tightening heart.

He instinctively asked, "What are you here for?"

Iris spread her hands, "To collect a debt."

Jordan Jacobs, you owe me too much.

Jordan didn’t look well, glanced at Lachlan behind Iris. With Lachlan always there, he never had the chance to properly talk to Iris, not knowing what this man thought—did Lachlan really want the ex-wife he discarded?

"You’re here just in time, let’s have a good chat..."

Jordan made way for Iris, watching her enter his house. Lachlan, as if it were his own home, followed leisurely inside.

"..." Jordan gritted his teeth at Lachlan’s back, "Young Master Wyatt, you..."

Lachlan pointed at himself, smiling, "The Royal Palace? Not allowed entry?"

How could Jordan possibly kick him out!

So, he engaged in a circuitous conversation with Lachlan, "I didn’t expect Young Master Wyatt to come with Iris, of course you’re welcome, please sit anywhere, I’ll make you some tea..."

Iris sat on the sofa, in this house where she once lived with Jordan, the decor exquisite, costing a lot of money.

Now there was another woman settling in, occupying the nest, making the once familiar decor feel desolate and unfamiliar.

Jordan Jacobs, during my fake death these two years, did you and Yvonne Jennings enjoy sweet dreams in our former marital nest?

As Iris watched Jordan bring over water, she asked, "Where’s Yvonne Jennings?"

Jordan didn’t expect her to bring up Yvonne, frowning, "Yvonne went to handle Howard Jennings’s..." In mid-sentence, Jordan paused. Howard Jennings was arrested after an altercation with Iris, rumored to be a group brawl, a family ganging up on Iris alone...

Jordan was conflicted, watching Iris calmly sit on the sofa, momentarily imagining they hadn’t divorced and were still the newlywed couple from two years ago, with Iris as his wife, and no Yvonne Jennings...

Why did he start fantasizing about living with Iris, when he used to scorn it...

"Oh." Iris’s cool voice shattered Jordan’s fantasy, "Tell her not to waste her effort, it was me who sent Howard to the police station, no matter how many connections she uses or gifts she sends—it’s useless—"

Dragging out the tone, Iris beckoned to Jordan, signaling him to come over, the latter lowering his head, moving beside her like a subordinate awaiting orders.

Iris whispered into his ear with a smile, ignoring Jordan’s face turning pale.

"Unless you call her now and have her come over..."

"To kneel before me."