Sweet Subterfuge

Chapter 38

Larissa was stunned for two seconds before realizing that he had completely misunderstood her.

She explained hurriedly. “No, I don’t want to kill him-” Then, she told him about everything that had happened today.

On the other end of the phone, Dylan, having realized his mistake, blushed in

embarrassment.

He covered his mouth with his hand, coughing lightly before regaining his

composure.

“To be honest, I’ve been handling divorce cases for so many years, but I’ve never encountered a situation where the husband dies halfway through the court ruling process. Of course, your ex– husband is not dead yet, but in the event that he does, the normal procedure would be to continue the inheritance process. As for how much money you would get from the property, you’ll have to wait until the lawsuit is

over and settled.”

The process sounded very long to her. Larissa couldn’t help but sigh in frustration.

She thought to herself. She must have been really unlucky in this life to have all that misfortune inflicted upon her.

“Please, don’t blame me for meddling when I say this but-” Dylan hesitated for a while before continuing. “With the shameless behavior displayed by your ex- husband’s family, I suspect it would be

more troublesome if he didn’t die than if he did.”

Of course, his words had to be proven right.

A day later, Mrs. Hardy came to the Regal Dynasty again, squatting in the same spot she had occupied the last few times she was there, lying in wait for Larissa.

Larissa had already been notified by the security guard–after the last incident, she’d specially informed the guards to call her as soon as they saw Mrs. Hardy in order for her to be prepared and leave secretly through the hotel’s emergency back entrance. But Mrs. Hardy was more patient than she had imagined.

After she failed to intercept Larissa that day, Mrs. Hardy came to the hotel every day after, and every time she came, she would squat by the entrance for the entire day.

It had been raining heavily every day for the past week in Covenford as it was located

in one of the areas affected by the hurricane. All over the city, stagnant puddles accumulated, some of them so deep that they came up to one’s calves.

Due to the weather conditions making driving inconvenient, most of the citizens chose to use public transport as their main traveling means. In that week itself, no matter if it was peak hour or not, regardless of the subway line one took, everywhere in the city was overcrowded.

Yet, under such less–than–ideal conditions, Mrs. Hardy showed up every day anyway, her presence even more dedicated than the employees of the hotel.

The woman held a large black umbrella as she squatted in a corner close to the wall. She was curled up in a ball to minimize the chances of her getting wet from the rain. When she was hungry, she would

take a few bites of the buns she’d brought along with her. And when she was thirsty, she would drink hot water from a thermos she’d prepared beforehand.

Her pitiful appearance had garnered the sympathy of quite a lot of passersby.

The guard who was helping Larissa keep an eye out for Mrs. Hardy’s presence had tried to advise her more than once. “Ms. Seymour, why don’t you go talk to your mother–in–law properly? Having her wait at the hotel’s entrance every day doesn’t seem right!”

Every time, Larissa brushed it off without giving much thought to it.

One day, she received another call from the security guard, his voice anxious as he spoke. “Ms. Seymour, please come downstairs! Your mother–in–law has fainted!”

No matter how much she did not want to interact with the Hardy family, she was forced to attend to the situation downstairs.

Mrs. Hardy, who had fainted, had been carried into the hotel lobby and was now lying on the couch where the guests rested, her eyes closed. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

The clothes on her were completely soaked and plastered to her skin, and her half-

white hair separated into strands.

Mrs. Hardy’s brows were knitted, and her face was flushed unnaturally. Even her pants were heavier than usual.

“She looks like she has a fever,” the security guard told Larissa.

Larissa glanced at what Mrs. Hardy had been wearing–it would be a miracle if she didn’t have a fever.

Because of the consecutive storms, even if they’d just entered October, the

temperature in Covenford had already dropped to below 68 degrees.

Mrs. Hardy had been running between the hotel and the hospital on a daily basis for the entire week, wearing nothing other than a thin shirt–she did not even have a jacket on.

Larissa did not drive to work. In weather like this, not even e–hailing apps worked. Therefore, after considering their options, they decided to call 911.

The ambulance arrived almost an hour later. Then, it took one more hour before Mrs. Hardy was sent to the hospital closest to the hotel–Victory General Hospital.