Joanne looked ghastly.

She did know what would happen to Brian and Lambert Group once these secrets were exposed.

It was not exaggerated at all to call it a huge calamity.

"Lambert Group is in deep trouble now. Is Brian still calm to tell you that he has another trump card?" Rowdy held the cigar, enjoying the flurried appearance of Joanne with great interest.

"..."

"Oh-" Rowdy sneered slightly. "What is his so-called trump card? You should have guessed it. If he really wants to collaborate with Wesley, do you think he can whitewash his past?"

"..." Joanne's pupils suddenly contracted and she still said nothing.

"He cannot whitewash himself," Rowdy asked and answered himself, "He will be investigated by the police in his rest life. Whether I release the evidence against him or not, the police will also know finally. Brian will not escape prison. I can give you time to consider the divorce with him, but you must remember the time is limited. So you had better answer me soon."

Rowdy's tone carried a deathly threat.

Joanne forgot how she left the hotel.

She suddenly felt that the temperature was going to drop this year when she went out of the heated hotel and was surrounded by the chilling wind.

"What will you do?" On the way back, Shawn asked her while driving.

"..."

" I do not know." Joanne said after a long while.

Her voice was like a thin piece of paper, so fragile as if it would be smashed once the wind blew.

The feeling was so-called confusion and hesitation.

She could not leave but had to. Once she pictured it on her mind, her heart would throb.

What should she do?

Joanne was still out of her mind after returning to the office and did not know what to do, looking lost before the computer. So Shawn took care of everything.

A financial title caught her attention when she opened a news website.

-Lambert Group Rescued as Oscar Might Loan Them.

She opened the webpage hurriedly, seeing a photo of Brian and Oscar shaking hands. According to the report, Oscar, a new leader of the loan transaction department of Southern Union Bank, thought Brian and Lambert Group would have prosperous prospects together. Moreover, he would consider cooperating with Lambert Group.

Joanne stared at the title of news and pondered. "Is this an opportunity, or..."

The phone suddenly rang between her thinking, and the screen showed Rosalyn's number.

Joanne picked it up but Rosalyn spoke slowly after a while. "I asked Oscar to reconsider Lambert Group' loan application."

Joanne unconsciously clenched her phone. "What do you want to say?"

"Don't you know?" Rosalyn laughed contemptuously. "The existence of Lambert Group is up to you now."

"..."

"As long as you divorce Brian, I will ask Oscar to loan out right away and Brian won't suspect a thing," Rosalyn said word by word, "or, you can watch Brian risking himself cooperating with Wesley."

Joanne instantly connected Han Ruxi with Rowdy, who wasn't connected before at all, and then asked, "Rosalyn, what is your relationship with Rowdy? And how do you know Brian's last way is to cooperate with Wesley?"

She once told Rosalyn quite confidently, "Even if Southern Union Bank does not loan him money, Brian still has other ways."

At that time, Rosalyn scorned. It turned out that Rosalyn knew what Brian's other ways were.

But how did Rosalyn know that? Why did Rosalyn and Rowdy have bargaining chips respectively? However, they had the same requirement and that was her divorcing Brian.

The evidence that might convict Brian or the loan alone might not necessarily make Joanne bow down to them.

But if they worked together, the probability of her giving in would be greatly increased.

Did they, Rowdy and Rosalyn, join hands with each other?

"Who is Rowdy?" Rosalyn sounded confused and she just went on. "I've known Brian for many years. Naturally, I knew how close he was to Wesley in Glasgow. I even knew he had a fund from Wesley in the early days of his business. You said he still had other ways without the loan, wasn't it Wesley's help? But Joanne, you really don't know what Wesley does?"

"..."

"True, Wesley can help Lambert Group through the crisis. But the police also will notice them and by the time Brian and Lambert Group will both be investigated. Is this what you want?" Rosalyn said aggressively, "Or, do you not care at all?"

Joanne hung up the phone, slamming it on the table. Her temples throbbed, and her head seemed to be tightened up by someone, painfully swelling.

How should she choose?

How to get rid of the threat from Rosalyn and Rowdy?

"Or, you might as well tell Brian the bad thing and discuss with him?" Shawn poured her a glass of water.

"No." Joanne shook her head.

At least, not right now.

If I told Brian that, he would not agree absolutely. And if it was like that, it would be impossible to get the loan and in the meanwhile, Rowdy would hand in the documents to the police, and by then... it would be all over.

If not, Lambert Group would have the last chance at least. Additionally, he would not have to take risks.

...

Joanne did not take Simon's car, on the contrary, she drove back by herself.

She needed space just for herself to calm down.

She remembered Brian in the news when she was in the university in this peaceful atmosphere.

The business tycoon was young, handsome, and high-spirited. Even if expressionless, he still exuded natural and majestic auras.

He was a natural leader, so he should stand at the vantage point of the business, running business freely.

He could not lose, losing his pride and even the trust of the long-time employees who accompanied him from the founding of Lambert Group.

The only safe way was to give in to Rosalyn and Rowdy's condition so as to let Oscar agree to loan.

Divorce.

The word was like a sharp knife that stuck accurately into the center of Joanne's heart.

Blood was flowing, but she could not show a bit of pain.

The car drove into Prime Villas. Joanne stepped on the brakes, parking the white car at the door.

Home-

Watching that four-story villa inside the door-Joanne remembered she used to think it would always be her home no matter what happened. No matter what she suffered out there, as long as she came back here, everything would be okay because people here loved her and protected her.

However, she still could not have too much happiness.

Joanne got off the car and prepared a sumptuous dinner. When Brian came back, he picked eyebrows surprisingly. "What good thing happened today?"

"Mr. Evans is willing to reconsider loaning Lambert Group money, isn't it good?" Joanne said with a smile.

"It's good." Brian pointed at the quite rich food, "but is it now too..."

"Not early at all!" Joanne decisively interrupted Brian and pulled him to sit down. "If he didn't want to loan, Mr. Evans won't release the news!"

It meant that they almost succeeded at the loaning. So it was worth celebrating!

She was so excited that Brian could not interrupt, so he sat down and enjoyed her superb cooking.

Halfway through the dinner, Brian suddenly asked, "How do you like to spend your next birthday?"

Joanne realized it after a short daze. Now it was the end of December, and her birthday was near.

Shopping, eating out, watching movies... these were all things young couples enjoyed, and Brian had done them with her. But he had never spent time with her on her birthday.

Well, she decided to have a final luxury.

Joanne's bright eyes were full of expectations. "Do you have time?"

"Five days," Brian said, "You can go wherever you want to go and do whatever you want, I will accompany you."

Expectations in Joanne's eyes became shock.

During this time, Brian had been work overtime excessively. Now, it finally explained itself-he was squeezing time-to get to celebrate her birthday.

She felt shocked, but a little happy.

But more than that, she felt melancholy and regretful.

How long could she still be happy?

"Having you decided on the destination?" Brian asked.

"France," Joanne said without hesitation, "You promised to take me to France at the end of this year."

It was just what he expected. He called the secretary and asked them to book a hotel and arrange the itinerary.

Joanne also called Captain Turner in advance to ask for a leave. Captain Turner knew about her situation during this time and replied quickly without further questions.

Chris heard that Brian and Joanne were going abroad. So he sent Joanne's birthday present in advance.

It was a document.

Everbridge Group intended to cooperate with Lambert Group Media, launching a reality show that was introduced from abroad. Lambert Group Media only needed to provide suitable talents.

"Everbridge Group" suffered a little bit of loss, but for Lambert Group, it was a cooperation that brought only money, never risks.

Brian knew that Chris tried his best to help him.

Brian signed the name, exchanged documents with Chris, and solemnly said, "Thank you."

Chris smiled carelessly. "I did this for my sister."

Chris handed a delicate box to Joanne. "This is the real birthday gift and I wish you a happy birthday in advance."

Joanne opened the box, as she expected, it was a watch.

During a few years after her mother's passing away, Joanne refused birthday presents from Chris. She knew that Chris planned to open a company, so she was always thinking about how to help him save money.

Later, Chris's business grew bigger and bigger and Everbridge Group began to take shape. Su Chris also became the most eligible bachelor in people's eyes, and he could totally afford those gifts. Therefore, in the name of compensation, Joanne received gifts from him from time to time.

It would some limited-edition designer's jewelry or popular clothes of the season.

In the past few years, Joanne no longer lacked those kinds of stuff. Knowing that Joanne liked collecting watches, so he turned all his gifts into watches.

He didn't need to come up with a new present idea, and Joanne would definitely like it. Why wouldn't he send watches?

Although there were no surprises, Joanne was still very touched.

She hugged Chris. "Brother, thank you." She was grateful for not only this watch but also his help to Lambert Group.

Chris patted her back. "I only want you to be happy."

Joanne's eyes suddenly turned red. "I will."

No one noticed the true sorrow hiding in her tearful tone.