Seeing Emily Harper's pitiful, tearful appearance, Jeff couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.
After all, they had been married for three years, and during those three years, Jeff had genuinely fallen in love with her.
For those three years, Jeff had pampered Emily like a princess, served her like a queen, and protected her like a precious gem. How could Emily ever have suffered such grievances?
If it had been in the past, Jeff would never have allowed anyone to slap Emily.
But Jeff knew Victoria Lang had struck her to vent anger on his behalf.
Jeff placed his right hand on Victoria Lang's shoulder and said, "Never mind her."
Then he turned to Emily. "You can leave now. I'm no longer your man."
Emily's tears stopped abruptly. She had never shown her vulnerable side in front of Jeff before.
"Even if it were a dog my Harper family raised for three years, I wouldn't just give it away to someone else if I didn't want it anymore!" Yet she did to me.
"Jeff, I order you to leave Horizon Group immediately and stop being Victoria Lang's bodyguard!" Emily started.
"Victoria Lang pays you two hundred thousand a year, right? I'll give you five hundred thousand!"
Upon hearing Emily's words, Victoria Lang couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Hahaha, you think 500,000 can afford to buy out cha-..."
"Cough cough..." Jeff let out a cough.
Just as Victoria Lang was about to habitually call him "Chairman Sterling," Jeff immediately interrupted her with a cough.
Emily was currently emotionally agitated. She had just been scolded by her family and slapped by Victoria Lang. If she learned Jeff's true identity now, she probably couldn't withstand the series of blows.
Jeff felt a twinge of guilt!
Victoria Lang glanced at Jeff, then continued, "Heh, you think you can poach Jeff for five hundred thousand? You're being far too naive! Even if you add another zero, it still won't be enough!"
"What?"
Emily looked incredulous. Could it be that Jeff's annual salary as a bodyguard wasn't two hundred thousand? Was it five million?
Even if Victoria Lang was rich, she wouldn't spend five million on a bodyguard.
Knowing she wasn't as wealthy as Victoria Lang, Emily said, "Jeff, you must resign from Horizon Group today!"
"Let me tell you, Brandon has found evidence of your watch sales. If we hand it over to the police, you'll be sentenced!"
"As husband and wife, I don't want you to spend the best years of your life in prison!"
"If you listen to me, leave Victoria Lang, come back to the Harper family, and become my personal bodyguard, I might get Brandon to let you go!"
Jeff said nonchalantly, "Thank you for your kindness, but I really can't be your bodyguard. I can't protect your safety while watching you check into a hotel with another man!" Jeff smugly said.
"If Brandon has evidence, let him sue me however he wants."
After saying that, Jeff got into the driver's seat of the Porsche and drove away with Victoria Lang.
"Jeff, you're not allowed to leave!"
Watching Jeff drive off, Emily stomped her feet in anger.
"That despicable couple—Victoria Lang spent five million. It's definitely not just to have Jeff as her bodyguard; it's possible she also wants him to be her lover!"
"Fine, Victoria Lang—with a CEO boyfriend like Chairman Sterling, you still go looking for other men and say I'm shameless? You're the shameless one!"
"Jeff is a bastard too. He knew Victoria Lang had a boyfriend, yet he was still willing to be her lover. If he can tolerate Victoria Lang having other men, why can't he tolerate me having other men!"
"Double standards! You're infuriating! What do I even do that Victoria Lang doesn't?!"
...
Riverforge, 7th Street.
This was a notorious slum in Riverforge, and also one of the most unsafe areas.
This place housed both the poor and the powerful.
The infamous "Brother Gage" lived here year-round.
In Riverforge, anyone involved in the underworld had heard this saying:
Whether Riverforge is in chaos or not, it's up to Brother Gage to decide.
Brother Gage carried a bag that contained either human heads or knives.
In his early years, this "Brother Gage" had committed all sorts of evil deeds—beating, stabbing, and getting into endless trouble.
After making a name for himself, he became his own boss, running shady businesses such as massage parlors, KTVs, and loan sharking.
He basically controlled all the nightlife in Riverforge.
Because of his sense of "righteousness," he had many followers.
At this time, Brandon Harper had arrived at 7th Street and, through an introduction, met the legendary "Brother Gage."
"Hey, Brother Gage." Brandon greeted a burly man covered in tattoos with dreadlocks.
Brother Gage was eating oysters and drinking beer when he glanced at Brandon and said, "Young Master Harper, it's an honor to have you here. I'm so sorry for not welcoming you sooner."
He was polite on the surface, but Brother Gage continued eating and drinking without giving Brandon a second glance.
Brandon didn't mind. Although he was a rich young master, the other party was also a big brother in the underworld.
Brandon said, "I'm here to do business with Brother Gage. I have a Richard Mille watch here, worth more than five million dollars, and I plan to sell it to you at a discounted price of four-and-a-half million."
"But you can't say that I sold it to you; you have to say that someone named Jeff sold it to you."
Brother Gage glanced at the injury on Brandon's face and laughed. "The injury on your face—was it inflicted by this guy named Jeff?"
Brandon nodded somewhat awkwardly. "Brother Gage guessed right. He is my second uncle's son-in-law who married into the family. To save face, the family doesn't want to make a big deal out of it, but I can't swallow this! I have to send him to jail!"
Brother Gage took a sip of beer and said, "Why go through all that trouble? I'll just send a few men to teach him a lesson, won't that be enough?"
Brandon sighed. "Brother Gage doesn't know, that kid is a trained fighter. The professional thugs my dad sent were all crippled by him!"
"Oh?" Brother Gage immediately became interested.
How could a live-in son-in-law have such fighting power?
Brother Gage thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I can't help you with this. Master Liu said that we shouldn't meddle in other people's family affairs. It's possible that after we help them, they might reconcile in the end, and we—the ones who handle things—will become the only sinners."
After being rejected, Brandon became anxious. "No way! That Jeff has already been divorced by our Harper family! Besides, who is Master Liu? Why would you listen to him?"
"Damn it! Master Liu is our Brother Gage's boss!"
Suddenly, one of Brother Gage's henchmen shouted at Brandon.
Brother Gage scolded his subordinate, then smiled at Brandon and said, "Master Liu is my mentor. Without him, I, Brother Gage, would not be where I am today. So I treat his words as sacred decrees! You should find someone else."
Brandon was unwilling to give up. He knew Brother Gage was greedy for money, and with the recent crackdown, his shady businesses were not doing well at all, so he must be short of cash.
So Brandon said, "I'll sell you this watch for four million!"
Brother Gage continued to shake his head. "I told you, Master Liu treats me like his own parents, so I must listen to him!"
Brandon gritted his teeth. "Three million! I'll sell you the watch for three million, and you can make two million by reselling it!"
Brother Gage laughed loudly. "Master Liu said, in this business, you can't turn down money! Nothing is more important than making money! Young Master Harper, I'll take this job!"