"Yes," Evelyn said. There was no point in denying. It didn't matter whether she was really a jinx or not; it was undeniably true that Richard Qi had died because of her.
Sheffield's anger grew. "Evelyn, you are a stickler for principles. Why don't you have any limits for your guilt? How can you let that asshole humiliate you like that? You may be able to tolerate it, but I can't! Every time I see him, I'll beat him down. I meant what I said earlier."
With that, he turned around and walked away from her.
Evelyn caught up to him, grabbed his hand and said quickly, "Sheffield! If humiliating me can make the Qi family a bit happier, I will at least feel less guilty. And Roscoe just hurled some verbal abuses. He can't really hurt me." Roscoe meant little to her. She didn't care about what he said.
"Are you saying that I was in the wrong here?" Sheffield asked, looking her in the eye.
Evelyn shook her head. She could understand his anger. "I know you did that for me, so…"
"So? So you want to bear all the consequences yourself?" he asked, completing the sentence for her.
Evelyn fell silent. 'How did he know what I was thinking?'
Without warning, Sheffield pulled her into his arms and held her so tight that she could hardly breathe.
He whispered in her ear, "Evelyn, I can deal with the Qi family myself, even without Theo Group backing me up. Let me tell you something. People around me think highly of me because I'm the CEO, but to me, that company is nothing but a burden. Theo Group will only hold me back instead of giving me any sort of support, and I don't care. I can fight against the Qi family myself. If you don't believe me, just wait and see."
Evelyn gasped for air in his arms. What he was claiming shocked her even more. She looked up blankly at his face. The expressions on his face changed as he spoke—he was confident at first, then his eyes clouded with anger. And amidst all that was a hint of helplessness.
Sheffield lowered his head to look at the expressionless woman. He loosened his embrace and said, "Do you still not believe in me?"
She nodded her head and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I believe you." She did believe in him. He could do anything.
His anger finally disappeared when he heard her words. He bowed his head and kissed her red lips.
By the time Evelyn got back to the manor, Gwyn was already asleep in Carlos and Debbie's bedroom. Carlos was working in his study.
Hearing her footsteps, he opened the door to the study and called, "Evelyn, come here."
Evelyn and Debbie looked at each other. She told her mother, "I'll be right back."
"Go ahead. I'll watch Gwyn," Debbie nodded.
"Thanks."
In the study
Evelyn sat opposite Carlos. He asked, "You know why I asked you to come?"
"Yes, more or less." She guessed that he had heard about what had happened.
Carlos expressed his stand. "Leave this matter alone. This was Sheffield's mistake. He should solve it himself."
"No, Dad. I can't do that. He fought Roscoe for me. And now, Sexton is going to sue him. How can I just sit by and watch?" Evelyn couldn't stay out of it even if it was someone else who had hit Roscoe for her sake. But this was Sheffield.
Carlos sighed. "What do you want to do?"
She thought for a while and said, "Ask Uncle Xavier to help him."
"Xavier only takes major commercial cases now. He won't get himself involved in such a trifling case like this."
Evelyn gaped at her father's childish behavior. She knew that he was deliberately making things hard for Sheffield and her.
If Carlos asked, Xavier would surely do him this favor, no matter how small the case was.
Neither Carlos nor Evelyn spoke. Silence befell the study.
"Fine! In that case, I will hire the best lawyer I can find. I will not let Sheffield take any responsibility for this incident. And if someone has to be punished for this, it should be me, not him."
"What did Sheffield say?" Carlos asked.
"He…" After a pause, Evelyn said, "He told me not to worry about it." But how could she leave him alone in this battle?
Carlos nodded, "Then you don't have to worry about it anymore. Evelyn, if he can't solve such a small issue, how is he even qualified to be with you?"
"Dad, you know Mr. Qi. He will certainly make this a bigger issue, and get even with Sheffield in business. He just took over the company. He is already finding it hard to manage the whole scenario. If the Qi Group puts more pressure on him now…" What worried her the most was the thought that Sexton might lock horns with Sheffield in business.
"Evelyn, you are a CEO. Do you think that just about anyone could sit in that position? Peterson had disowned Sheffield many years ago. It's obvious that he didn't like this son very much. But he swallowed his pride and took the initiative to find Sheffield and persuade him to take over the company. Do you understand what that means? It means that Sheffield is more capable and has more potential than you think." Carlos had recently found out what had happened between Peterson and Sheffield.
And from his investigation, it seemed that Sheffield didn't have a good reputation within the Tang family.
Evelyn did understand what her father was implying.
If Sheffield didn't have the potential, Peterson wouldn't have taken the time and trouble to find the son he didn't like. Under the pressure of the shareholders of the company, and after ignoring his older sons, Peterson let Sheffield take over the company.
"One more thing," said Carlos, after some thought.
"What is it?"
"I've always suspected that Sheffield is Star Anise. What do you think?" At the very beginning, Carlos did believe Sheffield when he said that he was the disciple of Star Anise.
But when he had last met Matthew, he had begun to have doubts. Now that he knew that Sheffield was Peterson's son, he was more suspicious of it than before.
'What do I think?' Evelyn wondered, stunned by this new information.
She knew nothing of this. When she was with Sheffield, they were mostly concerned about matters of love and their relationship. She had paid no attention to any other matters.
Evelyn felt embarrassed.
Carlos snorted, "I knew it. He is lying to you too."
"No, it's not like that. I've never asked him about it." She believed that if she asked him, he would tell her the truth.
"Fine. Go and rest. Sheffield is a cunning fox. He has many wicked ideas in his mind. Be careful not to be led astray by him."
"Actually, Dad, he is a good man," Evelyn said firmly.
Carlos squinted at her. "I know a good man when I see one, Evelyn. I don't need you to put in a good word for him."
Evelyn knew it was hard to reach a consensus with her father when it came to matters concerning Sheffield. She decided to end the discussion. "I'm going to bed."
"Okay, good night."
"Good night."
The next day, Sexton took action. Sheffield received a letter from Sexton's lawyer. Peterson got wind of it too.
In the CEO Office of Theo Group
Sheffield went through the letter. Sexton had demanded a public apology to Roscoe, and five million in compensation. Sheffield smirked at the demands and asked, "Mr. Tang, is Qi Group about to go bankrupt?"
