Chapter 609


    Fury welled up inside Richard as he read the newspaper on the table.


    He found it utterly unbelievable.


    Pearl had been alive and well just over ten days ago. How could she have suddenly fallen seriously ill


    and quietly passed away in such a short time?


    Richard couldn’t bring himself to believe it, or perhaps he didn’t want to.


    His assistant, noticing his grim expression, hesitated to speak.


    After a long pause, Richard crumpled the newspaper into a ball and tossed it into the trash bin. The


    once tense and oppressive atmosphere in the room instantly dissipated.


    “Mister Richard, the manager-”


    Richard nced at his assistant. “Tell him to handle it on his own.”


    His assistant broke into a cold sweat. This matter was no trivial affair. He wondered if Richard really


    wanted the manager to handle it.


    At that moment, Richard seemed detached and indifferent to the world around him.


    After a brief contemtion, his assistant turned and left.


    Left alone in his spacious office, Richard loosened his tie as if struggling to breathe. He couldn’t shake


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    off the unsettling feeling that he shouldn’t have cared about Pearl.


    However, the news of Pearl’s sudden death had stirred something in him. The lively Pearl had


    vanished, and he couldn’t articte the strange emptiness he felt.


    He should have been indifferent, but it seemed like he cared more than he would admit.


    A surge of anger had consumed him when he learned of Pearl’s impending engagement just seven


    days ago. He wondered why she agreed to the marriage willingly as reported in the news, since she


    had imed that she wholeheartedly loved him.


    As expected, women were heartless and fickle.


    He had contemted going to Bodgow to confront her, but the newspaper article had derailed his


    ns. Nheless, he couldn’t quite understand his own emotions, as if some kind of immense void


    engulfed him.


    It felt like he had lost something important…


    Finally, he clicked on a website to book a ne ticket to Bodgow.


    “Pearl…”


    Meanwhile, in Hugo’s vi, the atmosphere was far from peaceful.


    Beah looked at Pearl in confusion. “Aren’t you in love with Richard? Why would you suddenly agree to


    get engaged to Hugo, even though he seems nice too…” Unaware of Hugo’s past actions, she held a


    favorable impression of him as a kind doctor willing to treat her illness without conditions.


    2/2


    Pearl couldn’t help but snort at the thought of Hugo being ‘nice.‘ After all, he had coerced her into


    jumping into the sea.


    However, Pearl had to withhold these details from Beah. She feared that revealing the truth might


    make Beah reluctant to ept the treatment, thinking that Pearl had been forced into this engagement


    with Hugo.


    “Mom. well… matters of the heart can be quiteplicated,” Pearl replied with an awkward smile,


    sidestepping the topic with a vague excuse.