She Becomes Glamorous After The Engagement Annulment Novel - Chapter 756
Chapter 756: The Clue To V16 Has Finally Been Found!!
Philip was of mixed descent.
Although he looked like a westerner, if one observed him closely, one would see that his facial features were rather exotic.
His gaze made people feel that he was a very affectionate and loving man.
But Iris knew just how cold-blooded he really was.
With a calm look on her face, she stayed silent.
Philip didn’t speak either. A complex look flashed in his eyes.
He suddenly asked, “I remember you once said that the rich and the poor can be distinguished from their temperament. So back then, what you liked was not me but my money, right?! You actually knew from the very beginning that I was rich, right?”
Iris actually found it a little ludicrous to hear him ask such a question again when more than twenty years had already passed.
She lowered her gaze, too lazy to bother explaining all of that. She said, “You can think of it however you want to.”
As soon as she said that, Philip took a big step forward and held her shoulders.
The two of them hadn’t met for over twenty—in fact, close to thirty—years. They were each other’s first love, yet despite being reunited, the atmosphere actually didn’t feel that awkward.
It was as if everything was still the same as it was back then.
Philip narrowed his eyes. “I heard it with my own ears at the party back then. Are you still going to use such sophistry on me?”
He had heard it?
Iris was taken aback.
The man was standing very close to her. Iris could see that he was tall and lean and his complexion was fair. In her trance, she even felt like she had gone back over twenty years in time.
Back then, he actually was not very eye-catching in school.
He wore ordinary clothes and kept a low profile.
It was not because of his chase of her that Iris had noticed him; rather, it was because when she was in college, she noticed that he had been studying in the library ever since he enrolled in the school.
He had a lot of self-restraint.
Most people who had just started college after their SATs would relax for a while, but he hadn’t. Ever since he became a freshman, he had been diligent and working hard.
Once, Iris had noticed that she couldn’t understand the books he read.
At that moment, Philip suddenly became tall and mysterious to her.
After that, despite many chasing after her, she didn’t take a fancy to any of them.
It wasn’t that they weren’t hardworking enough; rather, it was because none of them was as hardworking as Philip!
The way he behaved as though there was no tomorrow, as if he wished he could break time into pieces and absorb knowledge as much as he could.
Therefore, when he started to chase Iris, she couldn’t even imagine a man like him would have time to date someone?
She had agreed.
At that time, she didn’t yet know that being curious about someone and slowly paying attention to them was the beginning of love.
She only knew that every time she saw Philip studying hard whenever he was not with her, yet never felt that he was wasting time when he was with her; she would feel a sense of accomplishment and contentment.
At that time, she was a talented girl from the Evanses and also a well-known figure in the school.
Once, at a party, someone next to her couldn’t resist asking her, “Iris, what on earth do you like about Philip? Surely it can’t be because he is handsome, right?!”
At the mention of him, a vivacious and high-spirited Iris had raised her eyebrows and replied, “Why, I’m dating him for other reasons, of course!”
“Haha! What kind of other reasons can it be? Surely it can’t be because his family is rich, right? Iris, what on earth makes you think that he’s from a rich family?”
All the rich second-generation heirs who hung out with Iris looked down on Philip.
But Iris knew that Philip was definitely no ordinary person.
Although she had never been one to care about such things, as she interacted with him, she nevertheless found the man unusual.
Upon hearing the others ridiculing him, she couldn’t help but retort, “How are you so sure that he’s poor?”
—
Iris remembered now.
At that time, after she said that, she had vaguely seen a familiar figure in the distance that disappeared when she looked more closely.
She hadn’t paid the matter much attention at the time, much less known that her few words with her friends had affected Philip so much.
He had been pretending to be a pauper so that he could find a girlfriend who truly loved him, but he didn’t expect that Iris had actually seen through him.
This became Iris’ sin, as well as a hurdle that Philip couldn’t overcome all this time.
For so many years, he had been asking himself something: Why on earth had Iris entered a relationship with him in the first place?
It must be because she could tell that he was not really a poor lad, right?
So, what Iris loved was actually his money?
Well, that made sense. His family was ranked among the top five richest families around the world. It was just like how his mother had married his father because of his money.
When he was five, his mother’s infidelity had been discovered.
When his pained and agonized father demanded an explanation from her, his mother had instead screamed, “Who do you think you are? If you weren’t rich, I would never have married you!”
She had said a lot of nasty things. In the end, his father had killed her.
After killing his mother, his father had looked at him and told him this: “Don’t ever expose your wealth to anyone. Only the woman who loves you for who you are truly loves you.”
After that, his father had committed suicide.
He simply couldn’t bear the pain of his mother’s betrayal, so he had ultimately chosen the easiest way to resolve everything.
Philip, who had been an orphan since he was a child, had long known that the people around him only treated him well because he was rich.
Take, for example, his uncles in the family. They openly and secretly fought over the right to raise him, but he had overheard them saying in private that whoever raised him would be able to get their hands on the family’s money.
At that time, he had locked himself in a room all by himself. At last, he told his uncles that he didn’t need anyone to raise him and that he could grow up by himself.
Since then, the only thing he trusted in this world was profits. He didn’t believe in love—
Until he met Iris in college.
He loved her, just like how his father had loved his mother.
However, he didn’t dare to trust her, so he’d kept his family background a secret from her the whole time.
This continued until the end when she came to him and said that she knew he had money, and asked him to give her $80,000 so that she could pay for her mother’s medical fees…
Her mother’s medical fees?
At that time, Philip had suddenly thought, if she had to choose between her mother and him… If she stayed with him even if he couldn’t produce any money; then it would mean that she truly loved him.
He would not refuse to have her mother’s illness treated.
The moment she chose him, her mother would receive the best medical treatment in the world.
Unfortunately, she had ultimately still disappointed him.
For the sake of money, she’d even agreed to marry into the Hunts.
As Philip thought about all these past events, he felt like his sadness and heartbreak from that moment had resurfaced. His grip on Iris’ shoulders tightened even further, as though he wanted to break her shoulder blades.
He said angrily, “You know what? You’re the one who made me believe that love would never exist!”
Iris didn’t move, nor did she frown.
The delicate woman did not make even a sound. Instead, she endured the pain in her shoulders and said, “Love does exist, it’s just that the two of us didn’t pass the test.”
Philip sneered, “Yeah, right. Love has always been a sham! Iris, there’s not a single decent woman in this world! Not you, not your daughter-in-law! Ha, your son said that I shouldn’t have put love to the test so many times, but what about him? He didn’t do so, but didn’t his fiancée still cheat on him in the end? So, women are all heartless!”
However, Iris said, “The love between Justin and Nora does not need to be put to any tests. She will never cheat!”
“She won’t?” Philip said, “Everyone already knows about her infidelity, yet you are still so sure that she won’t cheat on Justin? Should I say that you are stupid, or should I say that you’re just refusing to believe the truth? I’ve even found her adulterer for you!”
Philip grinned and laughed. “Look, Iris, aren’t I nice to you? But what gives a woman like you the right to hurt me again and again?! Damn you! All women should die! Especially pretty ones!”
He suddenly stretched out his arm and grabbed Iris’ neck. A sharp gleam shot forth from his eyes as he said, “I have wanted to kill you for so many years. Once I kill you, I won’t be in so much pain anymore, yet I can’t bear to. Iris, I can’t bear to lose the love between us… but now, I understand—love doesn’t exist at all! Ordinary couples do not have the luxury to cheat because they have to work themselves to the bone for survival. As for the wealthy, how many married couples among them are truly in love?
“Therefore, the word ‘love’ is a huge joke in itself! My father shouldn’t have committed suicide back then—because it’s not worth it!”
The more Philip spoke, the more agitated he became. His grip also became tighter, as if he wanted to break Iris’ neck. He said, “So, once I kill you, I will be freed and I will never believe in love again. Hahaha… Don’t worry, after I kill you, I will also kill your daughter-in-law so that your son will also understand how hateful she is! Because all women who betray love deserve to die!”
The hysterical man’s voice was hoarse as he shouted at the top of his lungs. As he spoke, his grip around Iris’ neck became even tighter, and murderous intent and hatred also burst forth from his eyes.
For how much he loved her all these years was also how much he hated her.
The love and hate did not disappear with the passage of time. Instead, they slowly fermented and became more and more intense…
In this instant, Philip felt like all his years of persistence and concessions were just a joke!
Kill Iris.
I will never believe that love exists.
Those were the only thoughts left in his mind.
The woman he was strangling grabbed his hand with both hands and hit it hard. Her nails scratched the back of his hand, yet he didn’t let go.
Until she slowly stopped moving…
Right at this moment, the door was suddenly pushed open and Jason walked in. With his cell phone in hand, he looked at Philip anxiously and said, “Boss, Justin Hunt has held a press conference and clarified everything—all of this is a misunderstanding! It turns out that it was really Nora Smith and Justin Hunt who were in the suburban villa! And Q… is Nora Smith!”
“…”
Philip was stunned.
He lowered his head subconsciously, only to see that the woman in his grip had already stopped breathing…
—
—
“Justin, Nora. Philip and I have too much history that needs to be sorted out. I’ve left with him to see the world and also to say goodbye. Don’t look for me, I will come home once all our grievances have been resolved.”
In the Hunt Manor, the voice message rang out from Justin’s cell phone again.
Justin listened carefully to the information inside.
Nora sat next to him nervously. “Is Iri… I mean, Aunt Iris really okay? Did Philip force her to say that?”
Justin clenched his jaw and carefully analyzed the voice message. “You can tell from her tone of voice, it doesn’t seem like she was forced to say that. Also, you can tell from the sounds in the background that they are near the sea, which means that they have already left the city.”
With a sullen look on his face, he slowly analyzed the message and said, “You can also hear clock bells in the background. Although it is very subtle, it’s still audible. The time is also correct, so she shouldn’t be in danger.”
Despite saying that, he still called Sean over and ordered, “Put aside all your current tasks and find Mom! If she doesn’t want to come back, then stay by her side. If she wants to go home, then take her home!”
After speaking, Justin narrowed his eyes and suddenly added, “If necessary, you may reveal your identity!”
Sean replied, “Yes, sir!”
After Sean left, when Nora was about to comfort Justin, Cherry suddenly rushed over and shouted, “Mommy, quick, come over and have a look! Another of Xander’s rabbits has died!”
Nora and Justin stood up abruptly, and the two walked straight to Xander’s room.
Xander, who seemed to have already become accustomed to it, was looking down at the animals in the cage.
Nora sighed silently.
The animals had all been injected with V15. Without the V16, all that awaited them was death.
Additionally, animals had shorter dosage intervals than humans, ranging from a few days to two weeks.
Recently, of the dozen or so animals that Trueman had sent, five had already died.
Xander squatted down and stroked the rabbit’s fur lightly. He said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you guys soon.”
His one-liner made Nora’s heart ache sharply.
Xander knew… He knew everything!!
During the recent period of time, Nora hadn’t actually bothered herself much with the Hunts’ mess. Instead, she had been trying hard to look for clues of the V16 for Xander every day.
However, despite searching through all the things that her mother had left behind, she still didn’t find anything.
After comforting Xander, Nora and Justin went out.
A sullen Nora put on her earphones.
Playing in the earphones was the one and only audio recording her mother had left her.
Recently, Nora had been listening to the recording every day. She could already do a complete replication of Yvette’s words right down to her tone of voice, yet she still couldn’t find any clues.
She felt very discouraged and thwarted.
She sighed deeply and returned to Justin’s bedroom.
Playing in the earphone was still the same audio recording that her mother had left her before she died.
She was feeling very down, so she simply lay down on her back on the bed and closed her eyes.
Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
In the middle of the night.
All of a sudden, Nora opened her eyes wide and sat upright on the bed. A look of surprise and enthusiasm suddenly burst forth from her eyes!
She finally understood what her mother had left behind!
