CHAPTER 167: CHAPTER 167: WHAT IS LOST IS FOREVER LOST

Matthew Sutton didn’t think there was any problem with what he said.

The Hawthorne Family is vast and wealthy.

They aren’t short on money.

Moreover, the engagement between Serena Sutton and Declan Hawthorne, although not yet finalized, is well known within the Sutton Family.

Serena’s hand trembled, suppressing her anger.

"Declan Hawthorne is already married, did you know that? I don’t want to marry him at all!"

Matthew truly didn’t know about Declan’s marriage.

But upon hearing it, he didn’t take it seriously.

"No problem, sis. Doesn’t the Hawthorne Family have three sons? Besides the one from Third Master Hawthorne’s household, there are two more, pick one."

"Matthew!"

Serena simply couldn’t believe that such shameless words could come out of Matthew’s mouth.

Matthew fiddled with his ear.

"What? The Hawthorne Family hasn’t said anything, so why are you questioning me?"

"Where did you get that gaming data from?"

Matthew’s eyes rolled slightly.

"Got it from someone named Poppy Hale."

"Evidence?"

Matthew sneered, "I can’t give you any evidence, sis. I do have some integrity, you know?"

During the game plagiarism, he never mentioned his integrity.

Serena glared angrily at Matthew.

"The Hawthorne Family is already investigating you. Handle this wisely. If it blows up, I can’t protect you."

After saying this, she turned and left Matthew’s company.

After she left, Matthew’s previously indifferent heart suddenly tightened.

He opened his phone and dialed an unsaved number.

A woman’s voice came from the other side.

"Didn’t I tell you not to call me unless it’s urgent?"

"I wanted to ask, you said before to push everything onto this Poppy Hale, and the Hawthorne Family won’t hold us accountable? They can’t be that stupid, right?"

"What are you afraid of? The most urgent thing is to have Finn Young speak for us. She has too many fans. As long as she says she works with our company, the Hawthorne Family’s game won’t cause much of a stir."

The person added, "Matthew, you seek fortune amidst danger. Are you in or not? You don’t want to just be a bum at home, right?"

"Rachel Rivers, don’t you dare provoke me. We’re in this together. If I go down, you won’t get away either."

Rachel snorted coldly and hung up the phone.

Whether wealthy or not, she didn’t care.

All she cared about was making sure Poppy Hale’s reputation was utterly destroyed in this world.

-

Matthew’s gaming company soon released news online that Finn Young was an employee in their art department.

Finn hadn’t logged in yet, and the comment section was filled with insults towards her.

Some of Finn’s fans were waiting for her to respond.

Finn’s account showed online.

A moment later, she posted a "?"

"I do have a job. My main field is jewelry, yet I don’t recall joining your esteemed company."

Behind the scenes, Matthew’s side frantically sent messages to Finn.

It was nothing more than inviting her to join, offering her generous compensation.

Poppy Hale sent out a screenshot.

"If being rejected after an invitation is equivalent to being employed, then I’m also unilaterally inviting Laurence Graff and Stephen Coleman to join my company."

Laurence Graff and Stephen Coleman are world-class jewelry design masters.

Since her debut, Florence rarely posted such emotionally charged statements online.

Soon her fans pushed this onto the trending lists.

"Just found out our Finn is actually so humorous!"

"Look at me, I’m a postgraduate in Earth Sciences Jewelry Design, just graduated. Could Finn give me a job opportunity?"

Finn replied to this comment, "DM me your resume."

Other bystanders: ?

Wherever talented people go, they excel.

Even eating popcorn can turn into a job-seeking scene.

You can find a job and also get to work with a big shot in the art circle, it’s amazing!

Meanwhile elsewhere.

Matthew looked at Finn’s ungrateful remarks and punched the computer.

He called Rachel Rivers.

"What do we do now? Who is this person who dares to go head-to-head with me?"

"She has so many fanatic fans. It’s perfect to leverage them to attack Poppy Hale and divert their attention."

Matthew thought about it, and it was indeed a good outlet.

He put a lot of effort into guiding those fans to start cyberbullying Poppy Hale.

As long as they believe it’s Poppy who leaked game secrets causing Finn’s undue distress, they will channel their attacks towards Poppy.

They won’t have energy left to care about the company’s shenanigans.

-

At the bar.

Allen Shaw sat next to Declan Hawthorne with a drink.

"It’s clear now, that gaming company indeed belongs to Matthew Sutton, a worthless second-generation rich kid from the Sutton Family who just plays games all day long."

"It’s hard to say who provided him the game data, but I’m sure it wasn’t Serena."

Declan Hawthorne glanced lightly at Allen Shaw.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Serena isn’t that kind of person. She has plenty of shortcuts available but still works diligently under you as a staff."

The light shone through the glass, casting colorful shadows on Declan’s face.

"The shortcuts you mentioned, wouldn’t be yourself, right?"

Allen Shaw shrugged noncommittally.

"Am I not?"

His eyes were filled with undisguised melancholy and openness after rejection.

"She said we weren’t suitable. She wants to work hard on her own, didn’t want to be a rich wife. What can I do but respect her?"

"So what is your relationship now?"

"Friends, in a limbo state."

Allen Shaw took a sip of his drink.

"I wasn’t thinking much about marriage or not marrying but when she brought it up, I can’t say my intention to be with her isn’t about marriage. Who wants to get married so early? It’s boring."

Initially, Allen just wanted to try it out, have a romance.

After all, Serena is quite cute, with a good look and personality; she’s like an adorable little deer.

As Declan Hawthorne said, Allen Shaw likes this type.

But Serena wasn’t willing.

Declan Hawthorne reached out, the wedding ring on his finger glittered brightly.

Blinded Allen Shaw’s eyes for a moment.

He reached out to shield his eyes and saw Declan pick up the coat beside him, put it on, and leave.

"I’m heading home now, my wife is waiting for me at home."

Allen Shaw: "?"

Being married is such a big deal, huh!

-

After leaving the bar,

Declan Hawthorne didn’t rush to the parking lot.

He walked alone to the roadside, entering a flower shop.

The man stood silhouetted amongst the bouquets, carefully selecting the right flowers, his tall figure in a structuring coat, as if he had walked out of a painting.

A few college girls, with blushing faces, approached Declan Hawthorne to ask for his contact information.

He was taken aback at first, then showed them the ring on his finger.

"I’m already married. My wife would be jealous."

The female students, a bit disappointed, soon left, playfully teasing each other nearby.

Listening to their chatter, Declan felt a bit dazed for a moment.

He remembered the past, how spirited Poppy Hale was beside him when they dated, like a chattering sparrow.

In his younger years, he didn’t understand those emotions.

Thinking back now, it wasn’t that he found Poppy too noisy; he was worried others might hear her spirited chatter.

He was concerned that someone else, like him, might want to cage this free-spirited sparrow.

His heart felt a bit empty.

The Poppy Hale from back then would never return to his side.

What’s lost is forever lost.