Chapter 582 Ryder sat on the ground after being beaten with one leg slightly bending, blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth.
Valeria had been outside the door, hearing the commotion, she barged in immediately.
She saw the two guys, one standing with knuckles clenched, the bandage on his hand turned crimson red, blood dripped on the floor, pretty hard to miss. The other one sat on the floor, though heâd been punched, his naturally aloof demeanor didnât make him look disheveled.
Ryderâs face was always that indifferent, almost fearless expression.
Valeria went over to Ryder first, helped him up, âYou knew he was ticked off, yet you still came to poke the bear, are you alright?â
Ryder wiped the blood from his mouth, got up, âIâve said my bit, consider this punch a payback for your past teachings and grooming, from now on, I wonât regard him as my uncle or my elder, letâs each mind our own business.â
And with that, Ryder made his exit, the room suddenly fell quiet.
Jared seemed to have finally cooled off, what remained was a boneâchilling cold.
Valeria sighed, pulled Jared down to sit, and fetched the firstâaid kit again, âYouâre not the Jared I know right now, the Jared I know wouldnât be this impulsive, becoming a slave to his emotions, your nephew was clearly baiting you. The moment you hit him, you lost the first battle. Heâs your protege, thereâs no way you didnât know that his real aim was to rile you up.â
Jaredâs gaze fell on his bloodâsoaked hand.
His brows knitted together, his eyes were somewhat vacant, he didnât utter a word, who knows what he was thinking.
Valeria bandaged up Jaredâs wound again, and said, âThe dumbest people in this world are those who hurt themselves to get anything, emotions included, and yet, you ended up emptyâhanded, if you want to beat your nephew, you need to play the long game.â
But Jared suddenly smirked, almost selfâmockingly said, âIâve already lost, and lost miserably, three years, he hid it from me for three whole years.â
Jaredâs last laugh was loaded with emotion.
Valeria had never seen this man so despairing.-
ValerÃa was silent for a moment, âNow that Agnes has shown up, do you want to reconsider the engagement?â
Theyâd been discussing getting engaged, thatâs true.
Apart from being the CEO of the Thomas Group, Valeria had been running a vineyard in France these years, the biggest investor of which were the Count and Countess Alexandra. Whenever she needed a plus one for various events, sheâd ask Jared for help. Over time, Count Alexandra mistook Jared as her boyfriend.
This wasnât a big deal actually.
The problem was, the grape harvest had been poor due to weather in recent years, so the products were not up to par. Plus the pressure from competitors, the Alexandras started thinking about pulling their investment. Valeria had been negotiating with them for a while.
Finally, they came up with a unique condition, if Mr. Whitfield would marry her, theyâd continue their investment, and even hand over their other wine distribution rights to her.
It seemed like a joke at the time, but the implication was deep.
Firstly, the Alexandras believed harmonious family relations would help longâterm business growth. Secondly, they were more interested in the support from the Tim Group, which Jared was affiliated with.
Now, the Tim Group was also delving into the wine business.
If Jared and Valeria join forces, the potential for the vineyard was incalculable.