Chapter 630

The rest of the Rowlands were hemmed in by an irate crowd, unable to make their way out.

Marissa caught sight of Tessa and felt her blood boiling. “What a mess!” she spat, her face a mask of displeasure.

Tessa, for her part, felt as if the sky had come crashing down. She clung desperately to Andrew. Her body was on the verge of collapse. She should have passed out, and she cursed her lucidity, all too aware that the Rowlands were teetering on the brink of ruin.

It wasn’t just the loss of hundreds of millions in capital–it was their reputation on the line!

Tears streamed down her face, and she couldn’t fathom how things had come to this.

The radio droned on with reporters‘ live updates and public opinion of the Rowlands sinking to rock bottom. The Rowlands‘ shares had halved in less than two hours, and billions in market value had evaporated.

Tessa was a wreck, clutching Andrew like a lifeline, too afraid to show her pain and vulnerability lest she draw the ire of the other Clements in the car.

Her teeth bit into her lip so hard she tasted blood. Her eyes were bloodshot as if she might faint at any moment. Still, she was too aware. Tears were falling nonstop, and her lips were raw with wounds.

Andrew took her back to the Clements‘ home, and after they both showered, Tessa sat on his bed weeping. “Andrew, what do we do? Is this the end for us? Who did this? Who could have-”

She was torn between crying and fear, terrified of losing Andrew, too. What would she do if even he turned his back on her?

Her family couldn’t be saved, not even if the Clements were willing to donate thirty billion. The Rowlands were beyond salvation.

Andrew reached for a towel to wipe her hair, knowing full well that this was the result of the Rowlands‘

own inaction. Zaiden’s mistakes were forever etched in shame, and now the public loathed the Rowlands to the bone. Come morning, their stocks would likely plummet to a halt.

The Rowlands‘ name would probably be stricken in the annals of Beaconsfield’s elite.

A company that crossed the public’s red line was not one to rise again. By nightfall, the government would probably send police to thoroughly investigate the Rowlands‘ hospitals.

Andrew reached out, intending to comfort Tessa. She trembled in his arms, never having imagined the Rowlands‘ fall, especially not at such a dizzying pace.

All she had left was Andrew. She had to hold on to him. This thought spurred her to action. She pulled Andrew’s collar down and kissed him.

Somehow, she found the strength to push him onto the bed, climbing on top herself. “Andrew, -12-00 you won’t abandon me, right? Will you still marry me?”

Before Andrew could react, Tessa was ready to undress.

Breathless, Andrew pushed her away. “Tessa, calm down for a second.”

“How can I calm down? The Rowlands are gone, Marissa is disgusted with me, the other Clements have turned against me, and I’ve lost everything. You’re all I have, Andrew. Please don’t leave me, okay?”

Once, she had held her head high, expecting Andrew to woo her, but now, she couldn’t afford to be proud. If Andrew would marry her, she’d do anything he asked.

If she couldn’t be the respected Ms. Rowland, at least she’d be the wife of the Clements Corporation’s CEO. She couldn’t bear the thought of life among the lower classes, of facing disdain wherever she went.

She had to marry Andrew.

“Please, I’ll have your child, Andrew. Please, just say yes,” she begged, her voice hoarse with tears.

She had thought she had it all–love, career, a bountiful life–only for it to be cruelly snatched away.

Everything was over.

Trembling, she undid her clothes, baring herself, her eyes pleading with Andrew.