Chapter 545 - 538: If a Woman Isn’t Ruthless, Her Status Is Unstable

At these words, Mrs. Hawthorne clapped. "That’s wonderful, Zoe! Now that you and Herman are back together, a huge weight has finally been lifted from my shoulders. Tell me, who else would want our Herman besides you?"

Herman Hawthorne’s mouth twitched. ’Am I really that much of a reject?’

Zoe Ellsworth smiled brightly. "You have a point, Mom. I guess I’ll just have to be the one to take him off your hands."

Mrs. Ellsworth nodded. "You two are getting remarried tomorrow. We should host a small banquet to celebrate. My Zoe is finally getting married again. How about this? You two go out for a stroll, and we old folks can have a good chat. It’s been a few days since we’ve all gotten together."

Herman Hawthorne took her hand. "Alright."

After they walked out the door, Zoe Ellsworth looked up to find the sky full of stars and a bright, crescent moon. A gentle breeze blew, messing up her hair.

Herman Hawthorne stopped, took the hair tie from her wrist, and stood behind her to tie up her long hair.

"It wasn’t easy to get this feeling back."

Zoe Ellsworth huffed. "As long as you know. I’m not someone just anyone can marry."

He seized the opportunity to wrap his arm around her waist. "I know. That’s why I said I’m no ordinary man—I managed to marry a big shot like you. So, darling, where to now?"

"Quivering Lips."

Those two words revealed her intentions. But whatever she wanted to do, he would support her wholeheartedly.

"Alright."

When they arrived at Quivering Lips, Ruby could hardly believe her eyes when she saw the two of them walk in together.

"Miss Ellsworth, Young Master Hawthorne, how did you two..."

Zoe Ellsworth laughed. "Are you not happy to see us, Ruby?"

Ruby quickly denied it. "Of course not! I wouldn’t dare. It’s just... seeing you two arrive together is, frankly, a rare sight."

"Alright, get us a private room. We’re getting remarried tomorrow, so naturally, we’ve come here to have some fun."

Hearing this, Ruby beamed. "Congratulations, Miss Ellsworth and Young Master Hawthorne. I’ll arrange a room for you right away. Please, follow me."

The couple followed Ruby to the second floor and into a private room. Once inside, Zoe Ellsworth said, "Ruby, I heard you’ve hired some new waitresses recently. Could you bring them here for me to take a look?"

Ruby’s heart skipped a beat. After a moment’s thought, she said, "Miss Ellsworth, did one of the waitresses do something to upset you? Don’t worry, just tell me, and I’ll discipline her on your behalf."

"I want to handle this myself. Ruby, bring those new hires over immediately."

Ruby didn’t dare ask any more questions and quickly left the room.

Suddenly, the two of them were alone in the room.

"I can’t tolerate even a hint of trouble. It’s one thing if I don’t know about it, or if it doesn’t concern me. But now that we’re getting remarried, this matter has to be resolved. If she... comes looking for you again and I deal with her, will you feel sorry for her?"

Herman Hawthorne’s gaze was serene. "Not at all."

"That’s good to hear."

No sooner had she spoken than the door was pushed open and several young women walked in.

Zoe Ellsworth immediately spotted the woman from the surveillance video. She stood up, pointed at her, and said to Ruby, "You can take the others and go. This one stays."

Ruby nodded and led the other women out.

"Do you know who I am?"

The woman nodded. "I do. You’re Zoe Ellsworth."

"Then do you know what my relationship is with Young Master Hawthorne?"

"You... are Young Master Hawthorne’s ex-wife."

Zoe Ellsworth smiled. "As of tomorrow, I’ll be his wife again. So tell me, what exactly did you think you were doing? Drugging him, adding Bianca Rhodes’s number to his phone, and even saving her as ’Sweetheart’?"

The woman seemed to be in disbelief that Zoe Ellsworth had found out.

"I... I didn’t do it."

"Didn’t do it? Are you saying the surveillance footage is fake?"

The woman was dumbfounded. She knew there were cameras in the hallway, but she had no idea there were cameras in the room as well.

’Aren’t cameras forbidden in the rooms?’

Zoe Ellsworth rose and walked over to the woman. "Why so quiet all of a sudden?"

The woman stammered, "I... I..."

"Believe it or not, I can have you thrown in jail in minutes."

"I believe you." She wrung her hands, looking extremely anxious.

"Now, I’m going to ask you to do one thing. If you agree, I’ll let you go immediately and won’t press charges."

"What?" ’This can’t be anything good,’ she thought.

"Call Bianca Rhodes right now and tell her Young Master Hawthorne is here alone and completely wasted."

The woman instantly understood Zoe Ellsworth’s intentions. She nodded. "Alright, I’ll make the call."

In front of Zoe Ellsworth, the woman dialed Bianca Rhodes’s number. Upon hearing that Herman Hawthorne was alone and drunk at Quivering Lips, Bianca Rhodes immediately said she would come over herself.

A few minutes later, Zoe Ellsworth said to her, "You can go."

The woman quickly pulled the door open and ran out.

Zoe Ellsworth sat back down beside Herman Hawthorne and chuckled. "That Rhodes woman is incorrigible. No matter how many times you knock her down, she just keeps coming back for more trouble."

"Then teach her a lesson she’ll never forget."

Zoe Ellsworth gently placed a hand on her slightly swelling belly and let out a long sigh. "For the baby’s sake, I should try to accumulate some good karma. But after tonight, I guarantee she won’t dare pull these stunts again."

"What do you have planned?"

"It’s a trick that won’t kill her or even lay a finger on her. It’ll just disgust her so much that the lesson will stick with her for life."

Looking at her smile, Herman Hawthorne suddenly felt that something terrible was about to happen. Something utterly disgusting, most likely.

Ten-odd minutes later, the door was pushed open. And who should be standing there but Bianca Rhodes. The smile on her face vanished the instant she saw Zoe Ellsworth.

She closed the door and stepped forward. "Zoe Ellsworth, what are you doing here?"

"I was the one who had the waitress call you, so of course I’m here. Not only am I here, but I’m here to ask you to your face what you think you’re doing. Didn’t you get married and move abroad? Why are you back playing these underhanded games?"

"What I do is none of your business, is it? Besides, you’re nothing more than the mother of Herman’s unborn child right now. What right do you have to interfere in my life?"

Bianca Rhodes did not look well; she had dark circles under her eyes.

"You’re mistaken," Zoe Ellsworth replied. "Herman and I are getting remarried tomorrow. I will be his wife again, and he will be my husband. So, faced with a problem like you, don’t you think I ought to take care of it ahead of time?"

"So... what if you are? You got divorced once, which means you could get divorced again in the future..."

Hearing this, Herman Hawthorne’s face instantly darkened.

"Are you implying that we might get divorced again in the future because of you?"

"Who’s to say..."

Zoe Ellsworth gave a soft laugh. "So you’re saying you plan to keep popping up in our lives? And on top of that, you’re going to keep making trouble?"

"I didn’t say that. But I’m divorced now, so I’m not afraid of anything. I have nothing to lose, so why should I be afraid of you?"

"Excellent." Zoe Ellsworth nodded. "Not every homewrecker is so bold as to state their intentions out loud. But you should also know that I’m not someone to be trifled with. You remember what happened when you tried to piss on my head last time, right? Are you planning to take a shit on it now? Do you really think I’d just stay quiet and let a woman like you do whatever you want?"

Bianca Rhodes, of course, vividly remembered what Zoe Ellsworth was capable of. She was under no illusion that Zoe would remain idle if she continued down this path.

"Zoe Ellsworth, you need to remember you’re pregnant now. You have to set an example for your child."

"That’s why I just told Herman. First, I won’t kill anyone. And second, I won’t hit anyone."

Hearing this, Bianca Rhodes became even more wary. "Then... what will you do?"

"Don’t ask what I’ll do. You should be asking yourself what you’re going to do. If you stop this right now and swear to never interfere in our lives again, then I won’t do anything to you. But if you refuse to swear and insist on being stubborn, then I can’t help what happens next."

"Zoe Ellsworth, like I said, I have nothing to lose. I’m all alone now, with no child and no husband. I’m not afraid of anything."

"Fine. I said I wouldn’t hit you and I wouldn’t kill you. But I never said I wouldn’t torment you. Do you want to be the first person to try one of my little games? It’s going to be disgusting. I wonder if you’ll be able to stomach it."

"I have other things to do; I’m not going to waste my time here with you. You’d better watch yourself."

When she opened the door, Bianca Rhodes stumbled back a few steps.

Herman Hawthorne’s men were standing outside the door, and among them was Shea Rhodes—Bianca Rhodes’s own sister.

She whipped her head around to face Zoe Ellsworth. "Zoe Ellsworth, it’s illegal to hold me against my will! Call them off!"

It was only then that Herman Hawthorne spoke. "Call them off? Impossible. Tie her up."

The group of men quickly moved forward and tied Bianca Rhodes up securely.

Shea Rhodes didn’t make a move, but she took a large step forward. "Young Master Hawthorne, my sister... what exactly did she do wrong?"

"Your sister didn’t do anything wrong," Zoe Ellsworth cut in. "The biggest thing she did was stubbornly refuse to change, fantasizing that she can still get between me and my husband. You tell me, is that wrong? Shea Rhodes, how on earth did your mother raise her daughters? What kind of upbringing produces someone with such a twisted mindset, whose only goal is to be a homewrecker!"

Shea Rhodes was left speechless. She whirled around and stared angrily at her sister. "Sis, you promised me you wouldn’t go near Young Master Hawthorne again! Why are you still doing this?!"

"..." Bianca Rhodes said nothing. ’I’ll never tell anyone,’ she thought, ’but deep down, I still feel that when I was with Herman Hawthorne, he treated me better than anyone. He gave me whatever I wanted. It’s probably because I could never find that kind of affection from any other man that I keep trying, again and again, to get him back.’

"Sis, say something!"

"I don’t want to say anything. Shea Rhodes, if you’re still my sister, then go call the police."

’Of course, Shea Rhodes knew what calling the police implied. It meant she would have to leave Herman Hawthorne’s circle. Not only would she be fired, but the police wouldn’t even help her sister.’

’There was nothing to be gained from it.’

’Since there was no benefit, why would she do it?’

"I won’t do it!"