Chapter 400 - 388: Just the Thought Is Thrilling

Rosalind was standing on his left, dressed in a long white gown. When the sea breeze blew, the skirt fluttered lightly, and her long jet-black hair lifted gently with the wind.

The faint, pleasant mint scent of her shampoo drifted over with her hair, bringing a soft, fresh fragrance.

Lorelei was standing on his right, in a black fishtail dress, dignified and elegant, poised and generous. Even her smile seemed perfectly measured.

Rosalind said, "Lorelei, I really, really like Soren. Honestly, if you were even just a little bit less, I would have gone all out to chase him. But you are truly exceptional."

"You are worthy of being Soren’s wife, worthy of being Madam Johnson. And if it were me, I might not do as well as you. So I choose to let go. Loving someone doesn’t necessarily mean you have to possess them. As long as Soren is doing well, I’m content."

"Besides, my family, my background, my morals, my bottom line, they all won’t allow me to do something that would destroy someone else’s family. No matter what, I’ve genuinely been very happy these past few days."

"All these years, I’ve been searching through the vast sea of people for that most compatible soulmate. But so many years have gone by, and I never found them. I even once thought I never would, and I never imagined I’d end up meeting them in a way like this."

"It’s good. This is good. At least I’ve met him, and I know now that there really is such a person in this world, such a soul that matches mine. That’s enough. All right, we’re getting off the cruise tomorrow. Let’s part ways here. I wish you both happiness! You must grow old together!"

When Rosalind finished saying this, both Soren Johnson and Lorelei were stunned.

Neither of them had expected Rosalind to be the first one to call an end.

And the one who found it hardest to accept was Soren Johnson.

After all, he was the richest man in the Capital Circle; all sorts of women were desperately trying to climb into his bed to seduce him, and never once had a woman taken the initiative to walk away like this.

He even briefly suspected that maybe he’d gotten old, that he’d lost his personal charm, that he wasn’t as attractive as those young guys anymore.

Lorelei’s expression darkened slightly; she took a deep breath and slowly let it out, walking over to Rosalind with a sense of relief.

She tightly clasped Rosalind’s hand and spoke. "Rosalind, thank you. Thank you for being able to do this. I truly didn’t expect it. In fact, I already talked with Soren yesterday, and I was also intending to step away."

"But I didn’t expect that today you’d take the initiative to ask the two of us to have this conversation. As a mother, as a wife, one will fight with everything one has to protect one’s family."

"But as a woman, as a clear-headed woman, I know this: wanting a man, especially a man like Soren, to spend his entire life devoted to just one woman is, frankly, a bit of a luxury."

"Given the position he’s in, the identity he has, it’s inevitable that he’ll sometimes have to play along in social situations. What I fear most is that, in this lifetime, he’ll meet another woman who really makes his heart race."

"And when that time comes, he might abandon his family, his responsibilities, everything, for that woman. To be honest, love like that is rare, but it does exist, and it can happen."

"I’ve imagined this scenario countless times, but I never thought it would actually happen on the vacation trip for our fifteenth wedding anniversary. It’s really quite ironic when you think about it. But luckily, the person we met was you, Rosalind. Thank you."

Lorelei held Rosalind’s hand tightly, truly, deeply grateful.

When she finished speaking, she took off her own coat and draped it over Rosalind’s thin dress.

"Lorelei, what are you thanking me for? You really don’t need to. My very presence already carried the possibility of me becoming the third party who destroys your family. Instead, you made me even more certain that my decision is the right one. I didn’t expect you would take the initiative to talk to Mr. Johnson about this, and I never expected you would say you wanted to withdraw."

"And I’m actually someone who hates trouble the most. I’m destined not to be the kind of matriarch suitable for a successful man like Mr. Johnson. I hate it when my man has to put on a show outside, and I hate even more when his side is constantly surrounded by all those flirty women."

These last few words of Rosalind’s seemed to be addressed to Lorelei, but in reality they were meant for Soren Johnson standing nearby.

Hearing this, Soren finally felt completely at ease, because he knew that given his identity, there was no way he could avoid occasions where he had to play along.

It was also destined that his side could never be free of all those flirtatious women.

Business talks, negotiations, banquets—it was always like that.

Because Lorelei came from The Reed Family, from a powerful clan, she knew this sort of thing all too well. For so many years she had chosen to turn a blind eye.

In that moment, Soren also felt even more grateful for the efforts of his wife, Lucy Reed.

Originally, everything had already reached a point where it could have come to a close.

None of the three of them expected that something would happen that very day.

Soren Johnson had fought his way in the Capital Circle for so many years, and on the road to becoming the richest man, it was inevitable he’d offend some people and make many enemies.

Usually, while they were in the country, those people never found the right opportunity to strike.

The cruise ship had been sailing at sea, traveling for three days and three nights.

They completed a round of natural sightseeing and then docked at Veridia, in Gryndorn.

After arriving in Gryndorn, Rosalind, Lorelei, and Soren Johnson had originally planned to go their separate ways.

But just as they disembarked, they were knocked out and abducted by a group of people.

By the time the three of them woke up again, they were already locked in a dark underground basement.

Those men were thugs hired by people back home.

All they wanted was money—and lives.

They planned to get the money first, then take their lives.

The domestic enemies had given the order that the targets must die, that the two of them would never be able to return home.

And all of this was aimed at Soren Johnson and Lorelei.

Only because of Lorelei’s coat did that group of people end up grabbing the wrong person.

They mistook Rosalind for Lorelei.

Lorelei tried desperately to explain: "You grabbed the wrong person, I’m Lorelei, you’ve got to stop!"

"I’m begging you, stop!"

"Don’t hit her!"

In the end, Lorelei begged with everything she had, but those men still wouldn’t let Rosalind go.

"You fucking bitch, you’re the one screeching nonstop and giving me a headache. Someone knock her out for me. This woman must be Lorelei’s assistant."

"Yeah, she’s definitely not Lorelei."

The more Lorelei pleaded, the more they became convinced Rosalind was the real Lorelei.

The thugs also thought Lorelei was too noisy, so they just knocked her out.

By the time Soren Johnson woke up, Lorelei was still unconscious on the floor.

Rosalind had already been beaten beyond recognition, and even had one of her fingers cut off.

"President Johnson, you’re finally awake. Truly a big shot—you really can keep your cool. These two women came around long ago, and you’re the last one to wake up. Perfect, we’re already done with our work."

"See this finger? I personally sliced it off your wife’s hand. It’s still warm. Here, take your time and feel it. See how much this one finger is worth?"

"And while we’re at it, you can buy the remaining nine fingers too. Of course, you can choose not to pay. In that case, we’ll just have some fun and chop off all her fingers. Mm, just thinking about it is thrilling, just thinking about it is beautiful."

Soren Johnson stared at Rosalind lying on the ground, hanging by a thread, and felt as if every drop of blood in his body froze in that moment.

He’d lived most of his life, and had never hurt this much for anyone.

"You bastards! I’ll kill you!"

A dark, murderous aura rose all over him, like a Devil about to awaken from Hell, terrifying to behold.

His eyes were filled with killing intent.

And that scene only made those thugs even more certain that Rosalind was Soren Johnson’s wife, Lorelei.

"Well? What do you say, guys, huh? Look at our President Johnson, how anxious he is—we definitely didn’t get the wrong person. This woman is Mrs. Johnson, Lorelei."

Soren Johnson knew that trying to explain now would be pointless, so he cut straight to the point.

"Tell me, what exactly do you want? Money? How much? Just name a figure."

"Good, that’s our President Johnson—got guts. Not much, President Johnson, don’t worry, we’ll leave you a little. We only want nine-tenths of everything you own."

The ringleader of the thugs heard this and clapped in satisfaction.

"You’re dreaming!"

Soren Johnson hadn’t expected this gang to make such an outrageous demand.

"Dreaming? Hahahahaha, did you all hear that, guys? President Johnson says we’re dreaming. Great, then tonight we’ll have ourselves a beautiful, beautiful dream."

"Here’s how I see it: no need to be polite with President Johnson, let’s just get started. Hahahahaha!"

In the end, Soren Johnson refused to pay, and Rosalind really did have all ten fingers hacked off, one by one.

By the time the three of them were rescued, Rosalind had already been tortured to the point where she only had one breath left in her.

Soren Johnson gathered the best medical resources in the world to treat Rosalind.

Lorelei stayed with them the entire time. She genuinely had a feeling that she really might not be able to stop the two of them anymore.

No, she didn’t even have the right to stop the two of them.

After all, it was that coat she’d worn that morning that made those thugs decide Rosalind was her.

All ten fingers had been forcibly cut off!

Ten fingers are linked to the heart!

What kind of suffocating agony must that be!

Lorelei truly felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

Yet even at this point, Rosalind still firmly rejected Soren Johnson.

After Rosalind’s body recovered, on the day before she was discharged, Soren Johnson made her a promise.

Lorelei stood outside the door, listening.

Soren Johnson said that as long as Rosalind was willing, he would take care of her for the rest of his life.

At that moment, Lorelei could no longer control herself; pressed tightly against the wall, her body slowly slid down, inch by inch.