Chapter 52 Financially Free\u00a0<\/p>\n
Westhaven had river-view apartments, and Ayla\u2019s place was the penthouse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla said, \u201cIf you like it, just stay at my place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStaying over sometimes is fine.\u201d Halle took a sip of her wine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla was driving, so she didn\u2019t drink.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle drank about half a glass, then she told Ayla everything from the moment she saw Skyla -her expression, what she said, and how she shut her down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle said, \u201cSkyla\u2019s nose is so high in the air I\u2019m amazed she hasn\u2019t slammed into a wall. I\u2019ve dealt with my share of pretentious people, but she\u2019s easily one of the best. She and your ex- husband? Perfect match.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle watched Ayla\u2019s reaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wasn\u2019t sad or upset like last time at the racetrack. Ayla was pretty calm this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
that\u00a0<\/p>\n
Feeling bold, Halle kept going. \u201cI finally get why Troy treated you way. Maybe he\u2019s just not into normal people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla\u2019s expression suddenly changed. \u201cTroy\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle thought she accidentally poked Ayla\u2019s sore spot again and mentally scolded herself for bringing up that jerk and ruining the mood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the next second, Ayla said worriedly, \u201cHe might try to get back at you for Skyla!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle\u2019s first reaction wasn\u2019t fear of getting into trouble with the Winston Group; she was shocked. \u201cTroy would go that far for Skyla?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then she immediately felt like she\u2019d put her foot in her mouth again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy\u2019s family had mistreated Ayla, but he never stood up for her; he had been one of the people who hurt her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The comparison was devastating, and Ayla must have felt terrible hearing it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla nodded, completely convinced. \u201cHe would.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wasn\u2019t as upset as Halle imagined. Instead, she was already thinking of solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had an idea. \u201cThere\u2019s a charity gala tomorrow night at the House of Myur. Try to get an\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
invitation and come find me there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She paused. \u201cI\u2019ll try to keep you around Draven for a while, so people think you two are close. If Troy tries anything, they\u2019ll hesitate out of respect for Draven, and they\u2019ll know you\u2019re not an easy target. I\u2019ll also give Will a heads-up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It meant using Draven.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t know if he\u2019d be angry\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Ayla couldn\u2019t worry about that. Halle stood up for her, and she just wanted to do something to help. She didn\u2019t have the power to go against Troy, so she had to use Draven\u2019s name. If he made her pay for it later, she\u2019d deal with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle understood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy might cause her to lose a few deals, but she\u2019d probably get new ones because of Draven\u2019s influence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLast time we talked, you were trying hard to keep your distance from Draven. Now it sounds like you\u2019re pretty close?\u201d Halle looked curious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla replied, \u201cYou were out of town for the AI Summit on Monday, so I forgot to tell you. Draven is the mysterious CEO behind Storm Group. I\u2019ll be attending this charity event with him, mainly to brief him on the backgrounds of the guests.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle knew Ayla worked at Storm Group, but she\u2019d only known Draven as a big shot from Zheron.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWill didn\u2019t tell me this!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla replied, \u201cHe\u2019s making his official debut tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle got it. \u201cThen you definitely need a gown for that kind of event. Did you pick one? Let me see what you\u2019re wearing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla was already gorgeous, and at 5\u20198\u2033, she had a great figure. She should dress to impress-so she\u2019d remember how dazzling she truly was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla showed her the photos she took the day she bought the dress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle loved it. \u201cThe style looks perfect on you, but isn\u2019t the price a bit too cheap? Not even 20,000. Are you short on money?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla shook her head. \u201cLugiX made 200 million from your company. I\u2019m not broke.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
LugiX was something she developed before marriage. If she hadn\u2019t married, she would\u2019ve started a business with Halle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she had planned to be a full-time wife back then and stepped back, so Halle bought out her share, and LugiX had nothing to do with her anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
LugiX had become incredibly popular over the years. Halle made a fortune from it. Ayla never regretted it; she loved the R&D process, and Halle was better at the business side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla wasn\u2019t the type to splurge. 200 million could last her a lifetime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even after investing 100 million in Kaleb\u2019s gaming company, she still had half left. Add the 50 million alimony from Troy, plus a steady income now-she was financially free.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle looked confused. \u201cI didn\u2019t think LugiX would get this big. I made way too much off it-I wasn\u2019t about to forget you after I got rich. So I added a supplemental agreement. The buyout doesn\u2019t count anymore. The company gives you annual dividends. I mailed you the contract and the bank card. You\u2019ve gotten 1.5 billion over the past three years. You didn\u2019t know?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
H\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unwritten Feelings Drift by Austen 52 Chapter 52 Financially Free\u00a0 Westhaven had river-view apartments, and Ayla\u2019s place was the penthouse.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-retired-from-your-heart-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24487\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}