Rags to Riches

Chapter 15 Visiting Hingbrook Hills

"What a joke! Oh, you crack me up so much! So, you want to make it up to her, huh? How will you do it if you can't even put food on the table for yourself and need Vivian to support you!" Faye held her stomach and laughed so hard that she almost cried.

With a snort, she resumed, "You're even promising her the world? Hah! Do you think this is a romance movie or something? What an idiot!"

Vivian's blank gaze remained on Marcus for the longest time, as if they were strangers. She never imagined her docile husband would dare promise to give her a better life in public.

At once, a brilliant smile spread from one side of her cheek to the other.

In truth, she didn't expect much of Marcus. All she wanted was for him to be more ambitious like the other men out there.

"I'm happy as long as you work hard to prove yourself," she replied.

"Tsk! You spew such pretty promises, yet they're nothing more than empty words. I hear the Tender Moon necklace is getting auctioned right now. Didn't you want to give Vivian the world? Why don't you buy her that as a start?" someone cried out among the crowd.

Instantly, everyone's laughter grew more clamorous.

That was because Rowan, the world's top jewelry designer, had spent half his life designing the Tender Moon necklace. Thus, the lowest price it would get auctioned was almost a billion dollars.

There wasn't a single person in all of Cromford who could afford to buy a necklace at this price. Everyone was confident that a loser like Marcus was even less likely to afford it.

"Let's leave," Vivian murmured, not wanting to hear another sarcastic remark.

Yet, her eyes flickered with envy as she thought about the necklace in question. The Tender Moon necklace was every woman's dream, and she was no exception.

Part of her couldn't help but wonder which lucky girl would get to own it.

Of course, her subtle reaction didn't go unnoticed by Marcus.

…

Marcus received a call from Murray early the next day. It was to inform him that he had successfully acquired all the villas on Hingbrook Hills.

"How much did you spend in total?" he asked out of curiosity. He didn't mind spending the money, but he wanted to see how efficient Murray could be.

"It cost us five billion in total, sir," Murray replied before gulping.

He had been spending ridiculous sums like it was nothing ever since he officially became the middleman between the Pantheon of the Drakon and Luke.

"That's not bad." Marcus nodded satisfactorily, knowing it was likely difficult to convince the wealthy residents of Hingbrook Hills' villas to sell their homes.

To him, spending five billion dollars to acquire those properties in a day was decently efficient.

After the call ended, Vivian came into Marcus' room.

"Marcus, could you go somewhere with me later?" she asked.

…

Some time passed when Marcus drove Vivian out in a car. "Who are we picking up, honey?"

He initially wanted to take his motorcycle, but she insisted on a car as they needed to pick up someone.

"We're getting my older cousin, Zoe, and her husband from the airport. It's one of those rare chances where they've returned to the country for a few days, so we should welcome and take care of them properly," came Vivian's response while she looked out of the window.

"Z-Zoe Zimmerman?" Marcus clicked his tongue, knowing that Zoe had a superiority complex. She utterly despised him, and ridiculed him whenever she could in the past.

Now, just the thought of her incessant yapping made his temples ache.

…

Half an hour later, the two arrived at the airport.

"Vivian, I'm here!" Zoe pushed past the crowd and finally arrived before Vivian.

Beside her was a man in a suit whose hair was slicked back. She then introduced them to each other. "Vivian, this is my husband, Henry Colewood—and darling, this is my younger cousin, Vivian Lorimer!"

"Hello," Henry greeted them enthusiastically, his eyes sparkling as it was his first time meeting a beauty like Vivian.

"Hi," Vivian replied with a polite nod. "This is my … husband, Marcus Coleman."

Henry didn't bother greeting Marcus. Instead, he whipped his head around to speak with Zoe. "Oh? Is this the live-in son-in-law named Marcus you keep mentioning, darling?"

"Mmhmm! Ignore him." Zoe shot a sideways glare at Marcus before chatting with Vivian. "Please don't tell me that loser is still jobless. Gosh, Vivian! I don't understand why you even married that useless trash in the first place!"

Vivian's features creased awkwardly upon hearing that.

Even so, Zoe smugly chatted as she and the others walked ahead. "Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against you, Vivian. You may be prettier, but you're nowhere as fortunate as me in getting a husband. My man owns a chain grocery store in our current country of residence, Alvania. He even has over a hundred million dollars worth of assets! We've returned to the country for a vacation, but we're also here to observe the local economy. As a matter of fact, my husband plans to move part of his business here."

"Oh, it's not that big of a deal. It'll only be a small business. After all, men should provide for their partners and families." Henry put on a humble front while subtly glaring at Marcus. His eyes gleamed with disdain and jealousy. He blamed the gods for blessing Marcus, a loser, with such a gorgeous wife.

"Of course, Marcus is welcome to work in my company if he still doesn't have a job by then. However, I'm afraid he'll only qualify as a security guard, cleaner, or other similar positions since his education level is a tad underwhelming," Henry continued, his lustful gaze fixed on Vivian.

He believed the more he highlighted the latter's drawbacks, the more he would stand out as a man to Vivian.

As for Marcus, he glowered at the former from aside but did not say anything.

"Oh, right! Have you guys planned anything fun for this trip back to our country?" Vivian quickly changed the topic as she didn't want Marcus to feel awful.

This elicited a series of giggles from Zoe. Her eyes lit up as she boasted, "My husband knows the property caretaker of Hingbrook Hills. We plan to look around the villas today."

Everyone knew that only the top families in Cromford lived in Hingbrook Hills. Simply getting the chance to view the properties on that hill was already a massive honor.

Marcus stopped in his tracks when he heard that.