Chapter 4

Dustin just smiled. Even though he knew it belonged to his family, he remained tight-lipped and kept his true identity a secret. 

"Yes, that necklace suits you, Karina. You're getting prettier." Dustin ignored Eri's words and preferred to focus on Karina's growing beauty. 

Hearing a compliment from Dustin for the first time made Karina misbehave. She smiled, trying to hide her heated cheeks.

Not out of love, but what woman wouldn't smile when complimented on her beauty by a man? Karina removed the necklace because she was not used to wearing fancy jewelry. 

"Why did you take it off?" Eri was inflamed. 

"It's uncomfortable. It's too heavy, and I feel uncomfortable wearing it." Karina put the necklace back into the box. 

"You're a fool not to want to wear it. It's a gift from Harry. You should cherish it." 

"No, Mother. Keep it." Karina gave the box into Eri's hands. 

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the house, which was open. They were all surprised to see an uninvited guest. The person Eri and Jake had been bragging about came to the house. 

"Ah, here he is. Harry, thank you. I'm very proud of you," said Jake, who warmly welcomed Harry's arrival by lightly hugging and patting the man's shoulder.

Eri also approached Harry while showing him the box contents in her hand. "We like this gift from you." 

Harry smiled happily despite his initial confusion and surprise at the gift. However, he thought that this was an excellent opportunity. 

Harry grinned. "Yes, I did give you the gift. It's good that you guys like it." 

Dustin shook his head while rolling both eyeballs. He cursed inwardly. What a liar! 

"Where did you buy that necklace? How much did it cost?" Dustin pretended not to know. 

"Just from the shape, it's obvious that it's not just any necklace. What does a poor person as you know about luxury goods? What a loser!" Harry was feeling high and mighty.

"How much?" Dustin urged Harry. 

Harry looked stunned. "Yeah, it's expensive. You won't be able to afford it." 

Dustin grinned. "That necklace is a very luxurious item; it could buy several luxury high-rises." 

Karina saw the confident look on Dustin's face. Does a man like him know about this jewel? Karina thought. 

"Stop being stupid. That's a costly item. You won't be able to buy a necklace like the one Harry gave you. Go wash your vegetables!" 

Harry looked at Dustin with a dismissive look. "At least I'm better than that guy." 

"Of course," Eri and Jake replied simultaneously. 

"You're better at everything than that useless guy!" Eri added. 

"Come on, come on in. Let's chat over a cup of coffee," Jake kindly invited Harry.

Karina chose to go back into the room because she hadn't finished putting on her makeup. Dustin, meanwhile, went into the kitchen to put away the vegetables. Dustin immediately washed the vegetables and put them in the refrigerator. 

"You're fit to be a housemaid," said Harry, suddenly behind Dustin. 

"I didn't ask for your opinion," Dustin replied casually. 

"Never mind, just let Karina go. She'll be my wife. I can make her happy," Harry half-whispered in Dustin's ear. 

"You look like a piece of trash. If you can date so many women, why would you want another married woman to be your wife?" Dustin spoke calmly. 

Dustin's words hit Harry hard. "At the very least, I can buy a luxurious gift for Karina. Not useless dust like you, who can only be a parasite that lives on." 

Dustin was angry at Harry's lie. "That's not a gift from you." 

"Whatever the gift from whoever, the fact is that they think it's a gift from me. And you know, a woman like Karina would be easy for me to get. She's no different from any other woman who's crazy about money. And I will make her happy because I can give her whatever she wants. Not like you!" 

Dustin's anger grew when he heard Karina being demeaned like that. He gave Harry a sharp look. "Shut that foul mouth of yours!" 

"What? Do you dare me? What can useless dust do to me? I'll get rid of you easily and turn you into dog food!" Harry threatened Dustin. 

"Think you can do that to me?" Dustin challenged Harry with confidence. 

Harry became even more inflamed. "Damn it!" He checked the situation around him, then pointed at Dustin's face. "I can eliminate a lowly man like you with just one flick." 

Dustin grinned, and at the same time, a call came in. It was from Albert. Dustin casually picked up the phone call and looked at Harry. "I give you one minute to put the Hopster family through hell." 

"If I succeed, will you come back?" Albert tried to negotiate with Dustin. 

"I'll think about it."

Albert nodded. "Okay, I'll do it, sir." 

Dustin grinned. "One minute from now." 

After saying that, Dustin hung up the phone. Harry's eyes flashed sharply. A moment later, Harry laughed crisply. 

"You just threatened me? What can you do in a minute, scum?" Harry shook his head, still laughing. 

"Before you do anything to me, I'll ensure you get destroyed first." Dustin grinned again and walked away from Harry. 

Harry snorted in annoyance. "How arrogant. Useless dust like you, how dare you threaten me with such a ridiculous thing." 

Harry reached into his pants pocket when he heard the phone call. It was his father. Harry's eyes widened perfectly, listening to the voice from the other side. "What? The company's shares have suddenly taken a nose dive?" 

"That's impossible!" Harry looked at Dustin with trembling eyes.

What kind of unlucky coincidence was going on right now? Harry couldn't believe that Dustin was the cause. 

Dustin folded his arms across his chest. "You're freaking out right now. Are you surprised, scum?" 

Harry ignored Dustin's words and insults. He panicked and rushed home without even saying goodbye to Eri and Jake. 

"Harry, where are you going?" Jake called Harry, but the man didn't turn his head. 

"What's wrong with him?" Eri asked Dustin sarcastically. 

Dustin chuckled. "He said he fell into poverty." 

Eri and Jake's eyes widened. "What? No way!"

**

"This can't be!" Jake suddenly shouted as he stared at his phone screen. He was drawing the attention of everyone there. 

"What's wrong?" Eri approached Jake with a confused look. 

"It's about Harry." Jake ruffled his hair roughly—further confusing Eri. 

"What happened to him?" Eri was curious. 

Jake bit his lower lip. "I just got a message from my friend. It's shocking news." 

"What? Read it!" Eri was already very curious. She couldn't wait to find out. 

Jake read the news into his cell phone out loud. "The Hopster family went bankrupt. The company collapsed because everyone invested in the Hopster company withdrew their shares simultaneously. It was such a shockwave that they suffered billions of dollars in losses, and some assets crashed immediately. The rich Hopster family has become poor in a sudden instant!"

Eri couldn't believe it. She roughly snatched the cell phone from Jake's hand and sharpened her sense of sight. The news about Harry's family's downfall turned out to be true.

Eri massaged her forehead, which suddenly throbbed with pain. "Unbelievable."

Eri's knees felt weak. She would have fallen if Jake hadn't held her up. Eri had envisioned a life of luxury if Karina was with Harry. But this news shocked her. 

"Ah, my head hurts." Eri walked backward slowly, guided by Jake to sit on the sofa. 

Eri was instantly depressed. Her head hurt as if her entire body's blood had accumulated in her head.