Mr. Hawthorne, Your Wife Wants a Divorce Again-Chapter 1049: Died Because of Me

"...there is someone more important waiting for him. He can’t stay here for you forever."

Suddenly, that sentence popped back into Ann Vaughn’s mind. The unease that had just crept up to her heart slightly subsided, gradually replaced by confusion.

The "more important person" Ian Yardley referred to, was it his brother or the woman on the phone that day?

"Cyrus Hawthorne, I have a question for you." Ann Vaughn looked up, and from this angle, she could see Cyrus Hawthorne’s resolute jawline, seemingly a bit tense.

"Hmm?"

"Who is Ian Yardley’s brother?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the room plunged into a deep silence.

Ann Vaughn clearly felt Cyrus Hawthorne’s arms tighten around her waist. She frowned slightly as it was somewhat uncomfortable, but she did not urge him to speak.

If her guess was correct, Ian Yardley’s brother was more than just an old acquaintance to Cyrus Hawthorne.

She didn’t know how long it took, her confusion growing ever heavier, before she finally heard Cyrus Hawthorne speak in a gravelly voice.

"His brother, Zane Yardley, was a rare martial arts prodigy, innately talented. At the age of ten, he could single-handedly take on multiple opponents and thwarted the leader of a notorious overseas theft ring, becoming famous overnight."

"Because of his presence, the Yardley Family grew increasingly powerful, becoming one of the top five powerful families overseas. Given time, it wasn’t impossible for them to become the leading strong family."

"Ultimately, Zane died because of me."

Though his words were few and without much emotional tone, his voice was calm and detached, yet it made Ann Vaughn’s heart tremble, her red lips pressing tighter together.

Although Cyrus Hawthorne hadn’t mentioned how he met Zane or why Zane would die because of him,

it wasn’t hard to see from his tolerance and care for Ian that he shared a deep bond with Zane.

The deeper the bond, the greater the impact.

Thinking about it now, for Cyrus Hawthorne to keep a rational judgment when Ian accused her of stealing Zane’s relic, rather than letting emotions sway him...

Just how much did he care for her to always put her first?

Ann Vaughn’s eyes were vacant for a few seconds, and when she regained her senses, she found Cyrus Hawthorne looking down at her, his gaze unwavering and revealing a hint of danger.

"Wha... what’s wrong?"

"Who were you just thinking about?"

Hearing his slightly displeased tone, Ann Vaughn let out a soft laugh, wrapped her slender arms around his neck, and tilted her head up to peck his cool thin lips.

Her voice was as sweet as could be, "I was thinking about you."

Cyrus Hawthorne’s heart softened abruptly, and even the pain and frustration lingering in his chest slowly dissipated in her sweet, playful voice.

No one had ever been like Ann Vaughn.

A few sweet words from her could easily disperse the resentment in his heart, instantly clearing the skies and bringing a new dawning to everything.

And she was the only one in the world.

...

Since the launch of the Ice Skin Pill, its daily sales have skyrocketed, with rave reviews pouring in, dominating similar beauty products.

Even more remarkable, customers who have used the Ice Skin Pill would never settle for those ordinary products that have average effects again. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Over time, the market for those popular beauty products saw a sharp decline in sales, with products piling up in warehouses unable to be sold, and regular promotional activities had little remedial effect.

This led to many harboring intense resentment towards Vaughn Clinic, their teeth gnashing in frustration.

Due to Ann Vaughn’s status as the daughter of Marinia’s wealthiest tycoon, no one dared to publicly confront her, but setting small traps for her behind the scenes was all too easy.

Ann Vaughn emerged from the lab to find Sherry unusually showing a frustrated expression, her heart skipped a beat, "What’s wrong?"

"Take a look at this." Sherry handed over her phone.

Ann Vaughn took it and was greeted by a line of bold red text:

[Expose the Truth Behind the Ice Skin Pill Taking the Internet by Storm Recently].

The entire article trashed the Ice Skin Pill, even suggesting its rapid effects might be due to the addition of skin bleaching agents, warning of irreversible skin damage if the Ice Skin Pill was discontinued, urging relevant authorities to investigate.

The blogger was a major beauty influencer with millions of followers on Weibo, and once the article was published, it attracted significant attention, with comments quickly surpassing ten thousand.

—I wasn’t the only one suspicious of the Ice Skin Pill’s ingredients. Here’s a comparison picture of my skin after stopping its use—then you’ll know what a swindler is.

—I’ve tried no less than a hundred beauty products, never heard of anything showing effects in two days. Only fools would buy such a product with strong side effects.

—A truly good product withstands the test of time. These instant-effect products might seem fine short-term, but over time, the damage is no joke. I’d rather rely on xx brand’s product.

—Tsk, Vaughn Clinic also scams with this lousy money-making. Has Ann Vaughn fallen, or is the Sheridan Family unable to support her anymore?

—Why would a billionaire’s daughter leave home to get involved in the beauty industry? Isn’t this beneath her?

—And the price is insanely high. Is she crazy for money? Only fools would buy her products—I wouldn’t take it even if they gave it away for free.

...

The slew of comments aligned with the influencer’s words, trying to "prove" something fishy about the Ice Skin Pill with before-and-after pictures, and some simply complained about the high price, urging Vaughn Clinic to reduce it.

Ann Vaughn looked at it with a numb expression.

The Ice Skin Pill was made with extracted essences from herbs, which are rare to begin with, sometimes offering less than 50 milliliters per plant.

The herbs used for extraction were of top quality, none inferior, otherwise the product wouldn’t have such dominant whitening effects.

Even though the Ice Skin Pill was priced on the higher side, it was within a reasonable range; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many buyers.

"This Weibo post is still trending, and its popularity is climbing. If more people see it later, even if we’re blameless, it might form a lasting impression on bystanders..." Sherry fretted, frowning.

Ann Vaughn handed the phone back to her, her face calm, "It’s alright. Just as this Weibo post hit the trending list, we’ll kick it off."

"You mean by throwing money at it?"

"That’d be too costly. We’ll post our own Weibo post."

"?"

Sherry was puzzled, as even though their clinic had a significant number of followers, it wouldn’t be enough to get on the trending list with just any Weibo post.

Ann Vaughn was in a rush to attend a meeting at Zephyr Garden, so she couldn’t explain it all to her, only reminding her to remember to post the prepared Weibo later before she grabbed her bag and left.

Half an hour later, on the lawn of the main courtyard at Zephyr Garden.