Chapter 26 Sowing Discord

"Can't you be more serious?" Hannah felt a bit shy because of Oscar's words.

How could this man say anything? She had heard him call someone else "darling" before. But she didn’t mind that, since both of them prioritized their own interests.

"Are you perhaps misunderstanding something about flirting?!" Oscar's voice, always accompanied by a teasing tone, had a seductive quality that made one's ears tingle.

Oscar laughed and continued, "You'll find out next time."

"Oscar,"

Oscar was about to hang up.

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget about our arrangement for tomorrow."

"As long as you don't cancel, I won't either, Miss Cooper."

There was a sense that Oscar was making a promise to her.

"See you tomorrow." Said Hannah.

"See you tomorrow."

Just as Hannah hung up the phone, her phone rang again. This time, she turned grim and put it through, "Hello, Charles?"

"Martina just said you hit her?" Charles asked in a displeased tone. After he spoke, Martina's voice could be heard on the other end, "She and Susan both attacked me. They hit me all over. Charles, you have to make things right for me!"

"Charles, after being together for so many years, don't you know what kind of person I am? When have you ever seen me hit someone?"

Charles hesitated, realizing she was right.

"You should ask yourself, haven't I been good enough to your sister? If it wasn't for me constantly advising Susan, she and your sister would have been fighting hundreds of times since their school days. And now you come to question me. How do you expect me to answer you?" Hannah's tone was noticeably harsh.

Charles didn't know how to respond for a while.

"If you trust your sister more, then I have nothing more to explain. Just assume I hit her." Hannah said, intending to hang up the phone.

"Hannah," Charles quickly stopped her when he felt that she seemed genuinely angry. "I didn't mean that. It's just that Martina came back with bruises all over her face, and it pains me. I know what kind of person you are, you couldn't possibly have hit Martina..."

"Charles, it was Hannah who hit me, along with Susan! Otherwise, could I have been beaten up so badly? It was her!" Martina shouted on the other end.

"That's enough! I know Hannah couldn't have hit you. Shut your mouth!" Charles scolded his sister.

"She hit me! How can you not believe me!" Martina was extremely agitated.

Hannah had a cold expression as she spoke, "Well, I indeed didn't intervene."

Charles was probably being overwhelmed by Martina's constant shouting. He walked away with his phone, sounding a bit resentful, "Why didn't you intervene? You know my sister can't handle the slightest injustice when she's outside."

There was a hint of reproach in his tone. Hannah sneered. Where did Martina get such an attitude that she couldn't tolerate any mistreatment?

"Because your sister said that you don't really like me and that you were planning to dump me. She told me to dream about our wedding in a month!"

Charles seemed visibly angry, "She probably said that in anger! Don't listen to her!"

"Charles, getting married involves both families, and I don't want our families to be at odds because of me. Besides, I can tell that your sister doesn't like me at all. So maybe we should just call off the wedding..."

"Why are you overthinking things? My sister likes you a lot." Charles quickly explained. "She must have said those things today because she was upset with Susan. She has always told me how much she likes you and how happy she is to have you as her sister-in-law."

"I understand what you're saying, but Martina hurt my feelings today..." Hannah expressed her discomfort.

"Hannah, my sister was clearly upset and didn't mean what she said. Don't be so stubborn. That's not who you are." Charles reassured her.

"Maybe I care too much, and that's why I'm so sensitive about it." Hannah didn't back down.

Charles understood Hannah's point and said, "Isn't your mom's birthday tomorrow?"

"What about it?"

"I'll make sure my sister apologizes to you in person tomorrow, is that okay?"

"If that's the case, Martina will probably dislike me even more."

Hannah didn't refuse the idea.

"Silly, why would she? Martina doesn't want you to misunderstand her. Let's settle it this way, and don't think too much about it. We're getting married in a month, so don't let anything affect your mood. I've heard that women with too many thoughts tend to get wrinkles, and we want you to look beautiful on our wedding day." Charles tried to please her.

Hannah had been with Charles for so many years. All those years, she had always considered his feelings, but he had never cared about hers. He took her kindness for granted. He even thought she was foolish. Hannah felt bitterly ironic. One day, she would make Charles lose everything.

After exchanging a few more casual words, they ended the call. As Charles hung up the phone, he stormed back into the living room in a towering rage. Martina was currently having her wounds tended to by the family doctor. When she saw her brother returning, she quickly asked, "Charles, did you scold that wicked woman? She sided with Susan to bully me! You should teach her a lesson and make her apologize to me in person tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll never forgive her..."

"That's enough!" Charles shouted angrily.

Loretta was also in the living room. She looked at the injuries on her daughter's body, her face filled with distress. Hearing her son suddenly lose his temper startled her.

"What's wrong?" Loretta asked.

"What's wrong? Martina insulted Hannah and even told her that I would dump her! Now Hannah is upset with me and says she won't marry me." Charles explained in frustration.

"Well, then don't marry her! With your status, Hannah isn't even worthy of you. If you decide not to marry her, she'll be begging on her knees..." Martina said without consideration.

"Do you have any idea what our family is facing right now? The Cooper family gave us 2 billion, and without that money, we won't be able to do anything! Now the company's stock market has been consistently falling. If it keeps going down, we'll go bankrupt. We're relying on the marriage alliance with the Cooper family to stabilize Sawyer's stock market. If you ruin my wedding, do you want our family to lose everything?" Charles became even angrier.

Martina felt extremely wronged after being scolded. Throughout her life, she had always been spoiled by her family and had never been scolded like this before.

"I just talked to Hannah, I want you to apologize to her tomorrow. I don't want her to misunderstand your feelings towards her." Charles said straightforwardly.

"Apologize to her?!"

There was no way she would be bullied by Hannah. Of course, she was unwilling to do it, no matter what.