Love's New Bloom by Simone Hastings

Chapter 208 I’m Not a Scammer

“Why is he here?” Erin screamed wordlessly. Her heart skipped a beal, and she cursed her own bad luck! She would

be meeting her ex- husband–no, scratch that–her brother–in–law!

Just as Erin was feeling a flurry of complex emotions, lan and Cherry had already walked into the living room

together. Ian wore a dark gray suit with a maroon shirt underneath. He wore an elegant black tie made him look

very stylish and put together.

His thick hair was styled handsomely, with each strand seemingly meticulously designed. His appearance was not

much different from before; he still looked youthful elegant, and dashing. His skin appeared even more refined and

pleasing to the eye, indicating that he had become more particular about his appearance after becoming a

billionaire. Moreover, from his appearance, it was evident that he’d started working out and had improved his

physique.

“Mom, you have a guest?” A hint of surprise flashed across lan’s eyes when he saw Erin.

Cherry smiled and introduced, “Pam, this is my other son–in–law, lan. He’s Yvette’s husband. lan, this is Pamela,

Erin’s close elementary school friend. Pam came to see me today, and we had a long chat.”

Her introduction prompted Erin to stand up politely. She looked at lan, smiled slightly, and nodded while saying.

“Hello.”

lan’s gaze remained fixed on Erin. When Cherry looked back at him again, he quickly regained his senses.

lan said, “Mom, I came here without any specific reason. It’s been a while since I last visited you. Yvette has been

busy filming recently, so we haven’t been able to come and visit you together. I hope you understand.”

“It’s alright. You and Yvette are both busy. I know that.” Cherry showed lan to the sofa, getting him to sit down.

lan nodded and walked toward Erin as Cherry asked, “lan, have you eaten?”

“Yes, I have. There’s no need to get me any food.”

“It’s great that you’ve eaten. That means I don’t need to cook again. But we should have some coffee. I just

brought back some new coffee

beans from my hometown. I’ll brew some for you. Pam, would you like a cup too?”

The mention of coffee from her hometown stirred up some emotions in Erin’s heart. It’d been seven years since

she last had a taste of it.

Erin smiled and said, “Sure. I would love that.”

“It’s no trouble at all. You young people can sit and chat. I’ll go boil the water. The coffee tastes best when brewed

with freshly boiled

water.” With that, Cherry went back into the kitchen with a smile on her face.

Now, only lan and Erin were left in the living room.

After about ten seconds, lan initiated a conversation. “Miss Eastwood, did you say you were Erin’s elementary

school classmate?”

Erin calmly replied, “Yes.”

lan’s eyes flickered, and he continued, “When Erin was with me, she never mentioned anything about any

elementary school classmate.”

“Mr. Sloan, Erin can’t possibly disclose every detail to you, right? Just because you haven’t heard of me doesn’t

mean I don’t exist.” Erin

responded, her displeasure subtly hidden in her words.

“Miss Eastwood, I don’t want to beat around the bush. For your information, ever since my wife. Yvette, became

famous, there have been

numerous scammers who found out where my mother–in–law lives and tried to deceive her! They used the

disappearance of my ex–wife Erin as bait. They’ve swindled my mother–in–law out of more than a million dollars.

Money is not the issue, but I can’t bear to see my mother–in–law disappointed time and time again!”

lan’s eyes flashed with a hint of coldness, and his smile turned chilling. “Moreover, I hate scammers the most! I’ve

sent all those scammers to prison in the past. Miss Eastwood, I hope you think twice before attempting anything

dishonest. After all, it would be a pity for someone as beautiful as you to be a scammer.”

His words made Erin furrow her brows instantly. She found it surprising that Cherry had been conned out of so

much money! She had no idea about this.

Although lan currently regarded her as a scammer, Erin felt a sense of appreciation toward him. At least his status

as Cherry’s son–in–law

“Mr. Sloan, I thank you on Erin’s behalf for your special concern for her mother. However, you’ve got it wrong. I’m

not a scammer. I’m simply Erin’s elementary school classmate who has a good relationship with her. I came here

purely to visit Cherry.” Erin enunciated calmly, her tone composed.

lan fell silent for a moment upon hearing her words. He lowered his gaze as if contemplating, then raised his eyes

and asked, “Since you claim not to be a scammer and say that you have a good relationship with Erin, then I’ll ask

you this: Erin once had an abortion for me. Can you tell me exactly when that happened?”

This question almost made Erin burst into laughter. She suppressed her amusement and inwardly found lan absurd.

How could he come up with such a ridiculous question to test her?

Since lan had no shame, she didn’t need to hold back either.

A beautifully curved smile formed on Erin’s lips as she spoke seriously, “Mr. Sloan, to my knowledge, Erin and you

never had any substantial physical intimacy. So, where does this talk of her having an abortion for you come from?”

Erin’s words startled lan, and he immediately stood up. He couldn’t believe that this unfamiliar woman in front of

him knew so much!

lan stared at her eyes, filled with doubt. Just as he was about to ask something else, he saw Cherry approaching the

living room and quickly sat back down.

“Here’s the coffee.” Cherry carefully walked over with a tray.

Afterward, the three of them sat on the sofa, engaging in casual and polite conversation as if they were a regular

family.

Less than twenty minutes later, lan left. Not long after, it was also time for Erin to make a move. She was teaching

Asa in the evening and had to go back to make lesson preparations.

After bidding farewell to Cherry, Erin got into her car and drove away.

On her way back, while passing through a stretch of road that had maple trees on both sides, Erin noticed a dark

blue Bugatti parked by the roadside. She didn’t pay much attention and continued driving, but not long after that,

she realized that her BMW had a flat tire.

After driving a short distance, Erin parked her car by the side of the road. She immediately got out of the car to

assess the situation. Both the front and rear tires had been punctured by nails. Erin cursed under her breath and

quickly walked down the road to check the situation.

A few minutes later, Erin saw several scattered nails on the road as expected.

“Who would do such a despicable thing? How could they scatter nails on the road like this?” She sighed, stressing

about what to do next.

After considering her options, she planned to call for a towing truck. Before she could make the call a group of

young men suddenly appeared from nowhere. They quickly approached Erin.

The leader, a man with blonde hair, immediately asked, “Hey there, pretty lady. Did your tire burst? Do you need

help?”

His smile carried malicious intent, making Erin instinctively raise her guard. She politely declined by saying, “Thank

you, but I don’t need

help. I’ll call a towing company.”

A man behind wearing a thick gold chain said, “The nearest towing company will take at least two hours to arrive

here. Are you sure you don’t need help? We have an auto repair shop not far from here. Why not come to us for

car repairs? We’ll get your BMW to our repair shop.

Listening to his words, Erin immediately understood what was going on. If her guess was correct, they were likely

the ones who intentionally scattered the nails on the road to extort money for car repairs.

As a lone woman, Erin was now facing five unruly young men who looked like hooligans all at once. To be honest,

she was panicking, but she maintained her composure on the surface and tried to look unaffected. After all, at least

they didn’t immediately try to rob her. There

was still room to maneuver in this situation.

Just as Erin contemplated how to handle the situation, she noticed a man getting out of the Bugatti not far away.

Upon taking a closer

look, the man turned out to be lan!

Although lan was a scumbag in Erin’s eyes, he was still better compared to these unfamiliar men who seemed to

have ulterior motives.

As he approached Erin, he glanced at the nails on the ground and the five men behind her, instantly understanding

the situation. Without saying a word, lan took out his wallet from the inner pocket of his suit and handed two

thousand dollars to the man with blonde hair.

He said with a slight smile. “Gentlemen, could you please tow this BMW to your repair shop? The lady and I are in a

hurry to attend a meeting. Give me your contact number, and I’ll send someone to pick up the car later. The repair

cost will be paid to you when the car is picked up. Would that be alright?”

The man with blonde hair happily accepted the money from lan. He smiled ingratiatingly and said, “No problem!

You can rest assured and go to your meeting with peace of mind. Leave the car to us.”

The man then took out a simple business card from his pocket and handed it to lan. Erin looked at lan, and he gave

her a pointed glance.

She chose to remain silent and not speak anymore.

“Well, gentlemen, could you please pick up the nails on the ground for us? I don’t want my car to get its tires

punctured as well, lan said

while plastering a forced smile on his face.

The man immediately instructed the others behind him to pick up the nails.

While they were busy picking up the nails from the ground, lan quickly walked past Erin and approached the BMW.

After reaching the side. of the car, he opened the door, took Erin’s Hermès bag and car key, closed the door, and

then locked it with the key.

With a steady expression, he walked toward Erin. Right then, the five men who were picking up the nails had

already stood up.

lan thanked them and said, “Thank you, everyone. We’ll be on our way now.”

“Sure. Take care, sir.” The man with blonde hair expressed his gratitude.

By then, lan had taken hold of Erin’s hand and was walking toward his sports car with her in tow. Erin didn’t struggle

and followed him.

Soon, lan and Erin got into his sports car, and lan drove away with her.

After about ten minutes, Erin couldn’t help but ask, “You don’t actually believe they just happened to show up there,

do you?”