Reclaiming Her Heart

Chapter 393 Raymond Hates Interference Selena let out a sigh of relief, a hint of tranquility shimmering in her eyes. Finally, this matter had reached its resolution. Just as she was feeling at ease, her phone rang, and it was James on the other end, his voice filled with excitement as he managed to exclaim, "Selena..." before his words trailed off. Shocked to the core, he felt darkness encroaching upon his vision.

"Dad, it's alright now. You just need to rest," she reassured him.

James tried to speak, but bitterness lingered on his tongue. After a minute, he mustered the strength to inquire, "Was it Raymond?" "Yes." Silence fell upon James, who had believed that Raymond held no affection for Selena. Little did he expect that while Raymond had disrupted the Fair family's business, he had also rescued them from the verge of bankruptcy. "Well then, I must personally visit the Montague family to express my gratitude," James proclaimed.

Selena's brow furrowed. "Dad, there's no need for such unnecessary gestures. Raymond intervened in the Fair family's affairs because you were in frequent contact with Mr. Montague Sr. Mr. Montague Sr attempted to bind him through marriage, but as you saw, he left everyone behind and went abroad for three years. Raymond despises interference and control. If the Fair family wishes to endure, we must avoid making ourselves too conspicuous in front of him." As tears streamed down his face, James, still overwhelmed by the salvation of the Fair family, absorbed his daughter's words, feeling a mix of pain and numbness in his chest.

"I understand, Selena. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: you must take over the company." Being an interior designer, Selena already dealt with numerous clients and possessed an understanding of the renovation market. Her experiences were essentially an apprenticeship at the grassroots level.

Though James may have erred in the past, he had never wavered in his intention to hand over the company to his daughter.

Even if Nick had gained his favor, he had only considered granting the Fair family shares.

Selena fell silent; she had no desire to take over.

After completing her design work in Manhattan, she planned to delegate Carter's properties to others in the stuand return to her career as a painter.

Otherwise, she would have no words to say when her teacher returned.

Her next goal was to rent a stuand participate in international painting competitions.

James coughed twice, acknowledging her predicament.

"I have at most two more years left. After that, everything must be entrusted to you." Speechless, Selena knew that even with proper rest, James would last no more than a year.

And now, enduring the double blow of the company's troubles and Beatrice's betrayal, his hair turning white overnight.

He might not even last a year.

A wave of exhaustion seeped into Selena's bones, leaving her adrift.

If it was her mother, she probably would have preferred Selena to follow her own path.

Initially, at the New York Academy of Art, she had been pressured into interior design as a last resort.

James didn't wait for her reply, his coughing intensifying.

Gazing at the bloodstains on the quilt, his pupils slightly constricted.

Selena's voice reached him through the phone.

"Dad, I'll consider it." James remained silent, his gaze fixed blankly on the bloodstains.

At that moment, the nurse entered the room to change the dressing and, upon seeing the blood on the quilt, hurriedly replaced it.

"Mr. Fair, please try to avoid becoming overly emotional," she advised.

James sat on the bed, his lips pale, speckled with traces of blood.

Could he not even last two years? Selena couldn't possibly divorce Raymond; otherwise, who would be her pillar of support? After ending the call, Selena succumbed to exhaust and fell into a deep slumber.

She slept until evening, finally feeling her depleted energy gradually returning.

Rubbing her eyes, she headed to wash her face to fully awaken herself, only to tense up at the sound of her phone.

Answering it, she breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that the message wasn't from Raymond Of Raymond asked her to cover tonight, she felt as though she would perish in his presence. The message was from Mr. Butler. Selena promptly returned his call.

"Mr. Bulter," she greeted, and a hearty laughter emanated from the other end.

"So you got married to Cassius's grandson right? He took advantage of you. I had intended to introduce someone better to you, hmph! That wild boy Raymond was nowhere near as mature as his brother. I had wanted to introduce you to his brother instead, but who could have predicted..." Mr. Butler was the epitof an artistic soul. His oil paintings were the epitof artistic excellence, each one fetching astronomical sums at auctions.

One month he might be in one country, the next in another, perpetually in search of inspiration.

"Selena, I have a painting that I'm going to sell. See if you like it. If you do, I'll reserve it as a wedding gift for you." A painting from Mr. Butler could easily be valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars, at the very least.

When Mr. Butler first saw Selena's painting, he called her Selena, a nthat evoked silence, rich imagination, and artistic talent.

That was back when she resided in Ridgefield. Mr. Butler, a globetrotting O figure, happened to spot her sketching and wanted to take her under his wing as a student right then.