Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire - Chapter 48: Chapter 48

Hallie locked eyes with Nelson's shadowed gaze, her fingers tightening until her nails nearly drew blood from her palms.
After about ten seconds, Hallie slowly unclenched her fists, withdrew her gaze, and lowered her eyes.
"Good," Nelson said.
Nelson's words sounded like praise, but to Hallie, they were laced with biting sarcasm.
He added, "If you can always be this sensible, I might consider helping you purge Tucker's cronies from Levine Group and make you the undisputed heir."
Hallie froze for a heartbeat.
She never expected that Nelson had actually gone out of his way to investigate Levine Group's inner workings.
'Is Nelson just waiting to use this against me?' Hallie thought.
"It's not for free, is it? What do you want?" Hallie asked, raising her eyes to meet Nelson's gaze.
Nelson raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile on his lips. "Congratulations, you're finally learning to connect the dots," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I haven't decided on the details yet. Besides..." Nelson said, his voice trailing off.
As he spoke, Nelson gave Hallie a slow, appraising look from head to toe, that familiar condescension creeping back into his expression.
Nelson sneered, "I seriously doubt you're cut out to be the heir."
"Really want to know, Mr. Blair?" Hallie challenged.
Hallie's eyes flashed with defiant challenge. "Hand over the partnership rights to Berry Bay, and you'll get your answer."
"Trying to provoke me?" Nelson sneered.
Nelson fixed his gaze on Hallie, his lips curling in a smirk as if mocking her naivety.
Yet Nelson couldn't help feeling intrigued.
According to Nelson's investigation, Levine Group had always focused primarily on export trade, investing next to nothing in the pharmaceutical sector.
'Why is Hallie so fixated on Berry Bay?' Nelson wondered. 'Is her offer to show me the answer just empty provocation, or could she actually deliver?
'Are the elders of Berry Bay truly unaware of the real value of their medicinal resources, or is that why they're so supportive of Hallie?'
Curious as he was, Nelson would never stake a high-potential project like Berry Bay just to test her claims.
Truth be told, Hallie was still clinging to that faint hope—maybe, just maybe, provoking Nelson would actually make him take the bait.
But Hallie knew without a second thought—Nelson would never budge on his decision.
She thought, 'In the end, it's all because I'm useless. I failed to take control of Levine Group quickly enough, giving Nelson the chance to exploit the situation.'
A wave of exhaustion suddenly washed over Hallie.
She was done arguing with Nelson.
Without another word, Hallie burrowed under the covers, turned her back to Nelson just as before, and shut her eyes.
Nelson said nothing more. After showering, he got into bed and went to sleep.
Hallie was jolted awake by her alarm clock at 8 AM, only to find that Nelson had already left for the office.
After breakfast, Hallie grabbed two medical books from her room and headed to the balcony, deciding she might as well spend the whole day reading.
Just then, Hallie got a text from Clarissa: [New BBQ place in CentraVita. Everyone's raving about it.]
'Come to think of it, I haven't gone out in ages,' Hallie mused. 'But the real reason is to pick up some toiletries.'
When Clarissa mentioned shopping, it suddenly struck Hallie—she'd been living in the house for so long, yet she was still using Nelson's toiletries like shampoo and body wash.
She'd always treated this place as just a temporary stopover, after all. Aside from the books she needed, she didn't want to clutter up the place with anything else.
But ever since Scott's visit, her plan to move out had pretty much died on the vine.
Not to mention, there was still Scott's informant planted in the house.
Hallie was suddenly a little surprised, thinking, 'Strange... Nelson hasn't even mentioned it or seemed the least bit bothered so far.'
Whether Nelson just overlooked it or for some other reason, she needed to get her own toiletries and personal items before he caught on.
Otherwise, once Nelson caught on, she could just imagine the nasty remarks he'd start throwing my way.
Hallie quickly packed her things, hailed a cab, and smoothly met up with Clarissa outside CentraVita.
"It must've been really tough for you this past week, huh?" Clarissa asked, her voice full of concern.
Clarissa's eyes traced Hallie's noticeably thinner figure, a pang of guilt tugging at her heart.
Actually, like Hallie, Clarissa was supposed to stay—but unlike Hallie, she didn't volunteer for disaster relief.
Hallie pretended not to notice Clarissa's expression and gave her a deliberately casual smile.
"Count yourself lucky you got to stay behind—the conditions over there were brutal. Besides, disaster relief wasn't my only reason for going," Hallie said.
Hearing this, Clarissa felt relieved and playfully patted her chest. "Today's my treat—a warm welcome-back for our amazing Dr. Levine."
Hallie said with a nod, "Sure."
The waiter brought over the menu, and Clarissa immediately handed it to Hallie. "You pick," she said, settling back and nibbling on her straw.
Hallie only had an occasional craving for BBQ—she wasn't particularly fond of it. Still, when it came time to order, she deliberately picked out the dishes Clarissa usually liked.
After Hallie finished ordering, Clarissa took the menu and noticed Hallie had picked all her favorite food. Touched, she immediately threw her arms around Hallie's neck.
Clarissa, overwhelmed with emotion, gushed, "Seriously, if any guy can't see how amazing you are, he must be blind as a bat."
Although Clarissa spoke casually, Hallie could still tell she was taking her side in this marriage.
Hallie knew her relationship with Nelson was just a temporary arrangement, never meant to last. Comments like these left her completely unmoved; her face showed no visible reaction.
To Clarissa, Hallie's blank, emotionless look wasn't just apathy—it seemed like the numb resignation of someone who'd been tormented for too long, a woman destroying herself from within.
"Hallie, do you really like Nelson that much?" Clarissa asked tentatively.
"Huh?" Hallie blinked, caught off guard.
She honestly had no idea where Clarissa's question was even coming from.
"Hallie, I get that Nelson is drop-dead gorgeous, but come on—he's not just two-timing you, he clearly doesn't care about you at all. You're Levine Group heiress now.
"You could have your pick of any high-quality guy out there. Seriously, why waste your prime years on a scumbag like him?" Clarissa spoke with well-meaning earnestness, but Hallie was at a loss for how to respond.
After a moment's thought, Hallie finally said, "Well... at least he hasn't been openly flaunting that woman in front of me. I'll just tough it out for another six months.
"If he still can't let go of her by then, I'll divorce him—at least that way, we can part on good terms."
"Well, alright then," Clarissa sighed. "But promise me one thing—don't walk away from him with nothing. When you divorce him, squeeze him for a hefty settlement. Don't let Nelson and his side chick get off easy."
"Yeah, got it," Hallie said, nodding quickly.
"How much are we talking?"
"Millions, tens of millions, even billions. Of course, I'm going for the biggest payout possible," Hallie said with a grin without even looking up from the grill.