Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire - Chapter 66: Chapter 66

Nelson's gaze landed lightly on Hallie, but even without a single word, she felt as if a heavy stone were pressing down on her shoulders—crushing and suffocating.
Nelson drawled, "I prefer to achieve maximum returns with minimum investment. Did you really think I'd be like you—rushing headfirst to save everyone, only to end up battered and broken? That's just pathetic."
Hallie stared at Nelson, her lips twitching slightly as if she wanted to fire back. But she clenched her jaw instead, swallowed her words, and finally turned her gaze away, choosing silence over another pointless clash.
'I never come out on top every time we argue,' she thought bitterly.
Right now, she and Nelson were stuck in the same boat—whether they liked it or not. They had no choice but to keep bumping into each other, and for now, pushing the conflict further might actually serve her better.
Nelson wanted that land, and Hallie was equally determined not to let such a strategic piece fall into foreign hands.
Most importantly, foreign corporations had attempted to enter the traditional medicine market years ago. Back then, Hallie's mother and the older generation in Berry Bay had stood their ground and refused to cooperate.
What they wanted wasn't just raw medicinal materials—it was the formulas themselves.
Hallie thought, 'While treating patients knows no borders, we must remain vigilant against those from other countries who may treat this matter differently.'
Medicinal raw materials and formulas were fundamental to everyone's lives. If foreign companies were ever to secure patents or monopolize them, it would have been impossible to predict what shape the pharmaceutical landscape would take.
Hallie had a gut feeling that Titania Biopharma's desperate scramble to snatch the land rights from Blair Group wasn't simply about real estate. There was definitely more to it.
"So, Mr. Blair, what's your next move?" Hallie asked, deliberately steering the topic away and testing the waters.
Nelson's expression was cold, and his lips pressed into a thin line. Without bothering to respond, he slipped off his suit jacket and tossed it carelessly onto the coat rack as if she didn't even exist.
For a moment, Hallie couldn't get a read on him at all. So she pressed on. "If we can get the government to really see the hidden stakes here, we might have a shot at turning this around."
Finally, Nelson's gaze returned to Hallie's face. His eyes glimmered with a mix of intrigue and mocking amusement.
"Want me to take you with me?" Nelson teased, his voice low and taunting.
Hallie had hoped to guide him into inviting her along without coming right out and asking, but he saw through her immediately. 'Well, so much for subtlety,' she thought, resigning herself to it.
Since her intentions had already been exposed, Hallie decided there was no point in hiding anymore and admitted it.
"Yes, that's right," Hallie said. "I'm the project lead for Berry Bay, and as a doctor at Mentville Medical Center, I'm the perfect person to go."
"Is that so?" Nelson scoffed, his expression impossible to read. "Let me remind you that Tucker is itching to get involved. Are you planning to let him find out who I really am, expose our relationship, and use it to your advantage? I doubt you'll want that."
About this point, Hallie was completely confident. "If Tucker knew your true identity, yes—he'd absolutely exploit it. But the real question is, would Natalie actually tell him?"
Nelson narrowed his eyes, studying Hallie's unwavering, determined gaze with intense scrutiny and suspicion. He thought, 'If Hallie really wanted to expose our relationship, this would be the perfect opportunity.'
Sensing that Nelson still didn't fully trust her, Hallie felt compelled to clarify further.
"Mr. Blair, I don't think you really understand my family dynamics. Natalie and I share the same father but have different mothers, and we're not close at all.
"Right now, Tucker is pulling every string he can to get Natalie tied to Miles, so even if she knew your true identity—or that I'm already married to you—she wouldn't tell Tucker.
"She's terrified he'd abandon her and her mother, and start trying to cozy up to me—or rather, to you," she explained.
Nelson couldn't have cared less about Hallie's messy family drama or who she was on good terms with.
All that mattered to him was whether she was serious about joining him at that meeting for business purposes or if it was part of some hidden agenda.
"Is that your explanation, or a calculated cover-up?" Nelson challenged. "If you're wrong, can you really afford the 15 million dollars in damage that'll come crashing down?"
Hallie felt utterly exhausted. She thought, 'What do I even have to say for this man to trust me? It's like he thinks I'm just dying to plaster our relationship all over the headlines. Does he have some kind of persecution complex?
'No wonder he and Regina make such a perfect pair. They're birds of a feather.'
"Anyway, that's all I have to say. Whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you, Mr. Blair," Hallie said firmly.
With that, she snapped her laptop shut with a crisp clack, crawled into the makeshift bedding on the floor, and closed her eyes—clearly done with both the conversation and him.
The next day, Hallie went about her shift at Mentville Medical Center as usual. Around 3 PM, after finishing up a round of consultations and returning to her office, she noticed a message from Peterson that she had received ten minutes earlier.
When she clicked on it, she was stunned to find comprehensive details about the bidding for the land in South Callopston, including both publicly available data and information that shouldn't have been accessible at all.
There was also the complete schedule and guest list for the bidding gala dinner, scheduled for this Saturday, which was the next day. She didn't need to think twice to know that Nelson got Peterson to send this text to her.
[So he decided to let me go?] Hallie texted back, wanting to make sure.
Almost immediately, Peterson replied with a nodding emoji, then followed up with another text.
He replied: [Nelson also wanted me to remind you to dress a little more formally. Dressing too casually won't fit the vibe, but don't go too flashy either. Stay aware, and don't let anyone take advantage of you. He'll be watching your back.]
Doubting that Peterson had beautified Nelson's original words, Hallie asked: [Thanks. But that last part, are you sure Nelson actually said it like that?]
Knowing Nelson, he probably said something more like, "Dress properly for the occasion. You better not embarrass me by looking so cheap. And read the room, so I don't have to clean up your mess."
Peterson was a bit taken aback. He hadn't expected Hallie to see through his carefully polished translation so quickly. Clearly, Nelson's cold image was already deeply rooted in her mind, and it was impossible to erase at this point.
Hallie didn't want to dwell on the matter any longer. She said: [Tell Nelson I'll be there on time.]
Peterson: [Will do.]
After hitting send, Peterson paused, hesitating for a moment before finally sending Nelson's phone number to Hallie.
'I can't keep playing middleman for these two forever,' he thought. 'They already can't stand each other, so why should I keep trying to become their peacemaker?'
It was a thankless job, so Peterson thought he might as well just go with the flow.
Peterson: [This is Nelson's phone number. Why don't you save it in your contacts? It'll make things easier if you need to talk to him. Plus, I won't have to play messenger all the time.]
Hallie knew that constantly making Peterson play messenger was really asking too much of him.
But Nelson hadn't made the first move to connect with her. If she saved his phone number and texted him first, she believed Nelson would think she was up to something again.