Heiress' Househusband is a Secret Billionaire - Chapter 49

Chapter 49: She Still Benefited From This Coincidence

<.Lumina Spring.>

Standing opposite the rooftop railing, Ruediger threw his gaze across the dazzling nightscape. Colorful neon lights adorned the whole city, marking how alive it was.

The night breeze was cooler from this higher elevation. The sweet scent of flowers saturated the air as the wind spread its fragrance.

The peace offered by this rooftop garden helped to alleviate the rest of Ruediger’s nerves.

“This place is indeed quiet and pretty, Lettie.”

Ruediger tore his emerald eyes away from the view, looking at Lariette beside him. The hanging fairy lights between the trellises of ivy illuminated her smiling face.

“If you’re bored when working, you can take a quick break in this garden. I used to have tea with Maddie here too. Not many people come here but, it’s well taken care of.”

Lariette arched her brows, happy to introduce the rooftop garden to Ruediger. She was also relieved to see the lines of tension on his face gradually soften.

“Having tea, huh?” Ruediger smiled lop-sidedly as an idea crossed his mind, “Why don’t we have tea time here tomorrow? I’ll bake a few desserts for you.”

“Oh! I won’t say no to that!”

Lariette’s happy exclamation earned helpless laughter from Ruediger. The rhyming of his heartbeat quickened as he took in her beaming countenance.

Tonight was another blessing for him. He couldn’t deny how fortunate he felt for just spending mundane yet peaceful moments with her.

So, he should take the next step to ensure the ongoing of this peace.

Locking his eyes on Lariette’s smiling face, Ruediger said, his voice calm in the quiet garden, “Lettie, I have something to discuss with you.”

“What is it?”

Lariette raised her brows, wondering what did Ruediger think of. The way he worded his remark piqued her interest.

Discuss?

Discuss about what?

Ruediger stretched his lips into a smirk. Arching one of his brows, he replied, “If you’ll allow me, I will make sure Damien Schuman is exiled from this country.”

The surprised look on her face was something he had anticipated.

Each of Ruediger’s words was clear, drifting in the night air before reaching Lariette. His remark cast a confused look on her face, unable to register the meaning immediately.

In a daze, her sapphire eyes stared at the man’s crafty yet charming smile. Something playful was in the way his emerald eyes glinted under the warm golden lights.

“…make sure he is exiled?” Lariette parted her lips, still seemingly baffled by what Ruediger had just told her, “How?”

Banishing Damien from Velondia?

That Damien Schuman? The heir of the Schuman Group?

Even though the Schuman family was below the Elshers, Lariette knew it was still hard to achieve that goal.

Unless she got some assistance from her maternal grandfather.

What was Ruediger’s plan?

A light chuckle escaped Ruediger’s lips. The evident bafflement on Lariette’s face tickled his heart.

“Why don’t we sit first?”

Ruediger pointed to the nearby garden table, tucked under an elegant archway. The soft moonlight cast a silvery glow over the delicate clusters of flowers adorning the frame.

“Okay,” Lariette nodded once, eager to know what else Ruediger would tell her.

The lady and the gentleman left the railing, seeking shelter under the arch. Their footsteps were light on the concrete floor, their shadows elongating behind.

The air was still cool, infused with the faint, earthy fragrance of the night-blooming flowers nearby. With no one else on the rooftop, the solitude provided much needed privacy.

Lariette and Ruediger sat opposite one another. The initial confusion on her face vanished, now replaced with anticipation.

Without wasting time, Ruediger began, “Have you heard of the recent news about the Schumans? The company is under investigation for funds misusing now.”

Lariette blinked before she exclaimed in the next second, “Ah! I remember! Yes, I’ve read news about it.”

The first time Lariette learned of the news was on the day of her first date with Ruediger at the lake park[01]. She recalled how happy she was because this issue might mean less disturbance from Damien.

Lariette’s guess was correct. Even though Damien still bothered her after their breakup, the frequency was much lower than she expected, most likely due to the trouble in his company.

Lariette also guessed Damien was desperate to get her back because of this issue. She still remembered the few times he hinted at getting Chairman Delaney’s assistance when they were still together.

“Wait…” Lariette trailed off, finally realizing something. Locking her eyes with Ruediger, she quietly said, “Faulkner is their major investor… Eddy, did you plan this with Mr. Nathaniel?”

Realizing how she sounded, Lariette quickly added, looking a little flustered.

“I didn’t mean you planned this because of me. Did Faulkner Investment put Schuman Group under a close watch and find out about the misused funds?”

Lariette unconsciously clenched her hands together. Her cheeks flushed, caused by the heat emanating due to her blunder earlier.

How could she say that?

Wouldn’t it sound as if he did this favor because of her?

No matter how benevolent Ruediger could be, Lariette was reluctant to entertain such thoughts.

Ruediger and Nathaniel might be the best of brothers but, Lariette believed mobilizing such a plan was still hard for him. After all, it involved the entire company belonging to the Schumans.

The most logical assumption was, that Faulkner Investment had been monitoring the Schuman Group and the discovery overlapped with the period of her breakup with Damien.

All in all, she benefited from this coincidence.

“Anyway… are you thinking of asking Mr. Nathaniel for help?”

With the unyielding hold on the Schuman Group, Nathaniel most likely could exile Damien from this country.

Lariette believed Chairman Schuman would rather sacrifice his son in order to save the company. She had witnessed such things happen often in high society.

The light in Ruediger’s orbs softened upon seeing the flustered look on Lariette’s face. She darted her eyes elsewhere, seemingly nervous to return his gaze.

When Ruediger finally responded, his words, spoken ever so softly stunned Lariette for the second time tonight.

“I did plan this with him, Lettie. I’m sorry for not telling you this until now but, I started this on the same day I first approached you about our marriage.”

“…you did what?” asked Lariette, her voice laden with uncertainty.

Did she hear him wrong?

He began the plan on the day they first met at the hospital, really?

Wishing to alleviate the doubts forming in Lariette’s mind, Ruediger reiterated his words and explained further.

“I’m worried about him retaliating badly in the future. I told Nate to check if there’s anything hidden by the Schuman. His team found out about the misused funds so, we struck them with that.”

Lariette responded with nothing, still trying to register every one of Ruediger’s words in her mind. She nodded softly at him, urging him to continue talking.

Ruediger inwardly sighed in relief seeing no fear shown in Lariette’s eyes. He knew full well that she might think of him as a creep because of the action he did behind her back.

As for now, Ruediger could only tell Lariette the half-truth. He still had many things concealed from her.

And…

Some of them even dated decades ago.

Exhaling a breath, Ruediger resumed, his voice a low murmur in the quiet of the night.

“Damien Schuman himself who misused the funds. Nate wants to punish him already but, he said I could make the choice. So, what do you think about exiling him out of this country?”

Getting back to the original question, Lariette had no other answer aside from…

“If it won’t put you and Mr. Nathaniel in a tough spot, please do it.”

She shouldn’t let go of this chance, right?

With Damien gone, Lariette knew she had one less problem to think about.

Well, she didn’t want to think about an annoying fly like Damien, Stephanie and the others but, they were dead set on continuously annoying her.

Like pesky mosquitoes!

Grrr!

———-

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