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Chapter 30 Sowing Discord

Lawrence's face grew darker, his cold eyes sweeping over the room.

Cheryl was startled but couldn't help feeling a bit smug inside.

So what if they were married now? If Randy hadn't bailed on the wedding, Lawrence wouldn't even be in the picture. As long as Randy kept showing up around Hazel, he'd always be a thorn in their side.

No way they wouldn't end up divorced.

"Lawrence, don't be too mad. Hazel's always been like this. Back when she was with the Anderson family, she'd sometimes make things tough for me or others, whether she meant to or not. Now that the Anderson family is in trouble, she doesn't even look back." Cheryl wiped at imaginary tears in the corners of her eyes, her delicate brows furrowing as she put on a pitiful, persecuted look.

Lawrence just watched her, ignoring her fake vulnerability. He didn't want to show his impatience too obviously, so he nodded slightly.

Cheryl, encouraged, continued her act, leaning closer to Lawrence. Just as her hair was about to brush his shoulder, he deftly moved away, leaving her grasping at air.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Cheryl adjusted her hair and decided to up the ante.

"Lawrence, I know you're really mad. Hazel's just relying on her bit of independence, plus Randy does like her." Cheryl emphasized "like" heavily, as if she'd actually seen Hazel and Randy together.

Lawrence saw right through her. He sneered and asked, "So what do you think I should do with Hazel?"

Cheryl finally heard what she wanted. Eagerly, she said, "You could help the Anderson family out financially. If they get through this crisis, we can handle Hazel ourselves. She'll realize how foolish she's been and will definitely be obedient to you!"

But in fact, Cheryl had no intention of letting Hazel get close to Lawrence. If Hazel managed to win him over, what then? Cheryl wanted to solve the Anderson family's problems and then deal with Hazel, making sure she never appeared in Lawrence's life again.

Just like before, everything Hazel had should belong to Cheryl. Other than her better background, what did Hazel have over Cheryl?

Lawrence raised an eyebrow, thinking Cheryl was incredibly foolish. If he really wanted to deal with Hazel, he wouldn't need the Anderson family to do it.

But since he'd promised Hazel to play along with Cheryl's schemes, he pretended not to see through Cheryl's intentions. "Sure, I'll visit the Anderson Group soon and see what I can do to help."

Cheryl was overjoyed, jumping up to hug Lawrence, who dodged her again.

Lawrence's face darkened even more. He despised women he didn't like throwing themselves at him.

Cheryl, thinking Lawrence was just angry at Hazel, felt even more triumphant.

On the way back to the Anderson family, Cheryl hummed happily. She believed that with Lawrence's help, once the Anderson family recovered and Hazel was out of the picture, she'd smoothly become Mrs. Johnson.

"Dad!" Cheryl burst into Keith's study as soon as she got home.

Keith, buried in paperwork and stress from the company's crisis, looked up, annoyed at the sudden interruption. He was about to scold her when she blurted out, "Lawrence agreed to help the Anderson family through this crisis! With the Johnson family's support, we'll definitely bounce back!"

Keith hadn't expected Cheryl to actually convince Lawrence to help. His angry expression softened, and he patted Cheryl's head. "Well done, Cheryl. I knew you had potential, unlike that useless Hazel. You're the Anderson family's biggest asset now. If you want anything, just let me know!"

Cheryl nodded, gritting her teeth. "Dad, even if Hazel becomes Mrs. Johnson, it won't help the Anderson family at all. Let me take her place. I can tell Lawrence has some interest in me, but Hazel's in the way. Can you send Hazel abroad?"

Keith thought for a moment.

Though Hazel was his daughter, she hadn't contributed much to the Anderson family and had even caused some embarrassment. Cheryl, on the other hand, was obedient and easy to manage. If Lawrence really liked Cheryl, he could easily arrange for her to marry him.

"Alright, Cheryl. Whatever you want, I'll support you." Keith smiled as he watched Cheryl leave the study.

He immediately picked up his phone to contact clients who had backed out due to financial issues, assuring them that the Anderson family was back on track and ready to do business.

With the Johnson family's investment, they'd have enough to buy materials and get the Anderson Group running smoothly again.

As Cheryl left the study, she saw Randy visiting the Anderson family. Overjoyed, she ran up to him, praising him, "Randy, thanks to you, Lawrence was really upset after seeing the photos. When I mentioned the Anderson family's crisis, he immediately agreed to help!"

Randy had come to see Cheryl under the pretense of visiting Keith. Hearing her talk about Lawrence, he felt a surge of jealousy and frustration.

"Cheryl, aren't you getting a bit too close to Lawrence?" Randy asked, trying to keep his anger in check.

Cheryl, lost in her fantasy of becoming Mrs. Johnson, didn't notice Randy's tone. "What are you talking about, Randy? Without Lawrence, we couldn't solve this problem. I'm only getting close to him for the Anderson family's sake."

"Lawrence again. Cheryl, if Lawrence really wanted to help the Anderson family, why did he need me to get close to Hazel? You know I hate being around that woman!" Randy finally snapped, yelling at Cheryl.

Cheryl was stunned, then felt a wave of grievance and confusion. "You think I wanted you to get close to Hazel? It was the only way to get Lawrence's attention. You haven't been any help at all!"

"Wh... what?" Randy was shocked by Cheryl's words.

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