Chapter 1375 Making Her Pay
Ichika’s steps faltered when she saw Solomon exiting the car. As much as she wanted to go over to him, she was suddenly overwhelmed with uncertainty and nervousness.
By then, the day was already breaking. Under the dawn’s light, Solomon could see his wife standing at the door with red-rimmed eyes and a swollen face. The urge to rush to him was clear in her expression, but for some reason, she was holding herself back. Instead, she only stood rooted to the spot, wringing her hands together and looking like a scared animal.
Sighing, Solomon walked over. “Does it hurt?”
“No…” Ichika murmured. Despite her words, fresh tears quickly gathered in her eyes at his display of concern. Unable to help herself, she blinked, and the tears began to fall.
It was a pitiful sight that unexpectedly made Solomon’s heart ache. He had never felt that way toward anyone, and yet, at this very moment, he was willing to do anything to stop the girl’s tears.
He sighed again inwardly. What a silly girl. There’s no way that face of hers doesn’t hurt. She doesn’t have to hold anything back in front of me.
In the end, however, he said nothing.
Wendy approached him with a concerned look. “Mr. Solomon, please don’t blame Ms. Minamoto. She’s still young. Not to mention that her sister provoked her…”
Solomon hummed in acknowledgment before leading Ichika to the car and driving back home.
Once they were back, Ichika was pleasantly surprised to see that her husband was not reproachful toward her as she had expected. Rather, he treated her even better than usual. Not only did he run her a bath, but he also applied some cream on her face to ease the swelling. He even waited until she had fallen asleep before leaving her side.
Touched by his gestures, Ichika was put at ease, and her apprehension had finally dissipated.
After making sure that his wife was asleep, Solomon went to his own bedroom and sent a text: Get rid of Giichi Minamoto’s eldest daughter.
His man in Jetroina gaped at the message. Isn’t Giichi Minamoto his father-in-law? Why would he want to get rid of his sister-in-law?
Another text from his boss soon followed: If I remember correctly, there’s a Nogita family in Terrandya. See to it that she marries into that family.
The man’s eyes widened in shock at the latest instruction.
The Nogita family used to be prestigious, but it had been steadily on the decline over the years, to the point where even the ordinary local folks would think twice about marrying into such a family.
Not only had the family come down in the world, but the Nogita men were also notorious for their vices. It was not too long ago that one of the Nogitas’ sons was even arrested for soliciting prostitutes.
Needless to say, Solomon’s order baffled the man, who had no idea what Himari had done that caused such a reaction from his boss. What he did know, however, was that it had been a long time since his boss issued such an order. Ever since Solomon assumed his identity as a Hayes, he had dropped his guileful acts and acted much like an honorable businessman. He had not resorted to conspiring someone’s utter downfall in a very long time.
Until now, that is. The subordinate hastened to do what he was told.
When Himari got off the plane the next morning, a piece of scandal about her had already been spreading online like a wildfire. It was a photo of her in a VIP lounge of a nightclub along with several other rich girls, enjoying the erotic services of a few male escorts.
Comments from the netizens were overwhelmingly negative, and people on the streets were also gossiping about her and the girls’ lavish and sinful lifestyle.
“Is that Himari Minamoto? Wow, one would think that someone from an upstanding, prestigious family would have more shame than that.”
“Rich people and their vices… Frankly, it’s a disgrace.”
Though leaked by Solomon’s subordinate, the photo itself was authentic. It was indeed Himari, who was a regular at the nightclub.
Despite the strict upbringing of the Minamoto family, she had nevertheless grown to become a conceited and arrogant individual.
The family rules stipulated that the Minamoto children must avoid making public appearances and act virtuously. Ichika, for example, followed the rules and tended to stay away from the limelight, choosing to stay at home besides going to school and taking part in outdoor hobbies. This resulted in her becoming the naive, innocent person she was then.
Himari, on the other hand, was always eager to be the center of attention, and she was not above flaunting her wealth and status to achieve that.
As a matter of fact, she had been to places and done things even more wild and ludicrous than engaging in questionable acts with male escorts in a nightclub, all the while keeping her family in the dark.
When this piece of scandal broke out, many others soon followed. Articles of all kinds circulated online, exposing the misdeeds that Himari had done in the past.
By the time she became aware of what was going on, the entire Terrandya was in upheaval, sending her family into rage and humiliation.
Giichi, in particular, was shaking with fury. Once he saw Himari, he slapped her hard without preamble. “Vile, good-for-nothing child!” he seethed. “How dare you do such things behind our backs!”
The slap was hard enough to send Himari tumbling and collapsing on the floor in a position that was ironically similar to her sister’s the night before.
