Hiding Behind Her Superficiality by Kyla Olson

Chapter 551 Turning Your Back on Him
Arthur had a strong idea in his mind that he wanted to prove. The moment he
pushed the door open, he was greeted by colors that shouldn’t have belonged to
Blake’s room.
Margot explained next to him with some embarrassment, “This room belonged to
Blake at first, but Elspeth moved in here afterward, no? That’s why she stayed in
this room for a while.”
As expected, it’s the same as I thought, thought Arthur. He entered the room
directly, walking around before his gaze fell upon a framed illustration lying on the
desk. The illustration looked adorable, and it seemed to be a casual sketch by
Elspeth. He gently stroked it as a hint of tenderness flitted across his face.
An uneasy thought crossed Margot’s mind when she saw him like this. Don’t tell
me Arthur has feelings for Elspeth. At the thought of this, she immediately shook
her head in an attempt to dispel the idea, but she couldn’t seem to get it out of
her mind. In the end, she couldn’t help but ask, “Arthur, you just said you have
something to discuss with Callum. What’s the matter, actually?”
“It’s about the acquisition of the Winthrop Group.”
Margot jumped at the word ‘acquisition.’ “Acquisition? What happened to the
Winthrop Group? Why does it have to be acquired?”
Arthur purposely pretended to look very sorry. “There’s no way around it. The
Winthrop Group appears to be going strong under Callum’s management, but in
fact, it’s already rotten to the core. I can’t just sit back and watch it go bankrupt,
right? It’s Dad’s life work, after all.”
He tried to make himself seem benevolent and great-hearted with these highsounding words, but how could Margot not figure out the intrigues and plots
behind them? She wasn’t a fool, after all. “Arthur, you can’t do such a heartless
thing. Callum is your brother.” She tried to sound as gentle as she could. “Callum
has done everything he could to look after you over so many years, you know.
Do you think it’s right for you to turn your back on him at such a time?”
“Me turning my back on him? Are you kidding me?” Arthur burst out laughing
unashamedly. “Mrs. Winthrop, I call you ‘Mom’ out of respect, but could you have
forgotten the favoritism you’ve shown over the years?” He would never forget
how Margot and Theodore had Callum join the Winthrop Group as an intern and
named the man the future heir to the company while forbidding him to join the
company just because he wasn’t related to them by blood. They even told me
falsely that they had done all of this for my own good, that I couldn’t survive at the
company with my temperament, that Callum was more qualified to be the heir to
the company with his steady character and would help us as much as possible.
How ironic, he thought. “Since you can’t treat us equally, I’ll do whatever I can to
steal it.”
“Arthur!” Margot placed her hands on his arm. She wanted to talk him out of this,
only for him to shake her off mercilessly. He said, “Don’t touch me! I’m telling you,
I’m gonna acquire the Winthrop Group today no matter what!”
Margot looked like a sorry sight upon being thrown to the floor.

“Arthur, what are you doing?” questioned an angry voice from behind.
Arthur looked back indifferently and saw Callum and Elspeth at a glance. They
were both coming this way, and neither of them looked very pleased. He
shrugged and sat down on the couch nonchalantly, saying, “What am I doing? I’m
not doing anything.”
Elspeth stepped aside and helped Margot up; only after whispering to Margot
and making sure that she was all right did she feel relieved. “Arthur, she’s your
mother and has raised you for over 20 years! Not even a pet dog deserves such
treatment, no?” she questioned in a confrontational tone, losing control of her
emotions.
“Stay out of this, Elspeth. You know nothing about the story behind this,” Arthur
replied nonchalantly before turning to fix his gaze upon Callum. “Callum, surely
you know my purpose in being here today?”
Callum uttered, “Yes, I do, of course.”
“I’ve thought about it. I accept your terms, but there’s a condition.” Arthur raised
his eyebrows. “You have to promise me that you’ll stay out of the business circle
from today onward.”
Callum had studied finance and business management at university, not to
mention he had always been trained to be heir to the Winthrop Group since he
was little. Therefore, forbidding him to do business and be part of the business
circle right now would simply be equivalent to chopping his hands off. Arthur
deliberately proposed such a tough condition just to bring Callum to heel—or
rather to embarrass him.
Just as he had expected, Callum’s face darkened visibly at once. “Arthur, don’t
you go too far!”
“Callum, I’ve accepted your many conditions, no? You asked for 15 billion, so I’ve
brought the money here to you. That’s not a small amount, you know.”
Elspeth let out a chuckle. We’ve been waiting for you to say this, she thought.
Callum’s expression softened a little, though he continued to resist. “Still, that’s
an exacting condition to me.”
Arthur retorted, “Exacting, huh? Callum, don’t forget that I was totally banned
from joining the Winthrop Group back then. Dad has put his heart and soul into
preparing you for the job, but it’s such a shame that you’re so useless that you
can’t even keep the company.” He looked up proudly, feeling incredibly pleased
with the sight of Callum looking like a wretched prisoner. Still, he had a bit of
regret. If only Dad were here. That way, he’d witness with his own eyes how
Callum has sunk so low as to be forced to give the Winthrop Group up to
someone else. On the contrary, his third son, whom he had never thought highly
of at first, founded the Bluestone Corp and ends up inheriting his legacy. Every
dog has its day, eh?
“Arthur, have you prepared the money?”
Arthur frowned at the sight of the man’s worthless appearance. “I seriously
wonder how you managed the Winthrop Group. I’ve never seen you being so
hungry for money before. Tsk, tsk. Perhaps I was wrong about you. I thought you
were such an unfathomable rival…” Well, he’s just a profit-seeking businessman,
after all. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you every cent of the money. But you have to sign
the paper first.” He pushed the contract before him toward Callum with a
triumphant smile.
Callum picked up the contract and leafed through it with a smirk curving his lips.
“What a good brother you are. These unfair clauses are written so well.”
Arthur replied, “Would I dare to hide them from you? That’s why they’re written
explicitly, no?” He had wanted to show some restraint; at least he wouldn’t have
let Callum see through these clauses so easily. On second thoughts, however,
the Winthrop Group was already on its last legs. Even if he had these clauses
written explicitly, they wouldn’t have any impact on the situation, and Callum
wouldn’t dare to argue with him either. That was why he had these clauses laid
out openly.
“Arthur, aren’t you afraid of getting what you deserve for all the bad things you’ve
done?”
Arthur raised his eyebrows with a noncommittal smile. “Why would I be afraid of
that? And besides, aren’t you the one who’s supposed to worry about your
situation right now?Chapter 552 I’m Not Gonna Sign This
Seeing that the man was still unrepentant, Callum slammed the document on the
desk with a frosty gleam in his eyes, saying, “I’m not gonna sign this.”
All at once, Arthur flew into a rage and stopped playing nice with Callum
altogether. “Callum, don’t you dare be so cheeky with me! I’m only willing to
negotiate a collaboration with you now because I still think of you as my brother!
You’ve made so many enemies before who can’t wait to kill you! Do you actually
think they’ll let you off if the Winthrop Group falls into the hands of another
plutocrat?” He sounded like he sincerely had Callum’s interests in mind.
Callum sneered while looking at the man in complete disappointment. “Arthur,
you don’t have to hide your motives with such a high-sounding excuse. You’re
just coveting the Winthrop Family’s fortune and wanting to have the Winthrop
Group to yourself while you’re at it.”
Arthur retorted, “Don’t push it, Callum! It’s fine as long as I’m well-intentioned.
Everything else is none of your business. What qualifies you to blame others
after leading the Winthrop Group into such a state?” He looked down