Upon hearing this, I fell silent.
His generous offer left me thunderstruck.
I was after wealth.
Although I was from the Bernard family, I was hurting for money.
Damon was a tightwad and he never gave me allowance.
"Deal. The agreement takes effect immediately," I responded.
That night, Hawkins moved in with me.
I pointed at the guest room and said, "This is your room."
He raised an eyebrow and turned towards the master bedroom.
I kept up to him and blocked his way.
Without a word, he lifted me to his chest.
Caught off guard, I threw my arms around his neck.
"Hawkins, what the hell are you doing? Put me down!" I exclaimed.
He suddenly leaned in. His face was inches away from mine and I could feel his breath.
"Claire, we are legally married. What do you think we should do at this hour?"
I was enchanted by his magnetic voice, but didn't forget my intentions.
"No, I'm not ready!" I responded.
His face fell, but soon he regained his composure. "I'll transfer 3 million to you today."
As he kicked the master bedroom door open, he didn't notice my triumphant smile.
Both Hawkins and I had our own hidden agendas.
I needed to leverage his resources to tear Damon down.
I hated his guts as he was responsible for my mother's death.
I was bent on taking everything from him.
As for Hawkins, he married me solely for his beloved—Maria Pierce.
Maria was adopted by the Moore family family when they collaborated with the government to set up an orphanage.
Officially, they were siblings.
I had had Hawkins checked out.
At the age of eighteen, Maria suddenly moved out of the Moore family's residence.
Although they had a falling-out with her, the Moores still claimed that she was their adoptive daughter.
They hadn't reveled what had happened.
But I put the pieces together.
Given how protective Hawkins was of Maria, something was definitely going on with them.
But it didn't bother me at all.
Maria had married me to protect Maria.
As for me, I also had hidden agendas.
And the reason I chose him was really because of my father.
Back then, he was thirty years old and single, the heir of of the Moore Group.
In Chicago, everyone knew the the Bernards had bad blood with the Moores.
Since Damon had several illegitimate sons, he didn't pay much attention to me.
Eva Bernard, my mother, served food to me.