Darkstone Code
Chapter 123 - 0122 Atmosphere Splitter

Chapter 123: 0122 Atmosphere Splitter

Gap rarely wears an apron while busying himself at the table. Until yesterday, he had completed all his tasks and achieved good results.

Mr. Neo, the President of Ristone Group, personally met with him and will nominate him to become a junior partner at Ristone Group during the quarterly meeting at the end of this month or the beginning of next month.

Even with just the title of partner, the dividends he can receive from the Group each quarter exceed his current annual salary.

He understands that the reason Mr. Neo and the board approved him is to keep him quiet. During this time, he helped the Group handle many accounts and blocked many loopholes.

Most of the time, these loopholes wouldn’t be too problematic. After all, Ristone is a pillar business Group in Sabin City. Even if it encountered issues, as long as they weren’t nationwide shocks, Sabin City and even the state government would protect Ristone Group at all costs.

But when these loopholes are linked to Henghui Group’s case, and further involve Senators, possibly even the President’s Cabinet, even a small issue becomes a deadly knife stabbing into the heart.

To manage these accounts, Gap went above and beyond, finally getting the accounts to the point where they could be passed off.

Now his work has concluded, Mr. Neo personally awarded him a bonus to thank him for his overtime efforts during this period, and his job position has been correspondingly promoted.

After these matters wrapped up, he finally had time to resolve some minor family conflicts.

During this period, he noticed changes in his wife Vera but didn’t let it go unchecked. He hired a detective agency that has ties with Ristone Group to investigate whether there was an affair between Vera and Lynch.

He’s relieved to find his wife remained loyal to him all along. Although Lynch sometimes seems like a bad guy, their interactions always adhered to boundaries.

Today, he personally prepared dinner, partly to reward himself for his laborious work and partly to address the family issue.

He believes his wife can understand his struggles. He also knows Vera attended the celebration after Lynch’s auction, even though she joined only the first half. But all adults know what happens in that room.

She should understand that human will cannot sway certain inevitable happenings; refusal often isn’t a declaration of one’s moral purity but a stance on differing views.

With such an important position in such a critical department, how could he possibly distance himself from others?

Adjusting the tableware on the table and the heart-shaped folded napkin, he nodded with satisfaction.

He also checked the gifts meant for apologies and reconciliation—a diamond necklace valued over three thousand bucks and a platinum bracelet. The romantic atmosphere was so heavy it seemed to fill the room’s air with a sweet scent.

The sound of a key inserting into the lock cylinder came from outside the door. Gap hurriedly changed his clothes and hid the gifts, as they were surprises, even turning off the dining room lights.

He went to the foyer, opened the door, and greeted his wife’s return with a smile. They stood one inside the door, one outside, gazing at each other across the door for a brief moment.

Soon, Gap’s expression changed slightly, as the wind from outside when the door opened blew in, along with the cool summer night breeze and the scent of alcohol.

He asked, "Did you drink?"

With one sentence, the peace between them shattered. Vera stepped inside with the gift bag Lynch gave her and nodded, "I drank a little at dinner."

Gap frowned, "I didn’t know you were dining out."

In Bail Federal, dinner time tends to be later but also more formal.

Generally, corporations and factories end their workday around six o’clock, and with the time needed to commute home and other activities, most families start dining around seven o’clock.

Gap knew Lynch’s auction event would end a bit late and had specially set aside time; he couldn’t help but glance at his exquisite watch on his wrist. It was barely after eight o’clock.

Vera’s mood wasn’t high. For some reason, before opening the door, her face bore a smile with some ambiguous expressions, unsure if they were regret turning into joy. She felt she shouldn’t have kissed Lynch under the coaxing of others.

But in the instant the door opened, upon seeing her husband Gap’s face, her emotion suddenly—can’t say depressed—became calm and unruffled.

She nodded while heading upstairs, "You know now?"

"I thought you would come back for dinner; I prepared a special dinner!", Gap followed her upstairs. Had the romantic dinner he painstakingly arranged just ended like that?

Vera paused her steps slightly, turned her body sideways, and glanced back at the trailing Gap with a corner of her eye, "So, what do you want to say now?" Her expression in the deliberately dull light Gap created bore an indescribable sarcastic feeling, "Shall I eat a little more?"

Gap felt uncomfortable at this remark but still nodded, "I’ve prepared for a long time; you might be amazed by my cooking."

Vera hesitated for a moment, and eventually nodded, "I’ll go change my clothes..."

Continuing to walk upstairs, Gap didn’t stop her this time. He could sense that his wife seemed to be compromising, which was good.

His gaze fell on the gift bag Vera was carrying. Although he wanted to ask some things, he ultimately chose not to speak.

He believed that a normal, intelligent woman would know how to choose.

Whether to choose an entrepreneur with no future, who, apart from being good-looking, is destined to become a failure.

Or to choose someone like him with a promising future, who has become a partner in a group company, possessing a respectable job and social status among the upper class.

Gap, who constantly deals with numbers, was confident in this. He understood people’s realistic choices just from those bastards in the office who forget the "abstract①" daily.

Soon, Vera changed into relatively homey clothes and came downstairs. Gap slightly frowned, "I thought you would choose a dress, like the one I bought you for Spring Festival."

The dress Gap referred to was a high-slit, open-back evening gown. The dress not only required a good figure to pull off but also a certain amount of courage.

Sometimes, people from the lower society find it difficult to understand what makes an evening gown "formal" because sometimes these gowns indeed arouse certain latent, bare desires.

"This is more comfortable..." Vera had no intention of changing her clothes again. After coming downstairs, she looked at Gap, who was standing by the table pulling out a chair for her, then walked over and sat down.

This was a dinner meant to ease the issues between them. Gap didn’t want to let all the preparations go to waste over insignificant matters. He refrained from emphasizing the issue and started serving the dishes.

As he explained these dishes, he shared little stories related to them. Women always like knowledgeable men. Young women may obsess over a man’s appearance, but women with life experience appreciate men’s talents more.

This was a good opportunity, a great chance to show off his talents. He memorized everything he read during the day and added his own interpretation to recite them.

Just when he intended to pause slightly to give Vera some understanding, her words put him in an awkward spot.

"Can we eat now?"

The two stared at each other for a few seconds. Gap gritted his teeth and nodded, "Of course, I made these so we could enjoy them together. Do you need help with the steak?"

"No!"

This was destined to be a dinner not so warm or romantic. Vera tasted each dish a little, took a sip of wine, then picked up a napkin, "I’m done eating. A nice dinner..."

Gap froze for a moment, quickly taking out a gift he prepared, "Maybe today’s not the right time, shall we go out for dinner tomorrow?"

Under the light, the diamond necklace and platinum bracelet gleamed charmingly, yet Vera showed no interest at this moment.

She suddenly asked a question, "Didn’t you use these methods on those women willing to kiss your ass?"

The words shattered all romance into pieces. Gap’s hand, holding the gift box, returned to the table, and he frowned at Vera, "That’s all in the past. If you keep dwelling on that, the sun won’t rise!"

Vera showed a mocking smile, "The past? Do you dare swear by your mother that after that day, you didn’t touch another woman?"

Gap’s parents divorced when he was young. He was awarded to his mother, who worked hard to raise him and provide him with the opportunity to attend college.

Gap, who always aspired to excel, didn’t realize that his mother suffered from severe depression after the divorce.

Even in summer, his mother wore long sleeves and pants. Some traditional women dressed like that, but not for that reason.

She just didn’t want Gap to see the marks she left hurting herself during her deep depression. She didn’t want her son distracted by her issues. Eventually, after attending Gap’s college graduation ceremony, this poor woman ended her life.

This always left Gap with unresolved guilt towards his mother. Maybe if he had noticed her situation sooner, things would’ve been different.

Vera knew this well, hitting Gap where it hurt.

After a pause lasting probably two seconds, Vera stood up and headed upstairs, she already knew the answer.

=

① Abstract: This word sometimes gets confused with shorts.