She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 821

In the blink of an eye, two months flew by.

During this time, Melanie was swamped, constantly bouncing between her laboratory and the Royce Group, occasionally taking brief trips to Xavorn.

As her devoted assistant, Preston stayed faithfully by her side the entire time.

Today, she received a call from Leila Langley.

Melanie had fully expected Leila to reach out right around now.

"Hello? Ms. Royce, the Royce Group's latest batch of Arctic Burdock Roots should be fully matured by now, right?"

Leila's voice crackled through the speaker, dripping with gloating anticipation.

"Yes, they just matured. Why do you ask?"

"Why do I ask... You really are forgetful, Ms. Royce. Two months ago, at the Botanical & Pharmaceutical Trade Expo, you made a very public bet with me in front of the entire industry and the press. You promised that if your current crop of Arctic Burdock Roots failed the quality inspection upon maturity, you would pay me a hundred million dollars. Don't tell me you're trying to back out?"

"Oh, that."

Melanie responded with the casual tone of someone who had genuinely just remembered.

"My apologies, I've been incredibly busy with work lately. It totally slipped my mind."

Hearing Melanie's breezy tone, Leila sneered internally.

'Slipped her mind'? Yeah, right.

Leila didn't buy for a second that Melanie was actually unfazed by a hundred-million-dollar wager.

No matter how busy she was, it wasn't like every single deal she touched was worth a hundred million.

It wasn't a small amount of money; there was no way she didn't care.

In Leila's eyes, Melanie was backed into a corner and utterly desperate.

So, she was just stalling for time, playing dumb and dragging it out as long as possible.

If Leila hadn't taken the initiative to call, she was one hundred percent certain Melanie would have pretended the bet never existed.

But naturally, Leila wasn't about to let her off the hook.

"You might have forgotten, Ms. Royce, but I certainly haven't! And of course, to ensure total transparency and authority, I've already booked Averin's top third-party testing facility. Today... You're not going to get cold feet, are you?"

"...Fine."

"It really is true what they say. What Leila wants, Leila gets."

Muttering happily to herself, Leila began mentally mapping out exactly how she was going to spend her hundred million dollars.

By 2:00 PM, the entrance to Averin's premier third-party testing facility was completely jammed with parked cars and a massive crowd.

When Melanie arrived, she was genuinely a little surprised.

She had fully expected Leila to alert the media—that was just her style.

After all, Leila was entirely convinced of her own victory.

But Melanie realized she had slightly underestimated just how desperate Leila was to see her publicly ruined.

It wasn't just the media outlets who had witnessed the original bet at the Expo.

Judging by the sheer size of the mob, Melanie guessed Leila had contacted literally every single news outlet in Averin.

Reporters were armed with professional cameras, microphones, and even drones buzzing overhead for aerial coverage.

Furthermore, Leila had invited a massive crowd from the medical and pharmaceutical sectors. Melanie spotted quite a few familiar faces in the throng.