95. Come Back Osborne

Chapter 95

Come Back Osborne

As each uncut diamond was about to be cut, Barlyn and Austin felt a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

Osborne, however, remained nonchalant.

He knew exactly what was hidden within each uncut diamond and wasn't expecting any surprises. Although the diamonds he selected weren't particularly high in value individually, together, they amounted to a substantial sum.

After his selection, the Ashford family's diamond dealing market was essentially finished.

It would be impossible to cut out diamonds worth tens of millions, or even millions, in the future.

"Here it goes!"

The first uncut diamond was finally being cut. Austin eagerly rushed forward to open the cutting machine's cover, with Barlyn close beland her

As the cover lifted, Austin let out an excited exclamation.

"Wow!"

Austin's face lit up with excitement and delight. "It's glassy one! It's a bit greenish. Although it's not very large, it's worth at least 20 million dollars"

Barlyn, who wasn't very familiar with diamond values, was thrilled by Austin's reaction

This was just the first of the uncut diamonds.

They had bought over forty uncut diamonds in total, and if each one turned out this well, they could potentially make over 800 million!

Of course, in his mind, Barlyn knew that wasn't likely, but the prospect was still thrilling

According to their agreed distribution, both he and Austin would get thirty percent each, so several million were already in the bag

"Ha, let's keep going!"

Both Barlyn and Austin were in high spirits, while Wesley and Ophelia were visibly uncomfortable.

"Just 200 million, at least it's not as bad as last time." Wesley consoled himself

The last time, Osborne had cut out over 20 pounds of glassy diamond worth more than a billion, which had made him spit blood

Twenty million was something he could handle.

The cutting continued,

Ophelia, deep in thought, suddenly approached Osborne and said softly, "Osborne, when did you start sucking up to Ms Montague? Your charm with women is quite extraordinary. But as a man, when will you rely on your own abilities instead of women? When will you live on your own merit?"

Osborne glanced at Ophelia with a calm expression

"Does it concern you? I'll curry favor with whoever I want and rely on whoever I choose. It's none of your business."

"You"

Ophelia's face flushed with anger.

Having been in a relationship with Osborne for four years and married for three, she had never heard him speak to her like this before. His rude tone stung.

But they were already divorced, and she had no authority over him now.

Gritting her teeth, Ophelia said, "I'm only looking out for you! Relying on women is just temporary. Once they think you're no longer useful, they'll toss you aside like yesterday's trash!"

Osborne smirked, retorting, "Ophelia, are you speaking from experience? Do you think every woman is like you, ready to discard her husband when he's deemed useless?

His scornful expression made Ophelia uncomfortable.

She thought to herself, "I know asking for a divorce was harsh, but I had no choice."

The Wise Order required me to divorce Osborne to ensure that the Caldwell family's fortune wouldn't fall into the wrong hands.

"I had to be ruthless."

"Whatever. I'm still trying to help you! And if you had shown the capability you have now back then, we wouldn't have had to divorce. The Wise Order wouldn't have forced us to split"

Osborne sneered, "So now it's my fault?"

"Im not saying it's your fault, but if you had shown your abilities earlier, we wouldn't have ended up like this. You have to make things awkward for me?"

Ophelia then glanced at the cutting machine.

At that moment, several uncut diamonds were being sliced open, each revealing a high–quality diamond worth at least 10 milton if not several tens of millions

Even someone with no experience could tell that Osborne's method of selecting these uncut diamonds was extraordinary.

It was unheard of for every single uncut diamond to yield a gem of such high value.

Ophelia's breath quickened with anticipation

She thought, "If only these uncut diamonds were picked out by Osborne for me."

She hurriedly called out, "Osborne, come back! We may not be able to be together, but we can still be business partners! You have an incredible knack for selecting uncut diamonds, and with the Caldwell Group's expertise in jewelry design and sales, we could make a great team!

"Pick out the uncut diamonds, cut them, and once the money starts rolling in, the Caldwell family can give you a 10% cut of the profits!"

Osborne was taken aback, his eyes widening in disbelief.

He looked at her with contempt "You want me to go back to the Caldwell family? And you're offering me a 10% share?

"Ophelia, your ambition far exceeds your capabilities. Don't make such offers again, we're done. I won't be working with you.

With that, Osborne turned on his heel and walked away.

Ophelia stood there, stunned, her fists clenched lightly as regret and frustration welled up inside her

Before long, over forty uncut diamonds had been sliced open.

Barlyn and Austin were so excited they could barely contain themselves, eagerly calculating how much money they were about to make

Meanwhile, Wesley felt overwhelmed, on the brink of passing out from the shock.

He spat out blood again, his condition worsening by the second.

Osborne had grown accustomed to Wesley's frequent blood–spitting,

He said coolly to Ophelia, "He must be suffering from some sort of illness. You'd better take him to see a good doctor. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll be a widow before long."

Ophelia's face darkened, but she didn't argue.

Inside, she felt a pang of disappointment. Wesley, as the heir to the Ashford family, should have shown more resilience. At a time like this, he should be holding it together, no matter how tough things got.

By comparison, Osborne had a much stronger constitution

In the three years he spent with the Caldwell family, he endured humiliation, torture, and pressures that most people couldn't even imagine. Even she thought Osborne was a bit of a pushover, but he never complained or faltered.

Thinking about this, Ophelia felt a moment of distraction.

She took a deep breath and turned to Austin. "Ms. Montague, hello I'm Ophelia, the heir to the Caldwell family. We're in the business of jewelry design and sales. We'd like to buy some of these high–quality diamonds from you at a price 10% above market value. What do you think?"

Ophelia looked at Austin with hopeful eyes

She was under immense pressure.

The Caldwell Group's rival, Luna Jewelry, had gained access to a substantial amount of top–grade diamonds thanks to Osborne. With Alison's handling, Luna Jewelry had quickly made a name for itself, squeezing the Caldwell Group's presence in the high–end jewelry market

Many of the Caldwell Group's high–end clients had recently turned to Luna Jewelry for their custom orders.

The Wise Order of the Caldwell family had harshly criticized Ophelia for the situation, demanding she find a way to turn things around. quickly

To do that, she needed a significant supply of top–grade diamonds, which were limited.

Although the Ashford family had provided some support, it was far from sufficient. She had to figure out a solution on her own. Now, seeing Austin cut out a large quantity of high–quality diamonds, Ophelia was eager to buy a portion, even at a premium. She believed this was a reasonable request

"Ms. Montague, what do you say? If you think the price isn't right, we can negotiate further."

Austin gave her a dismissive glance. Im definitely planning to sell these diamonds, but I can't decide who buys them. You'll need to talk to Osborne about that. If he agrees to sell to you, then fine by me."

Ophelia was taken aback

She thought, "I need Osborne's approval?

Isn't he just a sycophant hanging on Austin's coattails? He's only good at picking uncut diamonds, how can he decide who gets to buy the diamonds?"

Her brows furrowed as she considered asking Osborne to sell the diamonds to her

It was a difficult pill to swallow, but given the criticism from the Wise Order and the current situation of the Caldwell Group, she had to push through her discomfort.

"Osborne, I…"

Before Ophelia could finish her sentence, Osborne interrupted with a wave of his hand,

"Ophelia, don't even bother. I won't be selling any diamonds to you.

"If you need diamonds, try asking Wesley"

With that, Osborne turned to contact Alison, instructing her to come and take over.

There was no way he'd sell these diamonds to Ophelia.

He hadn't forgotten what she'd done to him.

Besides, Luna Jewelry was his company.

Osborne was looking forward to the day Luna Jewelry would surpass the Caldwell Group and relish the sight of Ophelia's and the Caldwell family's dismay.

So, even though these diamonds weren't as top–notch as the previous batch and mostly just high– quality, they were still going to Luna Jewelry.

Soon enough, Alison arrived with her team.

Watching the scene unfold, Ophelia bit her lip, her face a storm of anger and envy as she glared at Alison.

Unfortunately, no one cared about her feelings.

"Ms. Montague, Mr. Radcliffe, the appraisals for all the diamonds are complete. The total comes to 960 million dollars. I can round it up to a nice round number–one billion. What do you think?"

Austin and Barlyn's faces lit up with surprise.

This figure was considerably higher than their own estimate. How could they not be pleased?

Yet, they remained silent and looked at Osborne.

Alison also turned to Osborne and said, "Boss, what do you think of this price? If we handle the deal well, we could still make quite a profit!"

Osborne smiled, "Agreed."

Austin, however, was taken aback "Boss? Osborne, you're the owner of Luna Jewelry? Why didn't you mention it earlier? Since it's your own company, the price shouldn't be this high! I think 500 million is more than enough

"Right, Barlyn?"

Barlyn nodded in agreement. "Exactly! 500 million is more than fair. If it weren't for Osborne bringing us into this, these diamonds wouldn't have had anything to do with us."

Osborne shook his head. "It's not the same. We had an agreement, and these diamonds would fetch at least 800 to 900 million anywhere else."

"That's not the point!"

The group huddled together, debating the price. Eventually, they compromised at 800 million

Luna Jewelry would still make a substantial profit, and Barlyn and Austin would not lose out much

According to the distribution plan, each of them would get 240 million.