Prosperous Marriage: Married to My Brother-in-law-Chapter 523 Different People, Different Loves (1)_1

A Land Rover drove into the Valence Group complex, heading straight for the entrance of the main building's first floor.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Rachel Bailey was entering the Valence Group for the first time—this mythical business empire. Even before getting out of the car, she could feel the enormity and solemnity of the Valence Group.

Hansen Ruiz turned his head and saw Rachel looking out the window, her eyes full of wonder. He leaned to one side, drawing closer and trapping Rachel in the crook of his arm. His face neared hers, stopping right in front of her as he blew hot breath onto her small face. His warm eyes crinkled with a broad smile. He wore this smile for almost everyone, resembling an innocuous Laughing Buddha; only those who truly knew him were aware that he concealed a knife behind it. However, the smile he reserved for Rachel was filled with tenderness, devoid of any harmful impurities.

"Don't you think it would be more realistic and fitting to size up the place after we get out of the car?"

Hansen Ruiz teased her with a smile. Noticing a few strands of hair had escaped her ponytail, he reached out, gathered them, and tucked them back behind her head, casually remarking, "Your hair grows a bit slowly, doesn't it? Not enough nutrition, perhaps?"

"Don't lean in so close; people will laugh," Rachel said, pushing him back into his seat. She added, "How could I not be getting enough nutrition when I eat so well every day? I definitely don't want to become overweight. I'm so petite. If I get fat, I'll be round and practically rolling around—it would be very unattractive."

With that, Rachel opened the car door and climbed out.

Hansen Ruiz was right; taking it all in after getting out of the car did feel more realistic, more fitting.

Pushed back into the driver's seat by her, Hansen Ruiz sat quietly for a minute, his gaze fixed on her. After hearing her words, his eyes flickered as if an idea had struck him. His gaze drifted to Rachel's abdomen, and he seemed lost in thought. About ten seconds later, a smile like a wolf eying a lamb spread across his face.

Standing at the entrance, Rachel looked up. It's so high! she couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

The business empire truly deserved its name. The Office Building alone soared sixty-eight floors high. Each floor boasted a vast area, and each one represented a subsidiary or Chain Store. Just look at the sheer number of subsidiaries and Chain Stores the Valence Group has!

"So, what do you think? Satisfied with where your husband works?" Hansen Ruiz also got out of the car, walked around to Rachel's side, and followed her gaze up at the building. He asked with a faint smile.

Rachel lowered her gaze from the building, glanced at him, and replied, "It's just your workplace, that's all."

It's not like it's *his* company, so what's there to be so proud of?

"Anyone who can get into the Valence Group is an elite in the business world. Can't I be a little proud?"

"Oh, come on. Look at you, your tail's practically reaching for the sky," Rachel teased, though she knew he was right. Without significant abilities, it was incredibly difficult to get into the Valence Group. She had worked before, albeit only as a junior accountant in the Finance Department of the Cosmos Group. She had also interacted with some high-level individuals and was fully aware that the Valence Group was a company everyone aspired to join, so much so that people would do almost anything for a chance.

Recalling her previous job, Rachel suddenly asked, "What's happened to the Cosmos Group now? I heard it completely collapsed. Your boss is really something else; Cosmos Group was a medium-sized company with decent strength, yet he managed to bring it down in such a short time."

The last time she and Julia Bluen went shopping, they had coincidentally run into a hysterical Diana Powell. That was how she found out the Cosmos Group had gone bankrupt after Dio Powell's mistress absconded with all the company's cash.

Lately, she had been busy and hadn't paid much attention to the Cosmos Group's affairs.

In her heart, she felt the Powell Family deserved it. Who asked the Powells and that heartless Nicholas Coldwell to be so blind as to not recognize Julia Bluen for who she was, and to actually abandon and harm her? Well, I suppose I was one of those blind people too. I knew Julia for three years, and we had a deep friendship, yet I never knew she was actually the daughter of such a prominent and wealthy family.

There was no helping it. Julia had hidden her background so well. She took the bus every day, ate fast food just like the rest of them, or had the same kinds of snacks that their working-class peers ate. Always dressed in a professional suit, she seemed no different from anyone else. The only distinction was an air of nobility and grace in her demeanor.

No one would have ever guessed she was a princess in disguise.

She had once asked Julia about her family.

Julia had simply said that her family lived in the City District, her father had a job, and her mother was a homemaker. She also mentioned an older sister and a younger brother who were both working. According to her, it was a happy, content, and harmonious family.

Rachel felt no sympathy for the Cosmos Group, even though she had worked there for three years.

It served the Powell Family right for using their wealth to bully people!

Glades Horne is truly formidable!

Hansen Ruiz's eyes twinkled as he answered, "The Cosmos Group has been acquired by us and is now one of our subsidiaries. It still mainly produces lighting fixtures. We've replaced about half of the previous management, but the employees mostly stayed. Of course, we allowed anyone who wanted to leave to do so. However, when they heard the Valence Group had acquired Cosmos, most of them chose to stay. The new management team consists of people we've trained ourselves—new business elites with extensive experience in lighting products, management, and other related areas." Even then, Hansen Ruiz hadn't told Rachel that he was the one who had accelerated the Cosmos Group's demise.

He wasn't like Glades Horne, who might play a long game; Hansen preferred quick, decisive action. Glades Horne had an unpredictable nature. Sometimes he would strike swiftly, while other times he would use a small knife, metaphorically speaking, to slowly carve away at his target until only bones remained—a fate where death might seem a mercy. His methods could make people suffer to the point of wishing for death but finding no escape, all while he observed their desperate struggles from his vantage point on the sixty-eighth floor, a look of cold amusement in his eyes.

Consequently, Glades Horne's methods were chilling to the bone.

Most people would rather face a swift end than be tormented to death by him.

Hansen Ruiz, on the other hand, favored a swift and ruthless approach. After Rachel encountered Diana Powell at the Shopping Mall, Hansen had taken the lead from Glades Horne and expedited the downfall of the Cosmos Group.

Glades Horne wouldn't spare anyone who bullied Julia Bluen. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

And Hansen Ruiz certainly wouldn't spare anyone who troubled Rachel Bailey.