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Chapter 21
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Be Gentle With Me, Mr. CEO Chapter 22
After leaving the hospital, Calla stood by the roadside and tried to flag down a cab.However, a black Bentley shot out from behind and came to a sudden halt beside her.Alarmed, Calla jumped backward. Immediately after that, she saw Mercer coming down from the backseat of the car.She wanted to flee, but he grabbed her shoulder before she could."How dare you trick me?" Mercer fumed."I… wouldn't dare to, of course! My stomach stopped hurting, so I…" Calla attempted to stammer out an explanation.Out of nowhere, Mercer fixed his gaze on her and declared, "Let's get married!"Calla stared at him in disbelief.What was going on? That wasn't how she envisioned things playing out between them. Shouldn't he be tossing a check or a debit card to her and instructing her to deal with the pregnancy herself?"Married? Don't joke like that. I might actually believe you," Calla said. She firmly believed he was kidding around and didn't mean what he said.Plenty of women would kill to ma
Be Gentle With Me, Mr. CEO Chapter 23
Calla combed through the terms of the prenuptial agreement."Once married, the husband (henceforth 'Party A') and wife (henceforth 'Party B') shall abide by the following terms."1. During the marriage, Party A shall bear all expenses incurred by Party B and Party B's child."2. In the event of a divorce, Party A shall give Party B a property of at least 1,600 square feet in size as well as a sum of 2 million in cash. Party B shall not be entitled to any of Party A's assets."3. During the marriage, Party B shall refrain from engaging in overly intimate interactions with the opposite sex."4. Party B shall cooperate with Party A in portraying themselves as an exemplary married couple."5. In the event of a divorce, Party A shall retain full custody of the child."Calla was Party B in the agreement, and after understanding the terms, she figured out the gist of the situation. By marrying Mercer, she would be able to live a life of luxury, but if they ever divorced, she would lose
Be Gentle With Me, Mr. CEO Chapter 24
Calla frowned at Mercer's words. He was asking her to make the tough decision. The worst part of this was that if she refused to marry him, she wouldn't be able to give birth to the child. She would end up being the reason why the baby had to die.Although Calla cared about maintaining her dignity and self-respect, her child's life was at stake, so she had to compromise.She looked up and saw that the courthouse was already in view. Thus, she turned to Mercer and said, "I disagree with the fourth and fifth terms. I want to retain custody of the child. Also, since I'm working at your company, I won't be able to have a single day of peace if people find out I'm your wife."She was willingly sacrificing her dignity and love life to give birth to this child. Naturally, she couldn't let him seize custody of the child from her.They didn't have feelings for each other, so how could they act like a married couple? Surely others would see right through them!Taking in Calla's determined e
Be Gentle With Me, Mr. CEO Chapter 25
Ever since Calla graduated from college, she worked hard to support the family financially and fund Zoey's education. She didn't think she'd ever done anything wrong."The nerve of you to ask me why! Although I'm a weak woman, I've always lived a principled life. You've humiliated me!" Carol shouted."What on earth did I do, Mom?" Calla asked even though she had an idea what this could be about. Could it be that Carol found out about her pregnancy?True enough, Carol questioned her, "Are you pregnant?""I am," Calla admitted. She had never lied to Carol before.Carol slumped onto the couch and started sobbing. "Why is my life so hard? My husband abandoned me so early on in life. It wasn't easy for me to raise you myself, but I did it in the hopes that you would make me proud someday. Yet, look what you did. You went and got yourself pregnant! How disgraceful is this!"Calla instantly figured out that Peggy was it again. Peggy was hellbent on messing with her life.Despite feelin
Be Gentle With Me, Mr. CEO Chapter 26
"Huh? Mom, about that… Because of his job, he has to go on business trips quite often. He's leaving on a business trip tomorrow morning, actually. It'll take at least a week or two before he returns." Calla hurriedly came up with an excuse."Is he always going to be away on a business trip? How are you two going to have any alone time then?" Carol remarked worriedly."He gets an additional allowance for each business trip he goes on. He needs to earn more money to support the baby and me, so he doesn't have a choice," Calla quickly said."That's true. In that case, once Mercer comes back, you must bring him over for a meal," Carol declared before heading to her room, still studying the marriage license.Once the door shut behind her, Calla finally exhaled in relief.She had finally gotten over this hurdle! As for the next one two weeks later, she would cross that bridge when she came to it.Calla went back to her room. As soon as she closed the door, Zoey, who was doing her homew
Be Gentle With Me, Mr. CEO Chapter 27
"Since you've gotten married, you'll be getting a new house and car soon, right?" another colleague asked teasingly.With a worried expression, Calla replied, "My husband's family isn't that well-off, and property in Riverford is so expensive. For the time being, we still have to rent a place."After hearing this, her colleagues no longer viewed her in derision like they did yesterday. Instead, they started giving her sympathetic looks.Calla was secretly pleased that she managed to overcome the crisis of having her reputation ruined.Alicia, who had been quiet thus far, waited until she had the chance to pull Calla away and talk to her in private."Why did you come up with that story? Did you find yourself a man? Is it that Harlan guy you mentioned? Is he doing this willingly, or did you force him into it?" Alicia peppered Calla with questions."Don't say such ridiculous things. I really am married."Calla filled Alicia in on what happened yesterday, and Alicia was stupefied. A
Be Gentle With Me, Mr. CEO Chapter 28
Calla's eyes flickered in thought. Instead of pulling her phone away, she pretended to still be on a call. "Darling, rich food makes me feel queasy right now. Let's eat something simpler. Oh, okay. Of course. Let's talk more over lunch later. See you later, darling!"Done with the act, she put her phone down. But when she looked up, she immediately froze!She was dumbstruck. Why had Mercer suddenly showed up at the office? He was staring at her in silence too.Knowing that he must've heard what she said just now, she hastily lowered her head. She dared not meet his gaze.Some of her colleagues were sniggering in secret while others kept their gazes down. Derek hurriedly tried to smooth things over."Calla, you shouldn't be making personal calls during working hours!" Derek chided."I'm sorry, Mr. Connaught," Calla stood up and said shakily.She glanced at Mercer, only to find that his expression remained neutral. She couldn't tell what he was feeling."Mr. Garland, I'm sure you
Be Gentle With Me, Mr. CEO Chapter 29
By now, everyone was starting to head out for lunch, so Calla took her bag and got ready to leave as well.Alicia came over and offered with a smile, "I'll buy you a burrito for lunch. How about it?""It's fine. I need to head over to the Riviera," Calla muttered into Alicia's ear.Alicia's eyes glinted as she stared at Calla and said, "The Riviera? That's a five-star hotel! You really are the CEO's wife, huh? Why don't you bring me along?""The Scrooge was the one who told me to come over. Who knows what he's up to now? Come along, if you want. I could do with some moral support," Calla declared in all seriousness."Let's forget about it. I've always been afraid of authority figures, you know. You can head over by yourself. I'll see you later!" Alicia said before hurrying off in a flash.Calla shook her head before heading over to the Riviera.It was a five-star hotel situated across the street from Atlas. The food served at the hotel restaurant was excellent, but the prices we
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Seeing Pierre's expression, Calla realized that a few words wouldn't dispel his suspicions. She reached into her bag, unzipped it, and pulled out the knife.Pierre's eyes widened as he noticed the gleaming knife Calla was pulling out of her bag. He furrowed his brows in concern. "What are you—"Calla explained, "Mercer told me that Casper is my son, that he wasn't stillborn as I was told. I didn't believe him at first, but I was afraid he might be telling the truth, so I went to his house to see him."But I was afraid he might have ulterior motives toward me. As a woman, I'm naturally no match for him. In a moment of desperation, I had to grab this knife from the kitchen for protection. If he dared to do anything to me, I wouldn't have hesitated to use it on him."Her expression was intense, reflecting her genuine fear and resolve.Pierre looked deeply at Calla, then gently touched her cheek. He took the knife from her hand and placed it on a nearby table.Calla then rushed into
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Suddenly feeling Mercer's hand on her shoulder, Calla instinctively recoiled. She swatted away his hand and shouted, "Don't touch me, Mercer!"The harm he had caused her was too profound. Even though she now understood his desperate reasons, she still felt immense aversion toward him."Fine, I won't touch you." Mercer retracted his hands and left them suspended in the air."Don't think you can use Casper to threaten me, Mercer. I will never be manipulated by you!" Calla shouted at him.Mercer's expression turned pained at her words. He took a step back, and his eyes filled with profound anguish. "Do you really see me as someone who would use my own son as a bargaining chip?""Yes," Calla replied sternly.Mercer's body swayed slightly, then he turned away in dejection. "If that's the case, then you should leave."Seeing his forlorn figure, Calla felt a pang of sadness, but she couldn't bring herself to trust him again. She turned and walked out of the house.She stumbled out of
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At this moment, Mercer clenched his fists. Even with his resolute nature, his eyes seemed misty."This is where I feel most sorry toward you and Clover. Clover is my daughter too. Of course, I wanted her to come into this world healthy. But I couldn't let Casper disappear from this world either."His condition worsened so severely at that time. I was afraid he wouldn't make it to your due date, so I had to take drastic measures..." Mercer struck his fist hard against the wall.Seeing the despondent and remorseful Mercer before her, Calla felt a twinge of compassion, but she still couldn't accept all his explanations.Glancing at the reports in front of her, Calla placed her hand on her cheek. She could feel her fingers trembling.Suddenly, she looked up and asked, "You kept searching for me in Greendale to get me pregnant so you could use the baby's umbilical cord blood to save Casper?"From the timeline Mercer had explained, Casper's condition must have been severe by then.Cal
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Mercer smiled bitterly. "I knew that you wouldn't believe me, so I prepared a copy of Casper's medical reports. You can take a look." He pulled out several thick envelopes and set them on the coffee table. Calla frowned upon seeing those envelopes which were all an inch thick. She opened one of them and flipped through the documents inside, frowning as she read. The envelope held reports of Casper's hospitalization in both the city and state hospitals, spanning two years, starting from when Casper was a year old. They were records of Casper's illness and his recovery process.Calla couldn't help thinking about his adorable, chubby face, and she felt her heart clench. She wondered how Casper had managed to triumph over his illness after two years. She couldn't even fathom how painful and difficult the process must have been.Suddenly, Calla noticed something in Casper's surgery reports—a note about how a newborn baby's umbilical cord blood was miraculously compatible with Casper.
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"My heart is already in pieces because of you. So what if I hit, cursed, or even stabbed you now? What's the point of doing all that? I beg this of you, Mercer, please let me live my life quietly and stop bothering me!"Stop making up all these ridiculous justifications too. I'm tired—exhausted! I don't want to deal with you anymore," Calla sobbed, tears running down her face.She knew that she shouldn't have cried in front of him. It wasn't just a sign of her weakness, it might also fuel his assumption that she still cared for him. However, she couldn't control it. Whenever she thought of the suffering she'd gone through in the past couple of years, tears ran uncontrollably down her face."I want nothing more than for you to let me tell you the truth in its entirety. I want you and Casper to not miss out on the chance to reconnect as mother and son. "I promise that I'll respect your choice once I'm done telling you everything, and I won't bother you again in the future!" Mercer l
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Calla's eyes widened as she remembered everything that had happened in the past. She stumbled over her words as she said, "B-But we were going to get married after we were back on good terms with each other, and I'd already met Casper at that point. Why didn't you tell me about him back then?"Mercer looked at Calla meaningfully. "Do you remember when I told you, on the day we were about to get our marriage certificate, that I had a big surprise for you?"Calla thought about it, then nodded. He had indeed said that he'd prepared a big gift for her. Could the gift have been Casper?Facing Calla's doubtful look, Mercer nodded. "Yes. I wanted to tell you after we received our marriage certificates, but I didn't expect something else to happen on that day."Calla sneered. "'Something else' is a nice way of putting it. You didn't go to get the marriage certificates done with me, because you chose to hold a press conference with Sophie instead, announcing your marriage with her."When
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Mercer's face fell. He sat on an armchair before asking Calla, "Do you dislike me that much? Are you not even willing to stay by my side for one minute?""I don't dislike you—I hate you. Also, one minute is too long—I can't even bear to stay by your side for one second!" Calla replied without hesitation.As memories—filled with love and resentment alike—flashed in Calla's mind, she felt an intense hatred for Mercer. If not for Casper, she would never have stepped inside this place again, much less take a seat across Mercer to have a conversation.Calla's words hurt Mercer. He sat there for a while with his head lowered before lighting up a cigarette and taking a long drag.Calla couldn't help coughing when the acrid smell of smoke entered her nose. Realizing that he'd made her cough, Mercer quickly stubbed the cigarette in his ashtray. Calla didn't want to waste any more time with him. She asked impatiently, "Why did you have me come here? Who is the woman you had Casper with?"
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Calla finished getting ready, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked over to Clover. She gave her a quick peck on the cheek and then turned to Fiona. "Fiona, I'm going out to meet a friend.""Okay," Fiona replied with a smile, then continued feeding Clover some water.Calla left the apartment and was about to press the elevator button when Pierre emerged from the opposite door."Hey, aren't you supposed to be off work today? Where are you going this early?" Pierre asked, noticing Calla was heading out."Oh, I'm meeting Alicia. She's going back to work tomorrow, so we're hanging out later," Calla replied hastily, avoiding eye contact with Pierre. She had never been good at lying."She's going to be your bridesmaid. It's only right to express our gratitude," Pierre said with a smile, walking into the elevator with Calla."Where are you meeting her? I can give you a ride," Pierre offered."We're meeting at the department store. It's not on your way, so you should get going. I'
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Calla was initially certain that Mercer's goal was to use Casper to ruin her marriage with Pierre.But as the night wore on, Calla's doubts grew. She couldn't shake the feeling that maybe—just maybe—Mercer was telling the truth. Perhaps Casper was indeed her child, the one she had given birth to all those years ago.She couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope. What if her child had not died? What if he was still alive and well?As the first light of dawn crept into the room, Calla made a decision. She would go see Mercer, no matter what his motives were. She had to get to the bottom of it.Calla gazed at Clover, who was still fast asleep. She gently stroked her daughter's cheek. "Clover, don't you think it would be wonderful to have an older brother to share your toys and adventures with?Clover's chubby face didn't move. Calla's eyes lingered on her for a moment before she spoke again. "I have to get to the bottom of this no matter what the outcome is. I have to find out if Casp
