Elise glared at Tara. "She's closer to Mr. Albert than you think. Let her in!" she said, confirming Mia's special bond with Chris in one sentence.However, Tara didn't buy it. "I only follow Mr. Albert's instructions. If he says no, then I'm not letting her in!"Elise and Mia were speechless, their faces falling because of Tara's stubborn attitude. Elise was furious. She'd worked here for so long, she believed she had some influence on her. And yet, this greenhorn had just talked back to her. She muttered under her breath, "The arrogant bitch!"Mia looked at Elise, silently asking what they should do. After all, Tara was a big problem for them."Let her through!" Elise yelled. Seeing Mia look at her made her feel embarrassed, so she stopped being polite with Tara.Tara scoffed. "I told you, I only do as Mr. Albert says. Or do you think you're more powerful than he is?""Why, you—" Elise didn't know what to say. Who would dare say that they were more powerful in Albert Group? No
"Chris …" Mia called out pitifully, her face showing no trace of the arrogance she'd shown Tara. Right now, she was like a helpless damsel.Chris' face clouded over. "Let go!""Please don't be mad at me anymore, Chris. Okay? I surrender. I was wrong." Even though Chris was being cold, Mia still thought he was just throwing a tantrum.After Grace kicked her out of the Miller residence, Mia understood just how much she couldn't bear to lose Chris. She'd been living in hell for the past few days.On the other hand, Chris' gaze only grew colder when Mia begged him. He knew Mia as a prideful, confident woman, but now … only disgust flashed in his eyes. "Let go!" His voice had no warmth, and Mia froze when she sensed that. She didn't expect that even though she'd acted so submissively, Chris still …Was he heartless? How could he do this? "I've already apologized. What more do you want?" Mia's tears fell, making her look so pitiful that anyone would feel sympathy for her.However,
Mia stared at him numbly, at his gaze that was so cold, it felt like he was cutting her into a thousand pieces. When she looked back at Chris, her tears were still falling."Are you really doing this to me?" she asked.Chris didn't answer, but his anger made it very obvious that he didn't want to waste his time with her anymore.When Tara noticed Mia was still bothering him, her tone got even firmer, "Ms. Davis, you'll look bad if we have to call security to get you out."Mia and Chris didn't respond, but Chris looked up at Tara with a hint of admiration in his gaze. Markus had a good eye for talent. Meanwhile, Mia was completely frozen and still looking at Chris. When she realized he didn't react at all, not even when Tara said she'd call security, her heart … It bled so much, it hurt. Was he really this cruel to her nowadays?"Do you really want things to get that bad, Ms. Davis?" Tara's tone got colder when Mia wouldn't budge.Mia looked at Chris, who still hadn't reacted.
When Mia saw Elise, the tears she'd cried in the office fell once again, shocking Elise into silence. When she saw Mia cry so suddenly, her heart almost leaped into her throat.No way. Didn't Chris have a fight with Kathryn? He needed Mia's comfort the most in a time like this. Why did he kick her out?"I'm leaving, Elise," Mia said after taking a deep breath. Before Elise could answer, she walked toward the elevator.Tara didn't follow Mia. Instead, she shot Elise a cold look. "Mr. Albert has a message for you.""What is it?" Elise asked arrogantly. She already hated Tara to the bone."He wants you to finalize your pay with the HR department.""W-What? What did you say?" Elise's arrogance was gone in the blink of an eye. She looked at Tara in disbelief.Her father, Ben Schiffer, was a very important man in Harborlean. Her job at Albert Group was to learn how to run a company. That was what he told her when she got handed over to Markus.So, she tried her best to get close to C
Elise had truly underestimated that country bumpkin. Elise didn't know she was this capable. When she didn't say anything, Markus stood coldly and made his way outside. He'd just passed Elise when she grabbed him and said, "Mia was here!""And you let her in again?"Elise fell silent. Fury flashed in Markus' eyes. "Have you forgotten what I told you?""I—""You still haven't learned to stay in your lane, have you?"Elise was speechless. How was she supposed to stay in her lane? Chris was the only reason she came to Albert Group. She thought that once Markus left, she'd get to be executive assistant.But judging by how quickly Tara had adapted to the incident just now, she could kiss that job goodbye. So, she might as well fight to become Mrs. Albert. That was why she was so desperate to get rid of Kathryn."If that's the case, you can go." Markus' face fell, clearly a sign that he didn't want to waste time with her anymore.Elise paled. "What did you say?"Did he just ask
In the meantime, Kathryn was with Tally. Since Kathryn still needed to pick Chris up before going back to Rexton Manor, she ate dinner with Tally at their old favorite restaurant nearby.Tally gave Kathryn a piece of chicken. "The chicken's grilled perfectly today. Try it.""You try some too!" Kathryn said. She loved meat, but it never tasted as dry as her grandmother used to make it.At first, she thought tender chicken was delicious. But after some time, she thought old hen meat tasted better.As Tally ate, she said, "I think your suspicions are valid. What kind of mother treats their own daughter like that?"She recalled what Kathryn had told her. Never mind Kathryn; Tally herself had secretly suspected Wendy wasn't her real mother. For a supposed mother, Wendy barely did anything. How many hardships had Kathryn gone through with her grandmother? How many setbacks had she experienced? Would she have stood by and watched if she were her real daughter?"If it's like you said,
Kathryn was a bit worried about Tally's confidence, so she said, "She does work on the farm year-round." Wendy was obviously a strong woman.Tally did have a fiery temper, but she'd never be as strong as Wendy was.Tally asked, "Have you forgotten I'm a 7th-degree taekwondo black belt holder?"Oh, right! Never mind Wendy, Tally probably could have beaten ten Wendys at once. How could she have forgotten that? Kathryn felt reassured. "Alright. Tomorrow, it is.""Have you told Chris about your suspicions?""No." Kathryn shook her head. "Then it's better if you don't say anything," Tally said. After all, this wasn't a good thing. Besides, things were awkward between them right now. They weren't a couple because their marriage was a sham. But their marriage wasn't a total sham either because they had a baby on the way.Kathryn was having enough trouble trying to keep the baby. She didn't even know what their relationship was, so she didn't want to tell him anything.Kathryn under
Chris grabbed her waist and pulled her into his arms when he saw her panicked. "You silly girl!" he said in resignation.He had to admit Kathryn was a special kind of stupid when it came to love. Didn't he just ask her to feed him? Why was she so scared? How much did she care about her house and money? Was she that scared he'd take them all away?She was such a materialistic girl. It was like she'd never seen money in her life before. Kathryn's expression became even more pitiful when Chris called her silly. Before she could say anything, Chris continued, "What did you call me before you went out?"Kathryn thought for a moment. Before she went out? She recalled seeing Tara and Mia there. That was … basically a public death by embarrassment. Just recalling it made her blush."Answer me," Chris said more forcefully when Kathryn didn't reply."Um, d-darling! If you don't like it, I won't call you that again," Kathryn stammered, looking even more pitiful as a result. First, he w