It was nine at night by the time Joseph got home.The villa was dark and quiet. He changed into his house slippers at the entrance and walked past Chloe's room, stopping for a moment before raising his hand to knock a few times.Chloe's hoarse voice came from inside, "Just a moment."As she spoke, a ray of light shone through the crack under the door. After a few seconds, Chloe got to the door. Following a brief pause, she turned the handle and the door creaked open. However, her usual beaming expression had vanished, replaced instead by puffy, reddened eyes and nose, a clear indication that she had been crying for quite some time.Looking at Chloe in this manner was unsettling for Joseph. She appeared disheartened, akin to a drooping flower drenched by a storm."Have you been crying?" he asked.Chloe sniffled and turned her face to the side. "No.""I'm not blind," he replied calmly.Chloe was in no mood to argue with him and asked weakly, "What do you want?"Joseph froze for
"A security guard?"Lucas had not told Joseph that a security guard had been involved as well.Chloe nodded, and as she recounted the incident, she felt aggravated. Rolling up her sleeves, she showed him the scratches."This is what he did to me. There’s a wound on my calf too."The two scabs on her fair skin looked like damage on a priceless piece of artwork, and the sight was jarring.As she continued to complain about Fairlight, his expression grew increasingly dark. Chloe only noticed something was amiss with Joseph's expression after she had finished venting. She cautiously prodded him with her finger and asked, "What's the matter?"'Is he a friend to the CEO of Fairlight?'"Nothing," Joseph replied."Okay…"Joseph lowered his gaze and suppressed his emotions. "Go to bed early, and please wash the dishes.""Sure," Chloe said readily. She did not find any issue in taking care of the dishes since Joseph was the one who cooked.The lights were still on at the Johnson resid
The previous security guard had been replaced by two honest and kindly-looking young men.Spotting Chloe looking around, they thought she had lost her way and approached her."No, no, I'm not lost. I'm here for an interview," she explained. After a short pause, she continued, "I didn't see you two yesterday when I came for an interview. Do you work on a shift system?""I was taking care of the warehouse yesterday and just transferred here today," one of the guards replied."What about the guard who was previously in charge of this area?" Chloe asked out of curiosity.The man on the other side hesitated for a moment, scratching his head and struggling to find an answer. Chloe suddenly realized what had happened and was somewhat shocked. It seemed that he had been fired.Initially, she had come for the high salary Fairlight offered, but now she felt that the company’s management was willing to own up to their mistakes instead of covering up for their own people.After yesterday's
A satisfied smile crossed Ava's face as she hung up the phone.Under Ava's guidance, Melody quickly reached out to a paparazzo and even went as far as to hire a team of internet trolls.In the afternoon, Chloe was learning how to cook by following a tutorial on the Internet. When Joseph came home and saw her in the kitchen wearing an apron, listening to instructions on her phone, and putting various spices into the pot.He said, "If you can't cook, stop pretending. Food is meant to be eaten, not wasted."He did not want to eat takeout or poorly made food again.Chloe turned to look at him, and a bashful smile appeared on her face. "Don't worry. I think I did a pretty good job this time."Joseph glanced at the food she called "pretty good" and chuckled, "You can eat it. Remember to call an ambulance in advance if you do.""Come on, just give it a try. I promise I've gotten a lot better than last time!"“No thank you," Joseph replied as he took off his coat and hung it on the rac
Joseph did not bother explaining that there was no cook in the first place.After some brief contemplation, he went upstairs to grab a bank card. Then, he handed it to Chloe. "This is my supplementary card. You can use it for household expenses or if you want to buy clothes or something."Chloe was about to say that groceries would not cost much, but she suddenly remembered that she was currently unemployed, and not wishing to appear stubborn, she accepted the card."Okay.""Go to Hola Mart if you want to grab something. Their stuff is fresher.""But that’s an international supermarket that sells imported goods and the stuff there is pretty expensive. A tiny head of lettuce could cost up to 15 dollars, whereas you can get the same item for just a few bucks at the local market. Moreover, the produce at the local market is freshly picked from the farm, making it healthier and more affordable.""I'm telling you, not discussing with you."Joseph finished his meal and set down his ut
After the people around them heard their conversation, they sized Chloe up with looks of disgust on their faces.It was as if she was the person who caused trouble with her father over property and being unreasonable.Chloe's face sank as she bit her lip. "I can set up an appointment with the lawyer for later.""No, they don't have so much free time to wait around for you," Benjamin replied with an impatient tone. "Since you don't have time, I'll temporarily take care of it. I'll give it to you when you get married in the future.""No! I'll go with you…" She quickly changed her mind and followed Benjamin off the bus.Although work was important, the things her mother had left behind were the only things in this world that she could not give up. She was well aware that Benjamin was threatening her. If she did not retrieve them this time, it would only be more difficult to do so in the future.She thought for a moment and decided to explain the situation to the HR department at Fai
"It's precisely because I know what you're capable of that I asked you to resign. How could our small company possibly compare to a leading enterprise like Fairlight? You're overestimating yourself."Chloe froze, clutching her phone and unsure of what to say. Despite being accustomed to Benjamin's treatment toward her, at this moment when everyone was misjudging her, she could not help feeling sorry for herself when he chose to align with those online bullies.Throughout her childhood, her father had only ever shown care and concern toward Ava, while toward her, he treated her as if she were a complete stranger.Seeing that she remained silent, Benjamin looked at her with disdain and snatched her phone from her. Chloe tried to retrieve her phone but was forcibly held down by the bodyguards.In the middle of her resistance, Benjamin found Fairlight's HR contact information on her phone, composed a rejection message, sent it, and then shut off her phone."You're my father. Can't you
Joseph paused for a moment, then gave some instructions to the person on the other end of the video call and ended the meeting.Crossing his legs, he calmly asked, "What's the reason?""No idea. HR says Ms. Chloe sent a message close to the start of her shift saying she won't be coming, and that was the end of it."Joseph recalled how happy Chloe looked in front of the mirror this morning. He propped up his chin with one hand. "Did they call her?""Yes, but her phone is switched off."Joseph furrowed his brows slightly, clearly dissatisfied with her behavior. She was the one who had applied for the job, yet she was also the one who did not show up for work.Lucas could not quite decipher his boss's thoughts from his expression. He took out his phone and displayed the top trending news to Joseph. "There's another thing. It seems that William, who we fired, isn’t happy and has been stirring things up online."Joseph briefly glanced through the article, hardly reading a tenth of it