Calvin spat out the blood from his mouth and said, "Rest assured. I'm not as wicked as you."He had initially intended to let Chloe have a taste of her own medicine, but her resemblance to Luciana made him hesitate in the end.Joseph's heart eased. He picked Chloe up in his arms and headed toward the exit. As they reached the doorway, he abruptly spun around, his eyes aglow with a bloodthirsty madness. "Do you honestly believe things will end this easily?"Calvin's brows knitted together in a display of anger, his voice dripping with contempt. "What else do you want? Don't forget, you were the one who made a move on Ava first! You even did such despicable things to her. Are you even a man?!In his heart, Chloe might be innocent, but Joseph had gone too far. Fortunately, Ava was strong-willed and did not do anything foolish. Comparatively, he had already shown mercy toward Chloe.Joseph's face turned cold as he uttered, "Ava brought it upon herself."After the medical assessment,
Joseph's expression turned dark, and he twirled his fingers to quell his inner urge. "If you want to cry, go ahead. It's not like I haven't seen it before."Chloe's lips formed a slight pout as she looked at Joseph, her emotions tangled within."How did you find me?" she asked, her voice tinged with curiosity."Emily called me, and I guessed it was Calvin."Chloe recalled the things Calvin told her and she asked, "Calvin said you got many men to assault Ava. Is it true?""Yeah, I did," he replied nonchalantly, sending a shiver down her spine.This man was far more ruthless than she had imagined.Joseph's gaze intensified as he observed the subtle shifts in Chloe's expression. Leaning in closer, he placed his hands on either side of her, his commanding presence towering over her."Are you scared?" he asked."Not at all. You did all that to Ava because of me," Chloe said, her eyes locked with his. "You came to rescue me. Does that mean you still have feelings for me?"If Joseph
"No!" Chloe refused without hesitation.Joseph's expression twisted into a sneer. "Would you be willing to do it if it were Icarus?"Deep furrows appeared on Chloe's forehead as she glared at him. "Who gave you the audacity to make such assumptions about me?""And yet, isn't that who you are?" Joseph retorted."Whatever. Suit yourself."Chloe's frustration grew, causing her to avert her gaze and look out the window.Sensing an implicit admission in her reaction, Joseph was consumed by anger. He abruptly stood up, creating a resounding slam as he stormed out of the room.The footsteps outside gradually faded until they disappeared entirely.Chloe curled up, hugging herself tightly. Her pale face bore an overwhelming sense of bitterness.After Joseph left, he did not appear again until she was discharged from the hospital.In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. The caregiver who had been taking care of her accompanied her to Aesper and stayed at her house for two more days
Her hand froze in mid-air."I've managed to secure an appointment with a renowned skin specialist in the country. In a few days, I'll accompany you there, and I'll do my utmost to ensure that your face remains unscarred."Icarus clenched his fist, comprehending Chloe's intentions. She did not want to owe him anything.It appeared that there were other significant guests present in Alexander's office, so his secretary instructed Chloe to wait in the lounge for a while."All right," Chloe said.After approximately fifteen minutes, the door swung open, revealing Lucas' face.Chloe's brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you doing here?"'So, the important guest that Mr. Alexander's secretary mentioned is Joseph?'"I'm here with Mr. Joseph. He's discussing work matters with Mr. Alexander," Lucas explained.Chloe was rendered speechless. She felt as though Alexander had deliberately scheduled their appointments on the same day.Lucas found himself in a predicament and appeared vi
Chloe's expression momentarily froze. She then plastered on a smile as she attempted to deceive her way out of the situation. "Grandpa, what are you talking about?""Stop pretending!" Harold huffed, his mustache twitching with anger. "Do you think just because I'm old that you can conspire with that punk to deceive me?"He had long pondered over how Joseph managed to find a wife who was not only well-mannered but also remarkably beautiful. He had contemplated various explanations, but he never anticipated that they would go to the extent of orchestrating a sham marriage to deceive him.Chloe stumbled over her words, bewildered by how she had unintentionally revealed herself when things were going smoothly.Observing her silence, Harold grew increasingly agitated and directed his anger toward Joseph, who sat calmly beside him. "You're about to lose your wife. Do something instead of sitting there idly!"Joseph reclined comfortably on the sofa, crossing his long and slender legs. Hi
Harold was downstairs, sitting upright, feeling somewhat out of his element when it came to dealing with the romantic issues of the younger generation.Chloe lowered her gaze and softly replied, "Yes, Grandpa?""Don't worry. I assure you that Xavia will never appear in front of you again. You and Joseph should focus on living your lives well," Harold assured her.She widened her eyes in surprise. "Grandpa..."Having been a soldier all his life, Harold's face had been weathered by the sun, darkened to a deep tan. Being looked at like this, he blushed uncomfortably as he continued, "That's settled then. The cat of a comrade of mine gave birth at home, so I need to go and take a look. Goodbye."Despite it being an accident, it was undeniable that Joseph had made a mistake, leaving Harold in the awkward position of having to come to his defense. The level of embarrassment he felt at that moment was unparalleled by whatever else had happened his entire life.Chloe called out to him, "
Chloe gently pushed open the door and entered the study. Joseph remained with his back turned, his gaze fixed on the computer screen. His handsome face was dark and brooding, fueled by his intense frustration over the Whitman Group's recent months of losses. He had an irresistible urge to grab Jonathan and give him a good beating.He picked up his phone and called Jonathan, his voice carrying an obvious tone of frustration. "Terminate all the projects you invested in last quarter immediately. Also, I want you to voluntarily step down from the board of directors. Focus on your role as the administrative director and refrain from meddling in any senior-level projects."Chloe's heart skipped a beat. She could not help but wonder just how much damage Jonathan had caused the Whitman Group to provoke such anger from someone as influential and formidable as Joseph. The extent of the losses must have been significant for Joseph to be seething with such frustration."No! You can't do this to
Harold prohibited Chloe from going home tonight and arranged for her to have her own room so that she was not forced to stay with Joseph.She hid in the room. After gaining Harold's approval, she felt much more relaxed. She had not brought the laptop from her office with her, so she could only scroll through her phone to relieve her boredom.At that moment, Icarus replied to her message. [I was playing golf with my friends nearby that day. When I was just heading home when I bumped into you.]Chloe opened the map application on her phone and searched the area around City Hall. True enough, there was a golf course nearby. She felt quite embarrassed to have thought badly of him.Icarus texted her again. It was a link to an article. [Chloe, I know that you'll see this sooner or later, so I thought it’d be best to tell you earlier. There’s no need to get upset because of me or these Internet trolls.]She clicked on the link and saw that someone had secretly taken photographs of Ic